英语专业美国文学期末考试重点,小字号已排

Black humor(黑色幽默)：Black humor refers to the use of the morbid and the absurd in literature for darkly comic purpose. It carries the tone of anger and bitterness in the grotesque situations of suffering, anxiety and death. It makes readers laugh at the blackness of modern life. The representative novel of black humor in American literature is Joseph Heller’ Catch -22. 《第二十二条军规》Anti-hero （反英雄）:Ant-ihero refers to the chief person in a modern novel or play whose character is widely discrepant from that which we associate with the traditional protagonist or hero of a serious literary work. Instead of manifesting largeness, dignity, power, or heroism, the antihero is petty, ignominious, passive, ineffectual, or dishonest. The use of non-heroic protagonists occurs as early as the picaresque novel （流浪汉小说） of the 16th century, and the heroine of Defoe’s Moll Flanders 《摩尔·弗兰德斯》is a thief and a prostitute （妓女）. The term ―antihero‖, however, is usually applied to writings in the period of disillusion after the Second World War. For example, Yossarian in Joseph Heller’s Catch -22.《第二十二条军规》Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake The only other sound ’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. 雪夜林畔小驻想来我认识这座森林，林主的庄宅就在邻村,却不会见我在此驻马，看他林中积雪的美景。

20151120美国文学必考点总结By Wang HX.说明：1，名词解释可参考我以前发的资料或者自己的资料，也可在网上搜美国文学名词解释。

2，作家作品一定要正确搭配，还要会写下面我列出的作家和作品。

作者是什么时代的代表，有什么称号要记住。

1,英国最早移民到美国的诗人：Anne Bradstreet，作品<The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America>first woman poet.2,Edward Taylor超验主义的先驱。

3，Hard work,thrift,piety and sobriety。

清教徒强调的四点，会写，可能填空。

4，Benjamin Franklin，作品"Poor Richard's Almanac"包括很多collection of proverbs流行谚语集。

The Autobiography自传。

5，Thomas Paine托马斯·佩因1737-1809"Great Common of Mankind"最平凡的人。

作品"American Crisis"《美国危机》，Common Sense常识。

6，Thomas Jefferson托马斯·杰弗逊，drafted the Declaration of Independence.起草了独立宣言。

All Men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life,Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.人人生而平等，他们都从“造物主”那边被赋予了某些不可转让的权利，其中包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。

名词解释：Imagism: It’s a poetic movement of England and the U.S. flourished from 1909 to 1917.The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing” and the economy of wording. The leaders of this movement were Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell.Beat generation: The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this g roup include Kerouac’s On the Road and Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.”二、1. Ralph Waldo Emerson:Nature: it is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism.The American Scholar:it has been regarded as “America’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence”.2. Henry David Thoreau: Walden3. Nathaniel Hawthorne:The Scarlet Letter:主题：Hawthorne focuses his attention on the moral, emotional, and psychological effects or consequences of the sin on the people in general and those main characters in particular, so as to show us the tension between society and individuals. To Hawthorne, everybody is potentially a sinner, and great moral courage is therefore indispensable for the improvement of human nature.4. Herman Melville: Moby DickA. 作品分析：（1）Moby Dick represents the sum total of Melville’s bleak view of the world in which he lived. It is at once godless and purposeless. The loss of faith and the sense of futility and meaningless which characterize modern life of the West were expresse d in Melville’s work so well that the twentieth century has found it both fascinating and great.(2) One of the major themes of this novel is alienation, which exists in the life of Melville on different levels, between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. Melville also criticizes New England Transcendentalism of its emphasis on individualism and Oversoul. Another theme of this novel is “rejection and quest.”(3) The novel is highly symbolic. The voyage itself is a metaphor for “search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience.” Moby Dick is the most conspicuous symbol in the book and it is capable of many interpretations. It is a symbol of evil to some, one of goodness to others, and both to still others. Its whiteness is a paradoxical color, signifying as it does death and corruption as well as purity, innocence, and youth. It represents the final mystery of the universe which man will do well to desist from pursuing.(4) Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple views of his narratives. He tends to write periodic sentences. His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profusely commented upon and praised.B. what does the white whale in Moby Dick symbolize? Why do you think so?For Captain Ahab, the white whale represents evil. After the loss of his leg in his encounter with the white whale, Ahab begins to hate Moby Dick and tries his best to kill the whale. It seems that he embodies all of the evil he once consigned to the white whale. For other members on the whaling ship, the white whale symbolizes the unknown, mysterious natural force of the universe. For the readers, the white whale is capable of many interpretations, for it is “paradoxically benign an d malevolent, nourishing and destructive,” “massive, brutal, monolithic, but at the same time protean, erotically beautiful, infinitely variable.”C. Major themes: obsession, religion, and idealism versus pragmatism, revenge, racism, sanity, hierarchical relationships, and politics.D. the Pequod is the microcosm of human society and the voyage becomes a search for truth. Moby Dick is a mystery, an ultimate mystery of the universe, and the voyage of the mind will forever remain a search, not a discovery, of the truth.The whole story turns out to be a symbolic voyage of the mind quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe, a spiritual exploration into man’s deep reality and psychology.5. Walt Whitman: Leaves of Grass.It has been praised as “Democ ratic Bible”, and as American Epic.主题：(1)he shows concern for the whole hard-working people and the burgeoning life of cities. (2) realization of the individual value. (3) pursuit of love and happiness. (4) Before and during the Civil War, Whitman expressed much mourning for the sufferings of the young lives in the battlefield and showed a determination to carry on the fighting dauntlessly until the final victory.写作风格：(1) Whitman wrote “free verse”, that is,poetry without a fixed beat or regularrhyme scheme.(2) There is a strong sense of the poemsbeing rhythmical. Parallelism and phoneticrecurrence at the beginning of the linescontribute to the musicality of his poems.(3) Most of the pictures he painted withwords are honest, undistorted images ofdifferent aspects of America of the day.(4) Whitman’s language is relatively simpleand even rather crude. Anothercharacteristic in Whitman’s language is hisstrong tendency to use oral English.Whitman’s vocabulary is amazing. Hewould use powerful, colorful, as well asrarely-used words.Leaves of Grass的分析：(1). Grass, the most common thing with thegreatest vitality, is an image of the poethimself, a symbol of the then risingAmerican nation and an embodiment of hisideals about democracy and freedom.(2). In this giant work, openness, freedom,and above all, individualism are all thatconcerned him.(3). In this book he also praises nature,democracy, labor and creation, and sings ofman’s dignity and equality, and of th ebrightest future of mankind. Most of thepoems in Leaves of Grass sing of the“en-masse” and self as well.6. Emily Dickinson:诗歌的主要内容：love, nature, death andimmortality.7. Edgar Allen Poe: 短篇小说家和诗人。

