美国文学小组论文Writing Technique Analysis of Mark Twain

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美国文学答案(自用版)

Literary terms1. Transcendentalism: 超验主义1. Flourished from about 1836 to 1860. It stood in reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment, and as a revolt against the cultural dominion of England.2. General features(1)Emphasis on the significance of imagination, spirit and individualism, exploring the innermost being of man(2)Opposition against neoclassical conception of formality and order(3)Divinity of man and nature, perception of nature as symbolic of Spirit or God(4)Goes further into nature to acquire truth and knowledge than Romanticism3. Major figures of Transcendentalism: Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller.2. American naturalism：1. Flourished between1880 to 1940. It was a term created by Emile Zola. Charles Darwin‟s evolutionary theory and French naturalism played an important role in American naturalism.2. General features:(1)A view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment(2)Scientific accuracy and lots of factual details(3)Extreme objectivity and frankness(4)Tone: ugly side of the society, gloom, hopelessness, despair3. Major figures of naturalism: Stephen crane，Frank Norris, Jack London and Theodore Dreiser.3.The lost generation:1. The term came from Gertrude Stein who said in Hemingway's presence that “you are all a lost generation.”2. It refers to the generation after the World War I or the young writers who lived as expatriates in Western Europe for a short time. Most of them caught in the war and cut from the old value.3. They were disillusioned with capitalist ideals and civilization and sense of loss after the world war.4. These writers adopted unconventional style of writing and reacted against the tendencies of the older writers in the 1920s.4.Jazz age:1. It refers to the time in 1930s after the World War I when there was a financial boom.2. It is about life and fate of young men who indulged in stimulus and pleasure3. And disillusionment of American dream.4. Fitzgerald was the literary spokesman for the Jazz age.5.Free verse:1. It is a style of poetry that has irregular rhythms and lines and attempts to avoid any predetermined verse structure. Instead, it uses the cadences of natural speech.2. While it alternates stressed and unstressed syllables as stricter verse forms do, free verse does so in a looser way.3. Whitman's poetry is the most impressive example of free verse. Other major figures of free verse include Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot and other major American can poets of the 20th century.6. The iceberg analogy:1. The Iceberg Theory is a writing theory by Ernest Hemingway: "The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one eighth of it being above water.”2. It means that a writer may omit things but the readers will have a feeling of those things as stronglyas though the writer had stated them if the writer is writing truly enough.3. It was well suited to evoke the stoic courage of his characters who face lonely and thankless tasks. 1.Poe's Poetic Ideas1. Poe believes that Poetry is not to summarize and interpret earthly experience, but the elevation of excitement of the soul should be “the poetic principle”. The best poetic topic is perishing of beauty, or “supernal beauty”.2. Everything that detains human soul must be excluded from the poetry, including moral sense.3. Poe defines poetry as “the rhythmical creation of beauty”, giving emphasis upon the importance of the rhythmical or musical element in poetry.2．Whitman's style1. Transcendentalism: optimism, divinity of man and nature, emphasis on individualism and exploring the innermost of being of man.2. Democratic thought: celebration of ideal democratic society and attacks against corruption3. The sprawling lines: extremely long.4. Parallelism: the parallel lines say the same thing but use different words.5. Envelope structure: the first line begins with the subject, and then more and more lines list modifiers till the verb appears in the last line of the stanza. This is like enclosing a whole list of ideas in an envelope.6. Catalogue technique: means listing. Typical poems by Whitman make long, long lists of images, of sights, sounds, smells, taste, and touch.7. No conventional meter and rhythm8. The verse unit is usually an independent clause.3．Formal features of Dickinson's poetry1. Based on her own experience2. Theme: love, nature, friendship, death and immorality3. Peculiar poetic form: abundant dashes, irregular punctuation and capitalization, faulty grammar, no title, no regular line4. Remarkable for its uncommon variety, original subtlety and unusual richness5. Poetic indirection: e.g. “There is certain slant of light” and “Tell all the truth but tell its slant!”4．The theme and techniques in Eliot's "The W aste Land"Theme：1. Modern spiritual barrenness,2. Despair and depression that followed the WWI3. Sterility and turbulence of the modern world, and the decline and break-down of western culture4. Shows the search for regeneration by people living in a chaotic world.Technique： 1. V aried length and rhythm to harmonize with the changing subject matter2. Unrhymed lines,3. Lots of borrowings from different writers5．Analysis of "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson1. Theme：It seems that Cory‟s life should be a happy and successful one, but his inner world is far more complicated than what he appears to be. It tells us that success may be meaningless to somepeople and cannot reflect the true meaning and value of life and shows the hollowness and loneliness of modern people.2. TechniqueWording: (1)Lively words: “imperially”; “quietly”; “admirably”(2)Simple words: looked at；clean favored；was arrayed；glittered; was human; put a bullet through his head(3)Simple words to show contrast between the cheering life and the tragic ending(4)Ancient words: …clean favored‟、…arrayed‟、…schooled‟to correspond the serious topic Unexpected ending, sharp contrast and mild sarcasm, leaving great room for readers to think about the topicPoetic sounds: Traditional pentameter with a rhyming scheme of“abab, cdcd，elef, ghgh”6. Comment on “Stopping by W oods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert FrostSummary and Theme:The speaker is stopping by some woods on a snowy evening. He or she takes in the lovely scene in near-silence, is tempted to stay longer, but acknowledges the obligations and duties yet to be fulfilled before he or she can rest for the night. In this poem, Robert Frost discusses the relation between mortal obligations and the eternal rest.Form:The poem consists of four (almost) identically constructed stanzas. Each line is iambic, with four stressed syllables:Features of content:1. Plain in words, but profound in meaning. Simple words with far-reaching meanings2. Since it is full of symbolic constructs, it is thought- provoking, and the readers can get great fun in developing the subtext.Detailed analysis:In the first stanza, the poet leads us to a piece of beautiful woods filled up with snow. As we all know that the woods are usually linked with myth, the unknown world, and the utmost tranquility. We can guess that, in this poem, the poet takes the woods as the eternal life, the bliss, that is to say the Heaven. He is fed up with the routine duties, and wants to rest forever. The woods happens to provide an ideal place.Then it comes to the snowy evening. “It is the darkest evening of the year.” The snow is cold and the evening dark, all of which indicate that the poet is depressed inside. His subconscious wants him to s top, but his “little horse” with the inspiring bells, which is actually a symbol of vitality, urges him to go. In the second stanza, the poet uses “frozen lake” to denote death. Why he transfers the embodiment of death from the beautiful “woods” to the deadly “frozen lake” is because the point of view has changed from the poet to the little horse.In the third stanza, the little horse wonders why the poet stops when he should go on. Only “the easy wind” and “downy flake” answer it with soft sweep. We can imagine the scene: the “downy flake” is so light and gentle that it flies in the soft wind. Thus we can get the idea: the poet‟s answer is as slight and uncertain as the flakes, because he himself doesn‟t know why he stops suddenly in the woods.Toward the end, the poet comes back from the illusion. Though the woods are attractive, he must move on, because he has promise to keep. “The promise” could be an obligation or a goal. One cannotdie before fulfilling one‟s dream. The poet uses “sleep” to represent death, just as we usually do.7.Theme and technique in The Great Gatsby by FitzgeraldTheme:It resents the decline of the American dream in1920s, the hollowness of the upper class and the falseness of ideals and moves toward disillusion. It also shows that will not to a perfect country. Instead, it leads total depravity. The nationals become hypocritical, indifferent, empty, and cruel, day and night indulged in material pursuing.Technique:1. Development of traditional narrative techniques and first-person narrator: The whole novel proceeded with Nick‟s narration.2. Two main clues of the story: The main clue is the imbroglio between Gatsby and the family of Tom, and the minor one is the imbroglio between Tom and the family of Wilson.3. The contrastive techniques endow the novel with artistic glamour and profound connotation.4. Technique of delayed character revelation to emphasize the theatrical quality of Gatsby‟s approach to lifement on Hemingway's style and Farewell to Arms"Style:1. News reporting style: direct, concise, life-like dialogues, less ornaments2. Iceberg theory: omit something but the readers will still have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them thanks to the direct and true description.3. The Loss generation: people disillusioned after the world war by old values and insensitivity and hollowness of society4. Hemingway code heroes: (1) physically strong, (2) endowed with certain skills, (3)strong will power(Man can be destroyed, not defeated; Courage=grace under pressure), (4)tested in difficulties Farewell to ArmsThemes:The grim reality of war, the relationship between love and pain, feelings of lossMotifs:Masculinity, games and divertissement, loyalty versus abandonment, illusions and fantasies, alcoholismSymbols: Rain serves in the novel as a potent symbol of the inevitable disintegration of happiness in life. Catherine‟s hair9.Analyze "Dry September" by William Faulkner1. “Dry September” was written in 1931, and is a well-known story of Faulkner.2. This story touches upon the strange relationship between sex and violence, examines the psychological state of the main characters, and exposes the crime of racial discrimination which makes one bristle with anger.3. The tone of this story contributes much to its effectiveness, particularly to the imagery of infernal heat and dryness and to the setting itself.4. From the character Miss Minnie the reader could perceive the obvious impact of Freud‟s ideas on William Faulkner.。

