美国文学思考题.doc

完整版)美国文学思考题
Basic Literary Knowledge
1. How do you understand Mark twain’s use of local color in his writing？
Mark Twain's narratives are distinguished for his use of local color. This may be defined as the careful attention to details of the physical scene and to those mannerisms in speech， dress， or behavior peculiar to a geographical locality。 He insisted that the job of the native novelists was to depict each of the country’s regions and people accurately. Only in this way could the peculiarity of American experience， the polyglot tongues of its people， and the vastness of the continent be captured. He mainly exploited the possibilities of the local color in the Mississippi region.
2. Discuss the concept of wasteland in relation to the works of those writers in the 20th century American literature。
‘The Waste Land’ is a poem written by T.S。 Eliot on the theme of the sterility and chaos of th3 contemporary world。 This most widely known expression of the despair in the postwar era has appeared over and over again in the works of those writers in the 2oth century American literature. Faulkner exemplified T。S. Eliot’s concept of modern society as a wasteland is a dramatic way he condemned the mechanized, industrialized society that has dehumanized man by forcing him to cultivate false values and decrease those essential human values such as courage, fortitude， honesty and goodness。 Fitzgerald sought to portray a spiritual wasteland of the jazz age. Beneath the masks of relaxation and joviality， there was only sterility， meaningless and futility amid the grandeur and extravagance， there was a hint of decadence and moral decay. Hemingway， the leading spokesman of the Lost Generation, though disillusioned in the postwar period， strove to bring about man’s “grace under pressure”。 He tried to bring out the idea than man can be physically destroyed but never defeated spiritually.
3. Analyze Walt Whitman’s ‘O Captain！ My Captain' in terms of free verse.
In the poem, Whitman celebrates the heroic struggle of the American people for democracy， freedom and justice and expresses his seething hatred of slavery。
Free verse is a kind of poetry that lacks regular meter or pattern and may not rhyme. Depending on natural speech rhythms, its lines may be of different lengths and may switch abruptly from one rhythm to another。 Whitman was the first American poet to use free verse extensively， because it is an appropriate form for his liberating view of life and for his poetry that would allow every aspect of life to speak without restraint。 He tried to approximate the natural cadences of speech in his poetry, carefully varying the length of his lines according to his intended emphasis.

Literature of Colonial America
Who was Anne Bradstreet? What were her literary achievements?
Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672） is one of the most important figures in the history of American literature。 She is considered by many to be the first American poet and her first collection of poems， The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America， by a Gentlewoman of Those Parts， was the first book written by a woman to be published in the United States. Mrs. Bradstreet’s work also serves as document of the struggles of a Puritan wife against the hardships of new England colonial life。

Literature of Reason and Revolution
1. What are the characteristics of Benjamin Franklin’s literary work?
The main quality in all Benjamin Franklin’s writing is its genuine humanness。 His literary work was typical of himself。 Honest, plain， democratic， clear—headed， shrewd， worldly-wise， he was interested in the practical side of life. The absence of ideality is obvious in all his compositions. He never reached the high levels of imaginative art。 But on this lower plane of material interest and every—day life he was， the works possess a universal charm
2. Give a brief account of American literature of this period.
Much work during the Revolutionary period was public writing。 By the time of the War for Independence, nearly fifty newspapers had been established in the coastal cities。 At the time of Washington’s inauguration， there were nearly forty magazines。 Almanacs were popular from Massachusetts to Georgia。 The mind of the nation was on politics。 Journalists and printers provided a forum for the expression of ideas。 The writing of permanent importance is mostly political writing。 The best—known writing of the period outside the field of politics was done by Benjamin Franklin.
3. Write an analysis of The Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence， adopted on July 4， 1776， not only announced the birth of a new nation， it also set forth a philosophy of human freedom which served as an important force in the western world. Its ideas inspired mass fervor for the American cause， for it instilled among the common people a sense of their own importance， and inspired struggle for personal freedom， self-government, and a dignified place in society.