1. Colonial American (1607-1765)Puritanism in America 清教主义1.Influence①American Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature. It has become, to some extent, so much a state of mind(思维模式),rather than a set of tenets.( ['tɛnɪt] 教义)②To them, religion was a matter of primary importance.③They accepted the doctrine of predestination(命运),original sin(原罪),total depravity(堕落),and limited atonement(赎罪) through a special infusion([ɪn'fjuʒn] 神典) of grace from God.[John, Calvin]④In a word, American Puritans are ready for any misfortune and tragic failures that might lie in wait for them.2. Colonial America did not always write the way Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor wrote. Some people wrote for civil and religious freedom, and some others wrote for America shaking off(摆脱) the fetter(束缚) of the savage(残酷) and rapacious(贪婪) British colonial rule.3. Early writersJohn Smith A Description of New England《新英格兰叙事》Anne Bradstreet(first American poet) Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America ( 1650 )《第十位诗神》.On the Burning of Our House 《写在我家失火之际》Edward Taylor(finest 出色的) Huswifery 《家务》Upon a Spider Catching a Fly《蜘蛛扑捉苍蝇之遐想》Chapter 2. The period of Enlightenment and the Independence War (1765 -1800)1.Eighteenth-century American thinking was dominated by two basic patterns of thought .Toward the latter part of theseventeenth century, a completely new view of the universe came into being.(Deism 自然神论)2.Benjamin Franklin(Enlightenment thinkers and writers)1）Poor Richard’s Almanac《格言历书》（Maxims格言and axioms哲理)2）Autobiography《自传》a.It is perhaps the first real post-revolutionary (开山之作)American writing as well as the first real autobiography inEnglish.b.It gives us the simple yet immensely(全面) fascinating record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a state ofpoverty and obscurity(卑微) into which he was born, the faithful account of the colorful career of America’s first self-made man. (自我奋斗成功)c．Comments1) First of all, it is a puritan document(清教徒传记). The most famous section describes his scientific scheme ofself-examination(审视) and self-improvement(完善).2) It is also an eloquent elucidation(清楚表明) of the fact that Franklin was spokesman for the new order of eighteenthcentury enlightenment, and that he represented in America all its ideas, that man is basically good and free(善良自由), by nature endowed(赋予) by God with certain inalienable(不可剥夺的) rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.3) It is the pattern of Puritan(典型清教写作风格) simplicity, directness, and concision(明朗). The plainness(平实) of itsstyle, the homeliness(通俗) of imagery(比喻), the simplicity of diction(措词), syntax and expression are some of the salient(突出) features we cannot mistake.3.Hector St John de Crevecoeur Letters From an American Farmer «美国农人书简»或者《信札》\American Romanticism（1800-1865）Section 1 Early Romantic PeriodWhat is Romanticism?A．Romanticism is a literary movement throughout the 19th C and it can be divided into the early period and the late period. Also it remains powerful in contemporary literature and art.B. It started with the publication of Washington Irving's The Sketch Book and ended with Whitman's Leaves of Grass.C. Romanticism is associated with imagination and boundlessness, as contrasted with classicism,D. The most clearly defined romantic literary movement in the U. S. was Transcendentalism.E. The representatives of the early period includes Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper. Waldo EmersonHistorical Background: 1.American Puritanism 2.New England Transcendental Movement 3.American westward Expansion.American RomanticismFeatures：(1)American romanticism was in a way derivate: American romantic writing was some of them modelled onEnglish and European works.(2)American romanticism is a cultural heritage(文化遗产),American moral values were basically Puritan.(3)American romanticism was both imitative and independent.(4)Writers like Emerson and Whitman thought and wrote differently. They calling for the creation of a nativeAmerican culture and literature, represent“the deeper forces(坚实力量) ”of a Romanticisms at onceindigenous(本土化) and universal(广为人知).1. Washington Irving-- One of the first American writers to earn an international reputation, an early Romantic writer, and Father of the American short stories, The Father of American Literature ,“the American Goldsmith”Work：A History of New York《纽约外史》（DK）won him wide popularityThe Sketch Book《见闻札记》（GC）won international fame→contains German folk tales Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy HollowThe History of the Life and V oyages of Christopher Columbus 《哥伦布市传》A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada《攻克格拉纳达》The Alhambra《阿尔罕伯拉》Selections:Rip Van Winkle:I have observed that he was a simple, good-natured man; he was, moreover, a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband.Rip’s sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much henpecked as his master; For a long while he used to console himself, when driven from home, by frequenting a kind of perpetual club of the sages, philosophers, and other idle personages of the village, which held its sessions on a bench before a small inn, designated by a rubicund portrait of his majesty George the Third. “The Union Hotel, by Jonathan Doolittle.”Instead of the great tree which used to shelter the quiet little Dutch inn of yore, there now was reared a tall naked pole, with something on the top that looked like a red nightcap, and from it was fluttering a flag. The red coat was changed for one of blue and buff, a sword was stuck in the hand instead of a scepter, the head was decorated with a cocked hat, and underneath was painted in large characters, GENERAL WASHINGTON.The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Tarry Town, New York, Ichabod Crane, Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, Katrina Van Tassel Literary career: two parts---1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique---1832~1859: back to USStyle –beautiful, Romanticism, Humor, Irony(1)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(2)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(3)vivid and true characters(4)humour – smiling while reading(5)musical language2.James Fenimore Cooper (the American Scott)a. He is the first border writer;(边疆作家)b. Created a myth about the formative period of American nation;（创造了美国格式化时代的神话）c. Helped introduce the “Western”tradition into American literatureWork：A：Leatherstocking Tales 《皮袜子故事集》(masterpiece, a series of five novels)The Pioneers《拓荒者》The Prairie (1827), 《大草原》(1823)---old The Last of Mohicans(1826), 《最后的莫西干人》The Pathfinder 《探路者》(1840)---middle-age, The Deerslayer (1841) 《杀鹿人》---youth (This process is the American quest for an ideal community.)Analysis of Natty Bumppo:Presented as an ideal American, living a virtuous and free life in God’s world. To him the wilderness is good, pure, perfect, where there is freedom not tainted （变质）by human institutions; He find “civilization” both corrupt and corrupting; The civilization is poisoned at the root from the very beginning.Analysis of Judge Temple: Judge Temple is a good indication of Cooper’s ambivalence(矛盾)，as a Writer of frontier life; He is a man of honor and integrity. He is as much a frontiersman as Natty Bumppo; He represents “the practically inevitable” (实实在在的实用)aspect of frontier life, He symbolizes law and civilization.His themes:a.Native subject of frontier and wilderness(荒原)b.New sources of fiction.Section 2 American Transcendentalism （summit of the Romantic Movement）（1836-1860）Appearance：1836, “Nature” by EmersonBackground: The Mexican-America War(1846-1848)美西战争，The westward expansion 西部大开发开始What is Transcendentalism：（Puritan heritage+Foreign influence）●appeared in 1830s in US●emphasis on spirit or Oversoul and stressing importance of the individual●regarding nature as symbols of the spirit or God and emphasis on brotherhood of man●representatives: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David ThoreauResources：Transcendentalist Club in New England—the Dial《日晷》Features1.spirit/oversoul(超灵)2.importance of individualism3.nature – symbol of spirit/God; garment(外衣) of the oversoulSignificanceA. influenced a large group of writersB. summit of American RomanticismC. marked the independence of American literatureTranscendentalism: quotes----“Go back to nature, sink yourself back into its influence and you’ll become spiritually whole again.”1. Ralph Waldo Emerson (Father of Transcendentalism)Works:Nature 自然(1836) ：“the manifesto(宣言) of American transcendentalism” and “the Bible of New Eng land Transcendentalism.”