美国文学9
美国文学(本杰明富兰克林)
American literatureChapter 1 The Embryo of American Literature1、Benjamin FranklinA Brief Introduction of Benjamin FranklinFranklin was one of the leading founding fathers of the United States of America. He was a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence and was one of its signatories(签名人)。
He also signed the Constitution of the United States, and served as the new nation’s ablest diplomat. Franklin was also unequaled in America as an inventor until Thomas Edison. He invented the Franklin stove(火炉，窖，温室)，bifocal eyeglasses and the lightning rod.※BiographyBenjamin Franklin was born on January 17,1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the youngest child ,and tenth boy of 17 children. Franklin’s formal schooling ended early but his education never did. He believed that “the door to wisdom are never shut,” and read every book he could get his hands on. Franklin taught himself simple algebra and geometry ,navigation, logic, history, science, English grammar and a working knowledge of five other languages.Franklin had a simple formula for success. He believed that successful people worked just a little harder than other people. Benjamin Franklin certainly did. He built a successful printing and publishing business in Philadelphia; he conducted scientific studies of electricity and made several important discoveries; he was an accomplished diplomat and statesman; he helped establish Pennsylvania’s first university and America’s first city hospital. He also organized the country’s first subscription library.Franklin had strong belief that good citizenship included an obligation of public service. Franklin himself served the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the new United States of America, in one way or the other, for most of his life. To Benjamin Franklin there was no greater purpose in life than to“live usefully.”※The Works·Poor Richard’s Almanac.1733·The Way to Wealth,1758·Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin ，1791·Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues1TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.2SIlENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.3ORDER.Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.4RESOLUTION.Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.5FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e.,waste nothing.6INDUSTRY.Lose no time;be always employeed in something useful; cut off all unneccessary actions.7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.9. MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.※Selected ReadingToo Dear for the WhistleWhen I was a child of seven years old , my friends , on a holiday ,filled my pocket with coppers . I went at once to a shop where they sold toys for children . Being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I had seen by the way , in the hands of another boy , I handed over all my money for one . I then came home , went whistling all over house , much pleased with my whistle , but disturbing all my family .My brother and sister and cousins ,when I told of the bargain I had made,said I had given four times as much as the whistle was worth . They put me in mind of what good things I might have bought with the rest of the money, and laughed at me so much for my folly that I cried with vexation(n.苦恼，恼怒，令人烦恼的事) . Thinking about the matter gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave me pleasure.This , however , was afterwards of use to me , for the impression continued on my mind . so that often , when I was tempted to buy something I do not need . I said to myself . “Don't give too much for the whistle ,”and I saved my money . As I grew up , came into the world，and observed the actions of men . I thought I met with many ,very many ,who “gave too much for the whistle .”When I saw some man too eager for cout favour, wasting his time at court getherings ,giving up his rest , his liberty ,his virtue, and perhaps his friends ,for royal favour , I said to myself “This man gives too much for the whistle.”When I saw another fond of popularity , constantly taking part in political affairs ,neglecting his own business ,and ruining it by neglect , “He pays , indeed ,”said I , “too dear for his whistle .”If I knew a miser（守财奴，吝啬鬼）who gave up every kind of comfortable living , all the pleasure of doing good to others , all the esteem of his fellow citizens and the joys of friendship , for the sake of gathering and keeping wealth —“Poor man.”said I , “you pay too dear for your whistle .”When I met a man of pleasure , who did not try to improve his mind or his fortune but merely devoted himself to having a good time ,perhaps neglecting his health ,“Mistaken man,”said I , “you are providing pain for yourself , instead of pleasure ; you are paying too dear for your whistle .”If I saw someone fond of appearance of who had fine clothes , fine houses , fine furniture , fine earrings , all above his fortune , and for which he had run into debt ,and ends his career in a prison .“Alas,”said I , “he has paid dear , very dear , for his whistle . ”In short the miseries of mankind are largely due to their putting a false value on things —to giving “too much for their whistles”.。
美国文学名词解释
《美国文学》名词解释1. American PuritanismAmerican Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature. It has become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, rather than a set of tenets, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere that the Americans breathe. It stresses predestination, original sin, total depravity, and limited atonement (or the salvation of a selected few) from God’s grace. With such doctrines in their minds, Puritans left Europe for America in order to establish a theocracy in the New World. Over the years in the new homeland they built a way of life that stressed hard work, thrift, piety, and sobriety.2. The American DreamThe American Dream is the faith held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. Nowadays the American Dream has led to an emphasis on material wealth as a measure of success and/or happiness.3. American RomanticismAmerican Romanticism stretches from the end of the 18th century through the outbreak of the Civil War. It was America’s f irst great creative period. Although foreign influences were strong, American romanticism exhibited distinct features of its own. First, American romanticism was in essence the expression of “a real new experience” and contained “an alien quality” for the simple reason that “the spirit of the place” was radically new and alien. Second, Puritan influence over American romanticism was conspicuously noticeable. Famous writers, such as the novelists Hawthorne and Melville; the poets Dickinson and Whitman; the essayists Thoreau and Emerson, had made a great literary period by capturing on their pages the enthusiasm and the optimism of that dream.4. American TranscendentalismAmerican Transcendentalism is literature, philosophical and literary movement that flourished in New England from about 1836 to 1860. It originated among a small group of intellectuals who were reacting against the orthodoxy of Calvinism and the rationalism of the Unitarian Church, developing instead their own faith centering on the divinity of humanity and the natural world. The beliefs that God is imminent in each person and in nature and that individual intuition is the highest source of knowledge led to an optimistic emphasis on individualism, self-reliance, and rejection of traditional authority. The ideas of transcendentalism were most eloquently expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson in such essays as Nature(1836), and Self-Reliance and by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden (1854).5. American NaturalismAmerican Naturalism is a literary movement that became popular in America in the late 19th century and is often associated with literary realism. Viewed as a combination of realism and romanticism, critics contend that the American form is heavily influenced by the concept of determinism—the theory that heredity and environment influence and determine human behavior. Although naturalism is often associated with realism, which also seeks toaccurately represent human existence, the two movements are differentiated by the fact that naturalism is connected to the doctrine of biological, economic and social determinism. Representative writers are, among others, Stephen Crane and Theodore Dreiser.6. International ThemeThe International theme was one of Henry James’s main subjects, which dealt w ith the relationship between American and European culture. He explored the attractions and conflicts between new and old, innocence and experience, candor and complexity, the puritanical and the aesthetic.7. Local ColorismLocal Colorism is a type of writing that was popular in the late 19th century, particularly among authors in the South of the United States. This style relied heavily on using words, phrases, and slang that were native to the particular region in which the story took place. The term has come to mean any device which implies a specific focus, whether it is geographical or temporal. A well-known local colorism author was Mark Twain with his books Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.8. ImagismImagism was a literary movement which came into being in Britain and U.S. around 1910 as a reaction to the traditional English poetry to express the sense of fragmentation and dislocation. The imagists, with Ezra Pound leading the way, hold that the most effective means to express these momentary impressions is through the use of one dominant image. Imagism is characterized by the following three poetic principles: i) direct treatment of subject matter; ii) economy of expression; iii) as regard rhythm, to compose in the sequence of the mu sical phrase, not in the sequence of metronome. Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” is a well-known imagist poem.9. Harlem RenaissanceHarlem Renaissance is a notable phase of black American writing centered in Harlem (a predominantly black area of New York City) in the 1920s. It brought a new self-awareness and critical respect to black literature in the US. Langston Hughes and Richard Wright are representatives of the movement with their works Weary Blues and Native Son respectively.10. The Lost GenerationThe term Lost Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of American literary notables who lived in Paris from the time period which saw the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Significant members included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, T. S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein herself. Hemingway likely popularized the term, quoting Stein ( “You are all a lost generation” ) as epigraph to his novel, The Sun Also Rises. More generally, the term is being used for the young adults of Europe and America during World War I. They were “lost” because after the war many of them were disillusioned with the world in general and unwilling to move into a settled life.11. The Jazz AgeThe Jazz Age describes the period of the 1920s and 1930s, the years between World War I and World War II, particularly in North America; with the rise of the Great Depression, the values of this age saw much decline. Perhaps the most representative literary work of the ageis American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, highlighting what some describes as the decadence and hedonism, as well as the growth of individualism. Fitzgerald is largely credited with coining the term “The Jazz Age”.12. Hemingway (Code) HeroesThe works of Ernest Hemingway generally center on the concept of heroism. Each of his novels contains a “Hemingway hero”— a man of honor and integrity who expresses himself not with words, but with actions. The Hemingway hero is a noble but tragic hero fighting with the overwhelming force; though he knows that he will be defeated at last, he decides to act like a hero. He is not a Godlike figure, but an ordinary, often flawed mortal who must look to himself for strength. The Hemingway hero is actually a mirror image of the author himself. Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea is a typical Hemingway hero.13. The Beat GenerationIn the 1950s, there was a widespread discontent among the postwar generation, whose voice was one of protest against all the mainstream culture that America had come to represent. This has come to be known as the Beat Generation. The word “beat” represented anon-conformist, rebellious attitude toward conventional values concerning sex, religion, the arts, and the American way of life. It was an attitude that resulted from the feeling of depression and exhaustion and the need to escape into an unconventional, sometimes communal, mode of living. Central elements of “Beat” culture included experimentation with drugs, alternative forms of sexuality, an interest in Eastern religion, a rejection of materialism, and the idealizing of exuberant, unexpurgated means of expression and being. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl (1956), William S. Burroughs’s Naked Lunch (1959) and JackKer ouac’s On the Road (1957) are among the best known examples of Beat literature.14. Black HumorBlack humor, in literature, drama, and film, grotesque or morbid humor, used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or situations are usually exaggerated far beyond the limits of normal satire or irony. Black humor uses devices often associated with tragedy and is sometimes equated with tragic farce. Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is one of the kind.15. The Southern RenaissanceThe Southern Renaissance is the revival of American Southern literature that began in the 1920s and 1930s until the 1950s. Much of the writings in this unit featured the struggle between those who embraced social changes and those who were more skeptical or challenged social change outright. The writers and intellectuals of the South after the late 1920s were engaged in an attempt to come to terms not only with the inherited values of the Southern tradition, but also with a certain way of perceiving and dealing with the past. In the works of William Faulkner, Katherine Ann Porter, Allen Tate, and Tennessee Williams, among others, the diverse wealth of voices in the early 20th-century South came alive.。
(完整版)美国文学课后答案
（完整版）美国文学课后答案1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).二、Questions1.How many characters does Poe include in The Cask of Amontillado? What are these names? Montresor, Fortunato and Luchesi2. What drink are the French most famous for?Wine3.Does Montresor have something of great value to him which we might consider to be his treasure? His pride and the pride of his French family heritage. Perhaps his devious plot of revenge.4.Does Montresor seem to have much respect for Italians?Montresor does not have much respect for Italians. He feels the French are superior, especially with respect to wine.5.What was Fortunato's insult?Poe does not tell us directly, but only implies it in the third paragraph6.Which wine does Montresor use to lure Fortunato into the catacombs?"Amontillado" (the Spanish wine; Montresor's ruse to lead Fortunato down into the catacombs.7.Why does Montresor entertain Fortunato with wines from his collection?Montresor wants to get Fortunato drunk enough to be able to trap him in his plan of vengeance.8.In what two ways does Montresor imprison Fortunato?He fetters (chains and locks) Fortunato to the wall of the catacombs.He builds a wall to close Fortunato off in a small corner of the catacombs, where Montresor will leave him to die.9.In what ways is The Cask of Amontillado grotesque? First, which of Montresor's actions are abnormal? The whole obsessive plot of vengeance.The fettering and entombment of Fortunato.Montresor's sick sense of humor.10.Is there anything grotesque about Fortunato?His obsession with alcohol.His drunkenness.His tendency to berate Luchesi (he may have been drunk and may have insulted Montresor in a similarHis manic laughter.Questions1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒）. He losthimself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur（鉴赏）in wine. Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.红字Questions :1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their“Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” a nd its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.白鲸Questions1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capturenumerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”（狠毒）in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale，because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.瓦尔登Questions1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?三、。
#9 美国文学史之 AllanPoe
Mark Twain declared his prose to be unreadable
T. S. Eliot: “slipshod writing”
Other Poems 1830: West Point 1832 : his first short story “MS. Found in a Bottle” 1835: editor of The Southern Literary Messenger 1836: married 1847: his wife died 1849: died in Baltimore
first five lines being trochaic octameter(八音步扬抑 格), and the sixth line a trochaic tetrameter (四音步 扬抑格). The rhyming scheme of the poem is abcbbb The repetition of “nevermore”, suggest mourning and grief.
LectureNine
EdgarAllanPoe (1809-1849)
Life Experiences
1809: born in Boston 1826: university of Virginia 1827: his first book of poetry, Tamerlane and
Some American Counterparts on Poe or his Writings
美国文学英文介绍【顶级精品】
American Romanticism (1815-1865)
Learning Points
Distinct Features
Representatives Conclusion
Much classroom discussion will involve close textual commentary upon the assigned works.
Course Outline
1.Literature of Colonial American 2.Early Romantics 3.Transcendentalism 4.High Romantics 5.Realism 6.Local Color Fiction 7.Naturalism 8.Modern Poetry 9.Modern Fiction Before 1945
Philip Freneau
Philip Freneau(1752-1832)
A forerunner of American Romanticism or a transitional figure towards Romanticism.