美国文学SylviaPlath

美国⽂学SylviaPlathS ylvia P la thAdd Your Company SloganLogoLife and career Contents 1Confessional Poetry2Major works3Themes & writing technique4Text analysis 5Early life1932 –born during the Great Depression in the Massachusetts1940 –published her first poem, herfather died of diabetes1947 –showed early promise as an artistCollege years1950 –attended Smith College, editedThe Smith Review , guest editor atMademoiselle magazine1953 –made her first medicallydocumented suicideCareer and marriage1956 –got married with Ted Hughes inLondon1957 –the couple moved to the US, metRobert Lowell,Anne Sexton1960 –their daughter Frieda was born,published her first collection of poetry, The Colossus1962 –Their son Nicholas was born.July 1962–the couple separated after she discovered Ted’s affair with WevillJune 1962–Plath had had a car accident. December 1962–Sylvia went to London alone with two children and lived in a house where William Butler Yeats once lived.1963 –Her only novel, The Bell Jar, was published11 February 1963 , she committed suicide.Sylvia Plath(1932-1963)Ted and SylviaUnited States , 1950spoetry "of the personal"focusing on extreme moments of individual experience, the psyche, and personal trauma, including previously taboo matter such as mental illness, sexuality, and suicide, often set in relation to broader social themes. ?PostmodernismRepresentative PoetsRobert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, JohnBerryman, Anne Sexton, AllenGinsberg, and W. D. Snodgrass. Life StudiesReactions to ConfessionalismIn the 1970s and 1980s, some writersrebelled against ConfessionalismNew Formalism.Another poetry movement thatformed, in part, as a reaction toconfessional poetry included theLanguage poets.Poetry CollectionsThe Colossus and Other Poems (1960) Ariel (1965)Three Women: A Monologue forThree Voices (1968)Crossing the Water (1971)Winter Trees (1971)The Collected Poems (1981)Selected Poems (1985)Collected Prose and NovelsThe Bell Jar: A novel (1963), under thepseudonym "Victoria Lucas"Letters Home: Correspondence 1950–1963 (1975)Johnny Panic and the Bible ofDreams(1977)The Journals of Sylvia Plath (1982)The Magic Mirror (1989), Plath's SmithCollege senior thesisThe Unabridged Journals of SylviaPlath(2000)Major worksChildren's booksThe Bed Book (1976)The It-Doesn't-Matter-Suit (1996)Collected Children's Stories (UK, 2001)Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen (2001)Sylvia Plath's early poems exhibit what became her typical imagery, using personal and nature-based depictions featuring, for example, the moon, blood, hospitals, fetuses, and skulls.Many of Plath's later poems deal with what one critic calls the "domestic surreal" in which Plath takes every day elements of life and twists the images, giving them an almost nightmarish quality.Writing techniqueFreudian TheoryDeath driveElectra complexPsychoanalysisPlath uses psychoanalysis both as a toolof self-analysis and as a literary device.The result is a highly theatricalpsychodrama in which autobiographyand fiction are closely intertwined.MirrorI am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediatelyJust as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.I am not cruel, only truthful --The eye of a little god, four-cornered.Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers. Faces and darkness separate us over and over.。

Essay Writing Skills 英文论文写作技能

Essay Writing SkillsThis guide is designed to help students to structure their work. Like any written work, essays require careful planning, reading and note taking, appropriate academic style, referencing and structure.An essay is different from a report in that it is generally written as one flowing document that uses paragraphs to separate ideas, without the section headings, underlining, numbering and bullet points that are used in reports. Usually, essays do NOT have diagrams or appendices.Essays have 4 vital sections: Introduction, Main Body, Conclusion and References/Bibliography. The word count applies to three essay sections, NOT including the References or Bibliography.The Introduction paragraph/sectionThis helps set the context for the essay. It introduces the main ideas of the essay and draws the reader into the subject. A good Introduction gets to the heart of the subject and captures（俘获）the interest of the reader, acting as a trailer to what is to follow. It tells readers what to expect by addressing Who, What, When, Where, Why and How? The Introduction outlines the main issues on which you intend to focus and others you just intend to mention. In this way it sets your parameters. It defines any terms or concepts that you need and acknowledges possible issues raised by the question and explains your approach. It could include a comment upon the importance of the topic. It may act as an overview in summarising the issues to show an understanding of the exact question and present the method of research or experiment. It is often about 10% of the length of the essay.An example of a basic Introduction for ‘Discuss the relevance of the marketing mix for a tourism organisation’ might be:The purpose of this essay is to… (repeat the essay task in your own words, i.e. discuss …). The basic marketing mix is known as the 4Ps and is attributed to McCarthy over 40 years ago. It is stilluseful and quoted today. This essay will use examples from P&O Cruises to discuss the relevance of the 4Ps – i.e. product, place, promotion and price. Because a tourism organisation offers an intangible service, the 4Ps apply in a different way to many products.A good Introduction might be:McCarthy’s 4Ps model of the marketing mix (1960) appears to have global recognition and is widely used. However, since the 1980s other academics such as Booms and Bitner (1981) have developed his theory and extended the marketing mix in order for it to apply more effectively to tourism by including other elements such as ‘People’ (as tourism is an intangible, non-standard, perishable product reliant on people delivering the service). This essay will define and discuss various marketing mix models and consider various views for either keeping a simple 4Ps or extending to 5Ps, 7Ps or more, and consider whether all aspects are equally relevant. The relevance of these marketing mixes will be applied to a tourist board, as this faces special challenges.The main body is the place for your evidence!The main section of the work should be organised into paragraphs which present the facts and develop the arguments. The structure will depend upon what you are asked to do, e.g. compare and contrast, analyse, critically evaluate, explain, etc..Address the exact task and focus of the question set. It is this difference that gives work better grades. Never write all you know about a topic!Decide on your main points. Organise these points in appropriate paragraphs to build your work in a series of logical steps to suit the essay’s length, complexity and purpose. P aragraphs group related sentences to develop each main idea, making it easier to follow your points. In each paragraph include PEEEL–P oint, E vidence, E xample, E xplain, L ink.Paragraphs need a key P oint which is often the first sentence. Define your point, clearly and concisely. Then include supporting E vidence, quote definitions, refer to facts, and other people’s theories that relate to the same point. Apply relevant E xamples to clarify. E xplain the relevance to the main point in following sentences. Often paragraphs have four to eight sentences that show your evidence and comments upon it. Make sure paragraphs L ink with preceding or subsequent content and use signposts and linking expressions frequently. Remember to keep linking to the essay title. The final sentence of a paragraph acts as link forward to the information of the next paragraph.So paragraphs share characteristics (UCOD). All the sentences in a paragraph have U nity as they should relate to the same point/ topic. Each paragraph should be C oherent, containing sentences in logical order, with linking words helping to make transitions between sentences. The O rder of information should be clear, whether it is chronological or by order of importance. Paragraphs can be D eveloped by using examples, comparison, contrast, statistics, definitions, analysis or a combination of these, depending on the purpose of writing o r the subject matter. Always check that you define (before you develop) important ideas/ concepts used in your work. Avoid long and rambling sentences and paragraphs. Consider the length of each paragraph and if the points could be more clearly expressed and if separate paragraphs are needed.Write as concisely as possible. Remember KISS; K eep I t S hort and S imple to make your meanings clear. Use Academic Style to check Business School requirements, which generally avoid using slang, informality and persona l pronouns like ‘I’or ‘We’or ‘You’.Use signposting words and phrases (e.g. therefore, however, conversely, again) to help readers follow your work. Phrases such as "The underlying reason" may be used to address thecause/effect and show relationships between concepts, etc. "It is disputable whether" may be used in arguments (i.e. giving and evaluating information). "The first factor to consider” may be used to order or process (showing how something is done).When you provide specific detail/s as evidence, follow Harvard Referencing system. Show how each reference used relates to the exact task and supports your points. You are the detective giving all possible evidence to support the case! State your evidence for all assertions. Avoid generalisations (e.g. All authors consider…), assumptions (e.g. People in Britain are British) and rhetorical questions (e.g. Why does this happen?). Choose your quotes carefully, keeping them brief and explaining the importance and relevance of each. You need to use as much evidence as possible! Quotes need to be within quotation marks and clearly state Author (year: page number). Paraphrased references need Author (year). Copy all reference details into the References/ Bibliography immediately, fully and accurately as this is better than compiling the list later.Refer to all your sources in 2 places:∙in the main body of your work in the abbreviated form∙in the last section, in a detailed list of References/Bibliography.Conclusions – Summarising key points in the last section/paragraphsRestate your focus by emphasising the key points, drawing together the threads of your work. A basic conclusion refers back to the main points, linking them to the exact task to prove that you have addressed it exactly. For example, ‘This essay has looked at the issues of… and found…’DO NOT include any new information/evidence because you are ‘summing up’ (as for a jury!). For this reason, you generally do not include any text citations but you may cross reference. Check your Conclusion refers back to the Introduction. Link them in case the reader was not paying attention! Make sure that your ending does not tail off weakly as a conclusion should be strong!This may be the place for you to form a judgement - your own personal conclusion/personal observations. Sometimes this is the place to make recommendations. Lecturers will advise you what they expect. Ask if you are unsure.References/ BibliographyFollow Harvard Referencing for all referencing and quotations. Referencing is the process of recording details of the secondary sources (books, journal articles, electronic sources etc.). Read the Harvard Referencing for examples of how to reference any sort of material. Check your Harvard Referencing is thorough - that you have included all your sources. Cross-reference points where possible to avoid repetition.Remember References at the back of your essay ONLY contain sources that you have referred to in the text. Bibliographies contain all the sources that you used in your research, e ven if you did not quote or refer to them specifically in your text. Your lecturer will advise you which they require.Finally - Hand in on time to avoid penalty!。

