Unit 7 American Literature
【英美概况】【课堂笔记】美国文学american literature
AMERICAN LITERATUREWe shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we startedAnd know the place for the first time.T.S. Eliot --- Little GiddingLiterature represents the language of a people, their culture and their tradition. But the reading of literature is more important to us than just a historical or cultural activity. Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. When we enjoy the comedies and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays, we may also grow and evolve through our literary journey with books.American literature is a literature that has recorded the stories of a search. Early explorers searched for new lands and new wealth. The puritans searched for a place that would become the ideal community, one of which God would approve. Many Americans travelled across America simply because they were restless and were searching for new experiences and opportunities. These searches can be said to be the “pursuit of happiness” and Americ an literature is the story of that pursuit.Some of the early literature was concerned with life in the cities and on the frontier. It created heroes and characters that epitomised the adventurous, the brave and the strong individual. This literature could be said to have created a history for a country which, in European eyes, had very little history!As the country expanded westwards, some authors questioned some of the beliefs and lifestyle of the established east coast communities. For instance, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a book called ‘Nature’ that questioned whether or not humans needed religion to reach a higher state of spirituality. Henry Thoreau wrote about how important it was for individuals to think for themselves, and claimed that an individua l’s conscience is more important than the demands of society. These ideas caused much controversy and discussion.Other writers of this time were writing about human imagination and emotion, rather than intellect. These novels asked the reader to understand the nature of guilt, pride and emotional repression, and to find meaning in his/her life.After the Civil War (1861-1865) many Americans became discontent with the growing materialism of society, and some writers wrote about the harsher reality which was facing some Americans in their daily lives. For instance, they wrote of poor working conditions, unsympathetic reactions by the community to someone who has committed ‘sin’, and of people findingthemselves trapped in their environment and struggling to find happiness.There were also writers like Emily Dickinson who wrote poems such as this:If I can stop one heart from breaking,I shall not live in vain;If I can ease one life the aching,Or cool one pain,Or help one fainting robinUnto his nest again,I shall not live in vain.The first half of the 20th century saw the emergence of writersc alled “Imagists” whose poems focused on strong, concrete images. An example of this style was T.S.Eliot’s poem called the ‘The Waste Land’. This poem created images for the reader to interpret. Another such writer was E. E. Cumming, who threw away the rules of punctuation, spelling and even changed the way words were placed on the page.In the 1920’s in New York there emerged of a lively, powerful form of African-American music called jazz, and at the same time African-American writers began writing about the black community and their lives. Their writings used the rhythms drawn from their African and slavery. They told the American people not only about the injustices that society inflicted upon blacks, but also about the rich cultural life of the “the new negro” who was proud of his/her racial identity. Two African-American writers of this period were Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen.Mother To Son by Langston HughesWell, son, I'll tell you:Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.It's had tacks in it,And splinters,And boards torn up,And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.But all the timeI'se been a-climbin' on,And reachin' landin's,And turnin' corners,And sometimes goin' in the darkWhere there ain't been no light.So, boy, don't you turn back.Don't you set down on the steps.'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.Don't you fall now—For I'se still goin', honey,I'se still climbin',And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.Post World War 2 authors started to write about American society in ways that questioned the direction in which society was going. After a short period of conservatism (1940’s and 1950’s), Americans saw a significant change in their culture and lifestyle. It was the period of African-American activism/protest, the feminist movement, the sexual revolution, the peace movement, and, it was a time when many alternative lifestyles were being experimented with. Politically, the world was in the midst of the Cold War between the USA with its political allies and the USSR and communism in general.People who immigrated to America were often said to be pursuing “The American Dream”. The term “The American Dream” represented an ideal. Simply stated, it meant that in America a person could achieve anything if he/she really wanted it enough. In recent history some people started doubting the possibility of this ideal: it seemed that the ideal could not be possible while society was the way that it was. Some people wanted to change society, and said that “The Dream” should be not be so much about economic success but more about personal fulfillment and the development of a just and caring society. People wanted to feel that they had a purpose in society, where they were needed, where they could fulfill their potential and where they could develop as an individual. It can