美国文学考试必备知识点.doc

美国文学考试必备知识点.doc

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1.zRomanticperiod

2.zWashingtonIrving

3.zEdgarAllanPoe

4.zNathanialHawthorne

5.zWaltWhitman

6.zEmilyDickinson

7.zII.Realistperiod

8.zMarkTwain

9.zSherwoodAnderson

10.zStephenCrane

11.zTheodoreDreiser

12.zIII.Modernperiod

13.zF.S.Fitzgerald

14.zErnestHemingway

15.zWilliamFaulkner

1.Transcendentalism

TranscendentalismreferstothereligiousandphilosophicaldoctrinesofRalphWaldoEmersonandothersinNewEnglandinthemiddle1800’s,whichemphasizedtheimportanceofindividualinspirationandintuition,theOversoul,andNature.OtherconceptsthataccompaniedTranscendentalismincludetheideathatnatureisennoblingandtheideathattheindividualisdivineand,therefore,self-reliant.NewEnglandTranscendentalismistheproductofacombinationofnativeAmericanPuritanismandEuropeanRomanticism.

2.Naturalism

Naturalism,amoredeliberatekindofrealism,usuallyinvolvesaviewofhumanbeingsaspassivevictimsofnaturalforcesandsocialenvironment.Asaliterarymovement,naturalismwasinitiatedinFranceanditcametobeledbyZola,whoclaimedat“scientific”statusforhisstudiesofimpoverishedcharactersmiserablysubjectedtohunger,sexualobsession,andhereditarydefects.Naturalfictionaspiredtoasociologicalobjectivity,offeringdetailedandfullyresearchedinvestigationsintounexploredcornersofmodernsociety.ThemostsignificantworkofnaturalisminEnglishbeingDreiser’sSisterCarrie.

3.AmericanDream

TheAmericanDreamisthefaithheldbymanypeopleintheUnitedStatesofAmericathatthroughhardwork,courageanddeterminationonecanachieveabetterlifeforoneself,usuallythroughfinancialprosperity.ThesewerevaluesheldbymanyearlyEuropeansettlers,andhavebeenpassedontosubsequentgenerations.

4.TheLostGeneration

ThetermLostGenerationwascoinedbyGertrudeSteintorefertoagroupofAmericanLiterarynotableswholivedinParisfromthetimeperiodwhichsawtheendofWorldWarItothebeginningoftheGreatDepression.SignificantmembersincludedErnestHemingway,F.ScottFitzgerald,EzraPound,SherwoodAnderson,T.S.Eliot,andGertrudeSteinherself.Hemingwaylikelypopularizedtheterm,quotingStein（“Youareallalostgeneration”）asepigraphtohisnovelTheSunAlsoRises.Moregenerally,thetermisbeingusedfortheyoungadultsofEuropeandAmericaduringWorldWarI.Theywere“lost”becauseafterthewarmanyofthemweredisillusionedwiththeworldingeneralandunwillingtomoreintoasettledlife

5.Modernism

Modernwritingismarkedbyastrongandconsciousbreakwithtraditionalformsandtechniquesofexpression;itbelievesthatwecreatetheworldintheactofperceivingit.Modernismimplieshistoricaldiscontinuity,asenseofalienation,ofloss,andofdespair.Itelevatestheindividualandhisinnerbeingoversocialmanandpreferstheunconscioustotheself-conscious.

6.Romanticism

.

7.Puritanism

TheprinciplesandpracticesofpuritanswerepopularlyknownasPuritanism.PuritanismacceptedthedoctrinesofCalvinism:

thesovereigntyofGod;thesupremeauthorityoftheBible;theirresistibilityofGod’swillformanineveryactoflifefromcradletograve.ThesedoctrinesledthePuritanstoexaminetheirsoulstofindwhethertheywereoftheelectandtosearchtheBibletodetermineGod’swill.

8.HemingwayHeroes/CodeHero

“HemingwayHeroes”refertosomeprotagonistsinHemingway’sworks.Suchaherousuallyisanaveragemanofdecidedlymasculinetastes,sensitiveandintelligent.Andusuallyheisamanofactionandofafewwords.Heissuchanindividualist,aloneevenwhenwithotherpeople,somewhatanoutsider,keepingemotionsundercontrol,stoicandself-disciplinedinadreadfulplacewhereonecannotgethappiness.TheHemingwayheroesstandforawholegeneration.Inaworldwhichisessentiallychaoticandmeaningless,aHemingwayherofightsasolitarystruggleagainstaforcehedoesnotevenunderstand.Theawarenessthatitmustendindefeat,nomatterhowhardhestrives,engendersasenseofdespair.ButHemingwayheroespossessakindof“despairingcourage”asBertrandRussellterms.Itisthiscouragethatenablesamantobehavelikeaman,toasserthisdignityinfaceofadversity.SurelyHemingwayheroesdiffer,onefromanother,intheirviewoftheworld.ThedifferencewhichcomesgraduallyinviewisanindextothesubtlechangewhichHemingway’soutlookhadundergone.

Expressionism

ExpressionismreferstoamovementinGermanyearlyinthe20thcentury,inwhichanumberofpainterssoughttoavoidtherepresentationofexternalrealityand,instead,toprojectahighlypersonalorsubjectivevisionoftheworld.Themainprincipleinvolvedisthatexpressiondetermines