陶洁《美国文学选读》(第3版)笔记和课后习题详解(第13单元 凯萨琳

第13单元凯萨琳?安?波特

13.1复习笔记

I.Introduction to author（作者简介）

1.Life（生平）

Katherine Anne Porter(1890-1980)was born in Indian Greek,Texas.She began her life as a news reporter and sometimes as an actress and ballad https://www.360docs.net/doc/057395332.html,ter she stayed in Europe and Mexico which proved very valuable for her writing.She was basically a short-story writer.Her Collected Stories won her both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award.She lectured at various universities and received honorary doctorates from various institutions.She was vice president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters from1950to1952.

凯萨琳·安·波特(1890—1980)出生于德克萨斯州印第安河市。她曾做过报社记者，演员和民谣歌手。后来她到过欧洲和墨西哥。这段经历对她日后的写作很有帮助。她主要是短篇小说家。她的《短篇小说集》获得了普利策奖和全国图书奖。她曾到许多大学做讲座，收到了许多机构授予的荣誉博士学位。从1950年到1952年她担任美国国家艺术与文学协会副主席。

2.Major Works（主要作品）

The Flowering Judas(1930)《开花的紫荆树》

Pale Horse,Pale Rider(1939)《灰色骑士灰色马》

Old Mortality(1939)《修墓老人》

The Leaning Tower(1944)《斜塔》

The Old Order(1944)《旧秩序》

A Ship of Fools(1962)《愚人船》

II.Selected works（选读作品）

◆The Jilting of Granny Weatherall《被背弃的老祖母》

The Granny in this story is a very strong and hardy woman.At first,her lover abandoned her,and then her husband died at an early age,but she was confronted with frustrations bravely and took care of farm all by herself and successfully brought up her children.However,the Granny also has weaknesses.She has always been trying to forget about the shame and anguish brought about by her lover’s abandon,but unfortunately,she couldn’t dismiss them form her mind until she died.On her deathbed,she was hurt again;because that God did not come to her to take her to the heaven as her religious belief meant,but her life was took away by Death before she was ready to die.

故事中的老祖母是一位坚强的女性。最初，恋人背弃了她，后来丈夫又英年早逝，但她面对生活的挫折毫不畏惧，独自一人耕耘土地并把儿女抚养成人。然而，老祖母也有弱点，她一直努力企图用忘却的方法来对付恋人的背弃所带来的屈辱和痛苦，不幸的是她至死也没能忘怀。临终前，她又一次受到伤害，上帝并没有像她信仰的宗教所说的那样来接她去天堂，死神在她还没有准备好的情况下夺走了她的生命。

III.Analysis of major works（主要作品分析）

◆Ships Of Fools《愚人船》

This novel was based on her first voyage from Mexico to Europe in1931.She declared that her novel was concerned with the downhill drag of western civilization.The novel consists of three parts,“Embarkation,”“High Sea,”and “The Harours.”The ship is a metaphor for the macrocosmic human world.The novel is supposed to tell the truth about man and his life.And the truth revealed here is disconcertingly depressing.Man is portrayed with his foibles and failings that make him out as an arrant fool.Their behavior is generally so disgusting.Life is so bad and lonely and sickening that it is not quite worth living.They voyage toward a place waiting dark and cold for them.One reads the book and comes away with the impression that misanthropy is justifiable.

该小说是作者根据1931年从墨西哥到欧洲的航行经历写成的。她曾说她的小说讲的是西方文明逐渐衰落的情况。小说分为三部分，即《上船》、《海上》和《港口》。船本身便是人类世界的缩影。小说讲述了关于人及人生的真谛，但是这真谛确实令人感到憋闷。小说描述了人类的缺点不足以致其显得像个十足的傻子。他们的行为令人沮丧的。而人生则苍凉、落寞、病态，人活着毫无意义。人们的航行最终驶向黑暗、阴冷之地。读这本小说很容易看出作者的厌世情绪。

13.2课后习题详解

1.What are the qualities that Granny possesses which help her live successfully?

Key:Granny is very responsible for her family,and she is always ready to do what she should do,therefore,she struggles live successful for the sake of her children. She loves her children very much.Granny is also very diligent,and keeps everything in order.She is very strong-minded,and has the will to go through hardships.After she is abandoned by her lover,she still has courage to live on. She is very intelligent,and her children like asking her for advice.However,in some way,she is a little stubborn,sticking to her own opinions.Perhaps,that is also a helpful quality for her to live successfully.

2.Does Granny have any weaknesses?If so,what are they?

Key:Yes,Granny has some weaknesses.She,sometimes,likes complaining about something.She is a little stubborn,and can not forget about what and who has done harm to her and she is tortured.She is a little bad-tempered and impatient. She is,in some way,not very friendly to others.She is also nostalgic and can not accept the truth that she is already eighty years old.

3.What intelligent advice and wisdom does Granny give her family?

Key:Granny gives her family many intelligent advice and wisdom through her won actions.She teaches her children to be diligent,economical and strong-minded.More importantly,she lets them know that a person,especially a woman,should be independent.

4.Try to reorder the events told in the story as they would have happened in real life or as they flashed through Granny’s mind.

Key:Granny’s boyfriend,George didn’t show up on their wedding,thus,Granny was abandoned by him.Then,Granny was married to Jack,who died at an early age,and left children with her.She raised her children all by herself,and had good times with them until they left her and built their own families.After they left,they still came to her home to seek advice from her,even when she was very old.