----“a transparent eyeball”The American Scholar美国学者(1837)："America's Declaration of Intellectual Independence"(知识分子独立宣言) Self-Reliance 论自助: the importance of cultivating oneself (自我培养)----individualism2. Henry David ThoreauCivil Disobedience 《论公民的不服从》Walden：a series of 18 essays；Comparing with Emerson who was a great thinker, Thoreau was a great experimentalist Selection:“I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of lif e and see if I could not learn what it has to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.“We live meanly, like ants; though the fable tells us that we were long ago changed into men ... it is error upon error and clout upon clout, and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and evitable wretchedness. Our life is frittered away by detail. .”3. Nathaniel Hawthorne (Typical romantic writer ;born in Massachusetts)Works:Major romances or novels ：•The Scarlet Letter 《红字》(1850) (Hester Prynne 女主；Arthur Dimmesdale 情人；Roger Chillingworth 丈夫) •The House of the Seven Gables《七个尖角阁的房子》(Matthew Maule被害死，坏人也受到诅咒而死---sin will get punished)•The Blithedale Romance 《福谷传奇》(1852)•The Marble Faun《玉石雕像》(1860)Short stories：a)Twice-Told Tales 1837 《故事重述》b)Mosses from an Old Manse1843 《古宅青苔》c)The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales 1852 《雪人和其他重讲一遍的故事》Puritan background•The Birth-Mark《胎记》(1843)•Rappaccini’s Daughter《拉帕奇尼的女儿》(1844)•The Minister’s Black Veil《教长的黑面纱》(1836)•Young Goodman Brown《好小伙子布朗》(1835)* The Scarlet Letter(清教思想融入了美国浪漫主义，象征手法)：Adultery(通奸)—Able(能干)—Angle(天使)The scarlet letter A is ambiguous(不明确的). And the ambiguity is one of the salient(显著的) characteristics of Hawthorne’s art.*Young Goodman Brown :( Goodman Brown and Faith) Everyone possesses some evil secret.Hawthorne’s point of viewEvil is at the core of human life.(2) Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation.(3) Evil educates.(4) He has disgust in science. One source of evil is overweening (too proud of oneself) intellect.4.Herman Melville (全拼—Going out to sea; marriage; friendship with Hawthorne)Works:•Typee«泰皮»•Omoo«欧穆»•Mardi«玛地»South Pacific islands•Redburn«雷得本»voyage to England•White Jacket«白外衣»United States•Pierre«皮埃尔»•Billy Budd《比利•巴德》(a sign that he had resolved his quarrel with God)•Clarel《克拉莱尔》( a poem)Moby-Dick «白鲸»(masterpieces)A．the first American prose epic散文史诗B．an encyclopedia百科全书of everythingC．a Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fatesPrincipal CharactersIshmael (The narrator of the story) ；Captain AhabThe symbolism of Mobby-Dick1.The voyage to catch the white whale is the one of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of universe.2. To Ahab, the whale is an evil creature or the agent of an evil force that control the universe. As to readers, the whale is a symbol of physical limits, or a symbol of nature. It also can stand for the ultimate mystery of the universe and the wall behind which unknown malicious things are hiding.5.Walt Whitman（Free verse（自由体诗）, Envelope structure（信件结构）I - me, my nation (society), Catalogue）Work：Leaves Of Grass 《草叶集》written in the founding documents of both the Revolutionary War in the United States and the Civil War.Including：1. There Was a Child Went Forth 2. Cavalry Crossing a Ford 3. Song of MyselfThere Was a Child Went Forth 《一个孩子的成长》how a child is greatly influenced by his growing environments, be identified with the childhood of a young, growing America.Selected readings：There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird, And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf, And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pond-side,I Hear America Singing 《我听见美利坚在歌唱》Selected readings：I hear American singing, the varied carols I hear,Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strongThe carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck.The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, The hatter singing as he stands, The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,The day what belongs to the day-at night the party of young fellows, Robust, friendly,Singing with open moths their strong melodious songs.Song of Myself 《自我之歌》The longest and the best . Whitman is a man bubbling with energy and laden(装满) with ideas, spontaneous(自发的) expression of his original ideasSong of MyselfSelected readings：I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air, Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, Hoping to cease not till death.O Captain! My Captain! ( Captain" is Lincoln himself)When Lilac s Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,(小院丁香花开时)6. Emily Dickenson (Along with Whitman, Dickinson is one of the two giants of American poetry of the 19th century)Works(1)Because I Can’t Stop for Death (masterpiece about death )Selection:Because I could not stop for Death—He kindly stopped for me—The Carriage held but just Ourselves—And Immortality.We slowly drove—He knew no haste. And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility We passed the School, where Children strove .At Recess—in the Ring—We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—We passed the Setting Sun—Or rather—He passed Us—The Dews drew quivering and chill—For only Gossamer, my Gown—My Tippet—only Tulle—We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground—The Roof was scarcely visible—The Cornice—in the Ground—Since then—'tis Centuries—and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity—(Death is not to be feared since it is a natural part of the endless cycle of nature. )(2)I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I died (a description of the moment of death)Selection: I heard a Fly buzz --- when I died --- The stillness in the Room Was like the stillness in the Air -- Between the Heav es of Storm --The Eyes around -- had wrung when them dry -- And breaths were gathering firm For that last Onset -- when th e King Be witnessed ---- in the Room - I willed my keepsakes ---Signed away What portion of me be Assignable --- and then it was There interposed a Fly -With Blue - uncertain stumbling Buzz - Between the light ---- and me --And the windows failed ----and then I could not see to seethemes: based on her own experiences/joys/sorrows(1)religion – doubt and belief about religious subjects(2)death and immortality(3)love – suffering and frustration caused by love(4)physical aspect of desire(5)nature – kind and cruel(6)free will and human responsibilityStyle:(1)poems without titles(2)severe economy of expression(3)directness, brevity(4)musical device to create cadence (rhythm)(5)capital letters – emphasis(6)short poems, mainly two stanzas(7)rhetoric techniques: personification – make some of abstract ideas vividComparison: Whitman vs. Dickinson1.Similarities:(1)Thematically, they both extolled(赞美), in their different ways, an emergent America, its expansion, itsindividualism and its Americanness, their poetry being part of “American Renaissance”.(2)Technically, they both added to the literary independence of the new nation by breaking free of the convention ofthe iambic pentameter and exhibiting a freedom in form unknown before: they were pioneers in Americanpoetry.2.differences:(1)Whitman seems to keep his eye on society at large; Dickinson explores the inner life of the individual.(2)Whereas Whitm an is “national” in his outlook, Dickinson is “regional”.(3)Dickinson has the “catalogue technique” (direct, simple style) which Whitman doesn’t have.7. Edgar Allen Poe (inventor of the detective-fiction )WorksNovels(1)The Tell-tale Heart《泄密的心》(2)The Gold-Bug（侦探小说）《金甲虫》(3)The Black Cat《黑猫》(4)The Fall of the House of Usher”《厄舍古屋的倒塌》(5)The Purloined Letter” –one of the world’s greatest detective stories. 《一封失窃的来信》Poems•To Helen 《致海伦》-----physical beauty-soulful beauty–(选读)•Annabel Lee 《安娜贝尔·李》--expresses great loss and sadnessSelection: That a maiden there lived whom you may know 住着一位少女你或许认得Second stanza---But we loved with a love that was more than love可我们相爱，爱超越了爱---Coveted her and me. 也把我和她妒嫉。