writing techniques

Introductions:Sample 1:I consider China will lose its nick name in the future. As we all know, bicycle is the kind of transport that people attach more significance in exercising and hobby than a traffic tool. With increasingly heavy traffic and pressure more and more people live away from the city. Consequently, I think that China won't be the kingdom of bike anymore.Sample 2:As we know, China was once called "the kingdom of bicycles". But now, China is enchanted with cars. From where I stand, I don't believe China could keep this nickname forever.Sample 3:With the rapid development of economy, Chinese'life have been improving and many families can afford a car. We have to admit that cars become more and more popular, but itdoesn't mean the nickname of China "Kingdom of bicycles"will become history in the future. Sample 4:With the development of science and technology, the living standard enhanced. Cars increase rapidly as well. As people say, China is enchanted with cars, even some people are worried about that the nickname--the kingdom of bicycle will become history in the future. However, I don't think so. I think that the nickname never becomes history and it will reach its peak one day.Conclusion:Sample 1:The change of this nickname is an inevitable consequence of the economic development. Sample 2:In short, according to China's current status, China's nickname "the kingdom of bicycles" will not become history in the future. The usage ofcars is increasing, but bicycles can't replace by cars.Sample 3:There is no denying the fact that it is impossible for anyone not to love cars more than bicycles. But I believe all the advantages of bicycles can be glimpsed and felt. Thus, Chinese nickname "the kingdom of bicycles" can never, ever be taken away.Sample 4:In conclusion, the bicycle will never be obsolete, which accounts for its various attractions including cutting down congestion and lowering pollution, etc. What is worth mentioning is the latest policy that the government decided to prohibit the scooter on the road, which will certainly recreate a better environment for bicycles. Do you think so?举例子（Example/Illustration）：例子可以在文章开头（即所谓hook）举，从而引出论点；Unit 1 Text IIUnit 3 Text IUnit 4 Text I, Text II例子也可以在主体部分举。

writing techniques英语基本写作技巧小结

Writing Techniques: 段落的连贯性：（1）总结、归纳类in a wordto some extent to sum up obviouslyon the whole in shortin a wayto concludeundoubtedlyin my viewin briefas a general rulethereforegenerally speakingin summery（2）比较、对比类on the contrary similarlyon the other hand however otherwisewhereaslike (+n.)equally importantin the same wayneverthelessunlike (+n.)in (sharp) contrast（3）举例、列举类for examplefirst, second, thirdwhat is morefor one thing, for another in addition last but not leastas an illustrationto begin withmoreoverfirst of allfor instancebesidesfurthermore(what is) more importantin the first place, in thesecond place（4）原因、结果类because (of) due tothussince on account ofowing tothereforeasfor this reasonas a result (of)consequentlyhence（5）让步类althoughit is true that…but in spite ofyet even thoughafter alldespitehoweveradmittedlyneverthelessgranted thatstillabove all surely needless to say most important of all(what is) even worse(there is) no doubtof coursein fact（6）强调类anywayparticularlyindeedmore often than notactuallyespecially（7）引言段的开头A proverb says…Just as the saying goes…It is often said that…As we all know,…As is known to all,…It is well known that…A recent survey indica tes/shows…Many people often ask this question, “…”Various views exist as to whether we should…It goes without saying that…Over the years…(主句用现在完成时)When it comes to…,It is generally/universally accepted /recognized /considered that…（8）发展段的开头It can be easily proved that…It is true that…No one can deny that…but the problem is not so simple…We must realize that…Others may find this to be true, but I do not. I believe that…Recent development in…indicates…A brief glance at…reveals that…Another key as pect of…is that…In contrast to…In most cases, however, (we)…As stated above…As mentioned above…Usually,…but…It can be roughly estimated that…On (the) one hand,…(But) on the other hand,…As far as…is (are) concerned,…Furthermore,…/ Moreover,…/ Besides,…In addition,…Despite (these limitations),…/ In spite of…（9）结尾段的开头Consequently…In summary,…All in all,…Based on the above mentioned, it can be concluded that…As a final comment, I should say that…Finally,…Hence,…It seems to me that the only possibility to do(of)...would be...Obviously the result is depend on (4)Thus, this is the very reason why…。

