美国文学史及作品选读教案(6).doc

Lecture 6The Age of Realism and Naturalism: Henry James Teaching ContentAmerican Realism; Henry James Time Allotment2 periods Teaching Objectives and Requirements1 Help the students to know about American Realism.2 Help the students to know about Henry James Key Points and Difficult Points in Teaching1 American Realism 2 Henry James 3 Daisy Miller Teaching Methods and Means Lecture; Discussion; Multi-media Teaching Process1 American Realism (1865-1918)1.1 Historical Background The Civil War (1861-1865), a struggle of industry and capitalist democracy against agriculture and slavery, was a turning point in American history. After the War, great changes took place in America. First of all, the Civil War affected both the social and value system of the country: a Jeffersonian agrarian community into an industrialized and commercialized society; wilderness giving way to civilization. The War also brought some noticeable changes to the American economy: industry developing at an unprecedented rate; agricultural productivity increasing dramatically; cities expanding at an alarming rate. However, the changes were not all for better: the wealth was more than ever in the possession of the few; business and financial tycoons were honored as national heroes and as models for the youth; life for the millions was fast becoming a veritable struggle for survival. It was what Mark Twain called “The Gilded Age”, an age of extremes: of decline and progress, of poverty and dazzling wealth, of gloom and buoyant hopean age of gaudy excesses that one historian described as “The Great Barbecue”. (P116-117)1.2 Features of American Realism American Realism, a literary movement, came in the latter half of the nineteenth century in the form of local color (the careful attention to details of the physical scene and to those mannerisms in speech, dress, or behavior peculiar to a geographical locality) as a reaction against “the lie” of romanticism and sentimentalism. It expressed the concern for the world of experience, of the commonplace, and for the familiar and the low. It aimed at the interpretation of the actualities of any aspect of life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color. In matters of style, there was a contrast between the genteel and graceful prose on the one hand, and vernacular diction and rough and ready frontier humor on the other. (P118)(William Dean Howells, defining realism as “nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material”, Henry James, Mark Twain)2 Henry James (1843-1916)2.1 Life Born into a wealthy and talented New York City family on April 15, 1843. Was one of the few authors in the American literary history who was not obliged to work for a living. As a youth, lived in New York, London, Paris and Rhode Island, and received a remarkably cosmopolitan and eclectic education. In 1862, entered Harvard Law School, where he met William Dean Howells and developed a lifelong friendship with the man. During his study at Harvard, read intensively Balzac, Merimee and George Sand, and also studied earnestly the novels of Gorge Eliot and Hawthorne. He toured England, France and Italy, and met among others, Flaubert and Turgenev. In 1876, settled in London. In 1915, became a naturalized British citizen. In 1916, died without being married.2.2 James creative life The first period: 1865-1882, a period of “international theme”, The American (1877), Daisy Miller (1878), The Europeans (1878), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), considered to be his masterpiece. The second period: 1882-1895, a period of different themes and forms, focusing on inter-personal relationships, The Bostonians (1886), The Princes Casamassima (1886), The Private Life (1893), The Death of a Lion (1894) The third period: 1895-1905, a major period, returning to “international theme”, The What Maisie Know (1897), Turn of the Screw (1898), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Beast in the Jungle (1903), The Ambassadors (1903), The Golden Bowl (1904) 2.3 James contribution to literature Jamess fame generally rests upon his novels and stories with the international theme. He helped perfect the art of writing. He developed gradually from early evaluation in terms of stiff moral standards to inductive inquiry, flexibility, and a subtle perfection of aesthetic nuances. James literary criticism is an indispensable of his contribution to literature. His criticism is both concerned with form and devoted to human values. He holds art must be related to life and art form would give the truthful impression of actuality (Essay: The Art of Fiction). He advocates an immense increase of freedom in novel writing and argues for inclusion of the disagreeable, the ugly, and the commonplace. He declares a work of art must lift up the heart; there is no substitute for the force and beauty of its process. He argues that the artist should be able to “feel” the life, to understand human nature, and then to record them in his own art form. James brought a new artistry and system to the English novel. James is a remarkable New World bridge (in the words of Leon Edel) from the Enlightenment to all that is “modern” in the literary art of the twentieth century. 2.4 James writing style James tried to be a recorder of the times. His realism, emphasizing the inner awareness and inward movements of his characters in face of outside occurrences, was called psychological realism. His literary technique was mainly concerned with “point of view”, “limited omniscience”. James Language, exquisite and elaborate, is not so easy to understand. He is outstanding in American literary history for his minute, detailed, lengthy psychological analysis. He is often highly refined and insightful. He is always accurate in word selection, trying to find the best expression for his literary imagination. In a word, his language is of “high-brow”. He is the most expert stylist of his time. 2.5 Discussion of Daisy Miller The story Frederick Winterbourne, the narrator of the story, is an American expatriate. While visiting Vevey, Switzerland, he meets the newly rich Mrs. Miller from Schenectady, New York, her son Randolph and her daughter Daisy. The Millers come from a country that advocates freedom and individuality. When they live among the Europeans they do not pay any attention to the complex code that underlies behavior in European society. Winterbourne is shocked at Daisys innocence and her mothers unconcern when Daisy accompanies him to the Castle of Chillon. Some months later, he meets the Millers in Rome, where Daisy has aroused suspicion by being seen constantly with Giovanelli, a third-rate Italian, without their being engaged. Daisy is abandoned by her former friends, because they think she has gone too far. Spending all the evenings in the Colosseum, Daisy is infected with Roman fever. She falls ill with malaria, and a week afterwards dies. At her funeral Winterbourne knows the truth that Daisy has never had fairs with Giovanelli and he regrets he has misunderstood Daisy and loses her forever. The Character Daisy Miller Daisy Miller embodies the spirit of the New World. She is innocent and has no social graces and conventional gifts, but is only interested in manipulating men and making herself the center of attention. However, innocence, the keynote of her character, turns out to be an admiring but a dangerous quality and her defiance of social taboos in the Old World finally brings her to a disaster in the clash between two different cultures. Daisy is just like a tender flower crushed by the harsh winter Rome. The major theme Daisy Miller treats what became Henry Jamess most famous theme, international theme: the meeting of America and Europe, American innocence in contact and contrast with European decadence, and its moral and psychological complications. These can be seen in such aspects: free spirit vs. moral restraint, nature vs. artificiality, innocence vs. knowledge, outward action vs. inward meditation. James was interested in the problems that result when independent and free-spirited Americans are introduced into an older, more sophisticated, and more restrictive European society. On the one hand, James admired Europes centuries of tradition, its art and culture, and he deplored Americas rawness and vulgarity. On the other hand, he distrusted Europe as overly refined, perhaps corrupting, and he applauded American energy, optimism, and innocence. Some symbols Daisy: representing America: young, fresh, ingenuous, innocent, well meaning, self-centered, unaware of social distinctions, and unwilling to adapt to the mores and standards of others. Randolph: a thinly veiled comment on the type of the “ugly American” tourist: boorish, boastful, and stridently nationalistic. Winterbourne: representing coldness: cold, stiff, sophisticated. Geneva and Rome: Geneva, the birthplace of Calvinism, the fanatical protestant sect that influenced so much of American culture, New England in particular, representing old American culture; Rome, a cradle of ancient civilization and the birthplace of the Renaissance, having many associations for cultivated people like Winterbourne and Mrs. Costello, representing both glory and corruption; it is a city of ruins, suggesting death an