Week 1An Introduction to____ American Literature.ppt

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1、 Selected Readings in American Literature Guiyang College Instructor：Cai Fengming I TOPIC:General Introduction to American Literature II OBJECTIVES:A)The Colonial period(1607-1775)A)The Colonial period(1607-1775)B)Period of Independent war (1775-1783)B)Period of Independent war (1775-1783)C)Romantic

2、 period (1815-1865)C)Romantic period (1815-1865)D)Realism period(1865-1914)D)Realism period(1865-1914)E)E)Modernism Modernism period period (1914-1945)(1914-1945)(Modern Modern literature literature starts with poets)starts with poets)F)Contemporary period(1945-the 21st century)F)Contemporary period

3、(1945-the 21st century)G)the Nobel Prize winners in literatureG)the Nobel Prize winners in literatureThe Colonial period(1607-1775)Jamestown:first permanent settlement in America,Mayflower in 1620;Jamestown:first permanent settlement in America,Mayflower in 1620;Separatists Separatists and Puritans.

4、and Puritans.Captain John Captain John SmithSmith(the first American writer).(the first American writer).New England Trials New England Trials andand The General History of Virginia The General History of Virginia Puritan clergymen and governors,Puritan clergymen and governors,the two essential char

5、acteristics of the early American literature:the two essential characteristics of the early American literature:their religious subject and imitation of English literary traditions.their religious subject and imitation of English literary traditions.Period of Independent War(1775-1783)n nBenjamin Fr

6、anklin(1706-1790)the first person to pick out American dream and the 1st writer to write autobiography:Autobiography(1771-1790)n nThomas Paine(1737-1809):Common Sense(常识)(1776):“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”n nThomas Jefferson(1743-1826):Declaration of Indepen

7、dence(1776)Notes:The triumph of the hard-fought Ameriman independence(1775-1783)seemed to many at a time a devine sign that America and her people were destined for greatness.Military victory fanned nationalistic hopes for a great new literature.Notes:The triumph of the hard-fought American independ

8、ence(1775-1783)seemed to many at a time a divine sign that America and her people were destined for greatness.Military victory fanned nationalistic hopes for a great new literature.Period of Romanticism(1815-1865)n nWashington Irving(1783-1859)(Father of American literature):The Sketch Book(随笔 集或见闻札

9、记1819-1820,Rip Van Winkle from it)Irving discovered and helped satisfy the new nations sense of history.n nJames Fenimore Cooper(1789-1851):The Leather-stocking Tales(皮袜子故事集):It is composed of five novels which constitute a vast prose epic by bringing to life frontier America from 1740 to1804.n nRal

10、ph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882)(the founder of transcendentalism):Nature Self-Reliance The American Scholar The Oversoul He tried to avoid building a logical intellectual system,and believed in intuition and flexibility and called for the birth of American individualism and the need for a new national v

11、ision.n nNathaniel Hawthorne(11804-1864):The Scarlet Letter:The novel highlights the Calvinistic obsession with morality,sexual repression,guilty and confession,and spiritual salvation.(sin,isolation,expiation and salvation)The House of the Seven GablesPeriod of Romanticismn nHerman Melville(1819-18

12、91):Moby Dick n nHenry David Thoreau(1817-1862):Walden n nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-1882):The Song of Hiawatha n nEdgar Allan Poe(1809-1849):(Father of detective story,The first American literary theorist)The Fall of The House of Usher The Purloined Letter Ligeian nWalt Whitman(1819-1892):(the

13、 pioneer of American poem revolutionary):Leaves of Grass,“Song of myself”n nEmily Dickinson(1830-1886):Im Nobody Success is Counted SweetestPeriod of RomanticismNotes:Americans were painfully aware of their excessive dependence on English literary models.The search for a native literature became a n

14、ational obsession.“Dependence is a state of degradation fraught with disgrace,and to be dependent on a foreign mind for what we can ourselves produce is to add to the crime of indolence the weakness of stupidity.”Cultural revolutions,unlike military revolutions,cannot be successively imposed but mus

15、t grow from the soil of shared experience.Revolutions are the expressions of the heart of the people;they grow gradually out of new sensibilities and wealth of experience.It would take 50 years of accumulated history for America to earn its cultural independence and to produce the first great genera

16、tion of American writers.Period of RomanticismTerms:Transcendentalismover-soul Free verse Puritanism Original sin Realism periodHarriet Beecher Stowe(1811-1896):The Uncle Toms Cabin;or,Life Among the lowly(the most popular American book of the 19th century)Kate Chopin(1851-1904):The Awakening(1899)(

