美国文学复习题

American RealismI.Fill in the blanks.1. Realism had originated in the country _ as a literary doctrine that called for reality and truth in the depiction of ordinary life.2. The arbiter of nineteenth century literary realism in America was_ .3. _ probed deeply at the individual psychology of his characters, writing in a rich and intricate style that supported his intense scrutiny of complex human experience.4. _ , breaking out of the narrow limits of local color fiction, described the breadth of American experience as no one had ever done before, or since.5. _ had an evident influence on naturalism. It seemed to stress the animality of man, to suggest that he was dominated by the irresistible forces of evolution.6. The poetic style Walt Whitman devised is now called _ , that is poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme.7. In his cluster of poems called Leaves of Grass, _ gave America its first genuine epic poem.8. There is no doubt that the solitary Emily Dickinson of _ , Massachusetts , is a poet of great power and beauty.9. There was only one female prose writer in the nineteenth century. That was_ 10. Harriet Beecher Stowe s masterpiece is_ .11. Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better known by the pen name_ .12. One of Samuel Langhorne Clemens best books_ is built around his experiences as a steamboat pilot.13. The result of Mark Twain s European trip was a series of newspaper articles, later published as a book called_ .14. _ was the first literary giant born west of the Mississippi.15. Mark Twains work_ tells of the visits of an angel to the village of Eseldorf in Austria in 1590.16. William Sidney Porter, whose pen name was_ , was the author of The Cop and the Anthem.17. Many of O. Henrys stories tell about the life of poor people in_ .18. 0. Henry sympathized with the poors lot and hated those rich who exploited and despised them. This is especially seen in his story entitled_ .19. It is said that O. Henry imitated a French author named _ as a model, and there is indeed much in common between these two writers.20. The title of one of O. Henry s books_ indicates that he considered all the people of New York City worth writing about, instead of only the upper class.21. Henry James first novel is_ , which failed to make him famous.22. The novel which was described by an American critic as an outrage to American girlhood is Henry James _ .23. Henry James first important fiction was_ , in which he took up for the first time the theme of The American in Europe.24. In 1881, Henry James published his novel _ , which is generally considered as his masterpiece.25. _ is considered the founder of Psychological realism. He believed that reality lies in the impressions made by life on the spectator.26. The name of the heroine in The Portrait of a Lady is _ .27. In 1902 Jack London published his first novel_ .28. _ is the novel into which Jack London put most of himself.29. The first novel of Theodore Dreiser was_ .30. The identification of potency with money is at the heart of Theodore Dreisers masterpiece_ .31. The protagoniswof Theodore Dreisers Trilogy of Desire is _ .32. Theodore Dreiser visited the Soviet Union in 1927 and published_ the following year.33. Theodore Dreisers novel_ , a commercial and critical failure when first published in 1900, was reissued in 1907 and won high praise for its grim, naturalistic portrayal of American society.34. Mark Twain s first novel, _ was an artistic failure, but it gave its name to the America of the postbellum period which it attempts to satirize.35. Three years life on the Mississippi left such a fond memory with Mark Twain that he returned to the theme more than once in his writing career. His book_ relates it in a vivid, moving way.36. _was Mark Twain s masterpiece from which, as Hemingway noted, all modern American literature comes. 37. The best work that Mark Twain ever produced is_ , which was a success from its first publication in 1884, and has always been regarded as one of the great books of western literature and western civilization.38. _ is the pioneer who wrote in the naturalistic tradition.39. Stephen Crane s novel_ relates the story of a good woman s down fall and destruction in a slum environment.40. War in the novel _ by Stephen Crane is a plain slaughter-house. There is nothing like valor or heroism on the battlefield, and if there is anything , it is the fear of death, cowardice, the natural instinct of man to run from danger.41. Benjamin Frank Norris s novel_ has been called the first full-bodied naturalistic American novel and a consciously naturalistic manifesto.42. Jack Londons masterwork_ is somewhat autobiographical.43. O. Henrys_ is a very moving story of a young couple who sell their best possessions in order to get money for a Christmas present for each other.II. Decide whetherthe statements are true or false.1. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, women somewhat became the nation s dominant culture force.2. In the late nineteenth century, although Americans continued to read the works of Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe, the great age ofAmerican romanticism had ended.3. Earlier in the nineteenth century, James Fenimore Cooper had insisted on the authors right to present an idealized and poetic portrait of life, to avoid representations of squalid misery.4. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the realists rejected the portray al of idealized characters and events*5. The American realists sought to describe the wide range of American experience and to present the subtleties of human personality.6. After the Civil War, the Frontier was closing. Disillusionment and frustration were widely felt. What had been expected to be a Golden Age turned to be a Gilded one.7. By the 1870s New England Renaissance had waned. The age of Romanticism and Transcendentalism was by and large over. The age of realism had arrived.8. As a literary movement, realism came in the latter half of the nineteenth century, as a reaction against the lie of romanticism.9. Mark Twain had, as his aim of writing, the soul, the life and the speech of the people in mind.10. As a critic of eminent standing and as a prolific writer, Mark Twain helped to mould public taste and became the champion of literary realism in America. 11. Placed in historical perspective, William Dean Howells is found lacking in qualities and depth. But anyhow he is a literary figure worthy of notice.12. Mark Twain s later works unmistakably showed his change from an optimist and humorist to an almost despairing determinist.13. Life on the Mississippi was such a truthful description that William Dean Howells felt that he could taste the mud in it.14. Tom Sawyer walked out of Twain s pages directly from his fresh memory of his boyhood in the west.15. Mark Twain should be remembered both as a great literary artist and a great social critic in the history of the U. S.16. Stephen Crane died of tuberculosis in Germany at the age of 28.17. William Dean Howells s The Rise of Silas Lapham is a fine specimen of American realistic writing.18. The bulk of Americas literary realism was limited to optimistic treatment of the surface of life.19. The greatest of Americas realists, such as Henry James and Mark Twain, moved well beyond a superficial portrayal of nineteenth-century America.20. American naturalism, like realism, had come from Europe.21. The triumph of realism, even in the twentieth century did bring an absolute end to the romanticism.22. Most of the poems in Leaves of Grass are about man and nature.23. While working for the Virginia City Enterprise, Samuel Langhorne Clemens adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain, the cry of a boatman taking soundings, and meaning two fathoms.24. Mark Twain s last writings revealed the deep grief his personal losses had caused him and reflected the deep cynicism and disillusionment with his world.25. Many of O. Henry s stories contain a lot of slang and colloquial expressions, just like his own speech.26. Henry James was not only one of the most important realists of the period before the First World War, but also one of the most expert stylists of his time.27. In subject matter, Henry James began as a realist and ended as a psychological novelist.28. Henry James was a realist in the same way as one views the realism of Mark Twain or William Dean Howells.29. Henry James did not think that art or literature ought to have a moral function.30. If Henry James was a realist, he was a realist of spirit.31. Henry James was a pioneer in utilizing psychological devices which communicated a more intense realization of character and situation.32. Henry James greatest influence was exerted not on his own age but on the one that followed.33. Generally speaking, Jack London was much more interested in ideas than Stephen Crane and less sentimental than Benjamin Frank Norris.34. Jack London was usually considered as a naturalist by literary historians.35. Theodore Dreiser is half socialist and half cosmological pessimist.36. The protagonist of An American Tragedy, produced by Theodore Dreiser, is Eugene Witla.37. Sister Carrie is generally regarded as Theodore Dreisers masterpiece.38. Hurstwood is a character in Theodore Dreisers Sister Carrie.III. Make multiple choices. 