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

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 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!。

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。