Romantic Period of American Literature
1. What are the artistic achievements of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetry？
He was the best known of the Fireside Poets. American poetry began its emergence from the shadow of its British parentage。 His poetic narrative helped create a national historical myth， transforming colorful aspects of the American past into memorable romance。 The works include Evangeline （1847)， the Song of Hiawatha （1855）。 No American poet before or since was as widely celebrated during his or her lifetime as Longfellow. He became the first and the only American poet to be honored with a bust in the Poets' Corner.
2. How to define the Romantic period in American history?
The period stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War. it started with the publication of Washington Irving's The Sketch Book and ended with Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Being a period of the great flowing of American literature, it is also called “the American Renaissance”.
3. What are the literary characteristics in the works of American romantic period?
The characteristics are moral enthusiasm, faith in the value of individualism and intuitive perception, and a presumption that natural world was a source of goodness and man’s society a source of corruption.
4. What is the relationship between American romanticism and European Romanticism？
They share much in common: in reaction to the enlightenment and its emphasis on reason, Romanticism stressed emotion， the imagination， and subjectivity of approach. European literary masters, especially the English counterparts exerted a stimulating impact on the writers of the new World. American romanticism is to some extent derivative after their English predecessors. But the great American Romantic works were typically American。 The writers developed some new forms of fiction or poetry. They placed an increasing emphasis on the free expression of emotions and displayed an increasing attention to the psychic states of their characters. The strong tendency to exalt the individual and common man was another focus of the movement。
5. What is Ralph Waldo Emerson's transcendental idea and his view of nature?
His transcendental idea has some ideological concerns of American Puritanism and European Romanticism, with its focus on the intuitive knowledge of human beings to grasp the absolute in the universe and the divinity of man. Emerson rejected the formal religion of the churches。 He based his religion on an intuitive belief in an ultimate unity， which he called the “over-soul”. The over—soul is an all-pervading power from which all things come from and of which all are a part。 In Emerson’s view， nature is emblematic of the spiritual world, alive with God’s overwhelming presence. It exercises a healthy and restorative influence on human mind。 By employing nature as a big symbol of the spirit, or God, or the Over—soul, Emerson has brought the Puritan legacy of symboalism to its perfection。
6. What is the main idea of Henry David Thoreau's Walden？
Thoreau’s work demonstrates how the abstract ideals of libertarianism and individualism can be effectively instilled in a person’s life. In Walden （1854) Thoreau explains his motives for living apart from society and devoting himself to a simple lifestyle and to the observation of nature。 The book not only displays Emersonian ideas of self-reliance but also develops Thoreau’s own transcendental idea。 For Thoreau， nature is not merely symbolic， but divine in itself and human beings can receive precise communication from the natural world by way of pure sense. To achieve personal spiritual perfection he thinks the most important thing for man is to be self—sufficient.
7. What are the artistic achievements of Edgar Allan Poe？
Poe is known as a poet and critic but most famous as the first master of the short story form, especially tales of the mysterious and macabre. He originated the novel of detection. The best known tale in this genre is The Murders in the Morgue （1841)。 Many of Poe’s tales are distinguished by the author’s unique grotesque inventiveness in addition to his superb plot construction。 Such stories include The Fall of the House of Usher (1983）, in which the penetrating gloominess of the atmosphere is accented equally with plot and characterization。 Poe's poems are remarkable for their flawless literary construction and for their haunting themes and meters as in the poems ‘The Raven’ and ‘ Annabel Lee’.
8. What are the artistic characteristics of the Scarlet Letter？
