American Literature.docx
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American Literature.docx
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AmericanLiterature
AmericanLiterature
1.WhatisTranscendentalism?
InNewEngland,anintellectualmovementknownastranscendentalismdevelopedasanAmericanversionofRomanticism.ThemovementbeganamonganinfluentialsetofauthorsbasedinConcord,Massachusetts,andwasledbyRalphWaldoEmerson.LikeRomanticism,Transcendentalismrejectedboth18th-centuryrationalismandestablishedreligion,whichforthetranscendentalistsmeantthePuritantraditioninparticular.Instead,thetranscendentalistscelebratedthepowerofthehumanimaginationtocommunewiththeuniverseandtranscendthelimitationsofthematerialworld.Thetranscendentalistsfoundtheirchiefsourceofinspirationinnature.Emerson’sessayNature(1836)wasthefirstmajordocumentofthetranscendentalschoolandstatedtheideasthatweretoremaincentraltoit.HisotherkeytranscendentalistworksincludeTheAmericanScholar(1837),avolumeinwhichheaddressedtheintellectual’sdutytoculture,andSelf-Reliance(1841),anessayinwhichheassertedtheimportanceofbeingtruetoone’snature.
2.WhatisPuritanism?
ThewordPuritanismisoriginallyusedtoreferthetheologyadvocatedbyapartywithintheChurchofEngland.ThetermPuritanismisalsousedinabroadersensetorefertoattitudesandvaluesconsideredcharacteristicofthePuritans.Ithasbeenemployedtodenotearigidmoralism,orthecondemnation谴责ofinnocentpleasure,orreligiousnarrownessadheredbytheearlyNewEnglandPuritans.TheAmericanPuritanismasculturalheritageexertedgreatinfluenceoverAmericanmoralvalues.AndthisPuritaninfluenceoverAmericanRomanticismwasconspicuouslynoticeable.TheAmericanPuritansacceptedthedoctrineofpredestination,originalsinandtotaldepravity,andlimitedatonementthroughaspecialinfusionofgracefromGod.
3.WhatisFreeverse?
FreeVerse,istherhymedorunrhymedpoetrycomposedwithoutattentiontoconventionalrulesofmeter.Freeverseisusedtodeliverpoetryfreefromtherestrictionsofformalmetricalpatternsandtore-createinsteadthefreerhythmsofnaturalspeech.PointingtotheAmericanpoetWaltWhitmanastheirprecursor,theywrotelinesofvaryinglengthandcadence节奏,usuallynotrhymed.Theemotionalcontentormeaningoftheworkwasexpressedthroughitsrhythm.FreeversehasbeencharacteristicoftheworkofmanymodernAmericanpoets,includingEzraPound,andCarlSandburg.
4.WhatisLocalColorism?
Post-CivilWarAmericawaslargeanddiverse(variousenoughtosenseitsownlocaldifference.RegionalvoiceshademergedfromnewlysettledterritoriesintheSouthandtothewestoftheAppalachan.LocalcolorismisauniquevariationoftheAmericanliteraryrealism.Generally,theworksbylocalcoloristsareconcernedwiththelifeofasmall,well-definedregion.Thiskindoffictiondepictsthecharactersfromaspecifiedsettingorofanera,whicharemarkedbyitscustoms,dialects,landscape,orotherpeculiaritiesthathaveescapedstandardizingculturalinfluence.
Whatisnaturalism?
5.Inliterature,thetermreferstothetheorythatliterarycompositionshouldaimata
detached,scientificobjectivityinthetreatmentofnaturalman.Themovementisanoutgrowthof19th-centuryscientificthought,followingingeneralthebiologicaldeterminismofDarwin’stheory,ortheeconomicdeterminismofKarlMarx.Artistically,naturalisticwritingsareusuallyunpolishedinlanguage,lackinginacademicskillsandunwieldyinstructure.Philosophically,thenaturalistsbelievethattherealandtrueisalwayspartiallyhiddenfromtheindividual,orbeyondhiscontrolandthatmenarecontrolledandconditionedbyheredity,instinct,chanceandaboveallenvironment.NotablewritersofnaturalisticfictionwereStephenCrane,FrankNorris,SherwoodAndersonandTheodoreDreiser.
6.Whatis“stream-of-consciousness”?
StreamofconsciousnessisatermcoinedbyWilliamJamesinhisThePrinciplesofPsychologytodescribetheflowofthoughtsofthewakingmind.Nowitiswidelyusedinaliterarycontexttodescribetheunspokenthoughtsandfeelingsofthecharacters,withoutresorting(jiezhu)toobjectivedescriptionorconventionaldialogue.ItwasadaptedanddevelopedbyJoyce,V.Woolf,andothers.Theabilitytorepresentthefluxofacharacter’sthought,impressions,emotions,orreminiscences,oftenwithoutlogicalsequenceorsyntax,markedarevolutionintheformofnovelatthattime.
7.WhatistheLostGeneration?
TheLostGenerationreferstothedisillusioned(awaken)intellectualsandartistsoftheyearsfollowingtheFirstWorldWar,whorebelledagainstformeridealsandvaluesbutcouldreplacethemonlybydespairofacynicalbedonism.TheremarkofGertrudeStein,“Youarealostgeneration,”addressedtoHemingway,wasusedasaprefacetothelatter’snovelTheSunalsoRises,whichbrilliantlydescribesthoseexpatriates(yimin)whohadcutthemselvesofffromtheirpastinAmericainordertocreatenewtypesofwriting.
