美国文学考试必备知识点.docx
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美国文学考试必备知识点
1.Romanticperiod
2.WashingtonIrving
3.EdgarAllanPoe
4.NathanialHawthorne
5.WaltWhitman
6.EmilyDickinson
7.II.Realistperiod
8.MarkTwain
9.SherwoodAnderson
10.StephenCrane
11.TheodoreDreiser
12.III.Modernperiod
13.F.S.Fitzgerald
14.ErnestHemingway
15.WilliamFaulkner
1.Transcendentalism
TranscendentalismreferstothereligiousandphilosophicaldoctrinesofRalphWaldoEmersonandothersinNewEnglandinthemiddle1800’s,whichemphasizedtheimportanceofindividualinspirationandintuition,theOversoul,andNature.OtherconceptsthataccompaniedTranscendentalismincludetheideathatnatureisennoblingandtheideathattheindividualisdivineand,therefore,self-reliant.NewEnglandTranscendentalismistheproductofacombinationofnativeAmericanPuritanismandEuropeanRomanticism.
2.Naturalism
Naturalism,amoredeliberatekindofrealism,usuallyinvolvesaviewofhumanbeingsaspassivevictimsofnaturalforcesandsocialenvironment.Asaliterarymovement,naturalismwasinitiatedinFranceanditcametobeledbyZola,whoclaimedat“scientific”statusforhisstudiesofimpoverishedcharactersmiserablysubjectedtohunger,sexualobsession,andhereditarydefects.Naturalfictionaspiredtoasociologicalobjectivity,offeringdetailedandfullyresearchedinvestigationsintounexploredcornersofmodernsociety.ThemostsignificantworkofnaturalisminEnglishbeingDreiser’sSisterCarrie.
3.AmericanDream
TheAmericanDreamisthefaithheldbymanypeopleintheUnitedStatesofAmericathatthroughhardwork,courageanddeterminationonecanachieveabetterlifeforoneself,usuallythroughfinancialprosperity.ThesewerevaluesheldbymanyearlyEuropeansettlers,andhavebeenpassedontosubsequentgenerations.
4.TheLostGeneration
ThetermLostGenerationwascoinedbyGertrudeSteintorefertoagroupofAmericanLiterarynotableswholivedinParisfromthetimeperiodwhichsawtheendofWorldWarItothebeginningoftheGreatDepression.SignificantmembersincludedErnestHemingway,F.ScottFitzgerald,EzraPound,SherwoodAnderson,T.S.Eliot,andGertrudeSteinherself.Hemingwaylikelypopularizedtheterm,quotingStein(“Youareallalostgeneration”)asepigraphtohisnovelTheSunAlsoRises.Moregenerally,thetermisbeingusedfortheyoungadultsofEuropeandAmericaduringWorldWarI.Theywere“lost”becauseafterthewarmanyofthemweredisillusionedwiththeworldingeneralandunwillingtomoreintoasettledlife
5.Modernism
Modernwritingismarkedbyastrongandconsciousbreakwithtraditionalformsandtechniquesofexpression;itbelievesthatwecreatetheworldintheactofperceivingit.Modernismimplieshistoricaldiscontinuity,asenseofalienation,ofloss,andofdespair.Itelevatestheindividualandhisinnerbeingoversocialmanandpreferstheunconscioustotheself-conscious.
6.Romanticism
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7.Puritanism
TheprinciplesandpracticesofpuritanswerepopularlyknownasPuritanism.PuritanismacceptedthedoctrinesofCalvinism:
thesovereigntyofGod;thesupremeauthorityoftheBible;theirresistibilityofGod’swillformanineveryactoflifefromcradletograve.ThesedoctrinesledthePuritanstoexaminetheirsoulstofindwhethertheywereoftheelectandtosearchtheBibletodetermineGod’swill.
8.HemingwayHeroes/CodeHero
“HemingwayHeroes”refertosomeprotagonistsinHemingway’sworks.Suchaherousuallyisanaveragemanofdecidedlymasculinetastes,sensitiveandintelligent.Andusuallyheisamanofactionandofafewwords.Heissuchanindividualist,aloneevenwhenwithotherpeople,somewhatanoutsider,keepingemotionsundercontrol,stoicandself-disciplinedinadreadfulplacewhereonecannotgethappiness.TheHemingwayheroesstandforawholegeneration.Inaworldwhichisessentiallychaoticandmeaningless,aHemingwayherofightsasolitarystruggleagainstaforcehedoesnotevenunderstand.Theawarenessthatitmustendindefeat,nomatterhowhardhestrives,engendersasenseofdespair.ButHemingwayheroespossessakindof“despairingcourage”asBertrandRussellterms.Itisthiscouragethatenablesamantobehavelikeaman,toasserthisdignityinfaceofadversity.SurelyHemingwayheroesdiffer,onefromanother,intheirviewoftheworld.ThedifferencewhichcomesgraduallyinviewisanindextothesubtlechangewhichHemingway’soutlookhadundergone.
Expressionism
ExpressionismreferstoamovementinGermanyearlyinthe20thcentury,inwhichanumberofpainterssoughttoavoidtherepresentationofexternalrealityand,instead,toprojectahighlypersonalorsubjectivevisionoftheworld.Themainprincipleinvolvedisthatexpressiondeterminesform,andthereforeimagery,punctuation,syntax,andsofo