A Summary of Themes of English and American Literature

A Summary of Themes of English and AmericanLiterature外国语学院陈心妍2班1315010219Theme of English literature:Critical&SatisticJane Austen——Pride and PrejudiceHer works focused on women's squire family life and marriage, female-specific nuanced observation and lively wited true pictures of the world around her small world. Her works are the critiques and comments upon the life of the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Her most highly praised novel during her lifetime was Pride and Prejudice, her second published novel. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security.Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's five unmarried daughters after two gentries have moved into their neighbourhood: the rich and eligible Mr. Bingley, and his status-conscious friend, the even more rich and eligible Mr. Darcy. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy is disdainful of local society and repeatedly clashes with the Bennets' lively second daughter, Elizabeth.Pride and Prejudice paved the way for archetypes that abound in many contemporary literature of our time. Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes.A major theme in much of Austen's work is the importance of environment and upbringing on the development of young people's character and morality.Social standing and wealth are not necessarily advantages in her world, and a further theme common to Austen's work is ineffectual parents. In Pride and Prejudice, the failure of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as parents is blamed for Lydia's lack of moral judgment; Darcy, on the other hand, has been taught to be principled and scrupulously honourable, but he is also proud and overbearing.The characters made the novel filled with the color of criticism.Jonathan Swift—— Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's Travels is a satiric prose on human nature and the "travellers' tales" literarysubgenre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature.By describing Gulliver’sadventure in Lilliput,Brobdingnag,flying island,and the Houyhnhnm,reflecting the corruption and evil instincts of the British ruiling class during the early 18th century.The writer also expressed his ideas by a perfecter forms of art——using a wealth of satire and fantasy fictionamong absurd and bizarre plot, deeply reflecting the British Parliament meaningless partisan struggle,the stupid and corrupt of ruling clique mercenary,and the exposure and critique toward the violent brutal colonial war.Also,to some extent, it praised the heroic struggle of the people against the colonial rulers.William Shakespare——The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare in which a merchant in16th-century Venice defaulted on a large loan provided by an abused Jewish moneylender. The play is frequently staged today, but is potentially troubling to modern audiences due to its central themes, which can easily appear antisemitic. Critics today still continue to argue over the play's stance on antisemitism.It is a satirical comedy in Shakespeare's masterpiece. In this novel the exploration of the relationship between money and humanism worth thinking and referring for the later generations . The flexible language skills reflected in the ability to control the dialogue of characters, such as, "What?! Would you like to have a serpent sting thee twice?" Thus irony was filled in lines.What’s more,the comedy and satire were linked closely. Shakespeare inherited and carried forward the traditional Greco-Roman satirical comedy: jeering every ugly, vulgar things and attacking unreasonable phenomenon in life. The Merchant of Venice contained expose and criticism toward money and the insatiable bourgeoisie criticism,as well as the feudal stereotypes.George Cordon Bryon——Don Juan"Don Juan" is one of Byron's poem,on behalf of the performance of the poem and the most important poems of him,with half village and half harmonic, narrative proposal with the contents of realism.There are odd sudden, relaxed and ironic pen withered. After the first two chapters published anonymously,it aroused great repercussions immediately. Through his various romantic adventures, the pome described the attitudes of European society figures, landscapes,as well as city and social customs.The pome is wide in screen and rich in content,thus can be applused as a treasure house of art.The poetry thoroughly exposed and satired the aristocracy and money worshipof the bourgeoisie. British ruling class boasted "freedom" and "rights", but Don Juan was robbed at his first came to London. The poetry denounced the British aristocracy,Sir Qasrlay as "thugs" and "Slave Manufacturer", condemned Wellington which highly praised by the ruiling class as "first-class executioner";expressing the thoughts that British high society seem gorgeous, but its internal was downright ugly.Charles Dickens——Tale of Two Cities"Tale of Two Cities" is historical novel composed by British writer Charles Dickens with a backdrop of the French Revolution.The plot was touching.It is one of theclassic world literature classics.The story took place in the two cities,Paris and London,which were linked together.Surrounding Dr. Manma Bennett and several couples of Germany and France in San Antonio area to start the story. The novel describes how nobles corrupted and harm people;people of the accumulated the hatred of the aristocracy,jointly leading to the inevitable French Revolution. The main theme of this book is self-sacrifice for love.From the bourgeois humanitarian grounds the novel exposed the evil feudal aristocracy. As the bourgeoisie humanist, Dickens saw social contradictions, but also very much hope that the oppressed people to get rid of oppression, but he was opposed to violent revolution in the hope that some reforms enlightened rulers. He also recognized that the French Revolution was inevitable, and this reflected the contradictory nature of his thought. For Dickens,humanism is not only limited to the field of humanitarian and moral theory, it is also a