美国文学复习资料

1、啊，船长！我的船长！O Captain！My Captain！啊，船长！我的船长！Walt Whitman （瓦尔特.惠特曼）O Captain!My Captain!Our fearful trip is done,啊！船长！我的船长！可怕的航程已完成；The ship has weatherd every rack, the prize we sought is won,这船历尽风险，企求的目标已达成。The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,港口在望，钟声响，人们在欢欣。While follow eyes th

2、e steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;千万双眼睛注视着船平稳，勇敢，坚定。But O heart!heart!heart!但是痛心啊！痛心！痛心！O the bleeding drops of red!瞧一滴滴鲜红的血！Where on the deck my Captain lies,甲板上躺着我的船长，Fallen cold and dead.他倒下去，冰冷，永别。O Captain! my Captain!rise up and hear the bells;啊，船长！我的船长！起来吧，倾听钟声；Rise up -for you the fl

3、ag is flung -for you the bugle trills,起来吧，号角为您长鸣，旌旗为您高悬：For you bouquets and ribbond wreaths-for you the shores crowding,迎接您，多少花束花圈候着您，千万人峰拥岸边；For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;他们向您高呼，拥来挤去，仰起殷切的脸；Here, Captain!dear father!啊，船长！亲爱的父亲！This arm beneath your head;我的手臂托着您的头！I

4、t is some dream that on the deck莫非是一场梦：在甲板上You ve fallen cold and dead.您倒下去，冰冷，永别。My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,我的船长不作声，嘴唇惨白，毫不动弹；My father does not feel my arm , he has no pulse nor will;我的父亲没感到我的手臂，没有脉搏，没有遗言；The ship is anchord safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;船

5、舶抛锚停下，平安抵达；船程终了；From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;历经难险返航，夺得胜利目标。Exult, O shores!and ring, O bells!啊，岸上钟声齐鸣，啊，人们一片欢腾！But I,with mournful tread,但是，我在甲板上，在船长身旁，Walk the deck my captain lies,心悲切，步履沉重；Fallen cold and dead.因为他倒下去，冰冷，永别。The USA finally won the Civil War after a lon

6、g hard struggle, but their great leader died before the triumph. Walt Whitman wrote the poem in memory of Lincoln with sadness and admiration.It used an iambic line with a traditional rhyming scheme aabbcded.Metaphor:Captain: Abraham LincolnFearful trip: the Civil WarShip: the United StatesPrize: pr

7、eservation of the unionSynecdoche(提喻): Eyes: people who are eagerly awaiting the ship return.Keel: the whole ship.Repetition: Heart: emphasizes the poets grief at the death of his captain.Fallen cold and dead: repeated at the end of each stanza to emphasize the poets deep loss.Contrast: 【the people

8、all exulting. VS Fallen cold and dead.】Give prominence to the value of the great figures sacrifice, and strengthen the effects of tragedy. 1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem? -In this poem the word&#

9、160;“Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.  2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? -Life is a journey. &

10、#160;3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad? -They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the spe

11、aker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.雪夜林边驻脚Whose woods these are I think I know, 我知道林子的主人是谁，His house is in the village though. 虽村落是他所居之地。He will not see me stopping here, 他不会看到我停留于此，To watch his woods fill up with snow

12、. 凝视他的林子雪花纷飞。My little horse must think it queer, 我的小马一定以我为怪，To stop without a farmhouse near, 近无房舍，为何停伫。Between the woods and frozen lake, 况只有林子与冰湖，The darkest evening of the year. 和一年中最黑之夜。He gives his harness bells a shake, 他轻摇铃具To ask if there is some mistake. 询问有错与否。The only other sounds the sw

13、eep, 唯一的回复来自，Of easy wind and downy flake. 软雪和清风。The woods are lovely, dark and deep. 林子很美昏暗而幽深，But I have promises to keep, 但我已有约定。And miles to go before I sleep. 沉醉前还有一段路要走And miles to go before I sleep 沉醉前还有一段路要走。Symbolism：Journey: life. Trip in snowy night reflects the hard real life.Dark: death

