lecture 1 American Literature.ppt

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1、Selected Readings in Selected Readings in American LiteratureAmerican Literature美美国国文文学学选读 Wang Ling, 15973389167 The Research Center of Foreign Literature The Research Center of Foreign LiteratureClass DisciplinesvAbsence-OKvSleeping-OKvPhone-NOvTalking Absolutely NoTIPS for good performanceAttend

2、ALL lecturesDrop notes during the lecturesReview after EACH lectureUnderstand rather than memorizeAsk whenever something unclearCourse Objectives:To help the learners to know the historical development of American literature,major trends and major authors.To help the learners to understand the Ameri

3、can society and its culture as reflected in the literary works.To help the learners to appreciate literary language and to consolidate their fluency in English by reading a variety of literary texts.Course OutlinesTextbook:American Literature:Understanding and Appreciation美国文学阅读与欣赏黄家修 主编Literary gen

4、re we are going to cover:novels,short stories,poems,movies,dramasAssessment SchemeClass attendance:10%Classroom performance and presentation:30%Term paper/in-class exam:60%Syllabus:Syllabus:Week 1:IntroductionWeek 2:Nathaniel Hawthorne “The Ministers Black Veil”Subject to change when necessaryLectur

5、e 1Week 3:Walt Whitman “Calvary Crossing the Ford”“Come up from the Fields,Father”“When I Heard the Learnd Astronomer”Week 4:Emily Dickinson “Wild NightsWild Nights!”“I died for Beautybut was scarce”“A Bird came down the Walk”Lecture 1Week 5:American Realism and American Naturalism(1860s1890s)Mark T

6、wain “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”卡拉维拉斯县驰名的跳蛙Week 6:Jack London “The Law of Life”Week 7:American Modernism(19001940s)Ezra Pound“In a Station of the Metro”Lecture 1 Unit 8:Scott Fitzgerald “The Great Gatsby”Lecture 1Week 9:Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken”“Stopping by Woods on a Sn

7、owy Evening”“Fire and Ice”Week 10:Ernest Hemingway“A Clean,Well-lighted Place”Week 11:William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily”Lecture 1Week 12:Eugene ONeill Desire Under the Elms欲望号街车编剧:田纳西威廉斯主演:费雯丽/马龙白兰度上映日期:1951-09-18Lecture 1Week 13:Post-war American literature(1940s )J.D.Salinger The Catcher in the R

8、yeWeek 14:Amy Tan “The Joy Luck Club”Lecture 1Week 16:ReviewWeek 15:Alice Walker “Everyday Use”中文名中文名:紫色英文名英文名:The Color Purple别名别名:紫颜色，紫色姊妹花发行日期发行日期:1985年导演导演:斯蒂文斯皮尔伯格Steven Spielberg演员演员:乌比戈德堡 Whoopi Goldberg奥普拉温弗瑞 Oprah WinfreyA General Review of American Literature HistoryHistorical Background1.

9、Early history:1)In 1542,Christopher Columbus found the new continent called America.2)In 1607,Captain John Smith led some Englishmen across the ocean.3)In 1620,102 passengers sailed on the ship Mayflower across the sea and settled on the new continent“New England”.What do you know about American ear

10、ly history?The Map of U.S.AHistorical Background2.People:native inhabitants:Indians Immigrants mostly from Europe:Spanish;Dutch;FrenchEnglish immigrants,Jamestown,Virginia,1607 Puritansa group of religious peopleadvocated religious&moral principlesHistorical Background3.Belief-PuritanismPuritans wan

11、ted to“purify the church”to its original state,because they thought the church was corrupted and had too many ritualsa code of values a philosophy of life a point of viewCalviniststook roots in the New WorldDoctrines of Puritanstaking religion as the most important thing;living for glorifying God;be

12、lieving predestination（命运天定）（命运天定）,original sin(原罪，人生下来就是有罪的，原罪，人生下来就是有罪的，因为人类的祖先亚当和夏娃是有罪的因为人类的祖先亚当和夏娃是有罪的),total depravity(人类是完全堕落的，所以人类是完全堕落的，所以人要处处小心自己的行为，要尽可能做到人要处处小心自己的行为，要尽可能做到最好以取悦上帝最好以取悦上帝),limited atonement(有有限救赎，只有被上帝选中的人才能得到上限救赎，只有被上帝选中的人才能得到上帝的拯救帝的拯救)American PuritanismFeatures of Americ

13、an Puritanidealistdreamthey would build the new land to an Eden on earth.more practical,tougherthe severe conditionsstruggle for survivalpreoccupied with business and profitsAmerican PuritanismEnduring shaping influence on literatureBasis of American literaturewent into the making of American litera