Wild Honeysuckle a lyrical lament for the mutability of nature and an expression of faith in man’s ability to learn universal truths from nature. An indirect eulogy of America predicting Whitman
---- Having faith in human accomplishment and progress
美国文学史第9部分
10部必读美国文学经典作品
10部必读美国文学经典作品1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Howthorne《红字》霍桑著小说惯用象征手法，人物、情节和语言都颇具主观想象色彩，在描写中又常把人的心理活动和直觉放在首位。
因此，它不仅是美利坚合众国浪漫主义小说的代表作，同时也被称作是美利坚合众国心理分析小说的开创篇。
2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》马克·吐温著《哈克》是美国文学中的珍品，也是美国文化中的珍品。
1984 ,美国文坛为《哈克》出版一百周年举行了广泛的庆祝活动和学术讨论，这在世界文坛上也是少有的盛事。
这是因为《哈克》的意义不一般。
美国著名作家海明威说：“一切现代美国文学来自一本书，即马克·吐温的《赫克尔贝里芬历险记》……这是我们所有书中最好的。
一切美国文学都来自这本书，在它之前，或在它之后，都不曾有过能与之媲美的作品”。
3. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James《贵妇画像》亨利·詹姆斯著美国小说家亨利·詹姆斯的《贵妇画像》自问世以来一直受到文学评论界的关注，专家学者已从各个不同角度对女主人伊莎贝尔·阿切尔作了深入细致的研究。
本文试图从一个全新的视角，即跨文化交际角度，剖析伊莎贝尔在婚姻方面所作的选择。
文章指出她是该小说中跨文化交际的最大失败者，并对其失败原因作了分析。
希望在跨文化交际日益频繁的今天我们都能从伊莎贝尔的生活经历中得到某种启发。
4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville《白鲸》麦尔维尔著小说描写了亚哈船长为了追逐并杀死白鲸莫比·迪克的经历，最终与白鲸同归于尽的故事。
故事营造了一种让人置身海上航行、随时遭遇各种危险甚至是死亡的氛围，是作者的代表作。
小说场面宏阔博大，思想内涵复杂，哲理性很强，而且文笔沉郁瑰奇，堪称杰作。
美国文学的特点（范文5篇）
美国文学的特点（范文5篇）以下是网友分享的关于美国文学的特点的资料5篇，希望对您有所帮助，就爱阅读感谢您的支持。
美国文学的特点（1）20世纪的美国文学，堪称美国文学史上的“黄金时期”，同时也可以说是又一次“文艺复兴”。
这一时期，现实主义、自然主义和现代主义形成了多元并存的局面，促进了现代美国文学的空前繁荣。
==小说==这一时期的小说创作主旨虽然是现实主义，但不同的作家在创作实践中却呈现出各自的特色。
这一时期的小说创作有几种倾向：1、两种现实主义小说。
在这方面的主要代表是亨利詹姆斯，他的创作继承了19世纪的高雅“现实主义”传统，擅长描写美国东部有闲阶级男女的心理。
他作品描写的民主思想浓厚、独立性强、天真无邪、不拘虚礼但又有些我行我素的美国上层妇女形象，始终被看成是美国文化产物的典型。
与这种创作倾向截然相反的是乡土小说和反映农民心声的作品。
这方面比较有影响的作家哈姆林加兰。
2、乡土作家和幽默小说。
这方面的代表性作家是欧亨利。
他的短篇小说篇幅不长，以情节取胜，一般以写小市民生活为主，充满了蕴含同情的幽默和恢谐之特色。
尤其是那些出人意料的结尾和“情理之中、意料之外”的谋篇布局手法更每每令读者拍案叫绝。
3、“黑幕揭发者”与厄普顿辛克莱。
从19世纪90年代开始，一批以揭露资本家穷奢极欲和政府丑闻为主要内容的暴露文学曾一度发展到高峰。
其中以厄普顿辛克莱的《屠场》最有影响。
4、自然主义和现实主义的交织。
这一时期美国文学的一个重要成就在于出现了一批既具有现实主义倾向同时又受到欧洲自然主义哲学和文学思潮影响的作家。
他们所描写的往往是一些没有文化、出身贫寒的下层人民和社会渣滓。
第一部显示出决定论哲学倾向的作品是斯蒂芬克莱斯的中篇小说《街头妇女郎梅季》。
杰克伦敦参加过美国的社会主义运动，曾有“美国无产阶级文学之父”之称。
实际上，他同时受到马克思主义、尼采的超人哲学和斯宾塞的社会达尔文主义的影响，这些均反映在他的主要长短篇小说中。
美国文学
1.The Literature of Colonial America殖民主义时期的文学17世纪早期English and European explorers开始登陆美洲。
在他们之前100多年Caribbean Islands, Mexico and other Parts of South America已被the Spanish占领。
17th早期English settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts(弗吉尼亚和马萨诸塞)开始了美国历史美国最早殖民者(earliest settlers)included Dutch ,Swedes ,Germans ,French ,Spaniards ,Italians and Portuguese (荷兰人，瑞典人，德国人，法国人，西班牙人，意大利人及葡萄牙人等)。
美国早期文学主要为the narratives and journals of these settlements采用in diaries and in journals(日记和日志)，他们写关于the land with dense forests and deep-blue lakes and rich soil. 第一批美国永久居民：the first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown,Virginia in 1607(北美弗吉尼亚詹姆斯顿)。
船长约翰·史密斯Captain John Smith他的作品(reports of exploration)17th早期出版，被认为是美国第一部真正意义上的文学作品in the early 1600s,have been described as the first distinctly American literature written in English.他讲述了filled with themes, myths, images, scenes, character and events,吸引了朝圣者和清教徒前往lure the Pilgrims and the Puritans.美国第一位作家：1608年Captain John Smith写了封信《自殖民地第一次在弗吉尼亚垦荒以来发生的各种事件的真实介绍》“A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of That Colony”.他的第二本书1612年《弗吉尼亚地图，附：一个乡村的描述》“A Map of Virginia: with a Description of the Country”.他一共出版了八本书，其中有关于新英格兰的历史及描述。
美国文学参考书目和必读书目
《美国文学》参考书目1.A. T. Rubinstein, American Literature root and Flower, Beijing: ForeignLanguage Teaching and Research Press, 1998.2.E. B. Booz, A Brief Introduction To Modern American Literature, Shanghai:Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1982.3.M. H. Abrams, A glossary of Literary Terms, Foreign language Teaching andResearch Press, 2004.4.Peter B. High. An Outline of American Literature，London and New York: LongmanPress, 1996.5.William H. Crawshaw. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Londonand New York: W.W.Norton &Company Ltd., 1994.6.程爱民：《美国文学阅读教程》，南京师大出版社，1999年。
7.陈新：《英美名家短篇小说精品赏析》（上、下），中国对对外翻译出版社，1999年。
8.范革新：《美国短篇小说赏析》，新华出版社，2006年。
9.桂扬清等：《英美文学选读》，中国对对外翻译出版社，1985年。
10.姜涛：《美国诗歌赏析》，新华出版社，2006年。
11.刘洊波；《英美文学史及作品选读》（美国部分），高等教育出版社，2001年。
12.李正栓：《美国文学学习指南》，清华大学出版社，2006年。
13.美国国务院：《美国文学概况》，辽宁教育出版社，2003年。
《美国文学》作业
1．第4题Tales of a Traveller was written by the American author__________.A.James Fenimore CooperB.Washington IrvingC.Nathaniel Hawthorne答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.02．第5题The Blithedale Romance is a novel about the Brook Farm experiment written by __________.A.Henry JamesB.Nathaniel HawthorneC.James Fenimore Cooper答案:B您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：0.03．第6题Among the following philosophers, only one did not have an influence over the writings of Jack London. He is________.A.Karl MarxB.NietzscheC.SpencerD.Foucault答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.04．第7题The salesman whom Sister Carrie met with on her way to Chicago was named _____________.A.Charles DrouetB.HurstwoodC.Stephen CraneD.Frank Norris答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.05．第8题Of Mice ａnd Men is a novel written by ---.A. John SteinbeckB.Sherwood AndersonC.Sinklair Lewis答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.06．第9题Among the following novels, only one is not written by William Faulkner. It is _____________.A.Light in AugustsB.As I Lay DyingC.The Golden BowlD.Go Down, Moses答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.07．第10题As a Modernist poet, Pound is noted for his active involvement in the ______A.cubist school of modern paintingB.Imagist MovementC.stream-of-consciousness techniqueD.German Expressionism答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.08．第11题william faulkner once declared that ___ was the first truly american writer ｆrom whom we are descended.A.Washington IrvingB.CooperC.HawthorneD.Mark Twain答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.09．第12题The poem “The Indian Burying Ground” was written by the American poet ---.A. Ann BradstreetB.Edgar PoeC.Philip Freneau答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.010．第13题in 1836, a small book was published in the united states ａnd has hence been called the manifesto of the american transcendentalism. its author was___.A. Henry David ThoreauB. Walt WhitmanC.Ralph Waldo Emerson答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.011．第14题Emily Grierson, the protagonist in Faulkner’s story A Rose for Emily, can be regarded as a symbol for all the following qualities except______.A.old valuesB.rigid ideas of social statusC.bigotry ａnd eccentricityD.harmony ａnd integrity答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.012．第15题The School Room Poets did not include _____.A.LongfellowB.LowellC.HolmesD.Poe答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.013．第16题Among the following 3 authors the one who later became a naturalized British citizen was ---.A.Mark TwainB. FitzgeraldC.Henry James答案:C您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：0.014．第22题Among the following writers, only one does not belong to the naturalistic school. He is___.A.Henry JamesB.Stephen CraneC.Theodore Dreiser答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.015．