英美文学选读 期末考试答案.

1. What is the function of the opening sentenc e of “Pride and Prejudice”?“It is truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in wa nt of a wife.”

1. This is the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice and stands as one of the most famous first lines in literature. Even as it briskly introduces the arrival of Mr. Bingley at Netherfield—the event that sets the novel in motion

2. This sentence also offers a miniature sketch of the entire plot, which concerns itself wi th the pursuit of “single men in possession of a good fortune” by various female characters. The preoccupation with socially advantageous marriage in nineteenth-century English society manifests itself here, for in claiming that a single man “must be in w ant

of a wife,” the narrator reveals that the reverse is also true: a single woman, whose socially prescribed options are quite limited, is in (perhaps desperate want of a husband.

3. It is often pointed out that Austen's novels emphasize characterization and romanticism, but in Pride and Prejudice the emphasis is on the irony, values and realism of the characters as they develop throughout the story.

4. The first sentence is still shows that the novel is narrated in a female point of view.

2. the symbolic meaning of “the west wind” is subject to various interpretations;

1. It symbolizes regeneration which follows the destruction and death of winter.

2. Personally. Shelley sees it as a force that will reinvigorate him, the wind of spirit and inspiration at a time when he feels his own powers as a poet are on the decline.

3. Socially and politically, the wind represents the destructive and revolutionary energies that had been seen in Europe over the previous 30 years, overthrowing long-established and corrupt social order in France and Italy.

4. Spiritually, it is an abstract expression or manifestation of the spirit within nature,

a driving force behind the turning wheel of the seasons and the cycles of life and death.

3. Jane Eyre:

1. It is noted for its sharp criticism of the bourgeois system of education; the aim of bourgeois principles of education is to bring up obedient slaves for the rich.

2. The heroine Jane is depicted as an intelligent, courageous, faithful girl and she is rebellious enough to revolt and striv e for equality against injustice and unfairness. She loves what she loves and hates what she dislikes. Jane Eyre is a completely new woman image. She represents those middle-class workingwomen who are struggling for recognition of their rights & equality as a human being. The vivid description of her intense feelings & her thought & inner conflicts brings her to the heart of the audience.

3. Jane Eyre is a typical realistic work i

4. Charlotte Bronte thought education can solve all social problems.

4. Wuthering Heights

1. Love in the novel is tragic, morbid and devastating. The power of the novel comes mainly from the psychic complexities of the two major characters. Here Emily Bronte’s psychological excavation is both deep and extensive. She manages to dive into the innermost recesses of human soul.

2. At the same time, it is also a tragedy of social inequality; the novel is a powerful attack on bourgeois marriage system under which the pure love between the hero and heroine is destroyed by class prejudice founded on wealth.

3.philosophically,we can say it is an illustration of workings of the universe that harmonious always is broken, but will return to harmony. The end of the novel, Cathy and Hareton are together.