Chapter6美国文学

1、 Local colorism1. Local colorism or regionalism:1. Local colorism or regionalism:As a literary trend local colorism first made its As a literary trend local colorism first made its presence felt in the late 1860s and early presence felt in the late 1860s and early seventies in America. seventies in

2、America. It manifests a quality in literature, stressing It manifests a quality in literature, stressing fidelity to a particular geographical section and a fidelity to a particular geographical section and a faithful representation of faithful representation of its habits, speech, its habits, speec

3、h, manners, history, folklore, or belief. manners, history, folklore, or belief. Being a subordinate order of realism, it indicates that an author writes about what is unique in his or her living section. 2. Representatives: Bret Harte: The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other StoriesKate Chopin(1851-1904

4、)： The Awakening Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896): Uncle Toms CabinHamlin Garland: Main-Traveled RoadsMark Twain3. 3. The local color writingThe local color writing was a form of was a form of regionalism popular after the civil war. regionalism popular after the civil war. Local colorism as a tren

5、d became Local colorism as a trend became dominant in American literature in the late dominant in American literature in the late 1860s and early 1870s. 1860s and early 1870s. Basic features of local color fiction:Basic features of local color fiction:(1) Local color fiction presents a (1) Local col

6、or fiction presents a localelocale which is which is distinguished from the outside world.distinguished from the outside world.(2) Local color fiction describes (2) Local color fiction describes the exotic and the exotic and the picturesque. the picturesque. (3)Local color fiction glorifies (3)Local

7、 color fiction glorifies the past.the past.(4)Local color fiction also attempts to show (4)Local color fiction also attempts to show things as they are.things as they are.(5)Local color fiction stresses (5)Local color fiction stresses the influence of the influence of setting on character.setting on

8、 character.Mark Twaina writer of local color Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark TwainMark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. C. Characteristics of Mark Tw

9、aina. His works sum up the tradition of Western humor and frontier realism. b. He writes about his people and his own life. c. His greatest achievement on literature is his use of the dialect and his portrayal of the locale. Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri, two Mark Twain was born in Florid

10、a, Missouri, two weeks after the closest approach to Earth of weeks after the closest approach to Earth of Halleys Comet in 1835. Halleys Comet in 1835. When he was four, Twains family moved to When he was four, Twains family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a port town on the Hannibal, Missouri, a port

11、 town on the Mississippi River that inspired the fictional town Mississippi River that inspired the fictional town of St. Petersburg in of St. Petersburg in The Adventures of Tom The Adventures of Tom SawyerSawyer and and Adventures of Huckleberry FinnAdventures of Huckleberry Finn. .Missouri was a

12、slave state and young Twain became familiar with the institution of slavery, a theme he would later explore in his writing. Twains father was a local lawyer. After his fathers death in 1847, he left school and became apprenticed to a printer and then worked in his brother Orions print shop for 3 yea

13、rs.In 1851, he began working as a typesetter排字工人 and contributor of articles and humorous sketches for his brothers newspaper. At the age of 18, he worked as a printer in various places from St. Louis to New York. This was a typical experience and it helped him become associated with the whole regio

14、n, the Midwest, that had not yet appeared in popular literature. From 1857 to 1861, he found himself a pilot on the Mississippi River. It is from this work that he got the idea of his penname “Mark Twain”. At the start of the Civil War, Twain enlisted briefly in a Confederate local unit. He then lef

15、t for Nevada to work for his brother, a senior official in the Federal government. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which became very popular and brought nationwide attentio

16、n. His travelogues were also well received. In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a very wealthy industrialist. He settled down in Buffalo, New York. While living in Buffalo, their son Langdon died at 19 months. They had three daughters: Susy, Clara and Jean. The couples marriage lasted

17、 34 years, until Olivias death in 1904. His earnings as an author and a lecture were enormous, but unfortunate investments in a typesetting machine and publishing house kept him in financial difficulties. In 1894 everything came crashing down. His health was broken down and his investments failed. H