第23题Among the following works written by T. S. Eliot, only one is not a poem. It is _____________.A.The Waste LandB.The Hollow MenC.Ash WednesdayD.Murder in the Cathedral答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.016．第24题The real name of the author Mark Twain is ___.A.Samuel Langhorne ClemensB.Samuel JohnsonC.Samuel Tylor Coleridge答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.017．第25题Among the following authors the one who once visited China was ---.A.Henry JamesB.William FaulknerC.Ernest Hemingway答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.018．第28题Among the following, only one is not a feature of Mark Twain’s style. It is __________.A.his ｕｓｅ of vernacular languageB.local colorC.the influence of the Tall TaleD.Puritanism答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.019．第29题The central character Huckleberry Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn also appears in Twain’s novel ________.A.The Adventures of Tom SawyerB.A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s CourtC.An American TragedyD.Life On Mississippi答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.020．第30题“ we hold these truths to be elf-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, ａnd the pursuit of happiness.” this sentence is taken ｆrom ___.mon SenseB.The Declaration of IndependenceC.The AutobiographyD.The American Crisis答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.021．第31题___ wrote Rights of Man in 1792 to suggest the overthrow of the British monarchy.A.Thomas PaineB.Benjamin FranklinC.George WashingtonD.Jefferson答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.022．第32题The sentence “whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” is quoted ｆrom Emerson’s essay _________.A.NatureB.The Over-SoulC.Self-Reliance答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.023．第33题Among the following stories written by Poe, only one belongs to the category of the detective story. It is ___.A.The Purloined LetterB. LigeiaC.The Tell-tale Heart答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.024．第34题Billy Budd was a short novel written by the American novelist ---.A. Nathaniel HawthorneB.Herman MelvilleC.Walt Whitman答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.025．第35题_______ does not belong to the school of naturalism in history.A.Stephen CraneB.Frank NorrisC.Jack LondonD.Walt Whitman答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.026．第36题_____was the only American of his generation who could chide the British with humor.A.CooperB.Washington IrvingC.ThoreauD.Edgar Allan Poe答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.027．第37题______ is not a character in the novel The Scarlet Letter.A.Arthur DimmesdaleB.Roger ChillingworthC.Goodman BrownD.Pearl答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.028．第38题Among the following authors, only one has been called the American Scott. He is _______.A.Washington IrvingB.James Fenimore CooperC.Herman MelvilleD.Nathaniel Hawthorne答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.029．第48题The famous pamphlet Common Sense appearing in 1776 was written by _____________.A.Thomas JeffersonB.Thomas PaineC.Benjamine Franklin答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.030．第49题“by nature’s self in white arrayed\ she bade thee shun the vulgar eye,\ ａnd planted here the guarding shade,\ ａnd sent soft waters murmuring by; \ thus quietly thy summer goes,\ thy days declining to repo se.” the rhyme scheme of the lines above is ______________.A.abababB.ababccC.aabbcc答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.031．第50题Eugene O’Neil did not write ______.A.The Emperor JonesB.Anna ChristieC.The Hairy ApeD.The Saloon答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.032．第51题Jack London did not write ______.A.The Sea WolfB.The Call of the WildC.The AmbassadorsD.White Fang答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.033．第52题“ i am monarch of all i survey,/ my right there is none to dispute.” this line i s ｆrom ____.A.NatureB.Civil DisobedienceC.WaldenD.Representative Men答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.034．第53题“The Black Cat” written by Poe is a _________.A.gothic StoryB.love StoryC.detective storyD.lyrical poem答案:A您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：0.035．第55题"Lost Generation" is a term first coined by ---.A.Ernest HemingwayB.FitzgeraldC. Gertrude Stein答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.036．第56题The short poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” was written by _________.A.Tennessee WilliamsB.William Carlos WilliamsC.Wallace StevensD.Hilda Doolittle答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.037．第57题The Waste Land was dedicated to another poet who was __________.A.Ernest HemingwayB.Ezra PoundC.T. S. EliotD.William Carlos Williams答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.038．第58题The author who was famous for his novels of the international theme was ___________.A.Henry JamesB.Mark TwainC.Theodore DreiserD.Stephen Crane答案:A您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：0.039．第59题In Poe’s tale “The Fall of the House of Usher”, the major female character Madeline is the titular hero Usher’s _____________.A.wifeernessC.cousinD.sister答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.040．第60题when we say that a poor young man ｆrom the west tried to make his fortune in the east but was disillusioned in the quest of an idealized dream, we are probably discussing about ______’s thematic concern in his fiction writing.A.Henry JamesB.Scott FitzgeraldC.HemingwayD.William Faulkner答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.041．第1题As a novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne was deeply influenced by Puritanism.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.042．第2题Henry James’s greatest influence was exerted not on his own age but on the one that followed.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.043．第3题emerson always applied the term transcendentalist to himself ｏr to his beliefs, fｏr he was the acknowledged leader of the movement.答案:错误您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：0.044．第17题american naturalism, like romanticism, had comeｆrom germany.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.045．第18题Leatherstocking Tales is a novel of the series The Last of Mohicans written by James Fenimore Cooper.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.046．第19题John Stwinbeck didn't win a Nobel Prize because he was sympathetic with the working class people.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.047．第20题The most important Southern writer is Robert Penn Warren who was the author of the poem “All the King’s Men”.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.048．第21题The House of the Seven Gables is a novel writtenby Nathaniel Hawthorne based on his experience in the Brook Farm.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.049．第26题Cooper’s claim to greatness in American literature lies in the fact that he created a myth about the formative period of the American nation.