美国文学简史常耀信版讲义7

1、Sinclair Lewis (18851951) “the worst important writer in American literature” an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with w

2、it and humor, new types of characters. His works are known for their insightful and critical views of American society and capitalist values. Brief IntroductionHe is noted for a realistic portrayal about small-town life and middle-class characters.Major works: Main Street (1920) Babbitt (1922) Arrow

3、smith (1925) Brief IntroductionSinclairs first novel gained him commercial success. As his biographer Mark Schorer wrote, the phenomenal success of Main Street was the most sensational event in twentieth-century American publishing history. and Main Street earned Sinclair Lewis about three million c

4、urrent dollars. Main StreetPlot summary Carol Milford is a liberal, free-spirited metropolis-reared young woman, marries Will Kennicott, a doctor, a small-town boy at heart.When they marry, Will convinces her to live in his home-town of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota. Carol is appalled at the backwardnes

5、s of Gopher Prairie. But her disdain for the towns physical ugliness and smug conservatism compels her to reform it.Main StreetShe speaks with its members about progressive changes, joins womens clubs, distributes literature, and holds parties to liven up Gopher Prairies inhabitants. Despite her fri

6、endly, but ineffective efforts, she is constantly derided by the leading cliques.In her unhappiness, Carol leaves her husband and moves for a time to Washington, D.C., but she eventually returns. Main StreetNevertheless, Carol does not feel defeated: I do not admit that Main Street is as beautiful a

7、s it should be! I do not admit that dish-washing is enough to satisfy all women! Carol is discontented with life in Gopher Prairie, but she finds that big city life also has disadvantages. In the end, she learns to settle with Gopher Prairie and accept it for what it is.Sinclair Lewis point of view

8、satirical critic of American middle class (1) Lewis showed the villagers to be narrow-minded, greedy, pretentious and corrupt. (2) He attacked middle class for its indifference to art and culture, and its assumption that economic success made it superior. Sinclair Lewisstyle (1)photographic,verisimi

9、litude (2) colloquialism (3) characterization: he often created a type of character rather than an individual (4) old fashioned in theme (5) lack in psychological exploration Willa Cather 薇拉凯瑟 18731947 Restlessness such as ours, success such as ours, striving such as ours, do not make for beauty. Ot

10、her things must come first, good cookery, cottages that are home, not playthings; gardens, repose. 21 December 1924 Brief IntroductionAmerican novelist noted for her novels about immigrants, especially females struggling to make a living in the Midwest during the late 1800s.She grew up among the imm

11、igrants from Europe, most of them coming from Scandinavia, who were establishing homesteads on the Great Plains. This milieu, wide open spaces with its people forms the background for half of Cathers novels and many short stories depicting the frontier life on the American plains. Brief Introduction

12、She authored 12 novels, the most popular of which include My Antonia (1918), O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927).In her works Cather created strong female characters, who had the courage and vision to face all obstacles in their difficult lives.

13、Brief IntroductionHer fiction is unique in its powerful representation of setting and character and rich in its language and imagery. Her style of writing is condensed and subtle, but nonetheless tremendously expressive.A quote:Whatever is felt upon the page without being specifically named there-th

14、at, we may say, is created.Brief IntroductionIn these works Cather is noted for her skills in evoking the pioneer spirit. Cather also used the prairie setting in her novels One of Ours (1922; Pulitzer Prize, 1923) and A Lost Lady (1923). In these books her theme is the contrast between encroaching u

15、rbanization and the achievements of the pioneers. My Antonia (1918)The book consists of the loosely-structured memories of Jim Burden, who recounts tales of his Nebraska farm upbringing, and especially of the beautiful immigrant girl from Bohemia波希米亚 , Antonia, whom he loves with a pure innocence. M

16、y AntoniaIn the novel, he looks back on the course of events that shaped her life and made her the woman she is.It is a story of Nebraska, celebrated the land and the immigrant pioneers, and linked the enduring figure of Antonia to the life force itself. My Antonia (1918)Cather later stated that she

17、 saw Antonia as the embodiment of all her feelings about the early immigrants on the prairie. The novel thus intertwines nostalgia for the history of the American West with the harsh realities of pioneer life.O Pioneers! (1913)Another Nebraska story.Alexandra Bergson is the daughter and oldest child

18、 of Swedish immigrants in Nebraska. Her father, on his deathbed, leaves her in charge of the family and the land. During the hard times that follow a few years later, her brothers want to leave the land, but Alexandra refuses to go against her promise to her father. O Pioneers! (1913)She fights to keep the farm and make it prosperous and she turns out to be one of the few with enough strength and vision to succeed as a farmer