美国文学考试重点美国文学考试的重点可以分为以下几个方面：1. 早期美国文学：- 殖民时期文学：包括早期殖民地的日记、信件和宗教作品等，如《普利茅斯纪事》和《普罗维登斯计划》。

- 紧随其后的大量宗教文学作品，如《新英格兰的校训》。

- 托马斯·佩恩的《常识》：这本书在美国独立运动中起到了重要的作用。

2. 美国文学的形成与发展：- 19世纪初的浪漫主义文学：如华盛顿·欧文的《睡美人和其他故事》和詹姆斯·菲尼莫尔·库珀的《最后的莫西干人》。

- 华尔特·惠特曼的《草叶集》：这本诗集在美国文学史上具有重要地位。

- 女性作家：如哈丽特·比彻·斯托的《汤姆叔叔的小屋》和艾米莉·迪金森的诗歌作品。

3. 20世纪的美国文学：- 现代主义文学：如欧内斯特·海明威的《老人与海》和威廉·福克纳的《喧哗与骚动》。

- 战争文学：如约翰·史坦贝克的《愤怒的葡萄》和约瑟夫·海勒的《23个故事和一个司令》。

- 迈尔斯·杰克逊的《杀死一只知更鸟》：这是美国文学中一本重要的反种族主义作品。

4. 当代美国文学：- 现实主义：如托尼·莫里森的《亲爱的》和唐·德里罗的《百年孤独》。

- 同性恋与性别研究：如杰夫·艾斯特里奇的《中性国度》和艾美丽·P. 亨德森的《一个男小地方》。

此外，还需要了解美国文学的主要流派和文学理论，如现实主义、象征主义、后现代主义等，以及相关的文学批评方法。

最好的准备方式是广泛阅读美国经典文学作品并理解其背后的文化、历史和社会背景。

第一章殖民主义时期的文学1、American Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature.American Puritanism influences on American literature:a. Idealism and optimism 理想主义和乐观主义b. Symbolism 象征主义c. Simplicity. 简洁清教徒采用的文学体裁：a、narratives 日记 b、journals 游记清教徒在美国的写作内容：1）their voyage to the new land2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops3) About dealing with Indians4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit清教徒的思想：1）puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 净化信仰和行为方式2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology. 重建教堂，提供简单服务，建立神圣地位3）look upon themselves as chosen people, and it follow logically that anyone who challenged their way of life is opposing God's will and is not to be accepted. 认为自己是上帝选民，对他们的生活有异议就是反对上帝4）puritan opposition to pleasure and the arts sometimes has been exaggerated. 反对对快乐和艺术的追求到了十分荒唐的地步 5）religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of a wrathful God.强调上帝严厉的一面，忽视上帝仁慈的一面。

Realism1、It aims at the interpretation of actualities of any aspect of life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color.2、Major features：（Familiar aspects of contemporary and everyday life are represented in a）straightforward or matter-of-fact manner;Characters from all social levels社会阶层; Open ending; Focus on commonness of the lives of the common people;objectivity客观; it presents moral visions.American realistic authors1、Bret Harte：the first American writer of local color .2、William Dean Howells: the arbiter of American realism /holds that truth is the highest beauty.3、Henry James insisted that art must be related to life.4、Henry James / Mark Twain: the greatest of American realists.5、Samuel Langhorne Clemens：American writer and humorist, whose best work is characterized by broad, often irreverent humor or biting social satire.（无礼的幽默和尖锐的社会讽刺）Twain's writing is also known for realism of place and language, memorable characters, and hatred of hypocrisy and oppression（憎恨虚伪和压迫）.6、Mark Twain's work during the 1890s and the 1900s is marked by growing pessimism and bitterness（不断增长的悲观和痛苦）Major works: The Gilded Age镀金时代（第一部长篇小说）: A Tale of To-day (1873); The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894);The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876);The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)《哈克贝里·费恩历险记》Travel fiction: The Innocents Abroad (or The New Pilgrim’s Progress)(1869) 《傻子国外旅行记》;Roughing It (1873) 艰难生涯;Life on the Mississippi (1883) 密西西比河上的生活，combines an autobiographical account(结合了自传)7、Historical Romance: The Prince and the Pauper(1882)（王子与贫儿）, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court（在亚瑟王朝廷中的康涅狄格州美国人）, It isa parable of colonialization(这是一个殖民化的寓言).8、The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865) 《卡拉维拉斯县驰名的跳蛙》充满夸张和喜剧的边疆生活。