答案:正确您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：0.050．第27题The poet Robert Frost wrote in traditional rhyme schemes, but his themes are very modern.答案:正确您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：0.051．第39题Puritan influence over American Romanticism was conspicuously noticeable.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.052．第40题Hawthorne, who seemed to be haunted by his sense of sin ａnd veil, never showed a positive part of the life.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.053．第41题“The Purloined Letter” is a detective story.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.054．第42题An Italian Sonnet is a short poem with fourteen iambic pentameter lines rhymed abbaabbacdecde.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.055．第43题thoreau was an active transcendentalist who was an escapist ｏr a recluse detached ｆrom the life of his day.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.056．第44题Immediately after their arrival in america, theamerican puritans became more preoccupied with business ａnd profits, as they had to be in the grim struggle for survival.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.057．第45题"A Rose for Emily" is a Gothic short story written by William Faulkner.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.058．第46题Though Emily Dickinson married twice in her life, love had never been a major theme in her poetry.答案:错误您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：0.059．第47题Henry David Thoreau once built a cabin beside the lake of Walden on the land of his neighbor Ralph Waldo Emerson.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.060．第54题A Shakespearean Sonnet is a short poem with fourteen iambic pentameter lines rhymed ababcdcdefefgg.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.0作业总得分：88.0作业总批注：。
美国文学课后答案
1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).二、Questions1.How many characters does Poe include in The Cask of Amontillado? What are these names? Montresor, Fortunato and Luchesi2. What drink are the French most famous for?Wine3.Does Montresor have something of great value to him which we might consider to be his treasure? His pride and the pride of his French family heritage. Perhaps his devious plot of revenge.4.Does Montresor seem to have much respect for Italians?Montresor does not have much respect for Italians. He feels the French are superior, especially with respect to wine.5.What was Fortunato's insult?Poe does not tell us directly, but only implies it in the third paragraph6.Which wine does Montresor use to lure Fortunato into the catacombs?"Amontillado" (the Spanish wine; Montresor's ruse to lead Fortunato down into the catacombs.7.Why does Montresor entertain Fortunato with wines from his collection?Montresor wants to get Fortunato drunk enough to be able to trap him in his plan of vengeance.8.In what two ways does Montresor imprison Fortunato?He fetters (chains and locks) Fortunato to the wall of the catacombs.He builds a wall to close Fortunato off in a small corner of the catacombs, where Montresor will leave him to die.9.In what ways is The Cask of Amontillado grotesque? First, which of Montresor's actions are abnormal? The whole obsessive plot of vengeance.The fettering and entombment of Fortunato.Montresor's sick sense of humor.10.Is there anything grotesque about Fortunato?His obsession with alcohol.His drunkenness.His tendency to berate Luchesi (he may have been drunk and may have insulted Montresor in a similarHis manic laughter.Questions1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒）. He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur（鉴赏）in wine. Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.红字Questions :1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.白鲸Questions1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”（狠毒）in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale，because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.瓦尔登Questions1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?三、。
美国文学课后答案
一Questions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?5.It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).二、Questions三、1.How many characters does Poe include in The Cask of Amontillado? What are these names?四、Montresor, Fortunato and Luchesi五、2. What drink are the French most famous for?六、Wine七、3.Does Montresor have something of great value to him which we might consider to be his treasure?八、His pride and the pride of his French family heritage. Perhaps his devious plot of revenge.九、4.Does Montresor seem to have much respect for Italians?十、Montresor does not have much respect for Italians. He feels the French are superior, especially with respect to wine.十一、5.What was Fortunato's insult?十二、Poe does not tell us directly, but only implies it in the third paragraph十三、6.Which wine does Montresor use to lure Fortunato into the catacombs?十四、"Amontillado" (the Spanish wine; Montresor's ruse to lead Fortunato down into the catacombs.十五、7.Why does Montresor entertain Fortunato with wines from his collection?十六、Montresor wants to get Fortunato drunk enough to be able to trap him in his plan of vengeance.十七、8.In what two ways does Montresor imprison Fortunato?十八、He fetters (chains and locks) Fortunato to the wall of the catacombs.十九、He builds a wall to close Fortunato off in a small corner of the catacombs, where Montresor will leave him to die. 二十、9.In what ways is The Cask of Amontillado grotesque? First, which of Montresor's actions are abnormal?二十一、The whole obsessive plot of vengeance.二十二、The fettering and entombment of Fortunato.二十三、Montresor's sick sense of humor.二十四、10.Is there anything grotesque about Fortunato?二十五、His obsession with alcohol.二十六、His drunkenness.二十七、His tendency to berate Luchesi (he may have been drunk and may have insulted Montresor in a similar fashion).二十八、His manic laughter.Questions1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒）. He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur（鉴赏）in wine.Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.红字Questions :1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbeh avior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, ju st as she accepts her child. And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.白鲸Questions1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”（狠毒）in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale，because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.瓦尔登Questions1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?。
《美国文学》题库及答案