美国文学题 1

第一部分殖民地时期的美国文学What are the characteristics of Colonial America?All of the works written during this period are utilitarian , polemical , or didactic .The purpose of literature for these Puritans was first of all usefulness . It should teach some kond of lesson . In content , the literature of the colonial settlement served either God or colonial expansion or both . The literary style of the earliest American writers , in fact seems to have been determined by a practical consideration of the sort of impression each writer wanted to make upon a selected group of readers . Puritans’metaphorical mode of perception helped to develop literary symbolism as they saw the physical world a symbol of God . Hence symbolism as a technique was a common practice in writing . The Piritans placed unusual stress upon plainness in writing because they were unusually interested in influencing the simp;e-minded people . Bearing the direct influence fo the Christian Biblical poetics , the Puritan writings are fresh , simp;e ,direct , and with a touch of nobility . As it faithfully imitated and transplanted European forms to the new experience , early American literature was as much a product of continuities as an indigenous creation.第二部分理性文学和革命文学1 As we have seen , theology dominated the Puritan phase of American writing . Politics was the next great subject to command the attention of the best minds.2 From 1732 to 1758 , Franklin wrote and published his famous Poor Richard’s Alman ac , an annual collection of proverbs .3 EnlightementThe eighteenth –century England is also , and better , known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age fo Reason . The Enlightenment was a progressive intellectual movement going on throughout Europe at the time , with France in the vanguard . The Enlightenment celebrated reason (rationality) , equality , science and human beings’ ability to perfect themselves and their society . The movement was based on the basic theories provided by the philosophers of the age , which ranged from John Locke’s materialism , Lord Shaftsbury’s deism , and George Berkeley’s immaterialism to David Hume’s skepticism . Whatever philosophical beliefs they might have , they held the eommom faith in human rationality and the possibility of human perfection through education . They believed that when reason served as the yardstick for the measurement of all human activities and social relations , superstition , injustice , privilege and oppression were to yield place to “eternal truth” ,”eternal justice” , and “natural equality” or inalienable rights of men . Everything was put under scrutiny , to be measured by reason . No authorities , political or religious or otherwise , were acepted unchallenged while almost allthe old societies and governments and all the traditional concepts , including Christianity , were examined and criticized . The belief provided theory for the French Revolution in 1789 and the American War of Independence in 1776 .Alexander Pope (1688~1744) , Joseph Addison (1672~1719) , Richard Steele (1672~1792) , Jonathan Swift (1667~1745) , Daniel Defoe (1660~1731) , Henry Fielding (1707~1754) , Richard B. Sheridan (1751~1816) , Oliver Goldsmith (1730~1774) , Edward Gibbon (1737~1794) , and Samuel Johnson (1709~1784) were among the famous enlighteners in England . As England had already gone through its bourgeois revolution , what the English enlighteners were lege to do was to strive the bring the revolution to and end by clearing away the feudal remnants and rep;ace them with bourgeois ideology .第三部分美国的浪漫主义文学1 In 1828 the election of the frontier hero Andrew Jackson as the seventh President of the United States had brought an effective end to the “Virginia Dynasty” of American Presidents .2 Wsahington Irvi ng’s Skwtch Book bacame the first work by an American writer to win financial success on both sides of the Atlantic .3 Washington Irving was the first great prose stylist of American romanticism , and his familiar style was destined to outlive the formal prose of such eontemporaries as Acott and Cooper ,and to provide a model for the prevailing prose narrative fo the future .4 What are the unique features of American Romanticism? Although foreign influnences wre strong,American romanticism exhibited from the very outset distinct features of its own.It was different from its English and European counterpart because it originated from an amalgam of factors which were altogether American rather than anything else.American romanticism was in essence the e xpression of”a real new experience”and contained”an alien quality”for the simple reason that “the spirit of the place”was radically new and alen.Foe instance ,the American national experience of “pioneering “ into the west proved to be a rich fund of material for Ameican writers to draw upon.The wilderness with its virgin forests ,the sound of the axe cutting its way westward, the exotic landscape with its different sights, smells,and sounds(the robin rather than the nightingale is Emily Dicckinson’s “criterion of tone,”for example), and the quaint,picturesque civilization of a primitive race—all these constituted an incomparably superior source of inspiration for native authors.A rude Natty Bumppo in buckskin, dweling in a fromtier blockhouse, treading a solitary bridle path through virgin forests was ,perhaps , matter enough for any romantic genius.And indeed, American authors were quite responsive to thestimulus which American life offered.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s tentive treatment of the frontier and the Indians in his works such as Hudson valley, William Cullen Bryant’s sketches of the wild west prairie where no human being had ever set foot and James Fenimore Cooper’s five Leatherstocking tales with”their majestic descriptions of American’s limitles s forests and broad blue inland lake”—these are but aafew instances whereby the new American sensibility began to make itself felt.And ,of course , we should not forget to mention Emerson,Thoreau,Hawthorne,Melville and Whitman, all people who were instrumental ,in one way or another ,in creating an indigenous American literature.Then there is American Puritanism as a cultural heritage to consider.American moral values were essentially Puritan.Public opinion was overwhelmingly Puritan;social life and cultural taste were predominantly conditioned by the Puritan and cultural taste were predominantly conditioned by the Puritan atmosphere of the nation.Nothing has left a deeper imprint on the character of the people as a whole than did Puritanism;no one has been so successful in imposing his way of thinking on the continent as the American Puritan.puritanical influence over Ameican romanticism w3as conspicuously noticeable.One of its palpable manifestations is the fact that American romantic authors tended more to moralize than their English and European brothers.It is true that Edgar Allan poe fought vehemently against “the heresy of the didactic”,and writers like John Greenleaf Whittier tried to advocate both beauty and goodness.But the fact remains, nonetheless ,that many American romantic writings intended to edify more than theyentertained.There seemed to be areas of life which it was better for them to leave alone, taboos of a kind that most of the literary world agreed,however tacit it may have been, on not breaking.Sex and love werem for instance, subjects American authors were particularly careful in approaching.Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter talks eloquently about the sin itself ,and Whitman was for a long time misunderstood by his own countrymen because Leaves of Grass contains lines and passages not at all palatable to their “genteel” taste.练习二1.Emerson was recognized throughout his life as the leaderof_________ movement, yet he never applied the term to himself or to his beliefs and ideas.2.Emerson’s truest disciple, the man who put into practice many ofEmerson’s theories, was_________.Define the literary terms listed belowAmerican TranscendentalismKeys: 1. Transcendentalist, 2, H.D ThoreauTerm: American Transcendentalism or “New English Transcendentalism” or “American Renaissance” is more of a tendency, an attitude, than the philosophy of Transcendentalists.To “transcend” something is to rise above it, to pass beyond its limits. Transcendentalists took their ideas from the romantic literature of Europe, from new-Platoism, from German idealistic philosophy, and from the revelations of Oriental-mysticism. They spoke for cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism of American society. The major features of New England Transcendentalism can be summarized as the follows.Firstly, the Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the Universe. Secondly, they stressed the importance of the individual. To them, the individual was the most important element of society. Thirdly, they offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spi rit or God. Nature was , to them, alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence. Transcendentalism is based on the belief that the most fundamental truths about life and death can be reached only by going beyond the world of the senses.As a philosophical and literary movement, Transcendentalism flourished in New England from 1830s to the Civil War. Its doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in Emerson and Thoreau. Emerson’s Nature has been called the “Manifesto of American Transcendentalism” an d his The American Scholar has been rightly regarded as America’s “Declaration of Intellectual Independence.” Thoreau built and went to live in a small cottage on Walden Pond for a little over two years, and then came back to write about his experience there in his famous book Walden. To later generations, scarred by the horrors of the Civil War, the transcendentalist persuation that humanity was godlike and that evil was non-existent appeared to be an optimistic folly. As a philosophy, Transcendentalism was neither logical nor systematical. It exalted feeling over reason, individual expression over the restraints of law and custom. Yet Transcendentalism wasa powerful expression of the intellectual mood of the age, and theideas it represented have remained a strong influence on great American writers from the days of Hawthorne and Whitman to the present.练习31．_________deals with the effects of a curse, and though the tale itself is fiction, the germ of the story sprang from the author’s family history.2. Hawthorne’s unique gift was for the creation of strongly_________stories which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature. The finest example is the recreation of Puritan Boston, _________.3. _________ is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage inpursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale.Define the literary terms listed belowSymbolismKeys:1.The House of the Seven Gables 2, symbolic The scarlet letter3. Moby-Dick.Symbolism: Symbolism is the writing technique of using symbols. A symbol is something that conveys two kinds of meaning; it is simply itself, and it stands for something other than itself. In other words, a symbol is both literal and figurative. People, places, things and even events can be used symbolically. A symbol is a way of telling a story and a way of conveying meaning. The best symbols are those that are believable in the lives of the characters and also convincing as they convey a meaning beyond the literal level of the story. Hawthorn and Melville were the two masters of symbolism. For example, the scarlet letter “A” on Hester’s breast can give you symbolic meanin gs. If the symbol is obscure or ambiguous, then the very obscurity and the ambiguity may also be part of the meaning of the story.Answer the following questions.1.Give a brief analysis of the main characters in The scarlet Letter2.Give a brief analysis of the character Ahab in Moby-Dick.3.What is the theme in Moby-Dick?4.What is Hawthorn’s style?Keys:2, The way in which Hawthorn wrote The Scarlet Letter suggests that American Romanticism adapted itself to American Puritan moralism. The load of didacticism is nowhere heavier and the desire to elevate nowhere stronger than it is, perhaps, in this 19th American classic. Reading it, one wonders whether it is a story of love. The answer is yes, but then no, because the love part of the story is long over before the book begins. One wonders whether it is a story if sin. The answer is yes, but then no, for the sinning part is long over before the book opens Modern and contemporary authors would have written pageswhere Hawthorn uttered not a word, What he was predominantly concerned was the moral, emotional, and psychological effect of the sin on the people in general and those complicated in it in particular. In the strong character of Hester Psynne we see the tension between society and solitude which, as Marius Bewley put it, lies near the center of all Hawthorn’s art, The Scarlet Letter is not a praise of a Hester Prynne sinning, but a hymn on the moral growth of the woman when sinned against. Hawthorn’s female characters tend to fall into two broad categories. (答案未完)4．Ahab may have been Melville’s portrait of an Emersonian self-reliant individual. Melville lost no opportunity in his criticism of New England Transcendentalism. Constantly under his attack is its emphasis on individualism and Oversoul. To say that the whole of Moby-Dick is a negative reflection upon Transcendentalism is not in fact an exaggeration. Take Emerson’s self-reliance for instance. Ahab is too much of a self-reliant individual to be a good human being. He stands alone on his own one leg among the millions of the peopled earth, For him the only law is his own will. To him the world exists for his sake. His selfhood must be asserted at the expense of all else: lives may be sacrificed, and nature may have to be vanquished in order that he may do what he will. He never stops to think---and he never bothers about it---that, in asserting his private personality, he denies ruthlessly the humanity and individuality of his fellowmen. Ahab is no Odysseus, and this crew seems to be a ship of fools too much under the captain’s evil spell to exercise their discretion. Between them, they encompass their own undoing. Richard Chase is right when he says that the idea Melville conveys in Moby-Dick is “Death-spiritual, emotional, physical,” which is the p rice of self-reliance when it is pushed to the point of solipsism. Ahab is, to be more exact, a victim of solipsism, his tragedy stemming in the main from extreme individualism, selfish will, a spirit too much withdrawn to itself to warrant salvation, Moby-Dick thus reveals the basic pattern of 19th century American life: loneliness and suicidal individualism in a self-styled democracy,5. One of the major themes in Melville is alienation, which he sensed existing in the life of his time on different levels, between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. Captain Ahab seems to be the best illustration of it all. He cuts himself off from his wife and kid, and stays away most of the time from his crew, and he hates Moby---Dick which is am embodiment of nature. He is angry because his pride is wounded. After the loss of his leg in his encounter with the white whale, he seems to hold God responsible for the presence of evil in the universe. Thus his anger assumes the proportions of a cosmicnature. He is bent on avenging himself. He hears of no objection. In his egocentric obsession within “the masoned, walled town of a captain’s exclusiveness,” he loses his sanity and humanity and becomes a devilish creature rushing headlong toward his doom. And he know s it most clearly of all. When D.H Lawrence remarks,”“he {Melville}records also, almost beyond pain or pleasure, the extreme transitions of the isolated, far-driven soul, the soul which is now alone, without any real human contact” he had Ahad topmost in his mind. In a sense Ahab embodies all of the evil he once consigned to Moby-Dick9. A. Hawthorne wrote romance because he thought it the predestined form of American narrative. He presented material on the alienation between fact and fancy. The purpose of a novel, as it developed in 18th century Europe, was to record the actual events of life, to stick to what actually happened, but Hawthorn explained that the purpose of romance was to present the truth of the human heart by the writer’s own choice or cre ation. He wanted to reveal reality and satirize it but not to offend the Puritan conventions, For Hawthorne, romance, unlike the novel, was not tied to conventional reality. Romance had the freedom to depart from novelistic realism. Hawthorne felt that the literary artist was justified in changing events around if that could better get to the truth of the individual psychology. Psychological truth was more important than actual truth. Hawthorne used atmosphere to help reach the truth of the heart. Often he would use shadow to create effect. He used this because the world of light and shadow was the world of imagination. Therefore, for Hawthorne romance was the meeting place of the actual and the imaginary. In this stories, there is a strong fairytale element, He would use his imagination to change the actual events, but the purpose was to reach psychological truth. Hawthorne mingled the supernatural with the actual and developed analytic, psychological romanticism.B, Hawthorne used symbols and setting to reveal the psychology of the characters. It is characteristic of Hawthorne. He used masks, veils, shadows, emblems to give dramatic forms to the universal dilemmas of humanity. A black veil stands for the wickedness of man; a marble heart symbolizes an indivi dual’s unpardonable sin; and a garden of poisonous flowers represents hell.C. He wrote stories with narrative interest, ease in transition, coherence, and complexity, One of the means he adopted is making stories parable in form and symbolic in style.D. His style is soft, flowing, and almost feminine. His touch is light, but his observation is somber.E. He used ambiguity to keep the reader in a world of uncertainty. Important questions are never fully resolved. The simple word “or”enjoys high frequency in his stories. Hawthorne gave the reader many ways to interpret the story and then he stopped without telling the reader which one he wanted the reader to choose. To create ambiguity, the author often employed the technique of multiple views.。

