美国文学考试重点
1.The literature of colonial America
William Bradford威廉·布拉德福德（1590年-1657年），五月花号公约签署人之一，于1620年参与创立了普利茅斯殖民地，并在长达30余年的时间里担任普利茅斯总督。他所撰写的《普利茅斯垦殖记》是关于欧洲新世界殖民史的早期著作之一。
Anne Bradstreet美国女诗人布莱德斯特律1612英格兰比安普敦～1672.9.16,马萨诸塞湾殖民地安多弗美国最早写出真正有价值的英文诗歌的一位女诗人。她的宗教组诗《沉思集》(Contemplations)受到20世纪文学批评界的重视，被认为是一部不朽之作。《凡人的虚荣》(Of the vanity of all worldly creatures)、《灵与肉》(The Flesh and the Spirit)、《献给我亲爱的丈夫》(To My Dear and Loving Husband)、《人世正凋萎，万物有终极》(All things within this fading world hath end)、《心痛手颤写诗句》(With troubled heart and trembling hand I write)、《大卫对扫罗和约拿单的哀悼》(David's Lamentation for Sauland Jonathan)
Puritan Thoughts美国清教主义从一开始就是一种精神运动，它不仅仅是一种宗教信仰，而且还是一种极端民主与共和的理论。清教徒在自己的祖国遭受迫害，对英国严酷的社会现实不满而移民到美国。他们希冀按自己的意欲信仰上帝。于是，他们致力于建立一个乌托邦式的重视伦理和精神生活的社会模式。他们崇尚真正的自由——这种真正的自由涵盖了广泛的道德的含义。他们把一切破坏和蔑视这种自由信念的行为一概斥责为对权威的亵渎。因此，他们认为自己是一群称之为美国人的新人，命定要建立一个新的世界，为人类建造一座“山上的光辉的城市”。
Benjamin Franklin本杰明·富兰克林（Benjamin Franklin）(1706-1790)——资本主义精神最完美的代表，十八世纪美国最伟大的科学家和发明家，著名的政治家、外交家、哲学家、文学家和航海家以及美国独立战争的伟大领袖。代表作《穷理查年鉴》，英文为《Poor Richard’s Almanack》，又叫《穷理查历书》。《富兰克林自传》
Philip Freneau“Poet of the American Revolution” , “Father of American Poetry”. He was the most significant poet of 18th century America.作品：a)《美洲光辉的兴起》b) 《夜之屋》c)《英国囚船》d)《纪念美国勇士》e)The Wild Honey Suckle f)《印第安人埋葬之地》g)《奄奄一息的印第安人：托姆?柴吉》
早期印第安文学美国文学始于印第安人的口传神话、传说、故事和诗歌（全部是歌谣）。在第一批欧洲人到达北美前，北美的500多种印第安人语言和部落文化中没有书面文学。因此，美国原住民的口头文学相当多样化。印第安人的故事表现出对自然界作为精神和肉体的母亲的崇拜。大自然被视作具有生命力和精神力量；故事的主要人物可能是动物或植物，它们往往是与某个部落、团体或个人有关的图腾。在后来的美国文学中与印第安人的自然崇拜观念最接近的是拉尔夫·爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson）提出的无所不在的“超灵”（Over-Soul）。
The Wild Honey-Suckle 野金银花
By Philip Freneau
Fair flower, that dost so comely grow, 美丽的金银花，
Hid in this silent, dull retreat, 你粲然绽放于幽静一角。
Untouched thy honied blossoms blow, 芳菲满枝，无人垂顾，
Unseen thy little branches greet; 迎风起舞，无人注目。
...No roving foot shall crush thee here, 游子从不践踏你的玉体，
...No busy hand provoke a tear. 过客从不催落你的泪滴。
By Nature's self in white arrayed, 造化令你素裹银妆，
She bade thee shun the vulgar eye, 你得以远离庸人的目光。
And planted here the guardian shade, 她赐予你一片绿阴葱葱，
And sent soft waters murmuring by; 她带给你一泓流水淙淙。
...Thus quietly thy summer goes, 恬静的夏日倏然流淌，
...Thy days declining to repose. 你终于红衰翠减，玉陨香消。
Smit with those charms, that must decay, 妩媚动人，你却无法盛颜久长，
I grieve to see your future doom; 落红满地，你令我黯然神伤。
They died--nor were those flowers more gay, 纵然在伊甸乐园，人间天堂，
The flowers that did in Eden bloom; 也难免一日凋零，满目凄凉。
...Unpitying frosts, and Autumn's power 萧瑟秋风，凄白秋霜，
...Shall leave no vestige of this flower. 你终于消失得无影无踪。
From morning suns and evening dews朝霞暮露，
At first thy little being came: 孕育了你娇小的身躯。
If nothing once, you nothing lose, 你从尘土来，又归尘土去，
For when you die you are the same; 来时一无所有，去时化作尘土，
...The space between, is but an hour, 可叹生命苦短，
...The frail duration of a flower. 你终究红消香断。
此诗分为两大部分，前两节写景，后两节抒情。写景以抒情为目的，抒情以写景为背景，两部分互为烘托，成为不可分割的整体。诗人以惊喜的目光看到自然界神奇的产物时，心中涌动的是对大自然无限的崇拜之情。如果说“绿荫”指的是未受人类文明侵犯的新大陆处女地的话，那些“美丽的金银花”则应是大自然创作的生命的具体体现。诗人用浅显的文字勾画出一片繁荣祥和的景象，在对生命的赞叹中，流露出返璞归真、崇尚自然的情节，充满了浪漫主义情调和理想主义色彩。
The Indian Burying Ground
In spite of all the learned have said,
I still my old opinion keep;
The posture that we give the dead, Points out the soul's eternal sleep.
Not so the ancients of these lands--
The Indian, when from life released, Again is seated with his friends,
And shares again the joyous feast.
His imaged birds, and painted bowl,
And venison, for a journey dressed, Bespeak the nature of the soul, Activity, that knows no rest.
His bow, for action ready bent,
And arrows, with a head of bone,
Can only mean that life is spent,
And not the finer essence gone.