18、e had to set out on a world lecture tour to pay all the debts and finally built up a substantial income. Unfortunately his younger daughter died in 1896, and his other daughter died suddenly of meningitis脑膜炎. His wife became an invalid and died in 1904. He had a time of great and severe mental depre

19、ssion and died in 1910. Literary achievementsThe Notorious Jumping Frog of the Calaveras County (1867)Roughing It (1872)The Gilded Age (1873) (collaborated with Charles Dudley Warner)The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1976)A Tramp Abroad (1880)The Prince and the Pauper (1882) 王子与贫儿Life on the Mississippi

20、 (1883) 密西西比河上The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)汤姆汤姆索亚历险记索亚历险记汤姆汤姆幼年丧母，由姨妈收养。聪明顽皮的汤姆受不了姨妈和学校老师的管束，常常逃学闯祸。一天深夜，他与好朋友哈克贝里哈克贝里芬芬到墓地玩耍，无意中目睹了一起凶杀案的发生。因为害怕被凶手发现他们知道这件事，汤姆、哈克贝里带着另一个小伙伴一起逃到一座荒岛上做起了“海盗”，弄得家里以为他们被淹死了，结果他们却出现在了自己的“葬礼”上。经过激烈的思想斗争，汤姆终于勇敢地站出来，指证了凶手。不久之后，在一次野餐活动中，他与他心爱的姑娘贝姬贝姬在一个岩洞里迷了路，整整三天

21、三夜饥寒交迫，面临着死亡的威胁。后来终于成功脱险，和好友哈克一起找到了凶手埋藏的宝藏。小说的时代在南北战争前，写的虽是圣彼得堡小镇，但该镇某种程度上可以说是当时美国社会的缩影。小说通过主人公的冒险经历，对美国虚伪庸俗的社会习俗、伪善的宗教仪式和刻板陈腐的学校教育进行了讽刺和批判，以欢快的笔调描写了少年儿童自由活泼的心灵。汤姆索亚历险记以其浓厚的深具地方特色的幽默和对人物敏锐观察，一跃成为最伟大的儿童文学作品，也是一首美国“黄金时代”的田园牧歌。The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “The Lincoln of our literature.” W.D. How

22、ells “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn” Hemingway哈克贝利哈克贝利是一个聪明、善良、勇敢的白人少年。他为了追求自由的生活，逃亡到密西西比河上。在逃亡途中，他遇到了黑奴吉姆吉姆。吉姆是一个勤劳朴实、热情诚实、忠心耿耿的黑奴，他为了逃脱被主人再次卖掉的命运，从主人家中出逃。两个人历经种种奇遇。这部小说从思想到技巧都有许多创新。小说赞扬了男孩哈克贝利的机智和善良，谴责了宗教的虚伪和信徒的愚昧，同时，塑造了一位富有尊严的黑奴形象。它是马克吐温作

23、品精选中最杰出的一部。海明威曾评价道：“整个现代美国文学都来源于马克吐温的著作哈克贝里费恩历险记，这是我们最优秀的一部书，此后还没有哪本书能和它匹敌。”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)A. Plot SummaryMark Twains classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with

24、 an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious. B. Main Charactersa. Huckleberry Finn: Main character of the book. He is an illegitimate child who runs away from his adopte

25、d family to be free of society and civilization. b. Jim: Miss Watsons slave. He runs away and journeys down the Mississippi River with Huck. Together, they have many adventures, and Jim becomes a father figure for Huck. d. Widow Douglas: Adopts Huck to try and civilize him. e. Miss Watson: Sister of

26、 the Widow Douglas. She tries to teach Huck religion and how to spell. f. Pap: Hucks drunkard father. He kidnaps Huck because he wants his money, but Huck escapes. c. Tom Sawyer: Hucks best friend who freely spins lies and loves adventure. The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she w

27、ould sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldnt stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied. But Tom Sawyer he hunted m