Analysis on the Writing Technique of A Rose for Emily

Analysis on the Writing Technique ofA Rose for EmilyAbstract: The language of this novel is very special. The author uses some figure of speech which is rather interesting and amazing. What we should pay more attention is the Writing Technique of this novel, which enables the article more vivid and attractive.Introduction―William Cuthbert Faulkner (September 25, 1897 –July 6, 1962) was an American writer of novels, short stories, poetry and occasional screenplays. The majority of his works are based in his native state of Mississippi. Faulkner is considered one of the most important writers of the Southern literature of the United States, Faulkner is known for an experimental style with meticulous attention to diction and cadence. In contrast to the minimalist understatement of his contemporary Ernest Hemingway, Faulkner made frequent use of "stream of consciousness" in his writing, and wrote often highly emotional, subtle, cerebral, complex, and sometimes Gothic or grotesque stories of a wide variety of characters including former slaves or descendants of slaves, poor white, agrarian, or working-class Southerners, and Southern aristocrats.‖1. Skillful RhetoricAt the very beginning, the author describes Miss Emily’s house ―only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps—an eyesore among eyesores‖. This description is a personification . ―Stubborn‖ means determined not to change your opinion or attitude. The word is always us ed to describe a person’s character, while the author should use it to Emily’s house. Besides, ―coquettish‖ means a woman who behaves in a way that is intended to attract men. The word is common in women, but the author should use it for Emily’s house. Nat urally, the house is just a common object and has no typical characteristics. However, it is the author that endow Emily’s house with human features. We know everything existing in the world has its own value. The author doesn’t design it accidentally. Aft er we read the whole novel we can realize that MissEmily owns the same character. Virtually, the house symbolizes Miss Emily in some degree. The author presents the protagonist’s figure without being noticed, which is skillful.Secondly, the deputation went to visit Miss Emily, when they saw her, the author describes her in a surprising way. ―She looked bloated like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough as they moved from one face to another while the visitors stated their errand ‖. Here the author uses simile twice. The first sentence gives readers a feeling, Miss Emily lakes on energy and very fat which seems unhealthy, even we feel disgusting or frightening. The second sentence is more interesting, the author regards Miss Emily’s eyes as two small pieces of coal. Comparing with her fat and pallid face, her eyes are more obvious. What’s more, the author uses a verb ―press‖. It seems that Miss Emily looks quite unharmonious which is not only interesting but also ridiculous. At the same time, the author is making preparation for the following text.2. Unique Imagination―When we saw her again, her hair was cut short, m aking her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows—sort of tragic and serene‖. This novel is told by a resident living in the village. From the former narration, we know that people don’t like her because of her arrogant. Here they should connect Miss Emily with angels. In our mind, angels are happy and without any sorrow, but they said ―sort of tragic and serene‖. It indicates that people have changed their attitudes a lot; meanwhile they begin to show sympathy for Miss Emily. The author is good at adding some extra feelings subjectively to an irrelevant object, just as the description of Miss Emily’s house. In fact, angels have no tragedy and the house isn’t coquettish. However, when we relate them to Miss Emily,all of these become reasonable.Besides, when Miss Emily went to buy the poison, it is the second time that the author described Miss Emily’s facial condition in detail. ‖She was over thirty then, still a slight woman, though thinner than usual, with cold, haughty black eyes in a face the flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eye sockets as you imagine a lighthouse keeper’s face ought to look‖. What’s the author’s purpose? Dosethe author just want to tell us what Miss Emily look like? Why not imagine her anything else but a lighthouse keeper. Maybe she was waiting for somebody or something all the time, but it is said that lighthouse keeper’s sight fills with black. Therefore, unfortunately, her expectation was never being met. Here ―cold eyes‖ are good explanations for her disappointment. However, she was still haughty. The author doesn’t describe Emily’s activities inner heart directly but reflecting her inner thought or conditions though a series appearance. We all know that a pers on’s inner thought is too complicated to describe. It’s wise for the author to avoid it. Furthermore, it gives readers enough space to think a lot and will leave them a deep impression.3. Thought-Provoking ImplicationThere is also a very interesting desc ription in her funeral. ―The very old men –some in their brushed Confederate uniforms .‖ Why did the old men wear their Confederate uniforms attend the funeral? It sounds quite strange or even more ridiculous. In fact, Miss Emily represents some brave people who have courage to challenge the feudalism. It is the reason why the author molded her rebel. Under oppress of the society, people all need courage to break the rules. Miss Emily did it. At this point, she was accepted and admired by the people in the town. Therefore, people treated her funeral seriously. In the novel, the author reflects some more essential ideas through the description of people's wearing several times, which bring us not only humor but also attractive .In our mind, rose represents beautiful love. Reading after the novel, we find something ugly, disgusting or disordered rather than favorable. Here the author set symbolization to "rose". It has two different meanings. For the first place, it shows the sympathy for Miss Emily's tragedy; for the second place, it reveals people's admiration to Miss Emily. The thought-Provoking implications of rose are well worth considering.ConclusionAccording to the analysis above we can see clearly that various writing technique makes the novel more wonderful. The article is designed flexibly, sometimes we can hardly find something diffident, and if you read it carefully you can find something unexpected. The novel’s language does unique; even you can fill the author’s skillfulwriting. It is worth studying.ReferencesOxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary 。

AnalysisofthepaintingpoetryofWilliamCarlosWilliams

Analysis of the painting poetry of William Carlos Williams: The Great Figure发布时间：2021-10-28T05:51:56.577Z 来源：《科学与技术》2021年第29卷16期作者：李佳盈[导读] William Carlos Williams is a famous American poet in李佳盈延边大学AbstractWilliam Carlos Williams is a famous American poet in the 20th century and one of the main representatives of Imagist poetry. He was influenced by two other American poets of the same time, Pound and Eliot. Since Williams lived in an era when modern visual art prevailed, he is good at applying painting art to poetry creation and he has his own independent views on literary creation. In his poem The Great Figure, he skillfully uses the light and color in painting to pursue the artistic realm of fusion of poetry and painting. In European countries, more and more poets follow his poetic theory, and there are also many critics in the academia who have discussed his unique style of creation and painting poetry. This paper will start with Williams' poetry theory and discuss the influence of his poetry theory on the image poem The Great Figure. And focus on analyzing the artistic style and language skills shown in his poems due to the influence of his poetry theory.Key words: William Carlos Williams; Pragmatism; Artistic skills; color; ImageryI. IntroductionWilliam Carlos Williams was one of the most famous American poets in the 20th century. He was influenced by Pound and became the main representative of Imagist poetry. Williams was deeply influenced by John Dewey's pragmatic philosophy and aesthetics, keeping in mind his identity as an American poet, resisting Pound and Eliot's European style of poetry, and finally created his own poetry and poetics.The reason why he creates poetry is because he wants to write poetry, want to have a direct dialogue with the world, and want to reveal the essence of things. He disagrees with the literati style of Eliot. He advocated that only the United States is the source of inspiration and material for American poetry creation, and that inspiration and imagination must be rooted in the real world. He also believes that the real world is the foundation of all art. He said that when writing poems, we should use concrete things to express and make artistic ideas through concrete things. He insisted on "No ideas but in things", emphasizing the objective and concise presentation of things themselves. This poem, like other works by the poet, records scenes that are familiar in daily life. The language in the poem is also very simple. The poet reveals the essence of things by describing a series of images.The Great Figure is different from most poems, because it has no special subject matter and language. Williams strives to get rid of British and European traditions, and write poems focusing on tangible things instead of abstract things. Because of his own unique poetics, he successfully rooted his creation in real life. Therefore, I will first discuss the application of Williams' unique poetic theory in his poems, and then analyze the artistic techniques and the images expressed in the poems.II. The author's poetic theory on poetryWilliams was deeply influenced by John Dewey's pragmatism philosophy and aesthetics. He kept in mind his identity as an American poet, opposed Eliot's European style of poetry, and finally developed his own poetic art. There are not only gorgeous colors in his poems, but also the breath of life. Therefore, his story moved the readers, although ordinary, but true and kind. In addition, Williams rejected obscure words and allusions in his poems, and advocated direct contact with the vivid details of daily life, and used ordinary vocabulary to show the real life of the United States in the 20th century. In this way, Williams started from Dewey's pragmatic standpoint and gradually developed and perfected his own pragmatic poetics with American characteristics.In the poem, Williams uses daily things such as "fire truck" and "dark city" as the subject of description. He uses his poems to describe the "ordinary" in real life. It is his ordinary themes and polished language that give his poems the characteristics of modernism. Williams skillfully uses the light and color in painting, pursuing the artistic realm of fusion of poetry and painting. He uses this writing technique to show scenes in daily life, in order to inspire readers' powerful imagination and aesthetic consciousness. This work is also a masterpiece of Williams' Imagist poetry, embodying the characteristics of emphasizing sensory impressions.III. The Artistic style and Language characteristics of poetryWilliams extensively and skillfully used color language in his poems, such as red, white, black, and yellow. He uses painting techniques and various colors to adjust the daily life pictures, so that readers have a strong sense of pictures. In this poem he makes full use of color contrast.The poet describes the common life scenes in modern social cities.The red firetruck and the golden number 5 form a strong color contrast, which gives the poet It left a deep impression. In the poem, the poet uses the black of the rainy night as the entire background. In such an atmosphere, the golden 5 on the firetruck becomes a center. As we know, yellow is a warm color, so the golden number 5 is unstable and full of visual tension in a rainy night like the "black city". Through the contrast of such a set of colors, a combination of light and shadow is created, and an unstable and irregular visual effect is produced.The image is irrational, that is, abnormal reality. Imagery has four characteristics: fantastically, decomposition, uncertainty and indifference. These characteristics are all related to the poet's personal experience of the external world and real life."Golden figure 5", "red firetruck", "dark city", "pedestrian" these images embody the fantastically of the modernist poetic images in Williams' poems. But pedestrians don't care about where the firetruck comes from and where it goes . This is like human thinking about life in modern life. This period of hurried time has no fixed value to people. There is no fixed value and behavioral meaning of things in the world.IV. ConclusionWilliams emphasizes the objectivity and technique of expression, and presents a unique form of poetry with concise language, imagery, and the integration of poetry and painting. Williams also transformed the poetry into a visual form to present it, and vice versa, the visual form enhanced the depth of the poem. Therefore, Williams' unique poetic form not only adds to the style of his personal poetry, but also opens a new situation for American poetry and makes a great contribution to American modern poetry.Reference[1]田川流."充满哲思的色彩论——评李广元的《色彩艺术学》." 山东教育学院学报 .[N].06(2001):107-109. 2001-06-035.[2]蒲度戎,王佳."美国诗人威廉·卡洛斯·威廉斯的中国知音——评张跃军的《美国性情——威廉·卡洛斯·威廉斯的实用主义诗学》." 湖南广播电视大学学报 .04(2007):58-60. 2007-04-025.[3]胡宇."论威廉·卡洛斯·威廉斯诗歌中的绘画情结."[N].黄冈师范学院学报 31.02(2011):61-63. 2011-02-019.[4] 李小洁，王余."诗画同质—解析威廉斯《巨大的数字》和德穆思《我看到了金制的数字5》[A].江西社会科学. (2014):02-0118-06.。