17、in search of self-realization;Poetic evocations of ocean,birds(caged and freed),and music endow this short novel with unusual intensity and complexity.)William Dean Howells(1837-1920,midwestern realist writer):The Rise of Silas The Rise of Silas LaphamLapham(1885(1885,赛拉斯赛拉斯 拉法姆的发迹拉法姆的发迹史史)(It caref

18、ully interweaves social circumstances with the emotions of ordinary middle-class Americans.)Mark Twain(1835-1910,the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens):The Gilded Age The Innocents Abroad The Adventures of Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Hemingway once said that all modern American

19、literature comes from the book written by Mark Twain.Popular frontier humor and local color,or“regionalism”.The unstable relationship between reality and illusion is Twains characteristic theme,the basis of much of his humor.n nHenry James(1843-1916,cosmopolitan novelist)(1843-1916,cosmopolitan nove

20、list):The Portrait of a LadyThe Portrait of a Lady (1881)(1881)The Ambassadors The Ambassadors(1903,1903,James felt it was his best novel)James felt it was his best novel)(He once wrote that art,especially literary art,(He once wrote that art,especially literary art,“make life,make“make life,make in

21、terest,make importance.”interest,make importance.”With Twain,James is generally ranked as the greatest American With Twain,James is generally ranked as the greatest American novelist of the second half of the 19novelist of the second half of the 19thth century.James is noted for his century.James is

22、 noted for his“international theme”“international theme”That is,the complex relationships That is,the complex relationships between between navenave Americans and cosmopolitan Europeans.Americans and cosmopolitan Europeans.Jamess first phase of literary creation is called“international”.Jamess first

23、 phase of literary creation is called“international”.The second is experimentalfeminism and social reform.In his The second is experimentalfeminism and social reform.In his third,or“major,”phase James returned to international subjects,but third,or“major,”phase James returned to international subjec

24、ts,but treated them with increasing sophistication and psychological treated them with increasing sophistication and psychological penetration.penetration.If the main theme of Twains work is appearance and If the main theme of Twains work is appearance and reality,Jamess constant concern is percepti

25、on.reality,Jamess constant concern is perception.Stephen Crane（1871-1900）:Maggie:A Girl of the Streets（1893,one of the best,if not the earliest,naturalistic American novels,a harrowing story of a poor,sensitive young girl）The Red Badge of Courage（1895,his haunting Civil War novel.It was published to

26、 great acclaim in 1895.）Cranes earthy subject matter and his objective,scientific style,devoid of moralizing,earmark Maggie as a naturalist work.Jack London（1876-1916,a poor,self-taught worker from California,the naturalist）The Son of the Wolf（1900,his first collection of stories）;The Call of the Wi

27、ld（1903）The Sea-Wolf（1904）.The stories made him the highest paid writer in the United States of his time.Theodore DreiserTheodore Dreiser（18711945）Sister Carrie（1900）An American Tragedy（1925）（The 1925 work,like Londons Martin Eden,explores the dangers of the American dream.）Modernism period Ezra Pou

28、nd(18851972)(the founder of imagism movement):The Cantos(192570)(Pounds poetry is best known for its clear,visual images,fresh rhythms,and muscular,intelligent,unusual lines.)T.S.Eliot(18881965)(Nobel Prize winner):The Wasted Land(1922)Robert Frost Eugene ONeil Willa Cather n nRobert FrostRobert Fro

29、st(1874-1963):(1874-1963):The Road Not TakenThe Road Not Taken Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Eveningn nEugene ONeilEugene ONeil:(1888-1953,Nobel Prize winner-1936):(1888-1953,Nobel Prize winner-1936)Emperor Jones;Emperor Jones;The Hairy Ape;The Hairy Ape;Desire Un

30、der the Elms Desire Under the Elms(He is generally acknowledged to have been Americas (He is generally acknowledged to have been Americas foremost dramatist.)foremost dramatist.)n nWilla CatherWilla Cather(1873-1947):(1873-1947):A Lost Lady;A Lost Lady;Professors House Professors House n nSinclair L

31、ewisSinclair Lewis(1885188519511951)(the first American)(the first American writer to win the novel prize-1930):writer to win the novel prize-1930):Main Street Main Street (1920(1920)Babbitt Babbitt(1922(1922)n n Sherwood AndersonSherwood Anderson (1876-1941(1876-1941)(the pioneer of)(the pioneer of