28、e up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went back. (Chapter I) Paragraph Analyses道格拉斯寡妇认我做干儿子，说要教我做人的道格拉斯寡妇认我做干儿子，说要教我做人的规矩；可是只要想想这寡妇为人处世多古板、规矩；可是只要想想这寡妇为人处世多古板、多正经，就能明白一天到晚呆在她屋里真是活多正经，就能明白一天到晚呆在她屋里真是活受罪；所以到了我再也

29、受不了的时候，我就溜受罪；所以到了我再也受不了的时候，我就溜啦。我又穿上原来的破衣烂衫，重新躲到我那啦。我又穿上原来的破衣烂衫，重新躲到我那只大木桶里，真是自在逍遥，可汤姆只大木桶里，真是自在逍遥，可汤姆索亚找索亚找到我，说他要成立一个强盗帮，如果我肯回到到我，说他要成立一个强盗帮，如果我肯回到寡妇那儿做一个受人尊敬的人，我可以加入这寡妇那儿做一个受人尊敬的人，我可以加入这个帮、于是我就回去了。个帮、于是我就回去了。Well, you see, it uz dis way. Ole missus-dats Miss Watson-she pecks on me all de time, en

30、treats me pooty rough, but she awluz said she wouldn sell me down to Orleans. But I noticed dey wuz a nigger trader roun de place considable lately, en I begin to git oneasy. Well, one night I creeps to de do pooty late, en de do warnt quite shet, en I hear old missus tell de widder she gwyne to sel

31、l me down to Orleans, but she didn want to, but she could git eight hundd dollars for me, en it uz sich a big stack o money she couldn resis. (Chapter VIII)“好吧，听我说，事情是这样的。老小姐好吧，听我说，事情是这样的。老小姐就是说华珍小姐就是说华珍小姐她从早到晚她从早到晚挑剔我挑剔我对我可凶啦对我可凶啦不过她老说，她不会把我卖到下游奥尔良那里去。不过她老说，她不会把我卖到下游奥尔良那里去。不过我注意到，最近不过我注意到，最近 有一个黑奴贩

32、子，老在这里走动，我就心神不定。啊有一个黑奴贩子，老在这里走动，我就心神不定。啊，一天晚上，我偷偷到了门口，那是很，一天晚上，我偷偷到了门口，那是很 晚了，门没有关紧，我听到老小姐晚了，门没有关紧，我听到老小姐告诉寡妇，说她要把我卖到下游奥尔良去。说她本不愿意卖，不过卖了能告诉寡妇，说她要把我卖到下游奥尔良去。说她本不愿意卖，不过卖了能得八百块大洋，这么大的一个数目，她不能不动心。得八百块大洋，这么大的一个数目，她不能不动心。 And at last, when it hit me all of a sudden that here was the plain hand of Providen

33、ce slapping me in the face and letting me know my wickedness was being watched all time from up there in heaven, whilst I was stealing a poor old womans nigger that hadnt ever done me no harm, and now was showing me theres One thats always on the lookout, and aint a-going to allow no such miserable

34、doings to go only just so fur and no further. I most dropped in my tracks I was so scared. 到后来，我突然之间猛然醒悟了，认识到这明明是上帝的手在打我的耳光，到后来，我突然之间猛然醒悟了，认识到这明明是上帝的手在打我的耳光，让我明白，我的种种邪恶始终逃不开在天上的眼睛。一个可怜的老妇人平生让我明白，我的种种邪恶始终逃不开在天上的眼睛。一个可怜的老妇人平生从没有损害过我一根毫毛，我却把她的黑奴拐跑，为了这个，上帝正指引着从没有损害过我一根毫毛，我却把她的黑奴拐跑，为了这个，上帝正指引着我，让我明白什么都逃不

35、过我，让我明白什么都逃不过“他他”那高悬的明镜，那高悬的明镜，“他他”决不允许这类不幸决不允许这类不幸的事再发展下去，只能到此为止。一想到这些，我差点就跌倒在地，委实吓的事再发展下去，只能到此为止。一想到这些，我差点就跌倒在地，委实吓得不得了啦。得不得了啦。Well, I tried the best I could do to kinder soften it up somehow for myself by saying I was brung up wicked, and so I warnt so much to blame; but something inside of me ke