《美国文学》题库及答案I.Multiple Choice1. American literature is only more than ____ years old.A. 500B.400C. 200D.1002. The Puritan values did no include______.A. wastefulnessB. thriftC. pietyD. hard work3. The 18th century was the age of the Enlightenment.______was the dominant spirit.A. HumanismB. RationalismC. RomanticismD. Realism4. Franklin was the epitome of the______.A. American EnlightenmentB. Sugar ActC. Charlist movementD. Romanticism5. _____was the most leading spirit of the Transcendentalism.A. FranklinB. HawthorneC. PaineD. Emerson6. “Moby Dick was written by_____A. Mark TwainB. ThoreauC. MelvilleD. Whitman7. “The Scarlet Letter” is characterized by its______.A. symbolismB. rationalismC. PlatonismD. classicism8. “Huckleberry Finn is the masterpiece of________.A. Henry JamesB. Jack LondonC. Mark TwainD. Stephen Crane9. Choose the novel written by Henry JamesA. The Golden BowlB. The Portrait of a LadyC. Sister CarrieD. Daisy Miller10. Early in the 20th century, _____ published works that would change the nature of American poetry.A. Ezra PoundB. T.S. EliotC. Robert FrostD. both A and B11._____ is the founder of “Imagist” movement.A. Ezra PoundB. HemingwayC. Robert FrostD. Steinbeck12. Mark Twain’s works are characterized by_____A. NaturalismB. TranscendentalismC. Local ColorismD. Imagism13. ________ is said to be the father of American poetryA. T.S. EliotB. E.D. RobinsonC. Philip FreneauD. Dreiser14. Hawthorne is regarded as a _______.A. naturalistB. classicistC. realistD. romanticist15. ______ represents the most leading spirit of American Transcendentalism.A. EmersonB. FranklinC. Mark TwainD. Whitman16.“The Art of Fiction” was written by_____A. LongfellowB. Henry JamesC. FitzgeraldD. Faulkner17. Imagination plays the most important part in________.A. realismB. romanticismC. naturalismD. classicism18. ______ is considered to be the masterpiece of John Steinbeck.A. Mending WallB. Dry SeptemberC. A Farewell to ArmsD. The Grapes of Wrath19. Uncle Tom in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a(n)______A. Negro slaveB. salesmanC. industrialistD. officer20. Mark Twain’s works are characterized by______A. NaturalismB. TranscendentalismC. Local ColorismD. Imagism21. “The Great Gatsby” is the masterpiece of_____A. WhitmanB. FitzgeraldC. DickinsonD. Hemingway22. The United States of America was founded in______.A. 1776B. 1876C. 1789D.168923. The ancestors of American Indians were______A. AsiansB. AfricansC. EuropeansD. Australians24. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was written by______.A. H.B. Stowe B. John SteinbeckC. HawthorneD. Mark Twain25. ______ does not belong to the lost generation.A. DreiserB. T.S. EliotC. FaulknerD. Hemingway26. ______ was well known for his story “Rip Van Winkle.”A. BryantB. Washington IrvingC. Allan PoeD. Philip Freneau27. “Farewell to Arms” is the master pieced produced by______A. FaulknerB. DreiserC. HemingwayD. Longfellow28. It was ______ who wrote the formal declaration of independence.A. Thomas JeffersonB. Benjamin FranklinC. WashingtonD. Washington Irving29. _____has been exerting a great and enduring influence upon world literature, especially that of France and European symbolism.A. FranklinB. BradstreetC. Edgar Allan PoeD. Philip Freneau30. The masterpiece of Hawthorne is _________.A. The Scarlet LetterB. Sister CarrieC. Richard CoryD. A Psalm of Life31. Engene O’Neill is a _______.A. novelistB. poetC. puritanD. dramatist32.Hemingway’s style of writing is characterized by______.A. high-sounding wordsB. simple dictionC. complicated sentencesD. mix metaphor33. T.S. Eliot is not only a poet but also a ______.A. criticB. statesmanC. churchmanD. novelists34. “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” was written by_____.A. T.S. EliotB. O’NeillC. Stephen CraneD. Saul Bellow35. “The Grape of Wrath” is one of the remarkable novels of_____.A. the Civil WarB. DepressionC. SuppressionD. Aggression36. Theodore Dreiser showed the_____ tendency in his novels.A. PuritanismB. classicismC. romanticismD. naturalism37. Ralph Waldo Emerson was the leading figure of________.A. TranscendentalismB. RomanticismC. RationalismD. Naturalism38. “The Sound and the Fury” was the masterpiece of ______A. Robert Lee FrostB. T.S. EliotC. FaulknerD. Steinbeck39. Emily Dickinson is an American________.A. dramatistB. novelistC. female poetD. male poet40. “Th Emily Dickinson is an American ark Twain’s______A. materialismB. classicismC. socialismD. colorism41. “The Portrait of a Lady” is one of best novels of_________.A. Henry JamesB. John SteinbeckC. William FaulknerD. Walt Whitman42. What Whitman is famous for his_________.A. “Leaves of Grass”B. “Mending Wall”C. “Richard Cory”D. “The Burial of the Dead”43. “Catch-22” is the masterpiece of______A. Saul BellowB. Joseph HellerC. DreiserD. Fitzgerald44. The English settlement in America began in_________A.1507B.1607C.1707D.180745. The first World War broke out in______.A.1614B.1714C.1814D.191446. The jazz age refers to the decade ofA.1950’sB.1980’sC.1920’sD.1820’s47. Franklin was a _____.A. PuritanB. romanticistC. classicistD. imagist48. “Rip Van Winkle” was written by_______.A. FreneauB. Allan PoeC. Washington IrvingD. Thomas Jefferson49.“The Scarlet Letter” is the masterpiece of______.A. HawthorneB. EmersonC. BradstreetD. Allan Poe50.It was______who wrote “The Age of Reason”A. WashingtonB. JeffersonC. Benjamin FranklinD. Thomas Paine51.“Song of Myself” is a ______written by Whitman.A. novelB. poemC. dramaD. essay52.Tom in Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a _____.A. Negro slaveB. American IndianC. School masterD. industrialist53. Mark Twain belongs to the literary school of_____.A. transcendentalismB. realismC. romanticismD. naturalism54._______is a famous American female poet.A. Allan PoeB. FreneauC. Emily DickinsonD. Robinson55. “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” is the masterpiece of_____.A. Mark TwainB. Henry JamesC. Stephen CraneD. Robert Lee Frost56. It was____ who wrote the poem “The Road Not Taken.”A. WhitmanB. FreneauC. Robert Lee FrostD. T.S.EliotⅡ Define the literary terms briefly in English1. American Transcendentalism2. Romanticism3. The Puritans4. Realism5. Enlightenment6. Transcendentalism7. EnlightenmentIII Explain the following quotations in your own words.1. Success is counted sweetest By those who ne’er succeed.2. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference.3. Let us, then, be up and doing, With heart for any fate;Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.4. And he was always quietly arrayed, And he was always human when he talked.5. Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!_____6. To comprehend a nectar Requires sorest need.7. But still he fluttered pulses when he said,“Good morning”, and he glittered when he walked.8. something there is that doesn’t love a wall,He says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.”9. Fair flower, that dost so comely grow, Hid in this silent, dull retreat10. But to act, that each tomorrow Find us farther than today11. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. Ⅳ Answer the following questions in English1. Why is American literature important for you?2. What is the theme of “The Waste Land”?3. Whose novel (or which novel) do you enjoy most?Why?4. What is the style of Hemingway’s novel?5. What is the significance of American literature?6. Do you like American literature? Why?7. What is the real theme in “Sister Carrie”?8. What is the central subject and primary significance of Hawthorne’s major works?9. Which American writer do you like best? Why?10. What is the theme of “Catch-22”?11. What are the features of Emily Dickinson’s poems?12. Why should we learn American literature?13. Which poem do you enjoy most? Why?