陶洁版-美国文学选读-第三版-课后习题答案

1、美国文学选读 第三版 课后习题答案 陶洁(部分)unit 1 benjamin franklin the autobiography1.why did franklin write his autobiography?franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the english countryside to record his past. he also says that he has enjoyed his life

2、 and would like to repeat it.参考：the autobiography is a book which contains the wisdom and success in life struggle, and unites the true meaning of goodness and morality. it is regarded as a book that changes many peoples fates in terms of american dream. as we all know, benjamin franklin is labeled

3、as a self-made man and the first great man of letters. the autoniography also makes several firsts: the first popular self-help book ever published; the first major secular american autobiography; the first real account of the american dream action. he made so many achievements, but the reason we sh

4、ould also be aware of.as far as i am concerned, the celebrities write autobiography to make people understand themselves and inspire future generations. besides, he may want to be immortal in the history. however, in the autobiography, franklin wants to lecture his son as well as the americans who h

5、olds a dream to fight against difficulties in the way to success.specifically, it can be divided into several parts. in 1771, franklin was staying at chilbolton, in the house of bishop jonanthan shipley near twyford in hampshire. shipley was a pro-american bishop among the british bishops. he and hi

6、s large family loved franklin and regarded him as a modern day socrates. they found franklins anecdotes of his childhood remarkable and insisted that he should tell the world the story of his life. with their encouragement, franklin wrote the first part of his autobiography. in part one, franklin ad

7、dressed his son william, who was royal governor of new jersey, as the audience. the outbreak of the revolution in 1776 made any plan for the memoirs impossible. in 1784 when he did have some time to resume the narrative, franklin had left the manuscript of the first part in the united states and cou

8、ld not remember where he had stopped last time. more importantly, franklin had been estranged from his son who had taken the side of british government. the autobiography now took a more public tone. franklin was more aware of his public image: some of his advisers and friends urged him to tell how

9、he rose to world renown.whats more, it establishes in literary form the first example of the fulfilment of the american dream. franklin demonstrates the possibilities of life in the new world through his own rise from the lower middle class as a youth to one of the most admired men in the world as a

10、n adult. it presents americans today with a great hero from the past who helped establish the tradition of the american dream. he established the autobiography as a work that is meant to not only tell about a persons own life but also to educate the reader in ways to better live life. 2.what made fr

11、anklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?his brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. the aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .after a brush with the law, franklin left his brother.3.how did he arrive in philadephia?first he set

12、 out in a boat for amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from burlington, the next day he reached burlington on foot, in burlington he found a boat which was going towards philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine oclock, on the sunday morning and landed at the market street wharf.

13、4.what features do you find in the style of the above selection?it is the pattern of puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). the narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).unit 2 edgar allen poe the cast of amontillado1.who is the narrator? what wrong d

14、oes he want to redress?montresor.fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.what is the pretext he uses to lure fortunato to his wine cellar?he baits fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.

15、fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly amontillado, so he goes to the vault with montresor.3. what happens to fortunato in the end?he was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4. describe briefly how poe characterizes montresor and fortunato as contrasts?poe uses color

16、 imagery to characterize them. montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, in contrast, fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by montresors masked motives. the color schemes here represent the irony of fortunatos death sentence.

17、through the acts, words, and thoughts offortunato,we know he is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of amontillado. this is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒). he lost himself on hearing the wine. at the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which refl

18、ected his ignorance. when he heard the pretended compliment from montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.he was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. he couldnt tolerate that others were stronger than him. for example, montresor always stimulated hi

19、m with luchresi who was good at connoisseur（鉴赏） in wine. under the impulse of vanity, he fell into montresors terrible trap. in fact, he was careless and foolish and didnt find that the danger was approaching him. he looked down upon montresor and others.he didnt realize his foolishness until the de

20、ath was coming. talking from the appearance, monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman. he enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. but in fact, he was an evil and awful person. his inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble. under his rich appearance was the dirty

21、 soul and despicable character. we couldnt see any glorious virtues in his mind. instead, his heart was cold and dark. it was the revenge that threw montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 3 ralph waldo emerson self-reliance1. what is authors attitude towards charity? why does he hold such an attit

22、ude?theworstofcharityisthatthelivesyouareaskedtopreservearenotworthpreserving.not all charity mean goodness.one must explore if it be goodness.if malice and vanity wear the coat of philanthropy, that shall not pass.ones goodness must have some edge to do, else it is none.参考： in self-reliance, emerso

23、n fundamentally showed the idea of confidence and independence. besides these ideas, he illustrated the idea of “showing no sympathy to the poor”. this point of view agrees with the confidence and independence. thus, his attitude towards charity is a little a bit of negative. emerson indirectly show

24、ed the reason why the man is poor and why no sympathy should be showed to the poor. in the essay, he does not show any sympathy to those who has no relationship with him. he said: “expect me not to show causes why i seek or why i exclude company. then again, do not tell me, as a good man did today,

25、of my obligation to put all poor men in good situations. are they my poor? i tell your, your foolish philanthropist, that i grudge the dollar, the dime, the cent. i give to such men as do not belong to me and whom i do not belong.” obviously, he displayed another way of helping those people who are

26、poor, not to give them money directly. instead, he stressed much importance of self-support. if those people are given money directly, they would become more and more poor. the only way to get out of this difficulty is to rely on themselves. at most time, the poor are not independent, optimistic and

27、 adventurous. they have no innovative abilities, because they never think that they should challenge life and make progress. therefore, in many aspects, the poor are lagged behind of the society. these people should not be given help and support, as they have no desire to change the situation and ju

28、st suffer what they are used to. they do not want to change and improve, and their poor mind will ruin everything. however, there is another kind of people who may also in difficult situations, and we should offer our help. this kind of people is the poor in pocket, but they are full of ideas in min