美国文学论文

美国文学论文美国文学是世界上最年轻的文学之一,从其诞生之时起,就因其尖锐的批判性、持续的独创性和精彩的多元性而独树一帜。

下面是店铺为大家整理的美国文学论文，供大家参考。

美国文学论文范文一：Analysis of the main character Ahab in Moby Dick摘要:«白鲸»讲述了饱经风霜的亚哈船长与他的仇敌白鲸之间惊心动魄的故事，亚哈身上体现了令人敬佩的正义品质:百折不挠、英勇无畏、经验丰富，同时还具有令人恐惧的邪恶力量:偏执、自私、专横。

他集正义与邪恶与一身，具有鲜明的双重性。

关键词:正义;邪恶;性格双重性Abstract:«Moby Dick» tells us a thrilling tale between Captain Ahab and his enemy whale called Moby Dick.Ahab's character is amphibious. On one hand,he is indomitable、brave and experienced. On the other hand, he is bigoted, selfish and presuming.Key words: justice; evil; character's amphibiousness«Moby Dick» written by Herman Melville is regarded as the first American prose epic. It's an encyclopedia of everything, history, philosophy, religion, etc. But it is first a Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting again overwhelming odds in an indifferent and even hostile universe.The story goes roughly as follows. Ishmael, feeling depressed, seeks escape by going out to sea on the whaling ship, Pequod. The captain is Ahab, the man with one leg. Moby Dick, the white whale, had sheared off his leg on the most as a reward for anyone who sights thewhale first. The Pequod marked a good catch of whales but Ahab refuses to turn back until he has killed his enemy. Eventually,the white whale appears, and the Pequod begins its doomed fight with it. On the first day the whale overturns a boat; On the second, it swamps another. When the third day comes, Ahab and his crew manage to plunge a harpoon into it, but the whale carries the Pequod along with it to its doom. All on board the whaler get drowned, except one, Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale. From the story, we can see that captain Ahab is a hero who dares to fight though he failed at last. Ahab is Byronic hero, a man with consuming desire to take revenge against the whale which has crippled him. He is brave. Though he knows that it has difficulty in killing whale, he never gives up. He thinks that man can make the world for himself and he tries his best to kill the whale. Although he fails at last, his spiritual is respectable and we should also be indomitable.We know that Ahab's character is amphibious, and we now more focus on the bleak view. As the author is negative, the story is full of tragedy, including the ending.Captain Ahab is a typical Melvillean “isolato”, and a typical Bartleby whose lips are set ever for an “I prefer not to”. He cuts himself off from his wife and kid, and stays away most of the time from his crew. He hates Moby Dick which is an embodiment of nature. He is angry because his pride is wounded. After the loss of his leg in his encounter with the white whale, he seems to hold God responsible for the presence of evil in the universe. Thus his anger assumes the proportions of a cosmis nature. In his egocentric obsession. He loves his sanity, and humanity and becomes a devilish creature rushing headlong toward his doom.Captain Ahab believed in his own power, he is too much of a self-reliant individual to be a good human being. His selfhood must be asserted at the expense of all else: lives may be sacrificed,and nature may be sacrificed, and nature may have to be vanquished in order that he may do what he wills. Ahab is ,to be more exact, a victim of solipsism, His tragedy stemming in the main from extreme individualism, selfish will, a spirit too much withdrawn to itself to warrant salvation.In conclusion, we should observe the two sides of the Captain's character. We need be brave and confident. We have to remind that man is in society, and we can't live without society. We should respect the nature.美国文学论文范文二：The review about the Literature of RomanticismⅠ. BackgroundFrom the early 1800s to the civil war，American was a land of paradoxes, a land stirred by spiritual dreams and shaped by the realities of a growing materialism. the United States had begun to change into an industrial cause society, technology would bring vast material benefits and cause overwhelming social disorders. Americans had sought new liberties and new ideas in life and art, but conflicts of their society had culminated in a bloody civil war. In the first half of the nineteenth century the proportion of Americans who labored on farms declined as increasing members left the land to work in urban businesses and factories. New York became American’s largest city, supplanting Boston and Philadelphia as the economic and cultural capital of the nation. Though the first half of the century the pursuit of simplicity, utility, and perfection remained an American characteristic.In the years preceding the Civil War relatively few volumes of imaginative literature were published in the United States. Most book were almanacs, schoolbooks, self-help manuals, or workson religion, medicine, or the law. Fewer than a dozen volumes of poetry were published annually. Fiction was a prime component of ladies’ magazines. Novels were increasingly popular, especially historical romances written by Europeans, most notably by “the monarch and master of modern fiction,” Sir Walter Scott. But as the century progressed, native American writers won increasing national and international fame. Washington Irving’s Sketch Book (1819-1820)became the first work by an American writer to win financial success on both sides of the Atlantic.Ⅱ. The definition of RomanticismRomanticism is a movement prevailing the 19th century in Western World in literature. art music and philosophy beginning as a reaction and protest against the bondage of rules and customs of neo-classicism. It was marked and is always marked by a story reaction .It returned to nature and plain humanity for material. It brought about a renewed interest in medieval literature. It was also marked by sympathy for poor people and thus a deep understanding toward common people. It was a movement expression of indivdual orignality and different poets realized their variety.A dream of golden age is established against stern realities .Imagination is the key point.Ⅲ. The Characteristic s of the Romantic LiteratureThe main trends of thought of the literature of romanticism is Romanticism, Transcendentation, Anti-slavery. Transcendentation as a moral philosophy, transcendentalism was neither logical nor systematized. It exalted feeling over reason, individual expression over the restraints of law and custom. They believed in the transcendence of the “Oversoul”, an all-pervading power for goodness from which all things come and of which all things are a part.Romanticism, attitude or intellectual orientation that characterized many works of literature, painting, music, architecture, criticism, and historiography in Western civilization over a period from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. Romanticism canbe seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in particular. It was also to some extent a reaction against the Enlightenment and against 18th-century rationalism and physical materialism in general. Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental.Among the characteristic attitudes of Romanticism were the following: a deepened appreciation of the beauties of nature; a general exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect; a turning in upon the self and a heightened examination of human personality and its moods and mental potentialities; a preoccupation with the genius, the hero, and the exceptional figure in general, and a focus on his passions and inner struggles;a new view of the artist as a supremely individual creator, whose creative spirit is more important than strict adherence to formal rules and traditional procedures; an emphasis upon imagination as a gateway to transcendent experience and spiritual truth; an obsessive interest in folk culture, national and ethnic cultural origins, and the medieval era; and a predilection for the exotic, the remote, the mysterious, the weird, the occult, the monstrous, the diseased, and even the satanic.Ⅳ. Main writer and masterpieceⅰ.Washington Irving(1783-1851)He was the Father of American Imaginative Literature; the Father of American Short Stories. He was the first great prose stylist of American romanticism familiar style.The apparent ease of his writing is not simply that of the gifted amateur; it results from his purposeful identification of his whole personality with what he wrote. He was urbane and worldly, yet humorous and gentle, his great and graceful style combine with American roots shaped his independent literary personality. He was the first great belletrist, writing always for pleasure, and to produce pleasure. In 1819-1820 ,his Sketch Book appeared the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature to write good history and biography as literary entertainment. The most story of his Sketch Book is The Legend of Sleep Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. He introduced the familiar essay to America. His best-known stories awakened an interest in the life of American regions. In 1819, A History of New York by Diedrich Knickerbocker a rollicking burlesque of a current serious history of the early Dutch settlers, has become a classic of humor.Bracebridge Hall followed in 1822;then he first went to Germany in pursuit of an interest in German romanticism, which flavored the Tales of Traveller(1824), in Paris he with John Howard Payne wrote the brilliant social comedy Charles the Second or The Merry Monarch. A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus(1828); A Chronicle of the Conquest of Grandada(1829); Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus(1831) ; a famous volume of stories and sketches—The Alhambra(1832) and Legends of the Conquest of Spain (1835) and so on.