72TheAgeofRealism

1、1. historical background of American realism: Political and social events influence writers in both theme and technique. the Civil War capitalism. Railroads tripled. Petroleum was discovered. industrialization and mechanization wealth and poverty. a lust for money and power. The frontier was closing

2、. “Golden Age” a “Gilded” age. Disillusionment and frustration. Against the daydream of romanticism realistic writers, such as William Dean Howells, Henry James, Mark Twain and O. Henry. 2. Period of time: 3. Contents: Its a reaction against the romanticism. It expresses the concern for the world of

3、 experience, of the commonplace, and for the familiar and the low. Difference between romanticism and realism: Romanticism: depicts what he thinks man should be like. (emotion) Realism: describes people as what they really are. (reality) Difference between romanticism and realism: Romanticism: emoti

4、on. Realism: describes reality. English realistic writers?What are the features of English realism?Details, the lower class, objective way.exposes the social contradictions of capitalism, criticizes the bourgeois world, Limitations: moral evolution and reform rather than revolution;. language: simpl

5、e, clear and direct, satiric tone.1)local colorism (鄉(xiāng)土主義鄉(xiāng)土主義) stressed the realistic presentation of the local characters with their regional qualities such as dialects and customs.Eg. Brete Harte Sarh Orne Jewett： The Country of Pointed Firs(尖尖的樅樹之鄉(xiāng)): ordinary peoples life in the New England countr

6、ysideHarriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Toms CabinKate Chopin: The Awakening;Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; The Adventures of Tom SawyerBret HarteThe Luck of the Roaring Camp (咆哮營(yíng)的幸運(yùn)兒）: the miners hard life in the “Gold Rush” in the west. Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Toms Cabin （1851-1852

7、）An illustration of Tom rescuing EvaUncle Toms Cabin in support of Abolitionism, the movement against slavery. a profound impact on public opinion against slavery, at the time sold more copies than any other book, apart from the Bible. local colorism/ regionalism: dominant in the late 1860s and earl

8、y 1870s. a variation of A. literary realism. The writings are concerned with the life of a small, well-defined region. The setting is the isolated small towns. Local customs are shown and dialects are used. The ultimate aim of the local colorists is: to create the illusion of an indigenous little wo

9、rld with qualities that tell it apart from the world outside. Bret Harte and Mark Twain2)Naturalism(自然主義自然主義) is a new and harsher realism at the end of the 19th c. It was influenced by Darwins theory of evolution “the survival of the fittest”.It emphasized that peoples life were controlled by hered

10、ity and the environment, that the destiny of humanity was misery in life.It presents characters of low social and economic classes who were dominated by their environment and heredity.Its writing is to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness. There were pessimistic and deterministic ideas. Represe

11、ntative writers: London, Dreiser, Norris, Stephen Crane. a powerful influence on modern writers. .The Call of the Wild; The Call of the Wild Buck, a giant California dog stolen and shipped to the Klondike as a sled dog. He passes through the hands of several harsh owners while learning to master env

12、ironment and the rivalry of his peers. Buck is delivered at last by the sympathetic John Thornton. Dog and man develop strong ideas of love and devotion, but an awaking instinct in Buck begins to draw him to the wildness. When Thornton is killed in an Indian attack, Buck reverts to the wild to lead

13、a wolf pack. Londons primitive satisfaction in physical struggle finds its best expression in the dog hero, who is uncomplicated by human repressions and ambitions. The survival of the fittest. The Sea Wolf Wolf Larsen, a ruthless and brutal sea captain, who lives by the code of survival of the fitt

14、est. Humphrey Van Wegden and Maude Brewster, two ship-wrecked refugees from a more civilized world, are pressed into Larsons crew. They are drawn together by their common plight when Humphrey manages to foil an assault on Maude by the Wolf, the two seize the opportunity to escape. The small Arctic,

15、the land they attain, is visited weeks later by the wreck of Larsons schooner. Larsen alone is aboard, dying of a cerebral tumor. Maud and Humphrey are rescued soon after. Martin Eden autobiographical. London achieve status with fame and tune. It is thus that Eden becomes infatuated with the weal ch

16、arming, and cultivated Ruth Morse. In time Eden becomes convinced that status and fortune carry with them greed, material and meaningless conformity. Rejecting these, he commits suicide. Characteristics:1. The suffering of the laboring people and cruelty of capitalism;2. The exposure of the corrupti

17、on of bourgeoisie;3. Intense sympathy for the poor;4. The theme: “Survival of the fittest”;5. Complicated plot;6. Vivid language but a little bit unrefinedSister Carrie; An American Tragedy;Gennie, a Girl of the Street Sister Carrie the plot: the rich Carrie Meeber and the fall of George Hurstwood,

18、who are the victims of forces beyond their control. Carrie, a pretty, poor country girl, comes to Chicago for a better life. She first stays with her sister-looking for a job. A traveling man, Drouet, takes her home as his mistress. Through Drouet, she meets Hurstwood, manager of a bar. He deserts h