Thou, stranger, that shalt come this way, No fraud upon the dead commit,
Yet, marking the swelling turf, and say, They do not lie, but here they sit.
Here, still a lofty rock remains,
On which the curious eye may trace (Now wasted half by wearing rains)
The fancies of a ruder race.
Here, still an aged elm aspires,
Beneath whose far-projecting shade (And which the shepherd still admires) The children of the forest played.
There oft a restless Indian queen,
(Pale Marian, with her braided hair)
And many a barbarous form is seen
To chide the man that lingers there.
By midnight moons, o'er moistening dews, In habit for the chase arrayed,
The hunter still the deer pursues,
The hunter and the deer-- a shade.
And long shall timorous fancy see
The painted chief, and pointed spear,
And reason's self shall bow the knee
To shadows and delusions here. 不管学者们说过什么
我依然坚持我的老观点
我们给死者安排的姿势
表明了灵魂的永远安眠
这地方的古人并不如此——印第安人一朝离开世人
就再次同亲友坐在一起
重新把欢乐的宴席分享
鸟儿的装饰，带彩绘的碗为路上食用备好的鹿肉
说明那灵魂具有的特点—它的活动可没有个尽头
他的弓随时可以引满而发那一支支按有石镞的箭—这只能说明生命离开他
但原来的想法没有改变
陌生的人啊，你该来这里但是可不要把死者冤枉--- 把这隆起的草冢看仔细，并说他们是坐而不是躺
这还剩一块高高的岩石，虽给雨侵蚀的斑驳无状（精细的眼睛能由此分辨）那原始民族的种种想象
还有一颗高耸的老榆树
在它伸得远远的影子下（牧羊人对此喜爱如初)
林中的孩子们游戏玩耍
常有不眠的印第安女王
（这是梳辫的浅肤色Pale Sheba）和许多野蛮的形象出场
把逗留在那里的人责骂
只见他全身行猎的装束
在月明露重的午夜时分这猎手仍在把鹿儿追
可这猎手和鹿都是幽灵纹身的酋长，锋利的矛尖畏怯的想象将久久看见而理智本身会对之屈膝在这种种的幽灵、幻象前
The poem is about an Indian culture, especially and Indian funeral. It describes death in this tradition, which is looked at as rude and savage. Still, the speaker reveals a lot about its strength and beauty as the poem goes on. It is a message inviting people to understand this culture as it is without prejudices.
Unlike the white man's tradition, in the Indian's, the dead Indian is dressed in special clothes as though celebrating a happy event. Death in the Indian tradition has a different meaning. It is no longer that sad and dreadful event that everyone is afraid of. The dead person becomes a warrior who protects the land. This explains his posture and the way he is dressed in. The conception of death in this culture makes of it a different one from the white man's.
2.The literature of romanticism
Washington Irving华盛顿·欧文是19世纪美国最著名的作家，号称美国文学之父。1783年4月3日出生在纽约一个富商家庭。欧文从少年时代起就喜爱阅读英国作家司各特、拜仑和彭斯等人的作品。欧文的第一部重要作品是《纽约外史》。1820年，欧文的《见闻札记》出版，引起欧洲和美国文学界的重视，这部作品奠定了欧文在美国文学史上的地位。
《睡谷的传说》（The legend of the Sleepy Hollow）传说在美国独立战争时期的一次战役中，一个赫塞骑兵的头被炮弹打飞了。时候，他的阴魂常骑马在夜间飞驰，到战场上去寻找他的头颅。在睡谷有位从康涅狄格州来的教师，名叫伊卡包德·克兰，他对那些离奇的传说笃信不疑。他看上了当地一位殷实的荷兰农夫的独生女儿卡特琳娜·凡·塔塞尔。但他有许多情敌，其中最可怕的是一个名为布鲁姆·凡·布兰特的乡村小伙子。一天晚上，伊卡包德去参加凡·塔塞尔家的晚会。布鲁姆也在场，并讲到他半夜遇到无头骑士的故事，伊卡包德听了头皮发麻。晚会后他独自骑马回家，在小河边同无头骑士相遇，被那骑士用手中拿着的头打昏倒地。从此伊卡包德再也没有露面。次日人们在桥头发现了他的帽子和一个碎得稀烂的南瓜，以为他已死去。几年后，一个到过纽约的老农说，伊卡包德还活着，并且做了法官。而布鲁姆在伊卡包德失踪后不久就和卡塔琳娜结了婚。每当人们提起那个南瓜的事，他就捧腹大笑，使人不能不怀疑他同那件事有瓜葛。最后布鲁姆被赶出本不属于他的村庄，于是边地小村庄又恢复了平静。Edgar Allan Poe侦探小说(detective story)鼻祖、科幻小说(science fiction)先驱之一、恐怖小说(horror fiction)大师、短篇哥特小说巅峰、象征主义(symbolism)先驱之一，唯美主义(aestheticism)者。爱伦·坡最著名的文艺理论是“效果论”。
The black cat《黑猫》是爱伦坡的恐怖小说名作之一。它讲述一个人杀了一只黑猫，後来另一只黑猫以奇特的方式复仇的故事。全文一字不及幽灵鬼怪，但在描述人们内心邪恶的念头时，却令人不寒而栗。这篇文章，作者更想表达的是一种紧张恐慌的气氛，一种精确有张力的精神分析，一种文字的快感／美感。Ralph Waldo Emerson美国思想家、文学家，诗人。爱默生是确立美国文化精神的代表人物。美国前总统林肯称他为“美国的孔子”、“美国文明之父”。他的生命几乎横贯19世纪的美国，他出生时候的美国热闹却混沌，一些人意识到它代表着某种新力量的崛起，却无人能够清晰的表达出来。
超验主义(transcendentalism) 核心观点是主张人能超越感觉和理性而直接认识真理，认为人类世界的一切都是宇宙的一个缩影--"世界将其自身缩小成为一滴露水"（爱默生语）。超验主义者强调万物本质上的统一，万物皆受"超灵"制约，而人类灵魂与"超灵"一致。这种对人之神圣的肯定使超验主义者蔑视外部的权威与传统，依赖自己的直接经验。"相信你自己"这句爱默生的名言，成为超验主义者座右铭。这种超验主义观点强调人的主观能动性，有助于打破加尔文教的"人性恶"、"命定论"等教条的束缚，为热情奔放，抒发个性的浪漫主义文学奠定了思想基础。
Emerson是逐渐地从其同辈的教条理念中脱离，在1836年写了《Nature》－自然观一文中首次阐述了超越论。自然观代表了Emerson对自然的非传统性的认知的信仰。他认为自然是存在于人类天性中的一种无处不在的神般的实体，而不是被神所统治的，也不是人类经过后天学习才能了解的.