1. features of Puritanism 请教主义(1)Predestination: God decided everything before things occurred.(2)Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation. (3)Total depravity(4)Limited atoneme nt: Only the “elect” can be saved.2, American Puritanism 美国请教主义的Basic Puritan Beliefs(1)Total Depravity - through Adam and Eve's fall, every person is born sinful - concept of Original Sin.(2)Unconditional Election - God "saves" those he wishes - only a few are selected for salvation - concept of predestination. (3)Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone. (4)Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied. Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God.(5)Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.(6)Puritan values (creeds): Hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety, simple tastes. Puritans are more practical, tougher, to be ever ready for any misfortune and tragic failure and optimistic..3.Influence on American Literature对美国文学影响定义:America literature is in good measure a literary expression of the pious idealism of the American Puritanism bequest. All literature is based on a myth of garden of Eden.Symbolism象征the American puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chie fly instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American. Symbolism as a technique has become a common practice in American literature.With regard to their writing, the style is fresh, simple and direct; the rhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the direct influence of the Bible.4. The literary Scene in colonial America 殖民地的美国Humble origins: diaries, histories, journals, letters,travel books, autobiographies/biographies, sermons各种作家Writers: (1)John Smith: the first American writer(2)Anne Bradstreet: a Puritan poet ,The Complete Work: Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America(3)Edward Taylor: a variety of verse: funeral elegies, lyrics, a medieval "debate," and a 500-page Metrical History of Christianity (mainly a history of martyrs). His best works, according to modern critics, are the series of short Preparatory Meditations.5;Features of Colonial Poets殖民地诗人的特征American literature grew out of humble origins. Diaries, histories, journals, letters, commonplace books, travel books, sermons, in short, personal literature in its various forms, occupy a major position in the literature of the early colonial period.They faithfully imitated and transplanted English literary traditions.---In English styleThey were servants of God.---Puritan poetsThey served either God or colonial expansion or both.6,Anne Bradstreet’s Works1,“Some vers es on the Burning of Our House”2,“The Spirit and the Flesh”3,The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America(the first collection published by English colonists living in America)7.several points in this period:(1)William Hill Brown published the first American novel The Power of Sympathy in 1789.(2)Charles Brockden Brown) was the first American author to attempt to live from his writing. He developed the genre of American Gothic. He employed new narrative techniques. Another significance was his description of his characters’ in ner world, so his works can be read as psychological novel.(3)Roger Williams (1603-1683)Preach for civil and religious liberty and against the puritan oligarchy of Boston.Call for democratic government and oppose to the eviction of the Indians.Works: The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience(4)CJohn Woolman1:From a pious Quaker family 2:Transcendentalism humanitarianism3:Plea for the rights of all men and the abolition of the slavery system.Works: Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes; A Plea for the Poor.(5)Thomas Paine :A great influence in the American RevolutionWorks: The Rights of Man; The Age of Reason(6)Philip Freneau:“Poet of the American Revolution”“Father of American Poetry”,the most significant poet of 18th century in America. Some off his themes and images anticipated theworks of such 19th century American Romantic writers as Cooper, Emerson, Poe and Melville.His works:(1) The Rising Glory of America1772 《美洲光辉的兴起》(2) The Wild Honey Suckle 1786 《野地里德忍冬》(3) The Indian Burying Ground1788 《印第安人墓地》(4The Dying Indian: Tomo Chequi《奄奄一息的印第安人：托姆·柴吉》关于他的评价：He was the most significant poet of 18th century America.Some of his themes and images anticipated the works of such 19th century American Romantic writers as Cooper, Emerson, Poe and Melville.Poet of American Independence: Freneau provides incentive and inspiration to the revolution by writing such poems as "The Rising Glory of America" and "Pictures of Columbus."Journalist: Freneau was editor and contributor of The Freeman's Journal (Philadelphia) from 1781-1784. In his writings, he advocated the essence of what is known as Jeffersonian democracy - decentralization of government, equality for the masses, etc.Freneau's Religion: Freneau is described as a deist - a believer in nature and humanity but not a pantheist. In deism, religion becomes an attitude of intellectual belief, not a matter of emotional of spiritual ecstasy. Freneau shows interest and sympathy for the humble and the oppressedFreneau as Father of American Poetry: His major themes are death, nature, transition, and the human in nature. All of these themes become important in 19th century writing.All the while.in romanticizing the wonders of nature in his writings...he searched for an American idiom in verse.8：The American Enlightenment 美国启蒙运动(1)It was a part of a larger intellectual movement known as the Age of Enlightenment. Influenced by the scientific revolution of the 17th century, the Enlightenment took scientific reasoning and applied it to human nature and society.(2)Reason was advocated as the primary source and basis of authority.There was a shift from God-centered thinking to human being centered. Instead of going through life unhappy and thinking they had to suffer so they could enjoy the afterlife - people began to think about what they could accomplish on earth.(3)Equality The American Enlightenment inflenced Benjamin Franklin dramatically.Great Awening影响(1)It is a serires of religious revivals that swept over the American colonies about the middle of the 18th century.(2)It results in doctrinal changes and influnce social and political thought.In New England it was started by the rousing preaching of Jonathan Edwards9:Jonathan Edwards Works: (1)The Freedom of the Will《论意志自由》(2)The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended《论原罪》(3)The Nature of True Virtue《论真实德行的本原》AssessmentJonathan Edwards was a good deal of a transcendentalistbecause of his ideas:a, The spirit of revivalism b. Regeneration of man c. God’s presence d. Puritan idealism10:Benjamin Franklin Works:1：The Autobiography《自传》（1）The Autobiography is, first of all, a Puritan document. It is a record of self-examination and self-improvement.（2）The Autobiography is also an eloquent elucidation of the fact that Benjamin Franklin was spokesman for the new order of 18th century enlightenment, and that he represented in America all its ideas, that man is basically good and free, by nature endowed by God with certain inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.（3）Through telling a success story of self-reliance, the book celebrates, in fact, the fulfillment of the American dream.Now a look at the style of The Autobiography will readily reveal that it is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concisionThe Autobiography《自传》:It is perhaps the first real post-revolutionary American writing as well as the first real autobiography in English.It gives us the simple yet immensely fascinating record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a state of poverty and obscurity into which he was born, the faithful account of the colorful career of America’s first self-made man:2：Poo r Richard’s Almanac《穷理查德格言历书》Poor Richard’s Almanac is full of adages and common-sense witticism which became ,very quickly, household words.Benjamin Franklin Borrowed from such writers as Defoe, Swift, and Pope , and used his own wit to simplify and enrich their axioms11：General Introduction to Romanticism 浪漫主义介绍a. Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution.b. It was partly a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature, and was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature.The movement stressed运动强调a. strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror and awe—especially that which is experienced in confronting the sublimity of untamed nature and its picturesque qualities, both new aesthetic categories.b. It elevated folk art and custom to something noble.c. It argued for a "natural" epistemology of human activities as conditioned by nature in the formof language, custom and usage.12：Characteristics of Romanticism:浪漫主义特征（1）an innate and intuitive perception of man, nature and society—reliance on the subconscious, the inner life, the abnormal psychology（2）an emphasis on freedom, individualism and imagination—rebellion against neoclassicism which stressed formality, order and authority（3）a profound love for nature—nature as a source of knowledge, nature as a refuge from the present, nature as a revelation of the holy spirit the quest for beauty—pure beautythe use of antique and fanciful subject matters—sense of terror, Gothic, grotesque, odd and queer13，Romanticism Historical Background历史背景1，Political: After American Revolution, American developed into a political, economic and cultural independence. Democracy and equality became the ideals of the new nation. Complete changes came about in the political life of the country.2. Economic: Industrialism spread widely and fast. A large number of immigrants arrived. All these produced an economic boom.3. Both the change in political and the economic development brought about a sense of optimism and hope.4. Culturally: Magazines appeared in ever-increasing numbers and they played an important role in facilitating literary expansion.5. Foreign influence added incentive to the growth of romanticism in America.14Features of American Romanticism美国浪漫主义特征a. Imitative: Some of the American Romantic writings were modeled on English and European works. The Romantic Movement proved to be a decisive influence. Without it, the rise of Romanticism would have been impossible. Romanticism writers such as Scott, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron all made a stimulating impact on American literature.b. Independent: From the very beginning, American Romanticism exhibited distinct features of its own. It originated from a mixture of factors which were altogether American rather than anything else.c. Puritan influence over American Romanticism was clearly noticeable. E.g., the author tended more to moralize than writers in England.15：Uniqueness of Am. Romanticism:美国浪漫主义独特性Unique subject matter：The western movement ：the American national experience of pioneering into the west proved to be a rich source of material for American writers to draw upon. They celebrated American’s landsc ape with its virgin forests, meadows, groves, endless prairies, stream, and vast oceans. The wildness came to function almost as a dramatic character that symbolized moral law.Uniqueness of Am. Romanticism:：the newness as a nation美国浪漫主义独特性的具体体现（1）The ideals of individualism and political equality, and their dream that America was to be a new Garden of Eden for man were distinctly American. This feeling of newness was strong enough to inspire the romantic imagination and channel it into different vein of writing.Puritan moral values（2）Puritan influence over American Romanticism was clearly noticeable. E.g., the author tended more to moralize than writers in England.（3）Mixture of different races：The immigrants coming from different cultural and social background bring with them different cultures16. Two phases:两个时期a. 1770s to 1830s Early period Representatives: Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooperb.1830s to 1860s Late period summit of American literature Representatives: Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Dickinson, Poe etc.；Washington Irving “Father of the American short storyHis Worksa. A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty1809 《纽约外史》b. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent1819-1820 《见闻札记》c. Bracebridge Hall 1822 《布雷斯布里奇庄园》d. Oliver Goldsmith 1840 《哥尔德斯密斯》e. Life of George Washington1855-1859 《华盛顿传》The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent1819-1820 《见闻札记》评价：（1）The Sketch Book is a collection of essays, sketches, and tales.（2）In The Sketch Book, the most famous and frequently anthologized（选编）are “Rip Van Winkle” 《瑞普·凡·温克》“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” 《睡谷的传说》(3）The short story as a genre in American literature began with The Sketch Book.(4)The book touched the American imagination and foreshadowed the coming of Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe. (5)It also marked the beginning of American Romanticisms.The evaluation of Irving：a:Father of American literatureb：The beginning of short story as a genre-“Father of the American short story”c The first American writer of imaginative literature to gain international famed The Sketch Book also marked the beginning of American RomanticismThe theme of the storyThe story of man who has difficulties facing his advancing ageThe contradictory impulses in America toward work- the puritan attitude as opposed to the American desire for leisureThe theme of escape from one’s responsibilities and even one’s historyThe loss of identity19：James Fenimore Cooper(1789-1851)Major Works：Precaution戒备(1820, his first novel, imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice) The Spy间谍(his second novel and great success)皮袜子故事集：“Leatherstocking Tales” (his masterpiece, a series of five novels): The Pioneers开拓者, The Last of the Mohicans最后的莫西干人, The Prairie草原, The Pathfinder探路者, The Deerslayer 杀鹿者point of view：the theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law, order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rightsTheme：a. America was made conscious of his past, particularly the contribution from the Mohicans.b. The antithesis between nature and civilization, at the cost of the life and labor, will be dissolved to push the development of frontiers.c. The battle between the colonists caused the trage dy of Indians in American continentThe features of Cooper ：He is a mythic writer Good at inventing plots (Cooper had never been to the frontier area personally.)Style: powerful, yet clumsy and dreadfulWooden Characters ：Use of dialect, but not authentic (criticized by Mark Twain)19：超验主义：Transcendentalism （1）定义Emerson’s Definition：In his essay "The Transcendentalist," Emerson explained transcendentalism is “idealism; i dealism as it appears in 1842".The factors that influenced New England Transcendentalism：New England Transcendentalism was the Product of a combination of foreign influences and the American Puritan traditiona. Foreign influences: the introduction of idealism (唯心主义)from Germany and France and Oriental mysticismb. American PuritanismMajor Features超验主义特征：emphasis on spirit or the Oversoul as the most important thing in the universe. 1 The Oversoul was an all-pervading power for goodness, omnipresent and omnipotent, from which all things came and of which all were a part. It exists in nature and man alike and constituted the chief elements of the universe2 It emphasized the significance of the individual and believed that the individual was the most important element in society and that the ideal kind of individual was self-reliant and unselfish.It took nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God3 All things in nature were symbols of the spiritual, of God’s presence. Nature was alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence. Everything in the universe was viewed as an expression of the divine spirit.4 It stressed the power of intuition. It stressed the power of intuition, believing that people could learn things both from the outside world by means of the five senses and from the inner world by intuition. But the things they learned from within were truer than the things they learned from without, and transcended them. It held that everyone had access to a source of knowledge that transcended the everyday experiences of sensation and reflection. Intuition was inner light within.Influence超验主义的影响：1 It served as an ethical guide to life for a young nation and brought about the idea that human can be perfected by nature. It stressed religious tolerance, called to throw off shackles of customs and traditions and go forward to the development of a new and distinctly American culture.2 It advocated idealism that was great needed in a rapidly expanded economy where opportunity often became opportunism, and the desire to “get on” obscured the moral necessity for rising to spiritual height.It helped to create the first American renaissance –one of the most prolific period in American literatureSignificance: New England Transcendentalism is the summit of American Romanticism. Representatives: Emerson, Thoreau20：Ralph Waldo Emerson拉尔夫·瓦尔多·爱默生His Works：a. Essays《散文集》b. Nature《论自然》(a book which declared the birth of Transcendentalism)c. The American Scholar《论美国学者》(American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence)d. Divinity, The Oversoul《论超灵》e. Self-reliance《论自立》f. The Transcendentalist《超验主义者》His point of view a. One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the “oversoul”.b. He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying(圣洁的神圣化的) moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent(内在的固有的) God in nature.c. If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by “the infinitude of man”.d. Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself.His aesthetics a. poets should function as preachers who gave directions to the mass.b. True poetry and true art should ennoble and serve as a moral purification and a passage toward organic unity(有机统一) and higher reality.c. Emerson places emphasis on ideas, symbols and imaginative words.d. As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America and the life today.e. Emerson’s aesthetics brought about a revolution in American li terature in general and in American poetry in particular. It marked the birth of true American poetry and true America poets such as Whitman and DickinsonNature （论自然）：Emerson’s first published work was Nature(1836). This work has the clearest statement of Transcendentalist ideas. Nature is considered the “gospel” (真理信条)of American Transcendentalism. It has an Introduction and eight chapters:1.Nature2. Commodity3. Beauty4. Language5. Discipline6. Idealism7. Spirit8. Prospects.The major thesis of the essay, in Emerson‘s words, is that we should now “enjoy an original relation to the universe,” and not become dependent on past experiences of others or on holy books, creeds ,dogma(教条教理).