19、is comfortable home and tricks her to elope with him first to Canada and then to New York after he has robbed his employers safe. Tracked down and forced to surrender the money, Hurstwood begins to disintegrate. Carrie goes out to find work on the stage and steadily rises to fame. She leaves Hurst-w

20、ood, who sinks lower and lower until he commits suicide. Carrie succeeds, yet she is not happy. Dreiser does not blame her as he feels she simply does what she has to do for a survival. Hursthood is one of the impotent modern man unfit to survive.His chief concern:The conflict between human needs an

21、d the demands of society- survival of the fittestHis novels were often considered “amoral”. Characteristics:1. Man as the victim of his environment and his inherited attributes. Hurstwood: victim of his physical desire rather than sensibility.2. Sufferings of people in the city: unemployment, starva

22、tion, struggle,3. Corruption and hypocrisy of the upper class4. Determinism and pessimism5. Forceful style6. His tone is always serious, not satirical, not comical7. His characters are mixture of good and bad, but he seldom passes judgment on them. The Red Badge of Courage3)psychological Realism: pr

23、obes deeply into the complexities of characters thought and motivations. Henry James: an international writer: the cultural conflicts between the Old World and the New World.Edith Wharton: The House of Mirth;The Age of InnocenceAbout the upper social class Henry James (1843-1916), a forerunner of th

24、e stream of consciousness literature, was born in New York and educated in America. William James (1842-1910), the American philosopher of pragmatism. many years abroad, paying long visits to England, France and Italy. settled first in Paris, then in England, finally naturalized as a British subject

25、 in 1915. a life of an observer of his limited world of Americans in Europe. a tendency to write the life of the mind; 50 years, 100 volumes of stories, novels, plays, literary criticism, biography and autobiography, and sketches of travels. fundamental theme: the innocence of the New World (i.e. Am

26、erica) and the corruption (and wisdom) of the Old (i.e. Europe), shown by the contrast and clash of American and European character. his characters: Americans living in Europe, or the innocents abroad, mental adventures. Daisy Miller (1879), The portrait of a Lady (1881), The Wings of the Dove (1902

27、), The Ambassadors (1903), The Golden Bowl (1904). Style:1. the point of view of a character2. Intricate syntax;3. Subtleties of diction, large vocabulary;4. Dialogues filled with French expressions; The Portrait of a Lady ( 1881) 1) Isabel is taken to Europe by her aunt. She rejects several suitors

28、: wealthy Lord Warburton, who has followed her to England. Her cousin, Ralph Touchett remains an undeclared lover. 2) They are joined by Mrs. Touchetts friend, Madame Merle. Isabel knows Glbert Osmond, an art connoisseur.3) Isabel marries him and is unhappy. 4) A few years later she learns that Pans

29、y is the illegitimate daughter of Osmond and Madame Merle. Isabel visits England just before her cousin Ralphs death, rejects Goodwood, goes back to her husband in Italy. Themes and subjects:1. Emotional relations among persons of gentility;2. Tentative love and jealousy;3. Misunderstanding of a com

30、plicated and subtle nature;4. Innocence of the New World in conflict with the corruption and wisdom of the Old World European sophistication; “ his style is European and his subject matters are American.” novelist The House of Mirth 歡樂(lè)之家 The Age of Innocence 天真時(shí)代(1920) the Pulitzer Prize for literat

31、ure the first woman to win the award. Women in New York upper class; 5. literary styles of American realism: 1) novel ; 2) short storyO.Henry one of the greatest short story writer. “O.Henry Award” to reward those who achieve a lot in writing short stories. 1.born in a doctors in North Carolina in 1

32、862. 2.In 15 an apprentice ; an accountant. 3.Being accused of embezzlement; escape 4. was arrested.5. In prison，contacted with various little people，created short fiction.6.Coming out of prison, famous as a writer.7.he went to New York and became a professional writer, popular and prolific.O.Henrys

33、 Writing style：1.in an easy-to-understand style. 2.a twist of plot which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance. 3.He is master of the surprise ending. 4.The basic themes: pretense ( the desire to pose as what one is not) and reversal of fortune, discovery and initiation through adventure,

34、the city as playground for the imagination, the basic yearning of all humanity. 1.He portrays the lives of ordinary people. 2. the theme of condemning the evil society and sings for love and good of ordinary. There is a tearing smile in his writing. 3.He combines irony and humor.The Four Million (19

35、06) the lives of the multitude of New Yorkers, “ The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leave” “humorous encyclopedia of American life”. The Cop and the Anthem: The Plot Soapy is a tramp who tries to get arrested and thus comfortably lodged in jail as winter approaches. But the police prod him onward, ref

36、using to arrest him. Lingering near a church, Soapy is moved by the church anthem and decides to reform and live a productive life. Then a policeman nabs him for loitering. a pattern of plot: beginning; conflict (development)( often the hero plays tricks); dramatic change (often a mystery force, eg. Love ); sudden surprised denouement , i.e. begin with actions and more quickly to their conclusion.Language difficulties. Why is Soapy eager to go to prison? Is it on