Henry David Thoreau亨利·戴维·梭罗，美国作家、哲学家，著名散文集《瓦尔登湖》和论文《论公民的不服从权利》（又译为《消极抵抗》、《论公民的不服从》）的作者。
《瓦尔登湖》是19世纪美国作家梭罗的一部文学名作。作为他的主要著作之一，《瓦尔登湖》是梭罗在瓦登湖林中二年零二个月又二天的生活和思想纪录。这是一本清新、健康、引人向上的书，它向世人揭示了作者在回归自然的生活实验中所发现的人生真谛--如果一个人能满足于基本的生活所需，其实便可以更从容、更充实地享受人生。本书记录了作者隐居瓦尔登湖畔，与大自然水乳交融，在田园生活中感知自然、重塑自我的奇异历程。它被称为“塑造读者人生的25部首选经典”。
Nathaniel Hawthorne纳撒尼尔·霍桑美国小说家。1804年7月4日生于马萨诸塞州塞勒姆镇一个没落世家，1864年5月19日卒于新罕普郡的普利茅斯。4岁丧父，1821年由亲戚资助进入博多因学院。1825年毕业后回到塞勒姆从事写作。曾自费出版长篇小说《范肖》，发表很多短篇作品，出版短篇集《古宅青苔》、《雪影》等。他的短篇小说大都取材于新英格兰的历史和现实生活，着重探讨人性和人的命运，带有较浓重的宗教气息和神秘色彩。名篇《小伙子布朗》、《教长的黑纱》等揭示人人皆有的隐秘的罪恶和人的必然的孤独处境。一些故事反映了作者对理性、科学和技术进步的怀疑?少数作品正面表达了他的理想，如《石面人像》。
The scarlet letter19世纪美国浪漫主义作家霍桑的长篇小说。发表于1850年。小说以两百多年前的殖民地时代的美洲为题材，但揭露的却是19世纪资本主义发展时代美利坚合众国社会典法的残酷、宗教的欺骗和道德的虚伪。主人公海丝特被写成了崇高道德的化身。她不但感化了表里不一的丁梅斯代尔，同时也在感化着充满罪恶的社会。至于她的丈夫奇林渥斯，小说则把他写成了一个一心只想窥秘复仇的影子式的人物。他在小说中只起情节铺垫的作用。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，它不仅是美国浪漫主义小说的代表作，同时也被称作是美国心理分析小说的开创篇。
3. The literature of realism
Emily Dickinson 艾米莉·狄金森(Emily Dickinson)在一八八六年与世长辞；而她深锁在盒子里的大量创作诗篇，则是她留给世人的最大厚礼。艾米莉·狄金森（Emily Dickinson 1830－1886）是美国著名女诗人，她的诗公开出版后，得到了越来越高的评价。她在美国诗史上的地位和影响仅次于惠特曼。根据现存作品，艾米莉惊人的创作力为自己，也为世人留下一千八百首诗，包括了定本的一千七百七十五首与新近发现的二十五首。
“我听到一只苍蝇嗡嗡叫”
I heard a Fly buzz--when I died--
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air--
Between the Heaves of Storm--
The Eyes around--had wrung them dry--
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset--when the King
Be witnessed--in the Room--
I willed my Keepsakes--Signed away
What portions of me be
Assignable--and then it was
There interposed a Fly--
With Blue--uncertain stumbling Buzz--
Between the light--and me--
And then the Windows failed--and then
I could not see to see—
这首诗就表述了诗中人生命结束时的思想感觉.在她弥留之际,亲友们强忍悲痛静静地围着她,而她的注意力却集中在一只苍蝇身上,它发出令人困惑的,忧郁的嗡嗡声,挡住临死者的视线,诗人把意识的最后丧失,即死亡,描述为视线模糊,紧接着便是一片黑暗.诗中,狄金森运用苍蝇这种令人生厌的动物作为意象,来说明在死亡那一瞬间的人生体验.虽然狄金森生活在一个自我封闭的环境,她对生活所怀有的渴望和执著使她能够坦然地面对死亡.在她看来,死亡并非毁灭,而是通往永生的桥梁.
The road not taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
《未选择的路》是一首哲理抒情诗，它表面平易，实则蕴含深邃的哲理；看似倾诉个人经历，实则表达人们的共同感受。在这首诗里，弗罗斯特抓住林中岔道这一具体形象，用比喻的手法引起人们丰富生动的联想，烘托出人生岔路这样具有哲理寓意的象征。诗人选择的是人们司空见惯的林中岔道，来阐发如何抉择人生道路这一生活哲理的。在这首诗中，诗人以朴素自然的语言和韵律来表现自己对人生的思索。这种质朴无华的风格使这首诗如夏夜里清凉柔和的风，洋溢着清新自然的情趣，给人一种沁人心脾之感。这首诗描绘的是一个面临选择的人和他进行选择时的心态，至于选择的具体内容并没有写出，诗人的着眼点是选择本身。每一个读者都能够在这首诗中发现自身的生活体验，理解其中的哲理内容。
Carl Sandburg桑德堡，c．(Carl Sandburg 1878-1967) 1914年桑德堡的《芝加哥》和其他8首诗在《诗刊》上发表，引起很大反响，毁誉参半。1916年出版的《芝加哥诗集》莫定了他在诗坛的地位。此后相继出版诗集《剥玉米的人》(1918)、《烟与钢》(1920)、《太阳烧灼的西方石板》(1922)、《早安，美国》(1928),长诗《人民，是的》(1936)和《诗集》(1951)。他与韦彻尔.林赛、埃德加.李.马斯特斯等形成芝加哥诗派、成为美国诗歌民主传统的继承者。此外；桑德堡还撰写过《林肯传》(共6卷，1926-1942)。
Fog
The fog comes 像小猫儿那样飘来了
On little cat feet那是雾
It sits looking它蹲下的瞳仁里
Over harbor and city有港口和城镇
On silent haunches它瞬间蹲得更低、更低
And then moves on消失不见了
这是美国意象派诗人卡尔·桑德堡的一首诗。它短小含蓄，意境悠远，是客观与主观物象的融合，是作者眼前实象和胸中虚象的有机统一。这首诗语言简洁、清新、凝练，含不尽之意于言外。这首诗有着生活的艺术的美。透过诗歌语言符号的表面，我们似乎可以这样理解：20世纪初期，西方工业革命蓬勃发展，现代大都市日益繁荣，资本主义世界里物欲横流，茫茫人海中，四顾茫茫，人越发感到孤独。个性受到压抑，许多人精神在流浪，灵魂在漂泊。何处是理想的栖身之地？作者要寻求思想的解脱，内心重负的释放，于是就用《雾》这首小诗来折射自己的心境。
Cool tombs
When Abraham Lincoln was shoveled into the tombs, he forgot the copperheads and the assassin . . . in the dust, in the cool tombs.