be seen that some writers expressed a sense of hopelessness about achieving “The Dream” in their books and poetry.Richard Coryby Edwin Arlington RobinsonWhenever Richard Cory went downtown,We people on the pavement looked at him:He was a gentleman from sole to crown,Clean favored, and imperially slim.And he was always quietly arrayed,And he was always human when he talked;But still he fluttered pulses when he said, “Good morning,” and he glittered when he walked. And he was rich -- yes, richer than a king,And admirably schooled in every grace:In fine, we thought that he was everythingTo make us wish that we were in his place.So on we worked, and waited for the light,And went without the meat, and cursed the bread, And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,Went home and put a bullet through his head.Books, such as the following, also reflected this era:‘Catch 22’ (Joseph Heller) portrayed war as an absurd exercise for madmen. (1961)‘Death of a Salesman’ (Arthur Miller) is a play about the com mon man pressured by society. He tries to provide for his family but ultimately he fails to achieve what he thinks (and what society thinks) he should achieve. His unfulfilled dreams lead to a tragic ending.‘Native Son’ (Richard Wright) is a novel which has a black hero, whose character has been heavily impacted upon by a violent and cruel society. (1940)‘Catcher in the Rye’ (J.D.Salinger) is a book which portrays, through the eyes of a teenage boy, the hypocrisies of the adult world. The boy feels a sense of hopelessness about his world.Toni Morrison’s poems portrayed strong black women in society, and the struggles of growing up being black in America during the 1960’s and 1970’s.‘America’ (Allen Ginsberg) is a poem of anger and rage. It expresses the feelings of the Beat writers about the state of American culture in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Th e poem rages against the traditional American values of that time.‘The Kitchen God’s Wife’ by Amy Tan (1991) is a novel about her mother, who was born in China but who later, with her American husband, moved to America. The novel shows how the author sees her mother as a slight embarrassment, because of her traditional Chinese behaviour. Her mother tells her the story of her life in China. At the end of the story the young women comes to see her mother in an entirely different way. The love for her mother is still there, but her respect for her is now immense. Amy Tan was born in America and lives with her family.Extra PoemsWhat Fifty Said by Robert Frost (1925) When I was young my teachers were the old.I gave up fire for form till I was cold.I suffered like a metal being cast.I went to school to age to learn the past.Now when I am old my teachers are the young. What can't be molded must be cracked and sprung.I strain at lessons fit to start a suture.I got to school to youth to learn the future.Hey, that's no way to say goodbye by Leonard CohenI loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm,your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm, yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new,in city and in forest they smiled like me and you, but now it's come to distances and both of us must try,your eyes are soft with sorrow,Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.I'm not looking for another as I wander in my time, walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme you know my love goes with you as your love stays with me,it's just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea,but let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie,your eyes are soft with sorrow,Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm,your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm, yes many loved before us, I know that we are not new,in city and in forest they smiled like me and you, but let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie,your eyes are soft with sorrow,Hey, that's no way to say goodbye.So long, Marianne by Leonard CohenCome over to the window, my little darling,I'd like to try to read your palm.I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy before I let you take me home.Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we beganto laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again.Well you know that I love to live with you,but you make me forget so very much.I forget to pray for the angelsand then the angels forget to pray for us.Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...We met when we were almost youngdeep in the green lilac park.You held on to me like I was a crucifix,as we went kneeling through the dark.Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...Your letters they all say that you're beside me now. Then why do I feel alone?I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web is fastening my ankle to a stone.Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...For now I need your hidden love.I'm cold as a new razor blade.You left when I told you I was curious,I never said that I was brave.Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...Oh, you are really such a pretty one.I see you've gone and changed your name again. And just when I climbed this whole mountainside, to wash my eyelids in the rain!Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...It Ain’t Me Babe by Bob DylanGo 'way from my window,Leave at your own chosen speed.I'm not the one you want, babe,I'm not the one you need.You say you're lookin' for someone Never weak but always strong,To protect you an' defend you Whether you are right or wrong, Someone to open each and every door, But it ain't me, babe,No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.Go lightly from the ledge, babe,Go lightly on the ground.I'm not the one you want, babe,I will only let you down.You say you're looking' for someone Who will promise never to part, Someone to close his eyes for you, Someone to close his heart, Someone who will die for you an' more, But it ain't me, babe,No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.Go melt back into the night, babe, Everything inside is made of stone. There's nothing in here movingAn' anyway I'm not alone.You say you're looking for someone Who'll pick you up each time you fall, To gather flowers constantlyAn' to come each time you call,A lover for your life an' nothing more, But it ain't me, babe,No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.The Times They Are A-Changing by Bob Dylan Come gather 'round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou'll be drenched to the bone.If your time to youIs worth savin'Then you better start swimmin'Or you'll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin'.Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won't come againAnd don't speak too soonFor the wheel's still in spinAnd there's no tellin' whoThat it's namin'.For the loser nowWill be later to winFor the times they are a-changin'.Come senators, congressmenPlease heed the callDon't stand in the doorwayDon't block up the hallFor he that gets hurtWill be he who has stalled There's a battle outsideAnd it is ragin'.It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your wallsFor the times they are a-changin'. Come mothers and fathers Throughout the landAnd don't criticizeWhat you can't understandYour sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road isRapidly agin'.Please get out of the new oneIf you can't lend your handFor the times they are a-changin'. The line it is drawnThe curse it is castThe slow one nowWill later be fastAs the present nowWill later be pastThe order isRapidly fadin'.And the first one nowWill later be lastFor the times they are a-changin'.Suzanne by Leonard CohenSuzanne takes you down to her place near the river You can hear the boats go byYou can spend the night beside herAnd you know that she's half crazyBut that's why you want to be thereAnd she feeds you tea and orangesThat come all the way fromChinaAnd just when you mean to tell herThat you have no love to give herThen she gets you on her wavelengthAnd she lets the river answerThat you've always been her loverAnd you want to travel with herAnd you want to travel blindAnd you know that she will trust youFor you've touched her perfect body with your mind.And Jesus was a sailorWhen he walked upon the waterAnd he spent a long time watchingFrom his lonely wooden towerAnd when he knew for certainOnly drowning men could see himHe said "All men will be sailors thenUntil the sea shall free them"But he himself was brokenLong before the sky would openForsaken, almost humanHe sank beneath your wisdom like a stoneAnd you want to travel with himAnd you want to travel blindAnd you think maybe you'll trust himFor he's touched your perfect body with his mind. Now Suzanne takes your handAnd she leads you to the riverShe is wearing rags and feathersFrom Salvation Army countersAnd the sun pours down like honeyOn our lady of the harbourAnd she shows you where to lookAmong the garbage and the flowersThere are heroes in the seaweedThere are children in the morningThey are leaning out for loveAnd they will lean that way foreverWhile Suzanne holds the mirrorAnd you want to travel with herAnd you want to travel blindAnd you know that you can trust herFor she's touched your perfect body with her mind.。
AmericanLiterature教材教学稿件
文学批评与理论
01
及其在美国文学批评中的应用
。
读者反应批评
探讨读者反应批评理论，及其 对文学批评的影响。
后殖民主义批评
分析后殖民主义批评理论如何 审视美国文学中的种族、文化
与帝国主义。
女性主义批评
探讨女性主义批评理论如何关 注女性在文学作品中的形象与
02 American Literature简 介
早期美国文学
早期美国文学
主要反映殖民地时期和独 立战争时期的美国社会和 文化背景。
代表作家
华盛顿·欧文、纳撒尼尔·霍 桑等。
作品特点
描绘美国自然风光、人文 景观以及殖民地居民和独 立战争英雄的故事。
19世纪美国文学
19世纪美国文学
反映工业革命和西部开拓时期的美国 社会变革。
将更加关注学生的个性化需求，针对不同学生的需求和兴 趣，提供更加定制化的教学服务，以帮助学生更好地发展 自己的学术兴趣和专长。
THANKS FOR WATCHING
感谢您的观看
代表作家
作品特点
现实主义、浪漫主义和自然主义等多 种风格并存，关注社会问题、道德和 人性的探讨。
马克·吐温、亨利·詹姆斯、斯蒂芬·克 莱恩等。
20世纪美国文学
20世纪美国文学
反映两次世界大战、民权运动和 科技发展的影响。
代表作家
厄内斯特·海明威、约翰·斯坦贝克 、理查德·耶茨等。
作品特点
多元化和创新性，涵盖现实主义、 魔幻现实主义、垮掉的一代等多种 流派，关注个体和社会的关系。
05 课程评估与反馈
课堂表现与作业评价
课堂参与度
教师需观察学生在课堂上的表现， 包括提问、讨论、回答问题等， 以评估学生对课程内容的理解和
American literaturePPT课件
Nationalistic Orientation (2)
3. “Good” literature: embodiment of American national spirit – e.g. F. O. Matthiessen in American Renaissance (1941) enshrines five writers for their devotion to “democracy”, dismissing Mrs. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) as second rate popular writing only. cf. The Scarlet Letter (1850) Moby Dick (1851) Walden (1854) Leaves of Grass (1855) Americanness vs Excellence
Indians? • Literature most representing American
national spirit by American citizens? • – women’s domestic / private literature? • Literature created by American citizens
Hawthorne: cultural production
1. Evert Duyckinck, who managed the magazine United States Magazine and Democratic Review , advocate of American literary nationalism, proponent of high culture
英语国家社会与文化入门下册课件BII U7
I. Early Fiction
• James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851): Cooper’s The Pioneers was the first of the five great romances known as the LeatherStocking Tales. The author introduced in The Pioneers the fabulous woodsman, Natty Bumppo. He was the forerunner of all heroic forest scouts, bear hunters, and cowboys of later American novels and films. The Last of the Mohicans , The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer pursued Natty’s career both forward and backward in time, from the first flush of manhood to his death as an old man on the western plains. He also imagined a bi-cultural and bi-racial friendship between Natty Bumppo and a Native American warrior, thereby projecting the fulfillment of the democratic dream which persists in American literature.
