《美国文学》教学课件Mark Twain1

1、 Mark Twain (1835-1910)Mark TwainOne of Americas first and foremost realists , humorists, the true father of American literature.(William Faulkner )Mark Twain , which means “ two fathoms” was the pen name of Samuel Langhore ClemensMark Twain 1835 Born in Florida, Missouri. Halleys comet visible from

2、 earth. 1839 Moves to Hannibal, Missouri, which later serves as the model town for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. A view of Hannibal from the Mississippi1847 Father dies of pneumonia(肺炎) , leaving family in difficult circumstances.Shortly thereafter he left school having completed the fifth grade.

3、1851 Begins work as a journeyman printer with the Hannibal Gazette. (owned by his brother Orion). Publishes first sketches. 1853 Visits St. Louis, New York, and Philadelphia as an itinerant (巡回的，流动的)printer. 1857 Becomes a cub-pilot . Spends next two years “learning” the river, later described in Li

4、fe on the Mississippi.Later he was to say, “In that brief, sharp schooling, I got personally and familiarly acquainted with about all the different types of human nature When I find a well-drawn character in fiction or biography, I generally take a warm personal interest in him, for the reason that

5、I have known him before. Ive met him on the river.”1858 Brother Henry was killed in steamboat accident on the Pennsylvania.1861 Civil War breaks out, halting river trade. Clemens serves two weeks with Confederate irregulars(非正规军), then moves to Nevada with his brother Orion. Lured by the infectious

6、hope of striking it rich in Nevadas silver rush Sam traveled across the open frontier from Missouri to Nevada by stagecoach. 1862 Travels around Nevada and California. After failing as a silver prospector takes job as reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.1864 Forced to leave Nevada

7、for breaking dueling laws. Prospects in Calaveras County, settles in San Francisco. Writes for magazines and newspapers. 1865 Writes “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog.” Wins notice in eastern magazines. Sams first “big break”. 1866 Takes trip to Hawaii .Reports on shipwreck of the Hornet. Gives first

8、 public lecture.1867 Travels as correspondent to Europe and the Holy Land on the Quaker City. Sees a picture of Olivia Langdon (Livy). Publishes The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches. Sales are light. 1868 Lectures across the United States. Meets and falls in love with

9、Livy in Elmira, New York.1869 Engaged to Livy. The Innocents Abroad published as a subscription book. Its an instant best seller.1870 Marries Livy in Elmira. Her father buys them a house in Buffalo, New York. Son Langdon is born. Olivia Langdon Clemens (1845 1904) was the wife of the famous American

10、 author, Samuel Langhorne Clemens.Her father Jervis was a very wealthy coal businessman.Her health was poor.She rejected Twains first proposal of marriage.1872 Moves with Livy to Hartford. Publishes Roughing It. 艰苦岁月 Daughter is born. Son Langdon dies. 1873 Invents and patents Mark Twains Self-Pasti

11、ng Scrapbook. Publishes The Gilded Age. 1874 Daughter Clara is born. Moves into fanciful Nook Farm house in Hartford. 1876 Publishes Tom Sawyer. Begins investment in the Paige typesetter. During those years Sam completed some of his most famous books.A Tramp Abroad. (1880)Prince and the Pauper. (188

12、1)Life on the Mississippi. (1883)The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)American edition comes out the next year. 1885 Clemens turns 50. Publishes the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, which is now considered a literary classic.1889 Publishes A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court. Widely panned. 1

13、890 Buys all rights in the Paige typesetter. Mother Jane Lampton Clemens dies.1891 Leaves Hartford to live in Europe because of financial difficulties. 1894 Publishes Puddnhead Wilson. Charles L. Webster & Co fails. Effectively bankrupt. Gives power of attorney to Henry Huddleston Rogers. 1895 Goes

14、on worldwide lecture tour to restore finances.1896 Continues to lecture around the world. Daughter Susie dies. 1898 Finishes paying off creditors. 1902 Livy falls seriously ill.1904 Livy dies. Begins dictating autobiography. Moves to New York City. 1905 Guest of Teddy Roosevelt at White House. Banqu

15、et for his 70th birthday at Delmonicos in New York. Speaks frequently. Addresses congressional committee on copyright issues.1906 Official biographer Albert Bigelow Paine moves in. Daughter Jean committed to institution1909 Daughter Jean dies at Stormfield. 1910 Visits Bermuda for the last time. Die

16、s at Stormfield, buried in Elmira. Halleys comet visible from earth. 2. Literary AchievementsThe celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras county, and other sketches(1867). This work marked the beginning of Twains literary career. It is a collection of short stories from oral tales, tall tales that he he

17、ard in the west.The Gilded Age (1873)Written in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner, the novel explored the scrupulous individualism in a world of fantastic speculation and unstable values. The novel was an artistic failure, but it gives its name to the America of the corrupt post-Civil War per

18、iod in which it attempted to satirize.Life on the Mississippi (1883) tells a story of his boyhood ambition to become a riverboat pilot.A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court (1889), a parable of colonization, Twain follows the journey of a representative of modern technology and ideas into a historically backward, feudal society.The Tragedy of Puddnhead Wilson (1894)The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1900)The Mysterious Stranger (1916)These works all contain bitter attacks on the human race, or damned hu