And Ulysses Grant lost all thought of con men and Wall Street, cash and collateral turned ashes . . . in the dust, in the cool tombs.
Pocahontas' body, lovely as poplar, sweet as a red haw in November or a pawpaw in May, did she wonder? Does she remember? . . . in the dust, in the cool tombs?
Take any stressful of people buying clothes and groceries, cheering a hero or throwing confetti and blowing tin horns . . . tell me if the lovers are losers . . . tell me if any get more than the lovers . . . in the dust . . in the cool tombs.
William Faulkner威廉·福克纳（William Faulkner 1897-1962），美国作家，一生共写了19部长篇小说与近百篇短篇小说，其中15部长篇与绝大多数短篇的故事都发生在约克纳帕塔法县，称为约克纳帕塔法世系。其主要脉络是这个县杰弗逊镇及其郊区的属于不同社会阶层的若干个家族的几代人的故事，时间从1800年起直到第二次世界大战以后。世系中共600多个有名有姓的人物在各个长篇、短篇小说中穿插交替出现。其中最有代表性的作品是《喧哗与骚动》
A rose for Emily A ROSE FOR EMILY是威廉．福克纳非常著名的短篇小说，它特殊之处就在于它能够让人全神灌注地把整篇看完，之后仍然意犹未尽，又多么希望把整个故事说给别人听；虽然结局令人痛苦不堪，可是发人深省。A ROSE FOR EMILY是一篇以爱为主轴的小说,也许它不浪漫也不激情，但在某些小地方总不经意的透出一丝感人的气息。
Emily的父亲认为将她与外界隔绝是对她最好的保护，所以他以自视过高的心态一直在护卫着Emily，或许Emily曾想过反抗，但经年累月下来，这已成一种习惯。她已被父亲的高塔关住。当她父亲去世以后，她一直赖以维生的塔也随之倒了。她原本可以敞开心扉不再过寂寞孤独的日子，可是她又依据父亲对她的影响建造了另一座塔，以此否认父亲已死的事实。或许她心中认为这是最安全的一种方式
Barron的出现使她对自己的生活感到厌倦，再也不愿意继续孤独的日子，所以她尝试出门和人群接触，可是父亲对她的影响太深。她那高傲的心深爱着Barron，却不懂得与他交流爱的情感。于是当她将要和Barron结婚的时候，才发现这一切并不是Barron想要的，因为Barron对自由的执着使他不愿意对婚姻做出承诺。所以，当Emily知道自己不能拥有Barron时，她唯一能做的就是---把Barron带入自己的世界。
在奥地利，玫瑰是爱情、爱慕和敬仰的表示；而另一方面，Emily这一生中并没有任何点缀和光明，更没有鲜花所代表的生气，所以ROSE是叙述者在影射自己。以此推论，这个故事当依着“执着”为线索：首先，Emily的父亲对她执着的占有，而后是Emily对Barron爱的执着，Barron对自由的执着，还有叙述者对Emily执着的敬慕，直到Emily过世,叙述者仍一直关心注意着她。
她是自以为是家族的牺牲品，也是父亲占有欲下的囚犯。自私的占有并不是爱，而是一种欲望。即使Emily有自己的想法也不可以表达，也没有说话的对象，她为了保密甚至连唯一的仆人都给毒哑了；为了逃避现实她一直活在自己的世界里，和外面的事物全然隔绝，所以她留不住恋人，就让恋人的尸体伴着她数十年。直到她去世后，镇民才在她的床上发现失踪多年的Barron的骸骨……
Emily是个可怜的受害者。是她的至亲使她成为一个孤僻的人。也许她知道别人对她的关心，但是在她封闭的情感中又意图拒绝这种有限的关怀，哪怕是是她最需要的感情。其实Emily拥有很多可贵的事物，如果她能敞开心扉，她的人生就会像玫瑰那样鲜艳和美丽了。
5． Ppt 上的
Emily Dickinson
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! They’d banish us – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell your name – the livelong June
To an admiring Bog!
海明威《白象似的群山》在西班牙的某个小火车站，由巴塞罗那开往马德里的快车还有四十分钟到站。一对男女--男人是美国人，和他一起的女人叫吉格--他们在车站的酒吧门口喝酒，候车。这期间大约半个小时，两个人交谈着，故事描述了他们谈话的情形。吉格怀孕了，男人感到心烦，希望女人去做流产。女人的回答言不及义，心不在焉。在两个地方，我们感觉到他们的分歧变得尖锐起来，涉及到他们对生活的理解。
没有结局，故事戛然而止。回顾他们的交谈，可见冲突蓄势待发，过程曲折。对是否做流产本身，两人似乎没异议了。男人说他不会强迫女人做，女人说我可以去做，我不在乎自己。可在表面的一致下，读者感觉到有某种阻碍，人物各自遭受挫折。这也意味着，他们的关系随之有所变化。车站的这场谈话，是这种变化的前奏。
海明威风格的简洁从此可以看出。这种简洁，表现在作家写作时，他非常明确什么东西有以一当十的作用，它既是一种当下情境，又含孕着其他的，读者通过求索可以获知的东西。
Anne Bradstreet
To My Dear and Loving Husband
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
Then heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so p reserve
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
Poetic features：repetition
Upon the Burning of Our House
In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow neer I did not look,
I waken'd was with thundring nois
And Piteous shreiks of dreadfull voice. That fearfull sound of fire and fire,
Let no man know is my Desire.