《英语国家社会与文化入门》 (下册）
American LiteraturePPT课件
2.furnish vt.
furnish A with B(=furnish A to B) 为某人提供
某物 furnish sth with sth 为某物提供家具 1.) 给(房间)配置(家具等);装备[(+with)] How are you going to furnish the house? 你将如 何布置房子? 2.) 供应;提供[(+with/to)] I’ll furnish you with all you need. 我将提供你所需要的一切。 She rents a furnished flat. 她租了一套备有家具的单元房。
比较cry， weep cry 和weep都指发出表示悲伤、不高兴或痛苦
的口齿不清的声音，并且cry 和weep 都与流眼 泪有关。 cry 则更强烈地表示伴随的声音。 When he died ,the little children cried in the streets. 当他死时，小孩子们在街上大声哭喊起来。 I weep for what I'm like when I'm alone. 我为我孤独时的样子而哭泣。
5. pride n. 自负；骄傲;自尊（心）;自豪 She showed us her new home with great pride. 她非常得意地给我们看她的新家。 Pride goes before a fall./Pride will have a fall. (谚).骄者必败。 wound a person's pride.伤害一个人的自尊心 have a pride in one's son .为自己的儿子感到自 豪 【拓展】 take pride in (=be proud of)对。。。。感到自 豪 pride oneself on sth/ doing sth以。。。自豪； 对。。。。感到自豪
American literature
The development of American literature is a process with continuously absorbing, melting various national literature characteristics. Many American writers from lower class, which made American literature is thick life breath and civilians’ colours. The general characteristics of it is bright and bold. Content with bright colours is another feature of American literature, for example, personality freedom and self-restraint, puritanism and pragmatism, radical and reactionary, rebellion and obedience, elegance and vulgar, senior interest and taste, deep and shallow, aggressive and cynicism, lively and, sharp satire and dark humor, elaborate and churn out, and so on, that can not only coexist at the same time, but also form a strong contrast.
The history of American literature is not long, it is almost appeared with the American liberal capitalism at the same time, and it is much less exposed to the feudal aristocracy culture bound. In the early time, American has small population, and a large undeveloped land, which offers a lot of possibilities for the ideal of personal.
Unit7西方文化导论
Get Started
The foremost figures in the Enlightenment were a group of French thinkers known as philosophers. The preeminent member of this group was the writer, historian, and poet Voltaire. He emerged as the Enlightenment’s chief critic of contemporary culture and religion. Another important member of this group was Jean Jacques Rousseau, whose writings greatly influenced the political thinking of the time. Also influential were the writings of Charles, Baron de Montesquieu, who challenged the idea of rule by a monarch and championed individual freedom. The philosopher Denis Diderot, in collaboration with Jean D’Alembert, planned and edited a multivolume encyclopedia designed to include all realms of knowledge. Many of the entries were written by other philosophies.
UK_US_Literature
Romeo and Juliet
A tragedy by William Shakespeare about two “star-crossed lovers” whose passionate love for each other ends in death because of the senseless feud between their families. The line “Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” is well known.
The Canterbury Tales 坎特伯里故事集
Geoffrey Chaucer is the father of modern English poetry. Canterbury is an important Christian church. The Canterbury Tales is made up of a series of stories.