《美国文学》作业参考答案I.Multiple Choice1.C2.A3.B4.A5.D6.C7.A8.C9.B 10.D11.A 12.C 13.C 14.D 15.A 16.B 17.B 18.D 19.A 20.C21.B 22.C 23.A 24.D 25.A 26.B 27.C 28.A 29.C 30.A31.D 32.B 33.A 34.B 35.B 36.D 37.A 38.C 39.C 40.D41.A 42.A 43.B 44.B 45.D 46.C 47.A 48.B 49. A 50.D51.B 52.A 53.B 54.C 55. A 56. CII.Define the literary terms briefly in English1.American transcendentalism was a philosophical dissent from Unitarianism. Transcendentalists rejected the materialistic psychology in favor of the idealism of Kant who asserted that intuition could surpass reason as a guide to the truth. To transcendentalists, spirit is inherent and pervading and is the only reality in the universe in which nature stood as a symbol of Spirit. Transcendentalismemphasized the divinity of man, the significance and right of the individual, and the possibility of the self-perfection of the individual.2. Romanticism is characterized by the pursuit of freedom, emphasis of individualism, a reliance upon the good of nature and “natural” man, and an abiding faith in the boundless resources of the human spirit and imagination.3.The Puritans were members of the church of England who at first wished to reform or “Purify its doctrines. They kept in common with all advocates o f strict Christian orthodox, insisting on man’s original sin and depravity.4. Realism is a literary school. The American realist William Dean Howells refered to the method of realistic literary creation as “nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material. The realists tended to be highly selective in their choice of material, focusing upon what seemed real to their largely middle-class readers.5. Enlightenment in America was a progressive “intellectual movement which contributed to free the Americans from the limitation of Puritanism which had been prevailing in American society, and stimulate them to strive for the establishment of their independent and democratic nation. The enlighteners were confident in the proqress by education and appealed to Reason.6．American transcendentalism was a political dissent from Unitarianism. Transcendentalists rejected the materialistic psychology in favour of the idealism of kant who asserted that intuition could surpass reason as a guide to the truth. To transcendentalists, spirit is inherent and pervading and is the only reality in the universe in which nature stood as a symbol of Spirit. Transcendentalists emphasized the divinity of man, the significance and right of the individual, and the possibility of the self-perfection of the individual.7. Enlightenment in America was a progressive intellectual movement which contributed to free the Americans fromthe limitations of Purtanism which had been prevailing in American society, and stimulate them to strive for their independent and democratic nation. The enlighteners were confident in the proqress of education and appealed to reason.III Explain the following quotations in your own words.1. Those who have never succeeded before will enjoy the sweetness o success most.2. In my life and literary creation, I did not follow others’ footsteps (or footprints). SometimesI chose a different way. That was the reason why I was unique and different from them both in life and poetic writing.3. Let us rise up and take actionTo meet any challenge in our life.We should learn to work and to be patientAnd persevere in pursuing our goalTill we reap the fruit of achievement one after another.4. He always dressed himself properly and elegantly And he showed his kindness and considerateness when talked with others.5. Don’t tell me in sad voice that life is nothing but an meaningless and empty dream.6. Only when you feel thirstiest and bitterest, can you really understand and enjoy the holy sweet drink.7. He stirred the pulses of the persons he was greeting with “Good morning”. While he was walking, his manners appeared to be so brilliant and attractive that he drow much public attention.8. Wall, as a barrier for communication or mutual understanding, is not good at all. Sometimes, it is necessary to remove the wall.Wall, as a boundary or limitation or border, is needed sometimes, so that good relations can be kept among different strata of people, or different countries.Wall is a paradox, which is both good and bad in haman life9.The honeysuckle qrows so agreeably and beautifully.However the beautiful flower hid its beauty in the quiet and lonely place.10.We had better take action every day, not remain idle and inactive so that we can make progress each day.11.I have a lot of obligations and duties to fulfill, so there is still a long way for me to go beforeI can relax or leave this world.Ⅳ Answer the following questions in English1. Key points:① the significance of American literature in the world literature ② the manifestation of American life and culture ③the requirement of improving English2. The theme of the poem is modern spiritual barrenness, the despair and depression that followed the first world war, the sterility and turbulence of the modern world, and the decline and breakdown of Western culture.3. The answer depends on individual student’s inclination.4. His style of writing is characterized by short and terse sentences, simple diction filled with emotion, vivid colloquialisms, and particularly the simplicity of his laconic statements.5. Key points: ① its place in the world literature② the manifestation of American life and culture③ the requirement of professional knowledge and skills as English majon.6. The answer is flexible. It de pends on an individual Student’s inclination.7. The real theme in Sister Carrie is the purposelessness of life. While looking at individuals with warm, human sympathy, he also sees the disorder and cruelty of life in general.8. The central subject of Haw thorne’s major works was the human soul. His exploration of the soul resulted from his skeptical attitude toward the social reality that was characterized by a rapid change in almost all aspects of social life, and from his ambition to probe into the nature of man. The primary significance of his major works dwells in the interect and the consistend vitality of his criticism of life.9. The answer is flexible, depending on students’ inclination, logic and language skills.10. Its real theme is to expose the dehumanization of all contemporary institutions, the absurd and corrupt bureancracy and the alienation of individuals existing in a systemized chaotic condition, such as war.punctuation and capitalization. Her mode of expression is characterized by clear-cut and delicately original imagery, precise diction, and fragmentary and enigmatic metrical pattern.12. Key points: ①the significance of American literature in the world literature ② the manifestation of American life and culture ③ the requirement of improving English.13. The answer is flexible and depends on student’s inclination.。