1. In the late 19th century, a host of new writers appeared, among them were _.A. Bret Harte B. William Dean HowellsC. Hamlin Garland D. Mark Twain2.Influenced by such Europeans as_ , Americas most noteworthy new authors established a literature of realism.A. Zola B. Flaubert C. Balzac D. Tolstoy3.William Dean Howells defined realism as nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material , and he best exemplified his theories in three novels. Choose them from the following.A. The Modem Instance B. The Rise of Silas LaphanC. A Hazard of New Fortunes D. The Prince and the Pauper4.Mark Twain created, in_ , a masterpiece of American realism that is also one of the great books of world literature.A. Huckleberry FinnB. Tom SawyerC. The Man That Corrupted HadleyburgD. The Gilded Age5.The pessimism and deterministic ideas of naturalism pervaded the works of such American writers as_ .A. Stephen Crane B. Benjamin Frank NorrisC. Jack London D. Henry JamesE. Theodore Dreiser6.Although realism and naturalism were products of the nineteenth century, their final triumph came in the twentieth century, with the popular and critical successes of such writers as_ .A. Edwin Arlington Robinson B. Willa CatherC. Sherwood Anderson D. Robert FrostE. William Faulkner7. American literature produced only one female poet during the nineteenth century. This was _.A. Anne Bradstreet B. Jane AustenC. Emily Dickinson D. Harriet Beecher8.Choose the works written by Mark Twain.A. The Adventures of Tom SawyerB. Innocents AbroadC. Life on the MississippiD. The Tragedy of Pudd nhead WilsonE. The Prince and the Pauper9.The publication of the novel_ stirred a great nation to its depths and hurried on a great war.A. My Bondage and My Freedom B. Stanzas on FreedomC. Voices of Freedom D. Uncle Tom s Cabin10.Mark Twain had led an active life in the very center of the American experience. He had been a_ .A. printer, pilot, soldier B. silver-minor, gold-washer C. lecturer, traveler, businessman D. novelist, autobiographer11.Which statements about O. Henry are right?A. He wrote about the poor people.B. His stories are usually short and humorous.C. The plots of his stories are exceedingly clever and interesting.D. The ends of his stories are always surprising.E.Many of his stories contain a great deal of slang and colloquial expressions.12.Where Mark Twain and William Dean Howells satirized European manners at times, _ was an admirer.A. O. Henry B. Henry JamesC. Walt Whitman D. Jack London13.Choose the well-known short stories written by William Sidney Porter.A. The Gift of the Magi B. An Unfinished StoryC. The Furnished Room D. The Voice of the CityE. The Cop and the Anthem14.Choose the novels written by Henry James.A. The American B. Daisy MillerC. The Portrait of a Lady D. The Tragic MuseE. The Golden Bowl 15. Choose the novel which is not written by Henry James.A. The Ambassadors B. The Wings of the DoveC. The Bostonians D. The Princess CasamassimaE. The Mysterious Stranger 14. Jack London s sincere intellectual and personal involvement in the socialist movement is recorded in such novels and polemical works as_ .A. The People of the Abyss B. The Iron HeelC. RevolutionD. The War of the Classes17.While embracing the socialism of Marx, London also believed in the triumph of the strongest individuals. This contradiction is most vividly projected in the patently autobiographical novel_ .A. The Call of the Wild B. The Sea WolfC. Martin Eden D. The Iron Heel18.In 1900, London published his first collection of short stories, named_ A. The Son of the Wolf B. The Sea WolfC. The Law of Life D. White Fang19. Dreisers Trilogy of Desire includes three novels. Find them from the following.A. The Financier B. The TitanC. The Genius D. The StoicE. Jannie Gerhardt20.The Lure of the Spirit; The Flesh in Pursuit is the title of one chapter in Dreisers novel_ .A. An American Tragedy B. Sister CarrieC. Dreiser Looks at Russia D. Jannie Gerhardt21.The main theme of_ The Art of Fiction reveals his literary credo that representation of life should be the main object of the novel.A. Henry James B. William Dean HowellsC. Mark Twains D. O. Henrys22.With William Dean Howells, James, and Mark Twain active on the scene, _ became the major trend in the seventies and eighties of the nineteenth century.A. sentimentalism B. romanticismC. realism D. naturalism23.Choose the three staunch advocates of nineteenth-century American realism.A. Mark Twain B. Henry JamesC. William Dean Howells D. Jack London24.Choose the works which contain bitter attacks on the human race.A. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs CourtB. The Man That Corrupted HadleyburgC. The Mysterious StrangerD. The Autobiography25.Mark Twain was a great social critic and a friend of the Chinese. His Disgraceful Percecution of a Boy is a scathing piece of criticism directed against the per secution of the_ immigrants in California.A. Quakers B. ChineseC. French D. Japanese26.Mark Twain stood on the side of China in its struggle against foreign invasions. His_ and_ are two notable examples of his vigorous at tacks on the imperialist behavior of the United States_ .A. The Treaty with ChinaB. To the Person Sitting in DarknessC. Disgraceful Persecution of a BoyD. Goldsmith s Friend Abroad Again27.Stephen Cranes best short stories include _, _, all reinforcing the basic Crane motif of environment and heredity overwhelming man.A. Open Boat B. The Blue HotelC. An Experiment in Misery D. The Red Badge of Courage28.Which writers have naturalist tendency?A. Stephen Crane B. Benjamin Frank NorrisC. Theodore Dreiser D. Edwin Arlington Robinson29.Theodore Dreiser was left-oriented in his views. He visited Russia and wrote and _ to express his new faith, and shortly before his death, he joined the Co