(1667—1745） Jonathan Swift
Neo-classical西方古典主义(1660—1789) Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)
– Robinson Crusoe describes how Crusoe makes great efforts to overcome the hardships and difficulties he encounters on the island. . .
English Renaissance (1485--1603) Christopher Marlow (1564-1593)
Three famous plays : 1.Tamburlaine (1587) 《帖木耳大帝》 2.The Jew Of Malta (1592) 《马耳它的犹太人》 3.The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus (1588) 《浮士德博士的悲剧》
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Nobel Prize woner
Sinclair Lewis Ernest Hemingway William Faulkner Eugene O’Neill Isaac Bashevis Singer Saul Bellow Toni Morrison
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7
A New Wave
Henry James(1843-1916) ----The American and Portrait of a Lady;The Wings of the Dove,The Ambassadors “naturalists” Stephen Crane ----Maggie,A Girl of the Streets;The Red Badge of Courage Theodore Dreiser ----Sister Carrie
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12
Harlem Renaissance
New poets Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen Zora Neale Hurston ----Their Eyes Were Watching God African-American culture
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American Jews Saul Bellow(1915-2005) Issac Bashevis Singer(1902-1991) Tille Olsen’s Tell Me a Riddle Tennessee Williams ----The Glass Menagerie,Street Car Named Desire Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman “Beat Generation”
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Rebellious Spirit
Sherwood Anderson ----Winesburg,Ohio;Main Street Sinclair Lewis ----Babbitt; Arrowsmith
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The Modernists and the Lost Generation
American Literature
1
Early Fiction
Washington Irving(1783-1859) ----History of New York,Rip Van Winkle,The Legend of Sleepy Hollow James Fenimore Cooper(1789-1851) ----The Spy;The Pioneers;Leather-Stocking Tales;The Last of the # Mohicans……
13
New Drama
Eugene O’Neill More than just entertainment Stories from classical mythology and the Bible ----Desire Under the Elms,Mourning Becomes Electra,The Iceman Cometh
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Transcendentalists
Ralph Waldo Emerson(18031882) ----Nature Henry David Thoreau(18171862) ----Walden
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3
Power of Imagination
Edgar Allan Poe(1809-1849) ----The Masque of Red Death;The Fall of the House of Usher Nathaniel Hawthorne(18041864) ----Twice-Told Tales;The Scarlet Letter Herman Melville(1819-1891)#
4
New Visions of America
Walt Whitman(1818-1892) ----Leaves of Grass Whitman’s egotism one main poem in it is called”Song of Myself”
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5
Reform and Liberation
Harriet Beecher Stowe(18111896) ----Uncle Tom’s Cabin <汤姆叔叔的小屋>
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6
Regionalism
Samuel Clemens<Mark Twain>1835-1910 His shrewd social satire ----The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Emily Dickinson(1830-1886) ----she is a poetry,she could make poetic drama out of things close at hand. #
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Crane’s novel “The Red Badge of Courage” was the first impressionistic novel in America. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Jack London’s Call of the Wild Edith Wharton(1862-1937) ----The House of Mirth;The Ages of Innocence Kate Chopin’s The Awakening Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! W.E.B.Du Bois’s Souls of Black Folk
“Imagism” T.S.Eliot ----The Waste Land E.e.cumming Wallace Stevens William Carlos Williams
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Afer WWI,many novelists produced a literature of disillusionment ----”the Lost Generation” F.Scott Fitzgerald----The Great Gatsby Ernest Hemingway(1899-1961) ----The sun Also Rises,A Farewell to Arms,For Whom the Bell Tolls William Faulkner ----The Sound and the Fury,As I Lay Dying,Light in August ,Absalom,Absalom
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Native American Literature Nhomakorabea
Zitkala Sa’s Old Indian Legends Mourning Dove’s Cogewea,the Half-Breed, D’Arcy McNickle’s The Surrounded N.Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn and The Way to Rainy Mountain They sparking the beginning of the Native American # Renaessance.
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New American Voices
The feminist movement Toni Morrison and Alice Walker ----The Bluest Eye,Song of Solomon and Beloved Chinese-American Maxine Hong Kingson----The Woman Warrior,China Men Amy Tan----The Joy Luck Club
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Depression,Postwar Voices and the “Beat Generation”
Jhon Steinbeck(1902-1968) ----The Grapes of Wrath Richard Wright(1908-1960) ----Native Son Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain and The Fire Next Time