主要内容：In it Emerson stated that man should not see nature merely as something to be used; that man’s relationship with nature transcends the idea of usefulness. Nature is a kind of discipline to man. Once you are in nature, totally in solitude, you feel you’re nothing, but you see all. Nature makes people feel transparent(透明的) and humble. Meanwhile, He saw an important difference between understanding (judging things only according to the senses) and reasonThe American Scholar论美国学者These two works made him famous.As “Man Thinking”, the Scholar should know how to think when confronted with Nature, the Past (in the form of books) and Action (life).Emerson particularly warns that the past should be used to inspire and not to enslave the scholar. Emerson argued in the speech that the age called to the Scholar for active participation and leadership.It is American’s Declaration of Intellectual IndependenceSelf-Reliance(论自助)Self-Reliance is one of the most famous of these lecture essays, and is widely read in American high schools today. Emerson believed above all in individualism, independence of mind, and self-reliance; He admired courage and was not afraid of changing or clashing ideas.Equally important is Emerson’s essay The Over-Soul (1841).The Major Themes in Emerson’s Works：the emphasis on the independence and separateness of the individual, and the right (and duty) of man rise to his full potential, asserting the inalienable worth of every man.“Another sign of our times…is the new importance given to the single personEmerson’s Influences on A.La He called on American Writers to write about America in a peculiarly American way.b His perception of humanity and nature as symbols of universal truth encouraged the development of the symbolist movement in A. art and literature.c He embodied a new nation’s desire and struggle to assert（维护主张）its own identity in its formative period.Henry David Thoreau a. A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers(1849)《康科德和梅里马克河上的一周》b. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and Walden / Walden《瓦尔登湖》c. Civil Disobedience《论公民之不服从》It influenced people such as Mahatma Gandhi.point of viewHe did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently(激烈的) outspoken on the point.He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.Like Emerson, but more tha n him, Thoreau saw nature as a healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.He was very critical of modern civilization.“Simplicity…simplify!”He has trust in the future and has belief in a new generation of men.Civil DisobedienceThe essay makes it clear that this stance(立场姿态) is not a matter of whim（一时的兴趣奇想）but a demanding moral principle.The appeal of civil disobedience in the North grew in the wake of the Compromise of 1850, whichincluded the hated Fugitive Slave Law, requiring all citizens to aid in the return of escaped slaves to their owners. Though civil disobedience is usually associated with passive resistance, Thoreau brought out the more direct action of John Brown.Thoreau's essay had a profound influence on reformers worldwide, from Gandhi in South Africa and India; to Martin Luther King, and the opposition to the Vietnam War in the United States.Walden (1854In 1854, Thoreau published the book by which he will always be best known, Walden, or Life in the Woods. It is by far the deepest, richest, and most closely jointed of his books. It shows Thoreau at his best, and contains all that he had to say to the world. In fact, he is a man of one book, and that book is Walden. Thoreau's Walden is mythic, poetic, fictitious, fabulous, and metaphoric in the best senses of these terms. In it the artistically recreated real-life experience (itself an experiment in "artistic" living) becomes a symbolic model or paradigm for an embodied spiritual quest for the disembodied, for a journey from the "gross" to the divine "necessaries of life." The thesis of Walden is clearly indicated in the first chapter of the book. True economy has nothing to do with the ways and means of increasing wealth, with methods for multiplying the superfluities, the "gross necessaries of life." True economy is that which simply provides the flesh with what belongs to the flesh so that the spirit may go about its own business.The book described the author’s extremely simple life and regeneration he experienced when he lived near the Walden pond.This is a book on self-culture and human perfectibilityThoreau has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man. He holds that the most important thing for men to do with their lives is to be self-sufficient and strive to achieve personal spiritual perfection.In the book Thoreau criticized the modern civilization and told people to leave the life of hurry and bustle and to sink themselves in nature.It is a book full of ideas expressed to jostle his neighbors out of their smug(自鸣得意的) complacency(自满满足For the fatal modern craze for monetary success he prescribes a panacea(灵丹妙药) “Simplicity…simplify!” Spiritual richness is real wealth.One’s soul might not help one up in the world, but it will help make real progress in self-improvementRegeneration is a major thematic concern of wardenRegeneration is a major thematic concern of warden and thus decide the structural framework of the book. The whole book is within the frame of a single year, and progresses through spring, summer and autumn to winter.EvaluationComparing with Emerson who was a great thinker, Thoreau was a great experimentalist who put Emerson's Transcendental doctrines into practice in the actual life.Herman Melville (1819 ---- 1891):Master of philosophical allegory寓言1:His point of view : a. negative attitude towards life. b. One of the major themes of his is alienation孤立（far away from each other）. c. Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism（individualism causing disaster and death）, rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19th-century idea of progress2:His Writing Stylea. Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple view of his narratives.b. He tends to write periodic chapters.c. His rich rhythmical富有节奏感的prose and his poetic power have been profusely丰富地commentedupon and praised. d. His works are symbolic and metaphorical.e. He includes many non-narrative chapters of factual background or description of what goes on board the ship or on the route (Moby Dick)His Worksa.Typee1846《泰比》b. Omoo1874《奥穆》c. Moby Dick 1851《莫比·迪克》d. Mardi1849《玛地》 f. White Jacket1850《白外衣》g. Pierre1852《皮尔埃》h. Billy Budd (posthumously) 《比利·巴德》Moby Dick(1)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 a previous voyage, and Ahab resolves to hunt him to kill him. He hangs a doubloon on the mast as a reward for anyone who sight the whale first. The Pequod makes 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 survive to tell the tale.Moby Dick represents the sum total of Melville’s bleak view of the world in which he lived. It is at once Godless and purposeless. Man in this universe lives a meaningless and futile life, meaningless because futile.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. Nature has overwhelming power. Man can’t conquer nature. Man, living in this world, is a tragedyIt is a negative reflection of self-reliance, and individualism. 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. The idea that man make the world for himself is nothing but a Transcendentalist folly.Symbolismthe voyage: the search for the ultimate truth of experienceMoby Dick: the final mystery of the universe which man will do well to desist from pursuing Ambiguity (You can understand his Moby Dick differently.)First, it can be understand as a tragedy of man fighting against overwhelming odds in an indifferent and even hostile universe. Thus, Captain Ahab is a hero who dares to fight though he failed at last.Then, it can be understood as a bitter satire on Transcendentalism’s emphasis on self-reliance. Captain Ahab believed in his own power (a human being’s power) too much and thus he doomed to fail, because human’s power is limited and there is a mysterious thing existed in the universe which controlled man’s life and cannot be understood by human being.Nowadays some new research indicated that the story means man should protect the nature otherwise man will be punished as those whalers in the story were punished by the whale.Melville spoke ahead of his time. He knew that he was doomed to write a book like Moby Dick in his day, but he just could not help himself because he was a dedicated literary artist. There was, to be sure, a good deal of Ahab in him. “I have written a wicked book,” he said after finishing Moby Dick, and the public felt outraged. Thus born in the 19th century, Melville did not receive recognition until the twentieth century. Scarlet Letter1:The beauty shows:Free in the jail in her mind.。