美国文学阅读10篇
美国文学阅读10篇1. 《老人与海》 - 埃内斯特·海明威这是一部获得普利策文学奖的小说，讲述了老渔夫桑提亚哥与一条巨大的马林鱼搏斗的故事。
作者通过富有象征意义的描写，讲述了忍耐、坚持和信念的重要性。
2. 《百年孤独》 - 加夫列尔·加西亚·马尔克斯这部拉丁美洲文学的经典之作讲述了布昂迪亚家族七代人的传奇故事。
马尔克斯以幻想现实主义的手法讲述了爱、孤独、荒诞与时间的主题。
3. 《傲慢与偏见》 - 简·奥斯汀这是一部英国文学的经典作品，描写了19世纪英国社会中，女性婚姻观念和阶级之间的矛盾。
小说以幽默的方式揭示了社会偏见和对真爱的追求。
4. 《麦田里的守望者》 - J.D.塞林格这是一部美国文学中的经典之作，讲述了一个反叛的青少年霍尔顿的故事。
小说通过霍尔顿的视角，反映了社会的虚伪和人生的失落感。
5. 《南方文化发根史》 - 马克·吐温这是一部描写南方美国社会的讽刺小说，以幽默的方式展现了种族关系和社会等待的问题。
吐温通过生动的人物和细腻的描写，对当时的美国社会产生了有力的批判。
6. 《了不起的盖茨比》 - F.斯科特·菲茨杰拉德这是一部描写20世纪美国社会的巨著，展现了财富和爱情之间的冲突。
小说通过瑞奇·盖茨比的命运，揭示了金钱与社会地位对个人幸福的影响。
7. 《人性的枷锁》 - 威廉·福克纳这是一部描写南方美国社会的小说，以复杂的叙事结构展现了不同角色之间的人性和命运的交织。
福克纳通过深入的心理描写和对种族关系的探索，呈现了南方美国的独特氛围。
8. 《杀死一只知更鸟》 - 哈珀·李这是一部社会批判性小说，以一个小女孩的视角揭示了种族歧视和社会不公。
通过描写南方小镇的故事，作者让读者思考正义、道德和成长的重要性。
9. 《娱乐至死》 - 尼尔·波兹曼这是一本文化批评著作，探讨了媒体对现代社会的影响。
美国911文学梳理
美国9/11文学梳理作者：王庆奖来源：《云南教育·高等教育研究》2012年第04期摘要：国内外学术界对9/11文学的关注并不充分，分析也不够深入。
本文从9/11事件的文学关联、9/11文学的合法基础、9/11文学的界定论说以及9/11文学的评价等四个方面试图对9/11事件以来的美国文学所关注的内容、主题的变化等方面进行一次梳理，以便观察美国文学对9/11事件的反应。
摘要：9/11文学；综述；1 引言9/11事件发生已经十年；9/11文学的许多方面都很难有个定论。
本文不打算立即给所谓的美国9/11文学作一个很全面的定论（事实上也做不到），但是这并不意味着我们可以对业已存在的9/11文学视而不见：就9/11事件做一个文学解读，观察美国文学与9/11事件的关联程度有多深；9/11文学的评价预测等都应该成为文学批评所关注的内容，也应该成为连接美国文学发展的一个观测点。
十年的时间来检验和总结一个文学种类抑或是流派太短，于是写下小文权当小结。
2 9/11事件的文学关联虽然9/11的袭击只持续了几个小时，但是其结果、影响一直在美国社会文化生活中持续震动，从而导致了世界格局的重大改变、国际关系的秩序重新整合、引发了两场战争后果。
从政治上和国际关系而言，9/11事件是一个改变世界、改变美国、改变世界秩序的重大历史事件，而对于美国文学来说，这个事件如何在美国文学方面得到反映；美国作家的态度是什么以及美国文学的读者对这些文学作品有什么观点对研究美国文学的主题、叙事风格以及美国社会与文化有着重大的文学和文化意义，正如Zadie Smith所说的那样，9/11事件给作者提供了全新的机会，使他们的书写与文化相关（Smith）。
在9/11事件发生十周年之际，我国社科院青年学者张国庆在接受媒体采访时分析了9/11事件对美国社会生活的影响：其一、9/11后美国公民的人身自由开始受到了限制，人权受到了极大的侵犯，全国置于一片白色恐怖之中；其二、美国是个移民国家，9/11后，移民进入美国受到了严加控制。
美国文学( Mark Twain)
• Twain ’ s nostalgic recollections of his boyhood in Hannibal stirred him to write h “ b o y s ’ book ” Tom Sawyer (1876) and i t s sequel, Huckleberry Finn (1884). His
went east responding, he said, to a “call literature of a low order— i.e. humorous. He took with him a reputation as “the wild humorist of the Pacific Slope ” and a live imagination that had led him to turn many of his newspaper “reports ” into burlesques and comic sketches.
“Mark Twain, ” and began his career as a frontier humorist.
• In 1866, after six years as a miner, newspaper reporter, and lecturer in
C a l i f o r n i a , Nevada, and Hawaii, Twain
• His f i r s t attempt at novel writing was The Gilded Age (1873), on which he collaborated with the journalist and essa Charles Dudley Warner. The novel was a muddled f a i l u r e , b u t i t gave its name to t boom times, the p o s t - C i v i l War age of
10部必读美国文学经典作品
10部必读美国文学经典作品1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Howthorne《红字》霍桑著小说惯用象征手法，人物、情节和语言都颇具主观想象色彩，在描写中又常把人的心理活动和直觉放在首位。
因此，它不仅是美利坚合众国浪漫主义小说的代表作，同时也被称作是美利坚合众国心理分析小说的开创篇。
2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》马克·吐温著《哈克》是美国文学中的珍品，也是美国文化中的珍品。
1984 ,美国文坛为《哈克》出版一百周年举行了广泛的庆祝活动和学术讨论，这在世界文坛上也是少有的盛事。
这是因为《哈克》的意义不一般。
美国著名作家海明威说：“一切现代美国文学来自一本书，即马克·吐温的《赫克尔贝里芬历险记》……这是我们所有书中最好的。
一切美国文学都来自这本书，在它之前，或在它之后，都不曾有过能与之媲美的作品”。
3. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James《贵妇画像》亨利·詹姆斯著美国小说家亨利·詹姆斯的《贵妇画像》自问世以来一直受到文学评论界的关注，专家学者已从各个不同角度对女主人伊莎贝尔·阿切尔作了深入细致的研究。
本文试图从一个全新的视角，即跨文化交际角度，剖析伊莎贝尔在婚姻方面所作的选择。
文章指出她是该小说中跨文化交际的最大失败者，并对其失败原因作了分析。
希望在跨文化交际日益频繁的今天我们都能从伊莎贝尔的生活经历中得到某种启发。
4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville《白鲸》麦尔维尔著小说描写了亚哈船长为了追逐并杀死白鲸莫比·迪克的经历，最终与白鲸同归于尽的故事。
故事营造了一种让人置身海上航行、随时遭遇各种危险甚至是死亡的氛围，是作者的代表作。
小说场面宏阔博大，思想内涵复杂，哲理性很强，而且文笔沉郁瑰奇，堪称杰作。
美国文学_精品文档
美国文学美国文学是世界文学中的一颗璀璨明珠，它自从独立战争胜利以来就逐渐走向繁荣，在19世纪中后期以及20世纪，美国文学更是走向了巅峰。
在这样的大背景下，美国文学活跃着各种流派，涌现着历久不衰的经典佳作，而其中更是蕴含着丰富的人文养分以及灵性思考。
那么，我们就来探讨一下美国文学中的典故与经典，以介绍这一独具魅力的文学之国。
前期小说与文化汇聚首先要讲的是美国文学的初兴阶段。
在19世纪，小说这一文类由欧洲传入美国，而美国的作家在创造自己的文学之前，主要是借鉴了欧洲的文学技巧和思想。
不过，即便是作家们借鉴外来文化，他们仍不失为独具个性的作家，在19世纪中叶诞生的美国文学创始人华盛顿·欧文就因他对美国人民性格的研究，而被认作是美国文学史上的里程碑之作。
欧文以小说为主要创作形式，他的许多作品皆以美国本土的民俗文化为发端点。
在这一类作品中，欧文运用了真实的人物与事件，刻画了一个真实的美国。
例如，他的《睡谷传奇》就是以一个名叫睡谷的小村庄为背景，描写了一些神秘和神奇的事件。
通过对于牛仔传统与西部文化的描写，欧文确立了美国文学的本土特色，并且成为了后来瓦尔德去野外写作，以及本·哈姆思出版《飘》这一美国经典小说的影响之一。
美国文学中的自由主义在美国文学的发展中，自由主义是一个重要的流派。
启蒙时期与现实主义文学中，这一主义显得尤为强大。
这一流派的作家包括马克·吐温、黑暗旅程中的作家杰克·伦敦、正义传统的欧亨利和奥本海非等。
上述作家的作品中，关注的主题包括了社会和道德问题等，而且他们也采取了在自己的小说之中表现出真实事实、真实心理的写作方法。
自由主义流派，不仅是美国文学的一部分，更是美国文化和历史的一部分。
自由主义流派带给人们的不仅是文学上真实的描述，更是对自由、平等、个人尊严三大价值观的深刻解析。
自由主义的小说不仅是一件艺术作品，更是一种文化形态，可以告诉我们很多关于美国人的生活、信仰与自我反省。
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亨利·沃兹沃斯·朗费罗(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow，1807-1882)
生平简介
1807年2月27日出生于缅因州波特兰城一个律师家庭。
1822年进入博多因学院，与霍桑是同班同学。
虽然不喜欢法律，他还是进入了父亲的办公室，本想以律师作为职业当他还在博多因学院的时候，就被学院授予现代文学教授的荣誉。
毕业后去过法国、西班牙、意大利和德国等地，研究这些国家的语言和文学。
1831年朗费罗与波特兰的波特小姐结婚，1835年他们在欧洲一起旅游的时候，朗费罗夫人在鹿特丹不幸去世。
他写了一首美妙的诗歌“天使的足迹”来纪念她。
1836年开始在哈佛大学讲授语言，文学长达十八年，致力于介绍欧洲文化和浪漫主义作家的作品，成为新英格兰文化中心剑桥文学界和社交界的重要人物。
朗费罗晚年创作不朽，备受尊祟，牛律大学和剑桥大学曾分别授予他荣誉博士学位。
他75岁生日那一天，美国各地的学校都举行了庆祝。
1882年3月24日朗费罗逝世。
伦敦威斯敏斯特教堂诗人之角安放了他的胸像，他是获得这种尊荣的第一位美国诗人。
朗费罗一生创作了大量的抒情诗、歌谣、叙事诗和诗剧。
他的诗歌在美国广为传诵，在欧洲受到赞赏，被译成20余种文字；20世纪以来，他的诗名急剧下降，其地位变化之大，在美国文学史上也是罕见的。
主要创作
诗集：Voices of the Night《夜吟》Ballads and Other Poems《歌谣及其他》
叙事长诗：Evangeline《伊凡吉琳》1847,
Hiawatha, 《海华沙之歌》
The Courtship of Miles Standish and Other Poems《迈尔斯·斯坦狄什的求婚》（1858）《海华沙之歌》。
这是采用印第安人传说而精心构思的长诗，写印第安人领袖海华沙一生克敌制胜的英雄业绩，以及他结束部落混战，教人民种植玉米，清理河道，消除疾病等重要贡献。
在美国文学史上这是描写印第安人的第一部史诗，但诗的素材主要来源于斯库尔克拉夫特的著作，作者缺乏直接的生活体验；诗的韵律完全模仿芬兰史诗《卡勒瓦拉》，当时虽然受到了读者的赞赏，却遭到后代一些评论家的责难。
Theme: a spirit of optimism and faith in the goodness of life
Writing style
1.gentleness, sweetness, and purity
2.His writings belong to the milder aspects of the romantic movement.
3.His work untouched the religious and social struggles.
沃尔特·惠特曼（Walt Whitman，1819-5-31－1892-3-26）
生于纽约州长岛，他是美国著名诗人、人文主义者，他创造了诗歌的自由体（Free Verse），其代表作品是诗集《草叶集》。
人物简介
1819年，生于现今长岛，南亨亭顿附近的一个农舍中，父亲务农。
1823年，因家贫惠特曼一家移居到纽约布鲁克林区。
父亲以木工为业，承建房屋；他对空想社会主义思想家和民主思想家潘恩的作品很感兴趣，这使惠特曼也深受影响。
惠特曼曾在公立学校求学，只上了6年学，然后开始做印刷厂学徒。
惠特曼基本上是自学的，他特别喜欢读霍默、但丁和莎士比亚的作品。
在做了两年学徒以后，惠特曼搬到纽约市，并开始在不同的印刷厂工作。
1835年，他返回长岛，在一所乡村学校执教。
1838年至1839年期间，他在他的家乡办了一份叫做《长岛人》的报纸。
他一直教书直到1841年，之后他回到纽约并当了一名记者。
他也在一些主流杂志上担任自由撰稿人，或发表政治演讲。
惠特曼的政治演讲引起了坦慕尼协会的注意，他们让他担任一些报纸的编辑，但是没有一个工作做的长久。
在他担任有影响力的报纸《布鲁克林之鹰》的两年间，民主党内部的分裂使得支持自由国土党的他离开了工作。
在他尝试为自由国土办报纸的努力失败后，他开始在不同的工作间漂浮。
1841年到1859年间，他共在新奥尔良编辑过1份报纸、纽约2份报纸和长岛四份报纸。
在新奥尔良的时候，他亲眼目睹了奴隶拍卖——当时很普遍的事情。
这时，惠特曼开始着力写诗。
1841年他出版了一些短篇故事，一年后他在纽约出版了小说《富兰克林·埃文斯》（Franklin Evans）。
1855年父亲去世，《草叶集》（Leaves of Grass）第一版。
1865年林肯被暗杀，惠特曼的战时诗集Drum-Taps（后来放到《草叶集》中）出版。
1871年母亲路易莎去世。
1882年会见奥斯卡·王尔德，出版Specimen Days and Collect。
1885年为纪念林肯逝世20周年，作诗《献给那个被钉在十字架上的人》，后收入《草叶集》。
1888年第二次打击，严重的疾病。
1891年草叶集最后一版
1892年3月26日逝世，他被安葬在哈利公墓（Harleigh）。
《草叶集》
1855年《草叶集》的第1版问世，共收诗12首，最后出第9版时共收诗383首。
其中最长的一首，即后来被称为《自己之歌》的那首诗。
共1336行。
诗中多次提到了草叶：草叶象征着一切平凡、普通的东西和平凡的普通人。
作者在诗歌形式上有大胆的创新，创造了“自由体”的诗歌形式，打破了传统的诗歌格律，以断句作为韵律的基础，节奏自由奔放，汪洋恣肆，舒卷自如，具有一泻千里的气势和无所不包的容量。
1856年，第2版《草叶集》出版，共收诗32首。
《一路摆过布鲁克林渡口》是诗人最优秀的作品之一。
此外，《阔斧之歌》、《大路之歌》也是名篇。
1859年，《星期六周刊》的圣诞专号上刊出了惠特曼的一首优秀抒情诗《从永不休止地摆动着的摇篮里》，这是一首爱情和死亡的颂歌。
次年应波士顿一出版家之请，印行了《草叶集》第3版，这本诗集算是第一次“正式出版”。
集中有124首新诗，包括《从永不休止地摆动着的摇篮里》和3组分别名为《民主之歌》、《亚当的子孙》、《芦笛》的诗歌。