29、d. they are independent, optimistic and adventurous. what they really lack is some materials. they hold the firm belief that their situation will be improved through a period of time. they also put their ideas into practice ,and eventually, they will succeed. the poor condition is not terrible, but

30、the poor mind is a very serious problem. the man should never help the poor with money, but give them a tool to produce wealth by themselves, or teach them to be independent and optimistic. as a reader, i benefit a lot from this idea, and also learn the importance of self-reliance.2. according to th

31、e author, what do most people believe to be virtue? and what is real virtue?virtues are, in the popular estimate rather the exception than the rule.the real virtues are, according to the author, what i must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.3. why does the author dislike “consist

32、ency”?do you agree with him?do you think that people should give up consistency?first, consistency scares us from self-trust. it makes us lack confidence. second, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. with consistency a soul

33、has simply nothing to do. it kills the creativity of us.possible answer 1: dont agree. it depends. sometimes great achievements can be made as long as you can maintain consistent.possible answer 2: to some extend, i agree with him. we must be wise enough to judge what is worth insisting. but it does

34、nt mean that people should give up consistency. what you must do is all that concerns you, not what the people think.4. what is agreement of ones actions?why is it important for people?there will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions, so they be each honest and natural in there hour. for of

35、 one will, the actions will be harmonious, however i like the theme.your genuine action will explain itself and will explain your other genuine actions. your conformaty explains nothing. be it how it will, do right now. always scorns appearances and you always may.unit 4 nathaniel hawthorne the scar

36、let letter1.why is the prison the setting of chapter 1 ? no matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable. this belief fits into the larger puritan doct

37、rine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sinthe notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of adam and eve in the garden of eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifewh

38、at is the implication of the description of the roses?the rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast mans activities. the narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of natures kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or

39、else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.describe the appearance of hester prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.the second paragraph on page 30.the crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. several of the

40、 women begin to discuss hester prynne, and they soon vow that hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges. one woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for hester. 3.what has happened to hester? as a young woman, hester marr

41、ied an elderly scholar, chillingworth, who sent her ahead to america to live. while waiting for him, she had an affair with a puritan minister named dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to pearl. the scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. why does she make the embroidery of

42、the letter a so elaborate?it seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. in reality, however, hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child. and although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they

43、 are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.how does this tell us about her character?throughout the scarlet letter hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. it is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.unit 7 19th century american po

44、ets 1. henry wadsworth longfellow(1) i shot an arrow 1. why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song? the arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible. 2. in what circumstances did he find them again? he finds them unexpectedly y

45、ears later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend. 3. what do arrow and song stand for in this poem? the images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship. (2) a psalm of life 1. what kind of person is the speaker of this poem? the speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and c

46、heerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life. 2. according to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?we should work harder and live happier. 3. interpret the metaphor of footprints on the sand of time (line 28).

47、the metaphor refers to human deeds in real life. 2. walt whitman (1)ones self i sing 1. what is the significance of singing about ones self?it is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of american people.2. what is the difference between physiology and physiognomy? physiology is a

48、science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person. 3. what does whitman mean by the term of the modern man? he means that a man should be free from any prejudice

49、 and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias. (2) o captain! my captain! 1. why is the word captain capitalized throughout the poem? in this poem the word “captain” specially refers to abraham lincoln, president of the united states.2. what overall metaphor does the p

50、oet employ in this poem?life is a journey. 3. why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad? they welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor. 3.emily dickinson (1) to make a prairie

51、 1. what things are needed to make a prairie? in what sense can one really do it? some grass and insects and small animals. people can make a prairie with their imagination.2. how can revery alone create a prairie? the prairie stays in ones mind. (2) success is counted sweetest 1. why is success cou

52、nted sweetest by those who neer succeed? those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. who are the purple host? the so-called successful people in the world. 3. who is he in the last stanza?anyone who is pursuing his success. (3) im nobody! 1. who are the

53、pair of us and they in this poem? the pair of us refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and they refers to the public, especially those in power.2. what does an admiring bog really mean? (line 28). it implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celeb

54、rities.3. what is the theme of this poem? the real admirable life is a secluded and common one. 4. do you want to be nobody or somebody? explain your reasons. different persons would have different answers to this question. personally, i prefer to be nobody.unit 12 sherwood anderson the triumph of t

55、he egg1. why did the narrators father treasure up the dead deformed chickens?thereasonthatnarratorsfathertreasureupthedeaddeformedchickenisthathisfatherreallytooktoomuchenergyandtimeinthosechicken,andheregardedthesechickenashisdream,futureandhope.sowhenthetimehefailedinraisingachickenfarm,hestillwan

56、tedtotakethembyhisside.2. what is narrators outlook on life?inthisstory,thenarratorwasdeeplyinfluencedbyhisparentswheretherewasadetailinthestory“atroopoflittlegirlshadgonehoppingaboutsinging.itiredthatdownalongthefrozenroadiwanthoppingsolemnlyononeleg”happilyhopetothebarbershop“isangshrilly.thenisto

57、ppedandlookeddoubtfullyabout.iwasafraidofbeingseeninonewho,likemyself,hadbeenraisedonachickenfarmwheredeathwasadailyvisitor.”thenarratoremphasizedthathehasbeenraisedonachickenfarmwheredeathwasdailyvisitor;hispurposeistotellushisgloomynegativepersonality.3.whatdoestheeggcometosymbolizebytheendofthena

58、rrative?the triumph of the egg mainly tells us a story about fathers failure of starting a business. the egg in the story can be regarded as the american dream. by the end of the story, father laid the egg gently on the table instead of destroying it. he decided to close the restaurant for the night. we can easily tell that father decides to give up pursuin