I, starting up, the light did spye,
And to my God my heart did cry
To strengthen me in my Distresse
And not to leave me succourlesse.
Then coming out beheld a space,
The flame consume my dwelling place. And, when I could no longer look,
I blest his Name that gave and took,
That layd my goods now in the dust:
Yea so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own: it was not mine;
Far be it that I should repine.
He might of All justly bereft,
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the Ruines oft I past,
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
And here and there the places spye Where oft I sate, and long did lye.
Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest; There lay that store I counted best:
My pleasant things in ashes lye,
And them behold no more shall I.
Under thy roof no guest shall sitt,
Nor at thy Table eat a bitt.
No pleasant tale shall 'ere be told,
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee. In silence ever shalt thou lye;
Adieu, Adeiu; All's vanity.
Then streight I gin my heart to chide,
And didst thy wealth on earth abide? Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust? Raise up thy thoughts above the skye That dunghill mists away may flie.
Thou hast an house on high erect
Fram'd by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent tho' this bee fled.
It's purchased, and paid for too
By him who hath enough to doe.
A Prise so vast as is unknown,
Yet, by his Gift, is made thine own. Ther's wealth enough, I need no more; Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store. The world no longer let me Love,
My hope and Treasure lyes Above.
美国文学重点的名词解释
New England Transcendentalism: Philosophically, Transcendentalism means the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively, or of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses. New England Transcendentalism stress the importance of the Over-soul, the Individual and Nature. Other concepts that accompanied Transcendentalism include the idea that nature is enabling and the individual is divine and therefore, self-reliant. The leading figure of New England Transcendentalism is Emerson and Thoreau. American Romanticism: It is one of the most important periods in the history of American literature that stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War. Being a period of the great flowering of American literat ure, it is also called “the American Renaissance.” American romantic works emphasize the imaginative and emotional qualities of literature. Romanticists include such literary figures as Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wordsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman and some others. Free Verse: Poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme American Puritanism: The first settlers who came to America wer e called “Puritans”, so named after because they wished to “purify” the religious practice in the church. They established their own religious and moral principles as American Puritanism, which stressed predestination, original sin, total depravity, and li mited atonement from God’s grace. American Puritanism is one of the enduring influences in American thought and American literature. American Puritanism was greatly influenced by Calvinism. Symbolism: Symbolism is the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships. American Literature: Literature refers to body of work which for whatever reason deserves to be preserved as part of the reproduction of meaning within a given culture. It mainly includes novel, drama, poetry, short stories, biography and some other forms. American Literature refers to literature written by Americans in English. Epic A long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. Many epics were drawn from an oral tradition and were transmitted by song and recitation before they were written down. Analysis "To a Waterfowl" is written in iambic trimeter and iambic pentameter, consisting of eight stanzas of four lines. The poem represents early stages of American Romanticism through celebration of Nature and God's presence within Nature. Bryant is acknowledged as skillful at depicting American scenery but his natural details are often combined with a universal moral, as in "To a Waterfowl" Figures of speech alliteration metaphor anaphora personification:
美国文学考试资料整理
一．The Literature of Colonial America(Puritanism) 1.The first English colony: Jamestown in Virginia in 1607 2.The first American writer: John Smith 3.Anne Bradstreet: first American woman poet; a Puritan poet; once called “Tenth Muse”; 二．Literature of Reason and Revolution War of Independence (1775-1783);The French and Indian War / the Seven Y ears’War(1756-1763) 1..Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography; Richard’s Almanac Maxims from Poor Richard’s Almanac (proverbs that give practical wisdom) 2..Thomas Paine (1737-1809): Common Sense: a strong push for the Revolution W ar; four parts (British enslavement of the colonies; praising democratic election; America’s economic and military potential to protect the rights of people) 3..Philip Freneau (1752-1832) The first American-born poet;“Poet of the American Revolution”, “Father of American Poetry”, the most significant poet of 18th century America W orks:The Wild Honey Suckle《野忍冬花》on mortality, The Indian Burying Ground 《印第安人殡葬地》on the imagined afterlife, The British Prison Ship《英国囚船》about his imprisoned experience. 三．Romanticism The American Romantic period is considered one of the most important periods, the first literary Renaissance, in the history of American literature. It stretches from the end of the 18th century through the outbreak of the Civil W ar. It started with the publication of W ashington Irving’s The Sketch Book and ended with Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. 1.Washington Irving (1783-1859) Literary status: the first American to earn an international reputation; Father of the American short stories The Sketch Book: winning him international popularity，the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature. Major works: A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty under the name of “Diedrich Knickerbocker
《美国文学》期末考试试卷(A卷)答案
湖州师范学院外国语学院2008— 2009学年第二学期 《美国文学》期末考试试卷（A卷）答案暨评分标准 I. Write the names of the authors. (10%) ①Walt Whitman ②Edgar Allen Poe ③Wallace Stevens ④Franklin Norris ⑤Stephen Crane ⑥William Faulkner ⑦Sinclair Lewis ⑧John Steinbeck ⑨Langston Hughes ⑩Tennessee Williams II. Fill in the following blanks with appropriate information.（10%） ①New England ②Regionalism or Local color writing ③semi-autobiographical ④anti-realism ⑤Imagist ⑥Santiago ⑦multiple narrations or points of view ⑧1930 ⑨Harlem Renaissance ⑩Eugene O’Neill III. Choose only one answer form the four choices as the most appropriate answer. （20%） 1－5. A D C B B 6－10. D B E B A IV. Identify the author and the title of the work from which each of the following excerpts is taken. And then answer the question after each excerpt. (20%) Passage 1 the author: Walt Whitman (1%) the title of the work : Songs of Myself (1%) Question: What is the poet celebrating? (2%) The poet is celebrating individualism and nationalism, singing of all those people who form the American nationality.
