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Lecture6
Lecture6
AmericanRealism
DempseyandFirpo(1924),SummerInterior1909,Bandit'sRoost
1888,from HowtheOtherHalfLives.
1GeneralIntroduction
•Americanrealism wasanearly20th-centuryideainart,musicandliteraturethatshowedthroughthesedifferenttypesofwork,reflectionsofthetimeperiod.Whetheritwasaculturalportrayal,orascenicviewofdowntownNewYorkCity,theseimagesandworksofliterature,musicandpaintingdepictedacontemporaryviewofwhatwashappening:
anattemptatdefiningwhatwasreal,thetrue reality
oftheearly20th
centuryinAmerica
•Fromthelate19thtotheearly20thcenturies,the UnitedStates experiencedenormousindustrial,economic,socialandculturalchange.Acontinuouswaveof European immigrationandtherisingpotentialforinternationaltradebroughtincreasinggrowthandprosperitytoAmerica.
•Throughartandartisticexpression(throughallmediumsincludingpainting,literatureandmusic), AmericanRealism attemptedtoportraytheexhaustionandculturalexuberanceofthefigurative Americanlandscape andthelifeofordinaryAmericansathome.
•WritersandauthorstoldanewstoryaboutAmericans:
boysandgirlsrealAmericanscouldhavegrownupwith.Artistsusedthefeelings,texturesandsoundsofthecitytoinfluencethecolor,textureandlookoftheircreativeprojects.Musiciansnoticedthequickandfastpacednatureoftheearly20thcenturyandrespondedwithafreshandnewtempo.
•Pullingawayfromfantasyandfocusingon thenow, AmericanRealismpresentedanewgatewayandabreakthrough—introducingmodernism,andwhatitmeanstobeinthepresent.
2BriefIntroductiontotheRealistPeriodof
TwainandJames
•MarkTwain(thepennameusedby SamuelLanghorneClemens,1835–1910)wasthefirstmajorAmericanwritertobebornawayfromtheEastCoast–intheborderstateof Missouri.
ØHisregionalmasterpieceswere
thememoir LifeontheMississippi
andthenovels AdventuresofTomSawyer
and AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.
ØTwain'sstyle–influencedbyjournalism,weddedtothevernacular,directandunadornedbutalsohighlyevocativeandirreverentlyhumorous–changedthewayAmericanswritetheirlanguage.
ØHischaractersspeaklikerealpeopleandsounddistinctivelyAmerican,usinglocaldialects,newlyinventedwords,andregionalaccents.
●Otherwritersinterestedinregionaldifferencesanddialectwere GeorgeW.Cable, ThomasNelsonPage, JoelChandlerHarris, MaryNoaillesMurfree(CharlesEgbertCraddock), SarahOrneJewett, MaryE.WilkinsFreeman, HenryCuylerBunner,andWilliamSydneyPorter(O.Henry).
ØAversionoflocalcolorregionalismthatfocusedonminorityexperiencescanbeseenintheworksof CharlesW.Chesnutt (AfricanAmerican),of MaríaRuizdeBurton,oneoftheearliest MexicanAmerican noveliststowriteinEnglish,andinthe Yiddish-inflectedworksof AbrahamCahan.
●WilliamDeanHowells alsorepresentedthe realist traditionthroughhisnovels,
including TheRiseofSilasLapham
andhisworkaseditorof
the AtlanticMonthly.
Nicknamed"TheDeanofAmericanLetters"
●HenryJames (1843–1916)confrontedtheOldWorld-NewWorlddilemmabywritingdirectlyaboutit.AlthoughborninNewYorkCity,
hespentmostofhisadultyears
inEngland.Manyofhisnovels
centeronAmericanswholivein
ortraveltoEurope.
●Withitsintricate,highlyqualified
sentencesanddissectionofemotional
andpsychologicalnuance,James's
fictioncanbedaunting
(discouragingthroughfear).
ØAmongthemoreaccessibleworksofHenryJamesarethenovellas DaisyMiller,aboutanenchantingAmericangirlinEurope,and TheTurnoftheScrew,anenigmaticghoststory.
●RealismalsoinfluencedAmericandramaoftheperiod,inpartthroughtheworksofHowellsbutalsothroughtheworksofsuchEuropeansasIbsenandZola.Althoughrealismwasmostinfluentialintermsofsetdesignandstaging—audienceslovedthespecialeffectsofferedupbythepopularmelodramas—andinthegrowthof localcolor plays,italsoshowedupinthemoresubdued,lessromantictonethatreflectedtheeffectsoftheCivilWarandcontinuedsocialturmoilontheAmericanpsyche.
●Themostambitiousattemptatbringingmodernrealismintothedramawas JamesHerne's MargaretFleming,whichaddressedissuesofsocialdeterminismthroughrealisticdialogue,psychologicalinsightandsymbolism;theplaywasnotasuccess,ascriticsandaudiencesalikefeltitdwelttoomuchonunseemlytopicsandincludedimproperscenes,suchasthemaincharacternursingherhusband'sillegitimatechildonstage.
●JamesA.Herne (1839–1901)was
an Americanplaywright and actor.
Consideredbysomecriticstobe
the"AmericanIbsen,"hiscontroversial
play MargaretFleming isoftencredited
withhavingbegunmodern drama
inAmerica.