32、 American modernism authors):American modernism authors):WinesburgWinesburg,Ohio,Ohio (1919(1919)The Triumph of the Egg The Triumph of the Egg(1921(1921)n nF.Scott FitzgeraldF.Scott Fitzgerald(typical writer of the lost (typical writer of the lost generation):generation):This Side of Paradise This S

33、ide of Paradise The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby Hemingway and Faulknern nErnest HemingwayErnest Hemingway(1899189919611961):):The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea The sun also rises The sun also rises A Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms n nWilliam FaulknerWilliam Faulkner(1897(1897196

34、21962):):The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury As I Lay DyingAs I Lay Dying Light in August Light in August AbslomAbslom,AbslomAbslomSteinbeck and Wright l John Steinbeck(19021968,19021968,Nobel Prize winner,1963):The Grapes of Wrath(1939);Of Mice and Men(1937)l Richard Wright(19081960,19081

35、960,black writer):Native Son(土生子-1940)Black Boy(1945-his autobiography)Important terms in Modern Periodn nImagism(意象主义）n n The Lost Generation(迷惘的一代)n nthe Jazz age n nAmerican dreamn nBeat Generationn nStream of consciousness n nBlack Humor n nTheatre of the Absurd Contemporary periodn nRalph Waldo

36、 Ellison(1914191419941994):Invisible Man(1952)n nJoseph Heller(1923192319991999):Catch-22(1961)n nMartin Luther King(1929(192919681968):I Have A Dream Alice Walker and Morrisonn nAlice Walker(19441944-,-,a a“womanistwomanist”writer)writer)The Color Purple n nToni Morrison(19311931-,-,the first black

37、 woman writer to win Nobel Prize in 1993):Song of Solomon;Beloved;The Bluest EyesBellow,Miller and Salingern nSaul BellowSaul Bellow(1915-2005,Jewish literature-Nobel (1915-2005,Jewish literature-Nobel Prize winner-1976):Prize winner-1976):Dangling Man Dangling Man Mr.Mr.SammlersSammlers Planet Plan

38、et Henderson the Rain King;Henderson the Rain King;Herzog Herzog Humboldts Gift Humboldts Gift n nArthur MillerArthur Miller(1915-):(1915-):Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman(1949)(1949)n nJ.D.SalingerJ.D.Salinger (1919-):(1919-):Catcher in the Rye Catcher in the Rye(1951,(1951,麦田守望者麦田守望者)Nobel

39、 Prize winners for literature 1.Sinclair Lewis1.Sinclair Lewis（1885188519511951）(1930:(1930:Main StreetMain Street,1920;,1920;BabbittBabbitt,1922),1922)2.Eugene ONeill2.Eugene ONeill，(1888(18881953)(1936:1953)(1936:Beyond the HorizonBeyond the Horizon,1920)1920)3.3.PearlSPearlSBuckBuck（1892189219731

40、973）(1938:(1938:The Good EarthThe Good Earth,1931),1931)4.William Faulkner(18974.William Faulkner(18971962)(1949:1962)(1949:As I Lay Dying As I Lay Dying,1930),1930)5.Ernest Hemingway(18995.Ernest Hemingway(18991961)(1961)(1954:The Old Man and the 1954:The Old Man and the Sea,Sea,1952)1952)6.John St

41、einbeck6.John Steinbeck（1902190219681968）(1962:(1962:Of Mice and MenOf Mice and Men ,1937;,1937;The Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of Wrath,1939);,1939);7.7.Saul Bellow(1915Saul Bellow(19152005)(1976:2005)(1976:HerzogHerzog,1964),1964)8.Isaac8.Isaac BashevisBashevis SingerSinger（1904190419911991）(1978:(1

42、978:The Magician of The Magician of LublinLublin,1960),1960)9.Joseph Brodsky9.Joseph Brodsky（1940194019961996）(1987:(1987:A Halt in the Waste A Halt in the Waste Land Land,1970),1970)10.Toni Morrison(193110.Toni Morrison(1931)(1993:)(1993:he Bluest Eyes,he Bluest Eyes,1970;1970;Beloved,Beloved,1987 1987 Assignmentl lWho is EmersonWho is Emersonl lWhat is transcendentalism?What is transcendentalism?l lPreview Self-Reliance.Preview Self-Reliance.l lWhat is the main idea of the text?What is the main idea of the text?