weapon to critize the dark reality of the society. So the novel can be regarded as an representitive masterpiece of critical realism.Theme of American literature:IndividualismOrigin:Benjamin Franklin——The AutobiologyThe Autobiology is not only the first successful biographical works in the US history,but also an early masterpiece of American national literature,which conveyed the bud of individualism.Under the writter’s pen,an originally normal American civilian went through childhood to youth and adulthood,from naïve to mature;committed to the transition from the industrial to scientific research and the transition from the individual struggle to striving for national indepedence.His success,on the one hand,relying on his own hard work and the power of faith,on the other hand,can be attributed to the times. The autobiology contributed to describe the personnal choice of his own future.It not only decipted a successor’s achievements before the founding,its value and significance embodied in revealing the shaping process of his inherent moral. The diligent, pragmatic, progressive spirit of Puritan,as well as the imagination and confidence of American people in the Age of Enlightenment are all collected in his personality,showing a strong sense of vitality,thus became the best origin of individualism.Development:Thomas Paine——Common SenseCommon Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government.Common Sense made public a persuasive and impassioned case for independence, which before the pamphlet had not yet been given serious intellectual consideration. He connected independence with common dissenting Protestant beliefs as a means to present a distinctly American political identity, structuring Common Sense as if it were a sermon.It was complimented by the comtemportary historian as‖ the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era"The effect of stirring people of the book is unimaginable today,so it can be said as a publication that prompted the US independence from the British Empire.The publication of the book exposes the dark and oppressive nature of the UK, so many people eventually determined to break with the United Kingdom, it has greatly encouraged the morale of American independence, the establishment of an independent United States of America.In some aspects of the pamplet,Paine advocated ―the equity of each personality",thus emphasized the real ,equalindividualism among everyone.The work,as well as his other works,played an important role in inspiring people’s consciousness of chasing after one’s aspiration during that period,and filled with the theme of individualism.The most influencial:The works of Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who ledthe Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.Emerson wrote most of his important essays as lectures first, then revised them for print. His first two collections of essays Essays: First Series and Essays: Second Series,represented the core of his thinking, and include such well-known essays as "Self-Reliance", "The Over-Soul", "Circles", "The Poet" and "Experience". Together with "Nature", these essays made the decade from the mid-1830s to the mid-1840s Emerson's most fertile period.Emerson wrote on a number of subjects, never espousing fixed philosophical tenets, but developing certain ideas such asindividuality, freedom, the ability for humankind to realize almost anything, and the relationship between the soul and the surrounding world. Emerson's "nature" was more philosophical than naturalistic,for example, "Philosophically considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul". Emerson is one of several figures who "took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world."Influenced by Emerson:Walt Whitman and his poemsBorn in Huntington on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and—in addition to publishing his poetry—was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War.So he can be regarded as a predecessor of advocating individulism in the war in other to slave the thinkings of American citizens to gain the success of the war.His poem, Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection. Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and re-writing Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades—the first a small book of twelve poems and the last a compilation of over 400,including the famous Oh Captain! My Captain! , Hush'd be the Campus Today ,etc.They were so inspiring and univeral praised that they publized free mind and personal thinking in that period.The poems of Leaves of Grass are loosely connected, with each representing Whitman's celebration of his philosophy of life and humanity. This book is notable for its discussion of delight in sensual pleasures during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral. Where much previous poetry, especially English, reliedon symbolism, allegory, and meditation on the religious and spiritul, Leaves of Grass,exalted the body and thematerial world. Influenced by Ralph WaldoEmersn and the Transcendentalist movement, itself an offshoot of Romanticism, Whitman's poetry praises nature and the individual human's role in it. However, much like Emerson, Whitman does not diminish the role of the mind or the spirit; rather, he elevates the human form and the human mind, deeming both worthy of poetic praise.Thoreau——WaldenAs a displine,a close collaborator of Emerson and a great reprenentitive of American transcendentalism,Thoreau further developed individualism.The third chapter dwells the inner-relationship between Thoreau and Emerson’s thoughts from the perspective of individualism,especially the similarities and differences on individualism between them.It gives a brief introduction to Thoreau’s attidute to friendship,nature,social reforms as well as materialism.This chapter also eloberates on the symbolisticmeanings of animals,plants as well as sceneries described in Walden,which is often nelegated by readers.In a word,it tries to give a comprehensive analysis of Thoreau’s contribution to individualism in this chapter.。