常耀信美国文学知识点
Introduction 1. The Youngest National Literature 1781 (Independence War) --- 2012= about 200 years 2. Great achievement: 1930-1980, nine American writers won the Nobel Prize The Periods of American Literature 1.The colonial period (约1607 - 1765) 2. The period of enlightenment and Independence War (1765-1800) 3. The romantic period (1800 - 1865) 4. The realistic period (1865 - 1914) 5. The period of modernism (1914 - 1945) 6. The Contemporary Literature (1945 -) Chapter I Colonial America American Puritanism 1. The beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans(most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects) 2. Strictness and austerity in conduct and religion Puritans‘ religio us belief: Calvinism ◆John Calvin, the great French theologian. The principal concepts: 1) Original sin and total depravity. 2) Predestination 3) Salvation of selected few ◆ The Puritans carried with them to America a code of values, a philosophy of life, and a point of view, which, in time, took root in the New world and became what is known as American Puritanism. (p11) The Influence of Puritanism on American Literature 1) Idealism（optimism） 2) Symbolism 3) Simplicity in writing Significance of Puritanism With time passing it became a dominant factor in American life, one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American Literature. To some extent it is a state of mind, a part of the national cultural atmosphere that the American breathes, rather than a set of tenets. Time: From the arrival of the first settlers in the early 17th century to the end of the 18th century Literary Features 1. Forms Personal literature in various forms --- diaries, histories, common books (札记)，journals, letters, travel books, sermons etc. 2. Content 1) practical matter-of-fact accounts of farming, hunting, travel, etc. designed to inform people ―at home‖ what life was like in the new world 2) highly theoretical discussions of religious questions. 3. Style In Style, English literary traditions were imitated and transplanted. Early writers in the colonial period John Smith, a captain, one of the founders of the colony of Jamestown, Virginia; the writer of A Description of New England. William Bradford, the first governor of the Plymouth Plantation, his writing: Of Plymouth Plantation (P16) John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, In his famous speech A Model of Christian Charity ,he states that there was a agreement between God and his people of building a new Garden of Eden in the new world. (P17) Therefore let us choose life, 所以，让我们选择生活， that we and our seed 这样，我们和我们的后代， may live by obeying His 可以听从上帝的声音， voice and cleaving to Him, 须臾不离上帝， for He is our life and 因为，上帝是我们的生命， our prosperity. 我们的兴旺 1
美国文学期末考试复习必备(精)
美国文学期末考试复习必备（精） 1. What’s Puritanism? A religious and political movement which appeals to the right of the individual to political & religious independence. It includes three parts: a code of values, a point of view & a philosophy of life 2. What are the basic Puritan beliefs? 1). Total Depravity 2). Unconditional Election 3). Limited Atonement 4). Irresistible Grace 5). Perseverance of the "saints" 3. What are American Puritan values? Sobriety thrift, Self-reliance Diligence, Struggle, simple tastes 4. What are the features of American literature in the Colonial Period? A. Humble origins: diaries, journals, histories, letters. Its various forms, occupy a major position in the literature of the early colonial period. B. in content: serving either god or colonial expansion or both C. in form: imitating English literary traditions. D. in style: tight and logic structure, precise and compact expression, avoidance of rhetorical decoration, adoption of homely imagery and simplicity of diction. E. Symbolism formed in this period ------To the pious Puritan, the physical, phenomenal world was nothing but a symbol of God. F. Simple, fresh and direct style
美国文学赏析整理
一 I heard the merry grasshopper then sing, The black-clad cricket bear a second part, They kept one tune, and played on the same string, Seeming to glory in their little art. Shall creatures abject thus their voices raise? And in their kind resound their maker’s praise, Whilst I, as mute, can warble forth no higher lays? “Under the cooling shadow of a stately Elm, Close state I by a goodly River’s side, Where gliding streams the Rocks did overwhelm; A lonely place with pleasures dignifi’d. I once that lov’d the shady woods so well, Now thought the rivers did the trees excel, And if the sun would ever shine there would I dwell. “While musing thus with contemplation fed, And thousand fancies buzzing in my brain, The sweet tongu’d Philomel percht o’er my head, And chanted forth a most melodious strain, Which rapt me so with wonder and delight, I judg’d my hearing better than my sight. 题目：the 9th of Contemplations 作者：Anne Bradstreet 赏析： 1. Rhyme royal: sevenline iambic petametre 七行五步抑扬格 2. Rhyme: ababccc 3. Theme: religion 4. 象征：black-clad=death; abject=admitting defeat; maker= god 5. A genuine expression of poetic feeling in the presence of nature. The poem offers the reader an insight into the mentality of the early Puritan pioneering in a new world. The poet heard the grasshopper and the cricket sing, and she searched for her own soul accordingly. 6. She saw sth metaphysical inhering in the physical, a mode of perception which was singularly Puritan 二 It was about this time I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous was not sufficient to prevent our slipping and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct. For this purpose I therefore contrived the following method. In the various enumerations of the moral virtues I had met with in my reading, I found the catalog more or less numerous, as different writers included more or fewer ideas under the same name. Temperance, for example, was by some confined to eating and drinking, while by others it was extended to mean the moderating every other pleasure, appetite, inclination, or
大四美国文学期末考试题型及例题
大四美国文学期末考试题型及例题： 1.选择/对错60分（40道选择，20个对错） 2.名词解释10分（5个） 3.选段配对10分（5个） 4.问答20分（10/2） 1．历史：Father / poetess… 2. 名作家：Hemingway, Faulkner, Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson 3．作品：The W asteland/Moby Dick/Scarlet Letter 1.a)选择题（40个，40分） 1. At the age of reason and revolution, Americans were influenced by the European movement called the ________. A. Chartist Movement B. Romanticist Movement C. Enlightenment Movement D. Modernist Movement 2. Which is NOT connected to Benjamin Franklin? ________ A. He was born in a poor family. B. He was a pious puritan. C. He was phrased as “Jack of all trades”. D. He was a master of diplomacy. 3. Ernest Hemingway is noted for the following EXCEPT ________. A. Lost Generation B. Iceberg theory C. American Dream D. Code Heroes 4. Which character is NOT from The Scarlet Letter? ________ A. Hester Prynne B. Roger Chillingworth C. Captain Ahab D. Pearl 5. Jack London’s semi-biographical novel ________well presents the disillusionment of American Dream. A. The American Tragedy B. The Call of the Wild C. Martin Eden D. The Grapes of Wrath b)判断对错题（20个，20分） 1. Poe’s masterpiece “To Helen” is written to memorize his deceased wife. (F) 2. The tone of “Annabel Lee” is optimistic and hopeful. (F) 3. Mark Twain's novel Jumping Frog was an artistic failure, but it gave its name to the America of the postbellum period which it attempts to satirize. (F) 4. Sister Carrie ended up in tragedy because she could not control her fate. (F)