8.WhatisBlackHumor?
Blackhumorisatypeofmodernhumorthatiscausedbyanger.Itoftendescribesgruesomeevents,whicharenormallyassociatedwithpleasantoccasions,thusproducingthecongruouseffectforhumor.Blackhumorattacksonsocialmoresthroughshockinglanguageandoffensiveimagery.Blackhumorisakindofdesperatehumor.Itisthelaughterattragicthings.Inthismeaninglessworld,accordingtoBlackHumorists,man’sfateisdecidedbyincomprehensivepowers.Wecan’tdoanythingaboutit;thereforewemayaswelllaugh.Sardonicandimaginative20th-centuryAmericanwritersoftenusedthenoveltoridiculesociety.SuchnovelistsasThomasPynchon,JohnBarth,andKurtVonnegut,cametobeknownastheblackhumorists,becauseoftheirdarklycomicwritings.
9.WhatistheBeatGeneration?
BeatGenerationisagroupofAmericanwritersofthe1950swhosewritingexpressedprofounddissatisfactionwithcontemporaryAmericansocietyandendorsedanalternativesetofvalues.Theyrejectedtraditionalformsandsoughtexpressioninthebeatificillumination.Thetermsometimesisusedtorefertothosewhoembracedtheideasofthesewriters.TheBeatGeneration’sbest-knownfigureswerewritersAllenGinsberg,LawrenceFerlinghettiandJackKerouac.
10.WhatarethethematicconcernsandtheartisticcharacteristicsofEmilyDickinson’s
poetry?
EmilyDickinsonisAmerica’sbest-knownfemalepoet.Herpoetrycoverstheissuesvitaltohumanity,whichincludereligion,death,immortality,love,andnature.Herpoemshavenotitles,hencearealwaysquotedbytheirfirstlines.Inherpoetry,thereisaparticularstresspattern,inwhichdashesareusedasamusicaldevicetocreatecadenceandcapitallettersasameansofemphasis.Amasterofimagerythatmakesthespiritualmaterializeinsurprisingways,Dickinsonmanagedmanifoldvariationswithinhersimpleform.Duetoherdeliberateseclusion,herpoemstendtobeverypersonalandmeditative.Dickinson’spoetry,despiteitsostensibleobviousformalsimplicity,isremarkableforitsvariety,subtletyandrichness;andherlimitedprivateworldhaveneverconfinedthelimitlesspowerofhercreativityandimagination.
11.DiscussthecharacterofHuckinMarkTwain’sTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.
Andwhatisthesocialsignificanceofthenovel?
TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnisconsideredamasterpieceofMarkTwain.Thebookisthestoryofthetitlecharacter,knownasHuck,aboywhofleeshisfatherbyraftingdowntheMississippiRiverwitharunawayslave,Jim.TheclimaxariseswithHuck’sinnerstruggleintheMississippi,whenHuckispolarizedbythetwoopposingforcesbetweenhisheartandhishead,betweenforJimandthelawsofthesocietyagainstthosewhohelpslavesescape.Withtheeventualvictoryofhismoralconscienceoverhissocialawareness,Huckgrows.HuckleberryFinn,whichisalmostentirelynarratedfromHuck’spointofview,isnotedforitsauthenticlanguageandforitsdeepcommitmenttofreedom.Huck’sadventuresalsoprovidethereaderwithapanoramaofAmericanlifealongtheMississippibeforetheCivilWar.ThereadersareimpressedbyTwain’sthematiccontrastsbetweeninnocenceandexperience,natureandculture,wildernessandcivilization.
12.BrieflydiscussthequestionfromTHREEofthefollowingaspects:
thesetting,the
language,thecharacter(s),thethemeandthestyle.
A.Setting:
InthenovelMarkTwainrecreatesasmall-townworldofAmericaandpresentsthelocalcolor.
B.Language:
Heusessimple,directlanguagefaithfultothecolloquialspeech,thevernacular(native)languageofthelocalpeople.
C.Character(s):
Theauthorrecreatestworebelsandfugitives(taowangzhe)runningawayfromcivilization,especiallyHuckleberryFinn,aninnocentboywhorefusestoaccepttheconventionalvillagemorality.
D.Theme:
Thenovelisacriticismofsocialinjustice,hypocrisy,conservativenessandnarrow-mindednessoftheAmericansmalltownsociety.
E.Style:
Thenovelemploysahumorousstyleofnarrationandisalsohighlysymbolicwiththecentralsymbol.
13.WhatisthefeatureofthemaincharacterinW.Faulkner’sARoseforEmily?
ARoseforEmilyisFaulkner’sfirstshortstorypublishedin1930.SetinthetownofJeffersoninYoknapatawpha,thestoryfocusesonEmily,aneccentricspinsterwhorefusedtoacceptthepassageoftime,ortheinevitablechangeandlossthataccompaniesit.AsadescendentoftheSouthernaristocracy,EmilyistypicalofthoseinFaulkner’sYoknapatawphastoriesthatarethesymbolsoftheOldDeepSouthbuttheprisonersofthepast.Thedeformed(disabled)personalityandabnormalityEmilydemonstratesFaulkner’spointofviewthatbyalienatingoneselffromreality,aperson
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