36、pt saying, “There was the Sunday School, you could a gone (could have gone) to it; and if youd a done it theyd a learnt you there that people that acts as Id been acting about that nigger goes to everlasting fire.” (Chapter XXXI)于是，我就想方设法地试图为自己开脱。我对自个儿说：我从小就在于是，我就想方设法地试图为自己开脱。我对自个儿说：我从小就在邪恶的环境中长大，因此

37、不能过于怪罪我啊。不过，在我的心里，还邪恶的环境中长大，因此不能过于怪罪我啊。不过，在我的心里，还有另外一个声音在不停地说，有另外一个声音在不停地说，“还有主日学校哩。你本该到那儿去。还有主日学校哩。你本该到那儿去。要是你早去的话，他们会在那儿教导你的嘛，教导你说，谁要像我那要是你早去的话，他们会在那儿教导你的嘛，教导你说，谁要像我那样为了黑奴所干的这一切，是要下地狱受到永恒的烈火的煎熬的。样为了黑奴所干的这一切，是要下地狱受到永恒的烈火的煎熬的。It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a- tremb

38、ling, because Id got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: All right, then, Ill GO to hell-and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought

39、no more about reforming. (Chapter XXXI)这真叫我难做。我拿起纸捏在手里。我浑身哆嗦，因为我得在两种做法中这真叫我难做。我拿起纸捏在手里。我浑身哆嗦，因为我得在两种做法中做出决定，从此定局，这一点我心里明白。我几乎屏住气，琢磨了一阵儿，做出决定，从此定局，这一点我心里明白。我几乎屏住气，琢磨了一阵儿，然后对自己说：然后对自己说：“好吧，我就下地狱吧。好吧，我就下地狱吧。”我把纸撕了。我把纸撕了。这是可怕的念头和可怕的话，可是话已经说了，那就随它这是可怕的念头和可怕的话，可是话已经说了，那就随它去吧，从未想过要改变说法。去吧，从未想过要改变说法。The cha

40、racters in the novelHuckleberry Finn - The protagonist and narrator of the novel. Huck is the thirteen-year-old son of the local drunk of St. Petersburg, Missouri, a town on the Mississippi River. Frequently forced to survive on his own wits and always a bit of an outcast, Huck is thoughtful, intell

41、igent (though formally uneducated), and willing to come to his own conclusions about important matters, even if these conclusions contradict societys norms. Nevertheless, Huck is still a boy, and is influenced by others, particularly by his imaginative friend, Tom. Tom Sawyer - Hucks friend, and the

42、 protagonist of Tom Sawyer, the novel to which Huckleberry Finn is ostensibly the sequel. In Huckleberry Finn, Tom serves as a foil衬托 to Huck: imaginative, dominating, and given to wild plans taken from the plots of adventure novels, Tom is everything that Huck is not. Toms stubborn reliance on the

43、“authorities” of romance novels leads him to acts of incredible stupidity and startling cruelty. His rigid adherence to societys conventions aligns Tom with the “civilizing” forces that Huck learns to see through and gradually abandons. Widow Douglas and Miss WatsonWidow Douglas and Miss Watson - Tw

44、o wealthy sisters who live together in a large house in St. Petersburg and who adopt Huck. The gaunt and severe Miss Watson is the most prominent representative of the hypocritical religious and ethical values Twain criticizes in the novel. The Widow Douglas is somewhat gentler in her beliefs and ha

45、s more patience with the mischievous Huck. When Huck acts in a manner contrary to societal expectations, it is the Widow Douglas whom he fears disappointing.Jim - One of Miss Watsons household slaves. Jim is superstitious and occasionally sentimental, but he is also intelligent, practical, and ultim