美国文学重点名词解释
学习资料收集于网络，仅供参考 1. 2. 6.Transcendentalism: is literature，philosophical and literary movement that flourished in New England from about 1836 to1860. It originated among a small group of intellectuals who were reaching against the orthodoxy of Calvinism and the rationalism of the Unitarian Church, their own faith centering on the divinity of humanity and the natural world instead. Transcendentalism derived some of its basic idealistic concepts from romantic German philosophy, and from such English authors as Carlyle，Coleridge, and Wordsworth. The ideas of transcendentalism were most eloquently expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson in such essays as Nature and Self-Reliance and by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden. .Symbolism象征主义：It is the writing technique of using symbols. It's a literary movement that arose in France in the last half of the 19th century and that greatly influenced many English writer, particularly poets, of the 20th century. It enables poets to compress a very complex idea or set of ideas into one image or even one word. It's one of the most powerful devices that poets employ in creation. 8.American naturalism：this term was created by Emile Zola. Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory played an important role in naturalism. In the works off naturalism，characters were conceived as complex combinations of inherited attributes and habits conditioned by social and economic forces. At th century，the end of the 19this pessimistic form of realism appeared in america. Naturalism attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness. Characters in the works of naturalism were dominated by their environment and heredity. Naturalism emphasized：the world was around；men had no free will；religious“truth”were illusory；the destiny of human beings was misery in life and oblivion in death. The dominant figures in naturalism were Stephen crane，Frank Norris, Jack London and Theodore Dreiser. 3.The lost generation: included the young English and American expatriates as well
美国文学期末考试重点
名词解释： Imagism: It’s a poetic movement of England and the U.S. flourished from 1909 to 1917.The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing” and the economy of wording. The leaders of this movement were Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell. Beat generation: The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this g roup include Kerouac’s On the Road and Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.” 二、1. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Nature: it is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism. The American Scholar:it has been regarded as “America’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence”. 2. Henry David Thoreau: Walden 3. Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter: 主题：Hawthorne focuses his attention on the moral, emotional, and psychological effects or consequences of the sin on the people in general and those main characters in particular, so as to show us the tension between society and individuals. To Hawthorne, everybody is potentially a sinner, and great moral courage is therefore indispensable for the improvement of human nature. 4. Herman Melville: Moby Dick A. 作品分析： （1）Moby Dick represents the sum total of Melville’s bleak view of the world in which he lived. It is at once godless and purposeless. The loss of faith and the sense of futility and meaningless which characterize modern life of the West were expresse d in Melville’s work so well that the twentieth century has found it both fascinating and great. (2) One of the major themes of this novel is alienation, which exists in the life of Melville on different levels, between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. Melville also criticizes New England Transcendentalism of its emphasis on individualism and Oversoul. Another theme of this novel is “rejection and quest.” (3) The novel is highly symbolic. The voyage itself is a metaphor for “search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience.” Moby Dick is the most conspicuous symbol in the book and it is capable of many interpretations. It is a symbol of evil to some, one of goodness to others, and both to still others. Its whiteness is a paradoxical color, signifying as it does death and corruption as well as purity, innocence, and youth. It represents the final mystery of the universe which man will do well to desist from pursuing. (4) Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple views of his narratives. He tends to write periodic sentences. His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profusely commented upon and praised. B. what does the white whale in Moby Dick symbolize? Why do you think so? For Captain Ahab, the white whale represents evil. After the loss of his leg in his encounter with the white whale, Ahab begins to hate Moby Dick and tries his best to kill the whale. It seems that he embodies all of the evil he once consigned to the white whale. For other members on the whaling ship, the white whale symbolizes the unknown, mysterious natural force of the universe. For the readers, the white whale is capable of many interpretations, for it is “paradoxically benign an d malevolent, nourishing and destructive,” “massive, brutal, monolithic, but at the same time protean, erotically beautiful, infinitely variable.” C. Major themes: obsession, religion, and idealism versus pragmatism, revenge, racism, sanity, hierarchical relationships, and politics. D. the Pequod is the microcosm of human society and the voyage becomes a search for truth. Moby Dick is a mystery, an ultimate mystery of the universe, and the voyage of the mind will forever remain a search, not a discovery, of the truth. The whole story turns out to be a symbolic voyage of the mind quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe, a spiritual exploration into man’s deep reality and psychology. 5. Walt Whitman: Leaves of Grass.It has been praised as “Democ ratic Bible”, and as American Epic. 主题：(1)he shows concern for the whole hard-working people and the burgeoning life of cities. (2) realization of the individual value. (3) pursuit of love and happiness. (4) Before and during the Civil War, Whitman expressed much mourning for the sufferings of the young lives in the battlefield and showed a determination to carry on the fighting dauntlessly until the final victory. 写作风格：(1) Whitman wrote “free verse”, that is, poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme. (2) There is a strong sense of the poems being rhythmical. Parallelism and phonetic recurrence at the beginning of the lines contribute to the musicality of his poems. (3) Most of the pictures he painted with words are honest, undistorted images of different aspects of America of the day. (4) Whitman’s language is relatively simple and even rather crude. Another characteristic in Whitman’s language is his strong tendency to use oral English. Whitman’s vocabulary is amazing. He would use powerful, colorful, as well as rarely-used words. Leaves of Grass的分析： (1). Grass, the most common thing with the greatest vitality, is an image of the poet himself, a symbol of the then rising American nation and an embodiment of his ideals about democracy and freedom. (2). In this giant work, openness, freedom, and above all, individualism are all that concerned him. (3). In this book he also praises nature, democracy, labor and creation, and sings of man’s dignity and equality, and of th e brightest future of mankind. Most of the poems in Leaves of Grass sing of the “en-masse” and self as well. 6. Emily Dickinson: 诗歌的主要内容：love, nature, death and immortality. 