ⅱ. James Fenimore Cooper(1789-1851)He was the first important American novelist began his literary career on a dare. In 1821,The Spy was successful, it was a rousing tale about espionage against the British during the Revolutionary War .Cooper launched two kinds of immensely popular stories: the sea adventure tale, and the frontier saga. The Pilot is the best of his many sea romances(1824). He wrote the first official history of the U.S. Navy in 1839. His frontier stories Leather Stocking T ales including five novels: The Deerslayer; The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, The Prairie. Allan Nevins calls these five novels the nearest approach yet to an American epic. with a vast group of supporting characters, virtuous or villainous, Cooper made the American conscious of his past, and made the European conscious of American. And the Textbooks works is The Last of The Mohicans.ⅲ.Edgar Allan Poe(1809-1849)Poe was born in Boston. He was the Father of Modern Short Stories; the Father of Detective Story; and the Father of Psychoanalytic Critism. He was the jingle man. He won a contest with his story “Ms. Found in a Bottle” .Then he got a job as editor with the Southern Literary Messenger in 1833. He showed his true talents as an editor, a poet, a literary critic, and a writer of fiction. And he also issued The Fall of the House of Usher. In 1840, His first collection of short stories Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. The Raven was published as the title poem of a collection in 1845. In Europe, he was hailed as a pioneer in poetic and fictional techniques. His influence was especially strong on many French writers. The most famous works were To Helen; The Rav en; Annabel Lee; The Fall of the House of Usher. ⅳ. Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882)He was responsible for bringing Transcendentalism to New England and was recognized throughout his life as the leader of the movement. He believed above all in individualism, independence of mind and self-reliance. He admired courage, he was not afraid of changing or clashing ideas. Like many original minds, he was often several jumps ahead of what his followers thought was his position or philosophy. He was one of the most influential American thinkers, yet he had no elaborate, formal system of thought and he never attempted to create one. Emerson believed above all in individualism, independence of mind, and self-reliance. In 1836,he issued the first book Nature , which met with a mild reception. However , two speeches in the next two years, The American Scholar and The Divinity School Address ,made him famous. Many of his lectures were later distilled into his famous Essays. Among his most important works are Representative Men (1850)and English Traits (1856).His Poem appeared in 1847. In his day, Emerson’s poems were criticized for their lack of form and polish. In recent years, hover, his poetry has received high praise.His harsh rhythms and striking images appeal to many modern readers as artful techniques. His prose style is sometimes as highly individual as his poetry. Many of his essays were put together from his journal entries, speeches, and random notes, and they are often somewhat disorganized. Yet his skill in polishing each sentence into a striking thought makes his writing memorable. One of his great statements was in The American Scholar. That title is now carried by one of the finest magazines in American. Oliver Wendell Holmes called the speech “our intellectua l Declaration of Independence”. He is the world ’s eye. He is the world’s heart.ⅴ. Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862)He was Emerson’s truest disciple, who put into practice many of Emerson’s theories. Walden, the superb book came out of his two-year’s reside nce at Walden Pond. He explained many of the beliefs that led him to try this kind of life. He thought it better for a man to work one day a week and the rest of the week could be devoted to thought. For Thoreau, as for Emerson, self-reliance and independence of mind ranked above all each should find out his own way of living. In 1849, From his experience in jail came his famous essay” Civil Disobedience”, which stated Thoreau’s belief that no man should violate his conscience at the command of a government. His famous book is Walden Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.ⅵ. Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864)The House of the Seven Gables deals with the effects of a curse, and though the tale itself is fiction, the germ of the story sprang from the author’s family history. Hawthorne gathered his material by observing and listening to others whose talk was filled with New England Lore, legend, and superstition. His famous book is The Scarlet Letter.Hawthorne’s unique gift was for the creation of strongly symbolic s tories which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature. The finest example is the recreation of Puritan Boston, “The Scarlet Letter”. In this novel each word, image, and event works toward a single effect. It is a complex story of guilt, its effects upon various persons, and how deliverance is obtained for some of them. His ability to create vivid and symbolic images that embody great moral questions appear strongly in his short stories. It was Hawthorne’s ability to make a story exist in its own right but at the same time appear as a moral symbol.Hawthorne shares with Edgar Allan Poe the distinction of advancing the art of the short story, giving to the form qualities that are uniquely American. To Hawthorne and Melville, however, the telling of a tale was a way of inquiring into the meaning of life. His stories also have The Blithedale Romance(1852); splendid stories called Mosses from an Old Manse(1846); The Marble Faun(1860)ⅶ. Herman Melville(1819-1891)Moby Dick, a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage in pursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale. The book is steeped in symbolism, another strong appeal to readers of his century. In 1846, Typee became known as the “man who lived among cannibals”. The book was basically factual but was no dou bt elaborated somewhat and built up from Melville’s reading as well as his experience. Equally successful was a sequel, Omoo(1847),about his adventures on Tahiti and other island. Later Melville based Bedburn(1849) on his first voyage to England, and White-Jacket(1850) on his brief career in the navy. He drew upon his naval experience again for Billy Budd(1891).He has two other philosophical novels Mardi, Pierre. two celebrated short novels Benito Cereno and Billy Budd. The story uses a ship as symbol of society and searchingly examines the problems of good and evil. Ahab’s ship was like a world inminiature with characters from all walks of life.ⅷ. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-1882)Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, on February 27,1807 and died on March 24,1882 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the most beloved American poet of his time. His main books are Longfellow’s first collection of poems entitled Voices of the Night(1838); Hyperion” the prose romance(1839) ;Ballads and other Poems(1841); Poems on Slavery(1842); Evangeline(1847); Song of Hiawath(1855); The Courtship of Miles Standish(1858)After his death, he became the only American to be honored with a bust in the Poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey. The gentleness, sweetness, and purity for which his poetry was popular during his lifetime.Ⅴ.SummaryFrom the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of he Civil War. It started with the publication of Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book and ended with Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. It is also called “the American Renaissance”. The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature became a permanent convention of American literature. The American Puritanism as a cultural heritage exerted great influences over American moral values. Besides, a preoccupation with the Calvinistic view of original sin and the mystery of evil marked the works of Hawthorne，Melville and a host of lesser writers. The most clearly defined Romantic literary movement in this period is New England Transcendentalism. This Transcendentalist group includes two of the most significant writers America has produced so far， Emerson and his young friend, Henry David Thoreau, whose writing has a strong impact on American literature. Basically, Transcendentalism has been defined philoso phically as “the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively, or of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses.” Emerson once proclaimed in a speech, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of you own mind.” Other concepts that accompanied Transcendentalism include the idea that nature is ennobling and the idea that the individual isdivine and, therefore, self-reliant. It ranges from the comic fables of Washington Irving to the Gothic tales of Edgar Allen Poe, from the frontier adventures of James Fenimore Cooper to the narrative quests of Herman Melville, from the psychological romances of Nathaniel Hawthorne to the social realism of Rebecca Harding.American romantic literature by western romantic literature influence.19 century, the rapid development of American capitalism, the national consciousness and patriotic enthusiasm, to get rid of the English literature of bondage, pay attention to the human spirit and the pursuit of freedom to create a fill transcendence, thus the romantic literature began to flourish.Bibliography:1. 王长荣. 《现代美国小说史》.上海：外语教育出版社，1992.2. 邵锦娣，白劲鹏. An Introduction to Literature. 上海：上海外语教育出版社，20013. 隋刚.《美国文学旧作新读》. 北京：外文出版社，1998.。

美国文学论文

美国文学课程学期论文论文题目：（中文）从写作技巧分析《厄舍府的倒塌》（英文）A simple analysis of TheFall of the House of Usherfrom Writing Techniques学生姓名冶延菊学生学号201107050201411学生班级2011--2班学科专业英语学年学期2013--2014学年第二学期指导教师杨华所在学院语言文化学院2014年7月1日摘要作为爱伦坡恐怖小说代表作之一，《厄舍府的倒塌》不仅成功地塑造了典型的“不正常的”人物角色，而且在文章的框架结构、情节安排上有很多巧妙的设计。