The novel, a story of rebellion within an emotionally constricted Puritan society, is an undisputed masterpiece written by Hawthorne. It reveals both Hawthorne’s super craftsmanship and the powerful psychological insight with which he probed guilt and anxiety in the human soul。 Hawthorne’s remarkable sense of the Puritan past, his understanding of the colonial history in England， his apparent preoccupation with the moral issue of sin and guilt， and his keen psychological analysis of people are brought to full display in the novel。 With modern psychological insight， Hawthorne probed the secret motivations in human behavior and the guilt and anxiety that he believed resulted from all sins against humanity, especially those of pride. Hawthorne is a master of symbolism. The structure and the form of the novel are carefully worked out to cater for the thematic concern. By using Pearl as a thematic symbol, Hawthorne emphasizes the consequence of the sin of adultery has brought to the community and people living in that community。 The letter A takes on different layers of symbolic meanings。
9. Discuss the symbolism in Melville’s Moby Dick？
Moby Dick was published in 1851。 Holding the theme that “all visible objects are but as pasteboard mask”， Melville strikes through the surface of his adventurous narrative to formulate concepts of good and evil embedded as allegory in its events. Moby Dick is a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe, a spiritual exploration into man’s deep reality and psychology. The Pequod is the microcosm of human society and the voyage becomes a search for truths. The white whale， Moby Dick， symbolizes nature， for it is complex unfathomable， malignant and beautiful as well. For Ahab, the whale represents only evil。 For the author， the narrator Ishmael and the readers， Moby Dick is an ultimate mystery of the universe。 The voyage of the mind will forever remain a search of the truth。
10. Why is Leaves of Grass considered a milestone in American literature?
The work has always been considered a monumental work because of its uniquely poetic embodiment of American democratic ideal. It has nine editions and the first edition was published in 1855.In the giant work, Whitman shows concern for the whole hardworking people and the burgeoning life of the cities. The realization of the individual value also found a tough position in his poems in a particular way。 In celebrating the self, Whitman emphasizes the physical dimension of the self and openly celebrates sexuality. Some of his poems are politically committed。 Stylistically, Whitman experiments with a mixture of the colloquial diction and prose rhythm of journalism. The direct address is another salient feature of his poetry. He constructs a democratic “I”, a voice that sets out to celebrate itself and the rapture of its sense experiencing the world. He initiated the form of free verse in America that endows his poems with a flow of musicality a sense of rhythm。
11. What are the thematic concerns and the artistic characteristics of Emily Dickinson’s poetry?
Her poetry covers the issues vital to humanity， which include religion, death, immortality， love and nature。 Her poems have no titles, hence are always quoted by their first lines. In her poetry， there is a particular stress pattern, in which dashes are used as a musical device to create cadence and capital letters as a means of emphasis. Most of her poems borrow the repeated four—line， rhymed stanzas of traditional Christian hymns, with two lines of four—beat meter alternating with two lines of three-beat meter. A master of imaginary that makes the spiritual materialize in surprising ways， Dickinson managed manifold variations within her simple form。 She uses imperfect rhythms, subtle breaks of rhythm, and idiosyncratic syntax and punctuation to create fascinating world puzzles， which have produced greatly divergent interpretations over the years. Due to her deliberate seclusion， her poems tend to vivify some abstract ideas. Her poetry, despite its ostensible formal simplicity， is remarkable for its variety, subtlety and richness。 Her limited private world have never confined the limitless power of her creativity and imagination。

Period of Realism
1. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck Finn is a thirteen—year-old boy. Why does Mark twain use a child as the center of consciousness in this book?
In using a child protagonist， Twain is able to imply a comparison between the powerlessness and vulnerability of a child and the powerlessness and vulnerability of a black man in pre-Civil War America。 Huck and Jim frequently find themselves in the same predicaments: each is abused, each faces the threat of losing his freedom， and each is constantly at the mercy of adult white men。 In Huck’s moral dilemmas， Jim is also vulnerable to Huck who is white。 Twain also uses his child protagonist to dramatize the conflict between societal or received morality。 As a boy, Huck is a character who can develop morally， whose mind is still open and being formed， who does not take his principles and values for granted。 By tracing the education and experiences of a boy， Twain shows that conclusions about right and wrong that are based on logic and experience。 The society’s rules and morals are often hypocritical rather than logical.
2. Discuss the influence of Charles Dar