7. Edgar Allen Poe: 短篇小说家和诗人。 Poe is the father of psychoanalytic criticism and the father of detective story. 主题：death of one’s beloved lover of great intelligence and beauty. He also writes about horror (Gothic) stories, murder, and insanity. 8. Henry James: The turn of the screw The founder of psychological realism. He was the first American writer to conceive his artistic work in international themes. 9. Mark Twain:The adventures of Huckleberry Finn Hemingway described it as the book from which “all modern American literature comes”. The style of this book is quite simple. The book is written in the colloquial style. Though a local book, it touches upon the human situation in a general, indeed universal way: humanitarianism ultimately triumphs. It tells a story about the United States before the Civil War, around 1850, when the great Mississippi Valley was still being settled. Here lies an America, wit its great national faults, full of violence and even cruelty, yet still retaining the virtues of “some simplicity, some innocence, some peace.” 10. Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser: 自然主义的代表人物。 11. F. Scott Fitzgerald:The Great Gatsby 迷惘一代的代表人物 12. Ernest Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms; For Whom the Bell Tolls; The Old Man and the Sea The title of For Whom the Bell Tolls comes from John Donne’s Meditation. 13. William Faulkner: stream of consciousness的写作手法 14. Ezra Pound: 意象派代表人物。 意象派基本主张： (1) Direct treatment of the “thing”, whether subjective or objective. (2) To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation (3) As regarding rhythm, to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in the sequence of a metronome. 15. Robert Frost: natural poet. 16. Eugene Glastone O’Neill: Desire Under the Elms Long Days Journey into Night: Mark Twain H. L. Mencken considered "the true father of our national literatu re” Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1884) and Life on the Mississippi(1883) Twain shaped the world's view of American and made a more extensive combination of American folk humor and serious literature than previous writers had ever done. Mark Twain’s sty le 1) Twain is also known as a local colorist, who preferred to present social life through portraits of the local characters of his regions 2) Another fact that made Twain unique is his magic power with language, his use of vernacular. His words are colloquial, concrete and direct in effect, and his sentence structures are simple, even ungrammatical, which is typical of the spoken language 3) Mark Twain's humor is remarkable, too. Most of his works tend to be funny, containing some practical jokes, comic details, witty remarks. 4) Paid more attention to the "life" of the Americans, Concerned with the life of a small, well-defined region and the lower-class people 5) Nostalgic in a vanishing way of life and recorders of a present that faded before their eyes Adventures of Huckleberry Fin The character analysis and social meaning of Huck Finn Huck is a typical American boy with “a sound heart and a deformed conscience”. He appears to be vulgar in language and in manner, but he is honest and decent in es sence. His remarkable raft’s journey down on the Mississippi river can be regarded as his process of education and his way to grow up. Huck is the son of nature and a symbol for freedom and earthly pragmatism. Through the eye of Huck, the innocent and reluctant rebel, we see the pre-Civil War American society fully exposed. Twain contrasts the life on the river and the life on the banks, the innocence and the experience, the nature and the culture, the wilderness and the civilization. Ernest Hemingway A Nobel Prize winner for literature His style, the particular type of hero in his novels, and his life attitudes have been widely recognized, not only in English-speaking countries but all over the world Hemingway shot himself with a hunting gun In Our Time (1925)is the first book to present a Hemingway hero--Nick Adams The Sun Also Rises(1926) is Hemingway's first true novel. A vivid portrait of "The Lost Generation," -- a group of young Americans who left their native land and fought in the war and later engaged themselves in writing in a new way about their own experiences. Hemingway's second big success is A Farewell to Arms, telling us a story about the tragic love affair of a wounded American soldier with a British nurse -- emphasizes his belief that man is trapped both physically and mentally, but goes to some lengths to refute the idea of nature, man is doomed to be entrapped For Whom the Bell Tolls clearly represents a new beginning in Hemingway's career as a writer, which concerns a volunteer American guerrilla Robert Jordan fighting in the Spanish Civil War, this work Caps his career and leads to his receipt of the Nobel Prize The Old Man and the Sea, Men Without Women(1927), Death in the Afternoon(1932), The Snows of Kilimanjaro, To Have and Have Not (1937) Hemingway develops the style of colloquialism initiated by Mark Twain Hemingway was highly praised by the Nobel Prize Committee for "his powerful style-forming mastery of the art" of creating modern fiction. Indian Camp The title indicates that the material is contemporary and to some extent, representative of the early twentieth-century experience A reference to the well-know phrase from the Book of Common Prayer:" Give us peace in our time, O Lord," the title is very ironic because there is no peace at all in the stories In a chronological order, introduces Nick Adams to readers from his childhood to adolescence and manhood Nick watches his father deliver an Indian woman of a baby by Caesarian section, with a Jack-knife and without anesthesia. This incident brings the boy into contact with something that is perplexing and unpleasant, and is actually Nick's initiation into the pain and violence of birth and death. Most of Hemingway's later works are merely variations of the Nick Adams stories in In Our Time The Hemingway code heroes and grace under pressure They have seen the cold world, and for one cause, they boldly and courageously face the reality. They have an indestructible spirit for his optimistic view of life. Whatever the result is, they are ready to live with grace under pressure. No matter how tragic the ending is, they will never be defeated. Finally, they will be prevailing because of their indestructible spirit and courage. The iceberg technique Hemingway believes that a good writer does not need to reveal every detail of a character or action. The one-eighth is presented will suggest all other meaningful dimensions of the story. Thus, Hemingway’s language is symbolic and suggestive.