1.The literature of colonial AmericaWilliam Bradford威廉·布拉德福德（1590年-1657年），五月花号公约签署人之一，于1620年参与创立了普利茅斯殖民地，并在长达30余年的时间里担任普利茅斯总督。

他所撰写的《普利茅斯垦殖记》是关于欧洲新世界殖民史的早期著作之一.Anne Bradstreet美国女诗人布莱德斯特律1612英格兰比安普敦～1672。

9.16,马萨诸塞湾殖民地安多弗美国最早写出真正有价值的英文诗歌的一位女诗人.她的宗教组诗《沉思集》(Contemplations）受到20世纪文学批评界的重视,被认为是一部不朽之作.《凡人的虚荣》（Of the vanity of all worldly creatures)、《灵与肉》(The Flesh and the Spirit）、《献给我亲爱的丈夫》（To My Dear and Loving Husband）、《人世正凋萎，万物有终极》（All things within this fading world hath end)、《心痛手颤写诗句》（With troubled heart and trembling hand I write)、《大卫对扫罗和约拿单的哀悼》(David's Lamentation for Sauland Jonathan）Puritan Thoughts美国清教主义从一开始就是一种精神运动，它不仅仅是一种宗教信仰,而且还是一种极端民主与共和的理论.清教徒在自己的祖国遭受迫害，对英国严酷的社会现实不满而移民到美国。

他们希冀按自己的意欲信仰上帝。

于是，他们致力于建立一个乌托邦式的重视伦理和精神生活的社会模式。

他们崇尚真正的自由——这种真正的自由涵盖了广泛的道德的含义。

他们把一切破坏和蔑视这种自由信念的行为一概斥责为对权威的亵渎.因此，他们认为自己是一群称之为美国人的新人,命定要建立一个新的世界，为人类建造一座“山上的光辉的城市”。

美国文学期末复习资料美国文学期末复习资料美国文学是一门广泛而深入的学科，涵盖了从殖民地时期到现代的众多作品和作家。

为了帮助大家复习期末考试，本文将以不同的主题和时期为线索，介绍一些重要的美国文学作品和相关知识。

一、殖民地时期的文学在殖民地时期，美国文学主要以宗教为主题，反映了早期殖民者的信仰和生活。

《普利茅斯纪事》是美国文学史上的里程碑之一，它记录了普利茅斯殖民地的建立和早期的困难。

另外，约翰·史密斯的《弗吉尼亚史诗》和威廉·布拉德福的《普利茅斯植民地纪事》也是重要的作品。

二、启蒙时代的文学启蒙时代是美国文学的重要时期，这一时期的作品反映了人们对自由、理性和独立思考的追求。

本杰明·富兰克林是启蒙时代的代表人物，他的《贫穷理性者的儿子》和《自传》都是重要的作品。

此外，托马斯·潘恩的《常识》和托马斯·杰斐逊的《独立宣言》也是这一时期的重要文献。

三、浪漫主义时期的文学浪漫主义时期是19世纪美国文学的高峰期，作家们开始关注个人情感和内心体验。

华盛顿·欧文的《睡谷传奇》和爱德加·爱伦·坡的《乌鸦》是这一时期的代表作品。

此外，纳撒尼尔·霍桑的《红字》和赫尔曼·梅尔维尔的《白鲸》也是不可忽视的作品。

四、现实主义时期的文学现实主义时期是19世纪末到20世纪初的文学运动，作家们开始关注社会问题和人类命运。

马克·吐温的《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》和斯蒂芬·克莱恩的《红字》是这一时期的代表作品。

此外，亨利·詹姆斯的《国际象棋之家》和埃德蒙·威尔逊的《了不起的盖茨比》也是重要的作品。

五、现代主义和后现代主义时期的文学现代主义和后现代主义时期是20世纪美国文学的重要阶段，作家们开始挑战传统的叙事方式和观念。

欧内斯特·海明威的《老人与海》和威廉·福克纳的《喧哗与骚动》是现代主义时期的代表作品。