文章中有许多对外界环境以及人物心理的细节描写，作者以娴熟的写作技巧将它们融合，并生动地创造了一个充满恐惧的氛围。

读者明知恐怖氛围是“被安排”好的，且其目的性显而易见，但是读者还是被恐惧紧紧包围，这就是爱伦坡所强调的“预期效果”。

关键词：写作技巧；恐怖氛围；预期效果AbstractAs one of the masterpieces of Edgar Allan Poe’s horror fictions, The Fall of the House of Usher in which the author not only successfully creates some typical characters who are usually “abnormal”, but also builds the whole essay through a clever design,especially in frame structure and organization of plots. Based on the skilled writing techniques, the writer make a horrific atmosphere vividly by lots of detail description about the outside environment and characters’psychology. Although it appears that this atmosphere is managed from “deliberate policy”, the readers are still wrapped by a great fear, which is emphasized by Poe---”the expected effect”.Key words:writing technique; horrific atmosphere; “the expected effect”A simple analysis of The Fall of the House of Usher fromWriting TechniquesWe all know, The Fall of the House of Usher is one of the most successful works of Edgar Allan Poe is considered the father of the modern short story. As to this writing, which is also an example of psychoanalytic criticism. And there are something meaningful and interesting worthing our efforts to study and appreciate, so I want to share some my own analysis about this great work with you.First of all, a great peculiarity of the writing is based on a clever structure design. On the one hand, the author does his utmost to create an impressive outside world (or we call it natural environment). And the author not only takes advantage of adjectives and adverbs in order to build a mysterious and scary atmosphere, but also relies on repetition of these key words. For instance, “During the whole of a dull, dark ,and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low the heavens,... within view of the melancholy House of Usher. ”At the beginning of the story, Poe is eager to create a depressive scene for us, and like these adjectives “dull”“dark”“soundless” whose appearance has decided the keynote of the whole article. When you read the first sentence, you can be grasped by the potential scare instantly as if you tended to be out of breath. And with the constant duplication of those main words, the environment is depicted more and more specific, vivid and appealing. All of these preparations provide a perfect setting for the characters’ activities.On the other hand, at the same time, the writer also creates an inner world of the leading character----” I”. When it comes to the inward world, there are also a lot of significant words are used, such as adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, and so on. Especially, the writer is apt to use adjectives and adverbs to describe the subtle changes of the character’s mood, feeling and expression. For example, the writing is started with “...but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.”“...with an utter depression of soul which I can...”“...above all things startled and even awed me”, and the last reaction of the character is , “From that chamber, and from that mansion, I fled aghast”(Allan Poe, 2005). Throughout the entire story,actually, the reactions of the inner world are always changing with the variation of the outward world. What’s more, with the rapid changes of the outside environment, the changes of the inner world become more and more fierce and shaper, of course, catching our more eyes.Secondly,Allan Poe achieves his purpose of creating fear with the help of muti-pronged approach that is an effective writing technique to get an “the expected effect”. Because Allan Poe proposes that “It is only with the denouement constantly in view that we can give a plot its indispensable air of consequence or causation, by making the incidents, and especially the tone at all points, tend to the development of the intention”(2013: P17), there is nearly no redundant words in his work. In order to quickly bring about a terrific air for readers, the author depicts the environment through visual sense. For instance, in paragraph five, “The discoloration of ages had been great. Minute fungi overspread ... web-work from the eaves”, “No portion of the masonry had fallen... the individual stones”(Allan Poe, 2005). All those descriptions of objects provides the receivers with a visual impact through which can make an impressive picture.paragraph twenty-five to the last paragraph, there are several obvious sounds, like “rustled uneasily”“a light step”“the ordinary commingled noises”“a low and apparently distant, but harsh,protracted, and most unusual screaming or grating sound”, and so on, which is mentioned frequently and always designed in a very silent setting. They are so intensive and vivid that the readers have no time to put together their imagination when they are involved in reading, so the writer tries his best to simplify the process of shaping a “expected effect” air, and he shows every details frequently and even deliberately. However, it is not attractive for Poe to build a perfect atmosphere just through the combination of vision and hearing ,as a result. He also adds the psychological description of the characters. At the beginning of the article, “I know not how it was---but , with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit”, and there follows another strange feeling, “It was the manner in which all this,...and I accordingly obeyed forth with what I still considered a very singular summons”(Allan Poe, 2005). With the time passing by, the fierce degree of the characters’inner motion becomes fiercer and fiercer. What’more, the changes of the characters’psychology tends to be more apparent and intensive,which brings the readers a strong feeling of fear. Even though the readers know that all of those plots are organized on purpose, they still can’t get rid of the great fear when they indulge into the wonderful and constant structure design. That is the reason why Poe’s essays are popular in spite of over a century.From what I have discussed, we can know that Allan Poe can not only create plenty of excellent details and plots, but also can make full use of his deliberate arrangement to his readers’ attention, and give them a feeling of “personally on the scene” . So, when you are caught by the fear, Poe’s “expected effect” has been achieved.References1.Allan Poe,Edgar The Fall of the House of Usher, Beijing: China people's Liberation Army Publishing House, 20052. 陶洁编著，《美国文学选读》（第三版），高等教育出版社，2011.63./p-454954734.html, 20124. /article/164bc968-bcfc-4db7-929d-08c922be3db0.htm, 2011。

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Writing Technique Analysis of Mark Twain's Running for GovernorAbstract: Running for Governor is one of Mark Twain's famous short stories of politics. Like other political stories, in Running for Governor, Mark Twain criticize the filth and hypocrisy of American political circles. This essay will analyse how the author achieve hie goal from the point of writing techniquesKeywords: Mark Twain, Running for Governor, first person, hyperbole, humor and satireRunning for Governor is a famous short story written by Mark Twain. It tells "my" experience of running for governor of New York state. "I", as a decent man, for the reason of election contest, was defamed to a perjurer, a thief, a ghoul, a Wine maniac, a fraud and a corruptionist. At last "I" quit the election. This story reveals the hypocrisy of American democracy and the filth of American political circles. This essay is gonging to analyse how the author reveal the hypocrisy and give his criticism from the point of writing techniques.I.Writing in first personMark Twain writes in first person in Running for Governing characterizing himself as the protagonist. The application of first person writing method makes the depiction of the protagonist vivid and also the novel quite convincing. It is like Mark Twain had really gone through the whole thing. The outstanding advantage is that the mental activities and the flow of change of emotions can be arranged in a clear and minute way. At first, when Mark Twain was nominated for Governor of the great state of New York, he was "exalting his advantage and joying in it in secret". But before long he was charged with perjury, something he hadn't done at all. The charge turned him crazed and helpless. However situation of him went from bad to worse. Some other deliberately malicious charges coming out from nowhere were declared against him one following another. Apart from being apprehensive, he finally surrendered and then withdrew from the candidacy in bitterness of spirit. During the process of reading, the reader tends to feel the same feelings as what Mark Twain was going through. This way of writing removes the gap between the author and reader, enabling the reader to believe what described is real.What's more, Mark Twain reveals the essence of American so called "liberty" and "freedom" through the experience of "himself" and tells the truth of American election. By this way what was meant to deliver is the darkness of American political circles and the corruption of the capitalist election system in the 19th century.II.Application of HyperboleThis works used hyperbole to satirize. It based on real life, exaggerated and underlined some characters to highlight the essential features. Hyperbole in this novel can be understood in two aspects.First, the hyperbole of “Charges”. After “I” ran for the campaign, the Bourgeois’ newspaper accused me many groundless charges, not match with the counts, even ridiculous and surreal. How could someone ran for the campaign with the charges of a thief and a body-snatcher? At the same time, the voters would not believe that a candidate had nine little toddling children, "of all shades of color and degrees of raggedness". If we examine it in the reality, the description was unbelievable. However, the author exaggerated the point of Bourgeois making up rumors and slandering, making readers feel real.Besides, slandering the rival’s father of hang for highway robbery couldn’t be the reason that the protagonist is a body-snatcher. This is a kind of ridiculous hyperbole. The newspaper bribed by Bourgeois made up of many “charges” in order to discredit the oppon ents. The hyperbole expressed the hypocrisy of Bourgeois.Second, the hyperbole in mind. When the r ival slandering , “I”reacted strongly. The overstate language described “my” thought at that time. “I thought I shoul d burst with amazement!” “I got to picking up papers apprehensively –much as one would lift a desired blanket which he had some idea there might have a rattlesnake under it.” With these words, the rival used everything to get to the purpose, which caused great consequences to me. The campaign transferred to personal attack and political persecution.Therefore, the more the hyperbole catches the essential and typical characters, the more it matched the reality. Hyperbole reveals the truth, and provokes thinking. These effects of hyperbole are well-exerted in this story.III. Humor and satireIn the story Running for Governor, Mark Twain use a lot of humor and satire to reveal the truth of democratic election: slandering and cheating. From the novel we can see the stunning combination of humor and satire: humor implies satire and satire contains humor. As Mark Twain said, the humor is not just kidding, but the solemn criticism to social evils.In the first part of the novel, the grandmother said in the letter “You have never done one single thing in all your life to be ashamed of—not one. Look at the newspapers—look at them and comprehend what sort of characters Messrs. Smith and Blank are, and then see if you are willing to lower yourself to their level and enter a public canvass with them.”The word “ashamed” is a pun. It not only points to “I”, but reveals the so- called democracy and freedom in Electoral System. This paragraph also indicates the end of the story: “I” as an honest man have to withdraw from the competition.As the election going on, the opponents political frame-up comes to the top. “I” becomes the father of nine children innocently. “And at last, as a due and fitting climax to the shameless persecution that party rancor (ill feeling) had inflicted upon me, nine little toddling children, of all shades of color and degrees of raggedness, were taught to rush onto the platform at a public meeting, and clasp me around the legs and call me PA!”The author use the humorous situation to satirize the opponents who want to slander “I” unscruputously.We can notice there are many remarks in the novel. One of them is “After this, this journal customarily spoke of me as, "Twain, the Montana Thief.", which is a humorous expression. With the expression ,the author wants to satire detractor’s repeating the lies.All techniques serve the theme. Though Mark Twain applies a lot of writing techniques, these techniques are not focus, the theme is. We can clearly grasp the theme of criticism of American democracy through Twain's skilled application of different writing techniques.Group Members:Chen Qu Zhang PingLi Jing Yin ChenLiu Yanxi Gao Sisi 20084474Wu Lin 20084475 Peng Hua 20084477。