46、ately more of an adult than anyone else in the novel. Jims frequent acts of selflessness, his longing for his family, and his friendship with both Huck and Tom demonstrate to Huck that humanity has nothing to do with race. Because Jim is a black man and a runaway slave, he is at the mercy of almost

47、all the other characters in the novel and is often forced into ridiculous and degrading situations.Pap - Hucks father, the town drunk and neer-do-well. Pap is a wreck when he appears at the beginning of the novel, with disgusting, ghostlike white skin and tattered破烂的 clothes. The illiterate Pap disa

48、pproves of Hucks education and beats him frequently. Pap represents both the general debasement of white society and the failure of family structures in the novel. The duke and the dauphin - A pair of con men whom Huck and Jim rescue as they are being run out of a river town. The older man, who appe

49、ars to be about seventy, claims to be the “dauphin,” the son of King Louis XVI and heir to the French throne. The younger man, who is about thirty, claims to be the usurped Duke of Bridgewater. Although Huck quickly realizes the men are frauds, he and Jim remain at their mercy, as Huck is only a chi

50、ld and Jim is a runaway slave. The duke and the dauphin carry out a number of increasingly disturbing swindles as they travel down the river on the raft. Judge Thatcher - The local judge who shares responsibility for Huck with the Widow Douglas and is in charge of safeguarding the money that Huck an

51、d Tom found at the end of Tom Sawyer. When Huck discovers that Pap has returned to town, he wisely signs his fortune over to the Judge, who doesnt really accept the money, but tries to comfort Huck. Judge Thatcher has a daughter, Becky, who was Toms girlfriend in Tom Sawyer and whom Huck calls “Bess

52、ie” in this novel. the Grangerfords - A family that takes Huck in after a steamboat hits his raft, separating him from Jim. The kindhearted Grangerfords, who offer Huck a place to stay in their tacky country home, are locked in a long-standing feud with another local family, the Shepherdsons. Twain

53、uses the two families to engage in some rollicking humor and to mock a overly romanticizes ideas about family honor. Ultimately, the families sensationalized feud gets many of them killed. The Wilks family - At one point during their travels, the duke and the dauphin encounter a man who tells them o

54、f the death of a local named Peter Wilks, who has left behind a rich estate. The man inadvertently gives the con men enough information to allow them to pretend to be Wilkss two brothers from England, who are the recipients of much of the inheritance. The duke and the dauphins subsequent conning of

55、the good-hearted and vulnerable Wilks sisters is the first step in the con mens increasingly cruel series of scams, which culminate in the sale of Jim. Silas and Sally Phelps - Tom Sawyers aunt and uncle, whom Huck coincidentally encounters in his search for Jim after the con men have sold him. Sall

56、y is the sister of Toms aunt, Polly. Essentially good people, the Phelpses nevertheless hold Jim in custody and try to return him to his rightful owner. Silas and Sally are the unknowing victims of many of Tom and Hucks “preparations” as they try to free Jim. The Phelpses are the only intact and fun

57、ctional family in this novel, yet they are too much for Huck, who longs to escape their “sivilizing” influence. Aunt Polly - Tom Sawyers aunt and guardian and Sally Phelpss sister. Aunt Polly appears at the end of the novel and properly identifies Huck, who has pretended to be Tom, and Tom, who has

58、pretended to be his own younger brother, Sid. A Bildungsroman or a picaresque novelThe novel tells the story of a boys growth in society because Huck is just at the moment growing into adulthood, just coming into contact with the way the real world operates. He is becoming a man. In his wandering, h

59、e discovered the hypocrisy and cruelty of the adult world, realized the beauty and ugliness of humanity, changed the black peoples image in whites by making friends with Jim, and finally elevated his awareness of morality.Themesa. The primary theme of the novel is the conflict between civilization a

60、nd natural life. b. Another theme, and probably one of Twains favorites, is the mockery of religion. c. Slavery forms one of the main themes that has been frequently debated since Huck Finn was first published. d. The theme of money is threaded through the novel and is used to highlight the disparit