3MoreaboutMarkTwain
●SamuelLanghorneClemens (November30,1835 –April21,1910),betterknownbyhis penname MarkTwain,wasanAmericanauthorandhumorist.Hewrote TheAdventuresofTomSawyer (1876)andits sequel,AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn (1885), thelatteroftencalled"theGreatAmericanNovel."
●Twainwasfascinatedwithscienceandscientificinquiry.Hedevelopedacloseandlastingfriendshipwith NikolaTesla,andthetwospentmuchtimetogetherinTesla'slaboratory.
●Twainwasfascinatedwithscienceandscientificinquiry.Hedevelopedacloseandlastingfriendshipwith NikolaTesla,andthetwospentmuchtimetogetherinTesla'slaboratory.
●Twainwasindemandasafeaturedspeaker(特邀演讲嘉宾),performingsolohumoroustalkssimilartowhatwouldbecome stand-upcomedy(单口相声).Inthelate1890s,hespoketothe SavageClub inLondonandwas
electedhonorarymember.Whentoldthat
onlythreemenhadbeensohonored,
includingthe PrinceofWales,hereplied
"Well,itmustmakethePrincefeelmightyfine."
●Twainbeganhiscareerwritinglight,humorousverse,butevolvedintoachroniclerofthevanities,hypocrisiesandmurderousactsofmankind.
●Atmid-career,withHuckleberryFinn,hecombinedrichhumor,sturdynarrativeandsocialcriticism.
●Twainwasamasteratrendering colloquialspeech andhelpedtocreateandpopularizeadistinctiveAmericanliteraturebuiltonAmericanthemesandlanguage.
●ManyofTwain‘sworks,however,havebeensuppressedattimesforvariousreasons.AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn hasbeenrepeatedlyrestrictedinAmericanhighschools,notleastforitsfrequentuseoftheword"nigger,"whichwasincommonusageinthepre-CivilWarperiodinwhichthenovelwasset.
●AcompletebibliographyofhisworksisnearlyimpossibletocompilebecauseofthevastnumberofpieceswrittenbyTwain(ofteninobscurenewspapers)andhisuseofseveraldifferentpennames.Additionally,alargeportionofhisspeechesandlectureshavebeenlostorwerenotwrittendown;
thus,thecollectionofTwain'sworks
isanongoingprocess.Researchers
rediscoveredpublishedmaterial
byTwainasrecentlyas1995.
MarkTwaininhisgown(scarletwithgreysleevesandfacings)forhisD.Litt. degree,awardedtohimby OxfordUniversity
3.1Earlyjournalismandtravelogues
●Twaincreditedlawyer TomFitch,editorofthecompetingnewspaper VirginiaDailyUnion andknownasthe"silver-tonguedoratorofthePacific,withgivinghimhis"firstreallyprofitablelesson"inwriting.
●Twain'sfirstimportantwork,"TheCelebratedJumpingFrogofCalaverasCounty,"wasfirstpublishedinthe NewYorkSaturdayPress onNovember 18,1865.
CabinwhereTwainwrote"JumpingFrogofCalaverasCounty,"JackassHill,TuolumneCounty.
●OnJune 8,1867,Twainsetsailonthepleasurecruiser(游轮) QuakerCity forfivemonths.Thistripresultedin TheInnocentsAbroadorTheNewPilgrims‘Progress。
●In1872,Twainpublishedasecondpieceoftravelliterature, RoughingIt,asasemi-sequelto Innocents.
●Twain'snextworkkept RoughingIt'sfocusonAmericansocietybutfocusedmoreontheeventsoftheday.Entitled TheGildedAge:
ATaleofToday,itwasnotatravelpiece,ashisprevioustwobookshadbeen;itwashisfirstattemptatwritinganovel.
●Twain‘snexttwoworksdrewonhisexperiencesontheMississippiRiver. OldTimesontheMississippi,aseriesofsketchespublishedinthe AtlanticMonthly in1875,featuredTwain’sdisillusionment(幻灭)withRomanticism.OldTimes eventuallybecamethestartingpointfor LifeontheMississippi.
Libraryof TwainHouse,withhand-stenciledpaneling,fireplacesfromIndia,embossedwallpapers,andhand-carvedmantelpurchasedinScotland
●Twain'snextmajorpublicationwas TheAdventuresofTomSawyer,whichdrewonhisyouthinHannibal,boyhoodhomeofMarkTwain. TomSawyer wasmodeledonTwainasachild,withtracesoftwoschoolmates,JohnBriggsandWillBowen.ThebookalsointroducedinasupportingroleHuckleberryFinn,basedonTwain'sboyhoodfriendTomBlankenship.
●ThePrinceandthePauper,despitea storyline thatisomnipresentinfilmandliteraturetoday,wasnotaswellreceived.But,itwasTwain'sfirstattemptathistoricalfiction.
●Twain'snextmajorpublishedwork, AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn,solidifiedhimasanoteworthyAmericanwriter.Somehavecalleditthefirst GreatAmericanNovel,andthebookhasbecomerequiredreadinginmanyschoolsthroughouttheUnitedStates.
●HuckleberryFinn wasanoffshootfrom TomSawyer andhadamoreserioustonethanitspredecessor.Themainpremisebehind HuckleberryFinn istheyoungboy'sbeliefintherightthingtodothoughmostbelievedthatitwaswrong.
ØErnestHemingway oncesaidof HuckleberryFinninanessay:
ØIfyoureadit,youmuststopwheretheNiggerJimis