14、turedreamed of living under a perfect order worked with courage hoped to build an Eden of Garden on earth faced the worst of life with optimismAll literature is based on a myth garden of Eden.American PuritanismContributing to the development of Symbolism（象征主义）（象征主义）:a technique,widely usedPuritans

15、thought that all the simple objects existing in the world connoted deep meaning.Symbolism means using symbols in literary works.The symbol means something that represents or stands for abstract deep meaning.American Puritanism Influencing the style of literature:simple,fresh and direct(just as the s

16、tyle of the Authorized Version of Holy Bible)Without understanding of Puritanism,there can be no good understanding of American culture and literature.(Just like the influence of Confucian doctrine upon the ideology of Chinese people)How to appreciate and analyze literary works?Two examplesBecause I

17、 Could not Stop for DeathEmily Dickson712 Because I could not stop for DeathHe kindly stopped for meThe Carriage held but just OurselvesAnd Immortality.We slowly droveHe knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His CivilityWe passed the School,where Children stroveAt Recessin t

18、he RingWe passed the Fields of Gazing GrainWe passed the Setting SunOr ratherHe passed UsThe Dews drew quivering and chillFor only Gossamer（蜘蛛网，薄纱）,my GownMy Tippet（披肩）only Tulle（薄纱）We paused before a House that seemedA Swelling of the GroundThe Roof was scarcely visibleThe Cornicein the GroundSince

19、 thentis Centuriesand yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses HeadsWere toward EternityComment on the poemThe poem is discussing death,a very gloomy subject,but it is done with a rather light tone.The tone is light just because the author does not take death as a catastrophe;instead

20、,she treats the angel of death as a very polite gentleman,as a long-missing guest,giving up her work and leisure,putting on her fine silky dresses,she accompanies death in the same carriage to eternity.All the beauty of this work lies in the poetesss open-minded attitude towards death.The Red Wheelb

21、arrowThe Red WheelbarrowSo much dependsupona red wheelbarrowglazed with rainwaterbeside the whitechickens.William Carlos WilliamsWhat is the most visually compelling word in each of the last three pairs of lines?红色手推车红色手推车那么多东西依靠一辆红色手推车雨水淋得它晶亮旁边是一群白鸡那么多东西仰仗这辆红色的手推车运送雨水浇得它浑身溜滑旁边有几只白鸡选自彭予编译二十世纪英美抒情诗选W

22、hat does this poem value?Think of the red wheelbarrowWhy didnt the poet choose a Lexus or a BMW with rain on it?Why are white chickens by the wheelbarrow?Why not something else?Where do you typically find wheelbarrows?This poem refers to common things.The only objects in the poem are ordinary,enduri

23、ng,and somehow essential.The scene is rural,perhaps a farm.The chickens are not symbolic;they are white chickens that exist beside equally plain things of the world:a wheelbarrow that is not exalted but left out in the rain.Why does Williams choose this image,this scene?Why does so much of the poem

24、depend on things so ordinary?Do these concrete things suggest a larger,more abstract idea?“红色手推车红色手推车”简评简评1.红色手推车是一幅色彩鲜明的日常生活画面，描述的是一个躲雨时见到的场景，躲雨的地方大概太小，所以人虽然躲了进去，手推车却还是淋得透湿。与它运送的东西相比，手推车显得似乎小了点，所以才引起诗人“那么多”的感慨。况且还被雨水浇得它“浑身溜滑”。可以想象那个始终没有露面的“推车人”的辛劳，不免对他（她）产生一丝同情。但“旁边有几只白鸡”一句，使我们眼前一亮。想想看，在雨中，天色也许比较灰暗

25、。但手推车的“红色”与几只鸡的“白色”却是那么的耀眼，何况鸡还是一个活动的东西，与停放在那里的手推车，正好又构成了一动一静的对比。生活的辛劳、躲雨时的焦躁，被几只“白鸡”的出现一扫而空。2.威廉斯选择红、白对比色以及经雨水冲洗后的锃亮，写出了人类与大自然共创理想生活的一面。威廉斯用红色装饰手推车的轮子，隐喻人类积极的劳动，劳动造就了人类积极向上的欢快精神，用“小鸡”和“雨水”来表达他对自然的崇敬。3.威廉斯的红色手推车仿佛是一幅西洋油画，色彩鲜明，线条突出，立体感强，折射出大自然的光亮，整体画面宁静完美，富有和谐感，它向世人展示了20世纪美国人民的时代精神追求以及一代美国诗人的民族情结。Homework and Presentation topic Read“The Ministers Black Veil”(P.114-131)Q1:How many episodes does the story consist of and what are they?Q2:The black veil is the major symbol in the story.What do you think is its function in the story and what does it symbolize?