14、. Attracted by darkness means the poet hoped to get rid of the corrupted world.Continue his journey: his insistence and responsibility of life.The form is regular iambic tetrameter (four-beat lines); the rhyme scheme is a fairly complex one, aaba, bbcb, ccdc, and dddd.Frost uses the kind of familiar

15、 New England details that constitute this poetry for more than descriptive purposes.Although Frosts strategy is to talk about particular events and individual experience, his poems evoke universal issues. Frosts New England landscapes are the occasion rather than the ultimate focus of this poem.1.&#

16、160;In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? -The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of

17、0;the scene at that very moment.  2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? -The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, 

18、;cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.  3. Why couldnt the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? -He realized that

19、60;it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep,because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do. 4. 

20、;What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? -The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever h

21、appens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life. A Clean, Well-Lighted PlaceImportant theme: The nihility（虚无） in peoples life after World War I.Old man: deaf, lonely and desperate. with plenty of money but not happy. Mean

22、ingless life, isolation. Try to escape from the nihility(虚无) of life: attempt suicide but failed; try to get drunk to forget about life.【Reflection of the psychological mind of people after the First World War: material comfort but spiritually barren.】【hemingways hero: a man can by no means lose his

23、 dignity, no matter how he suffers in his life.】Young waiter：Impatient: let the brandy run down the glass.Shortsighted: blindly confident about life. No sense that his future life will just like the old man.Shallow, superficial understanding about life: He couldnt understand “why a man with plenty o

24、f money wants to kill himself ”.Indifferent , selfish, show no sympathy for the old man: “you should have killed yourself last week.”Older waiter：Mature and sober: he could understand the old mans nihility of life and feels pity for the old man because his life is like the old man and he feels lonel

25、y and sad too.Brave: However different from the old man, he isnt going to escape from the nihility in life. He bravely faced it and tries to live with it. Symbolism: darkness and chaos means nothing, desperation, senium and death. Light and neatness means spirit comfort against darkness and chaos. N

26、aturalism: life cannot avoid death, the existence of consciousness from the experience of nothingness. Symbols: The café: clean and well-lighted, symbol of the soul of shelter.Emptiness of the café: symbol of nihility: loneliness, depression, despair.The darkness outside the café: the

27、 cruel reality of that time.Questions 1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story? （1）The title A Clean Well-Lighted Place refers to the café in the text. The café was very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm a

28、nd comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.(2) However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him o

29、n the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to lea

30、ve the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title. 2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark？Why or wh

31、y not? （1）I dont think so. In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada，nothing in ones inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didnt understand the old mans suicide and excessive drinking, and fail

32、ed to see his tomorrow through the old mans present situation. （2）Whats more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didnt realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his me

33、taphorical dark. （3）I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity

34、 and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully. 3. The older waiter said to the younger waiter: “We are of two different kinds.” In what way do you think they are different? （1）I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects：In the beginning, they are

35、in different ages. The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger. （2）Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understa

36、nd the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man. （3）Next, they have different attitudes towards life. T

37、he older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take other

38、s into consideration. He even never thought of his future.（4）Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in ones whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work l

39、ate for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didnt realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his

40、 youth and confidence became useless. The Great GatsbyFitzgerald sees the American dream crumbling in the 1920s, as Americas powerful optimism, vitality, and individualism become subordinated to the amoral pursuit of wealth and pleasure.Sarcasm and criticism of the social situation.Degeneration and

41、distortion of the American dreamgain money in illegal way.Questions 1. Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why? （1）I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be - great or not. For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so

42、 extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisys attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause. （2）In this respect, he is much greater tha

43、n his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasnt the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasnt sober enough to be great. 2. Does “the green light” Gatsby believed i

44、n exist in reality? Why or why not ? （1）I think -the green light does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisys East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsbys unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright

45、future, Gatsbys quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air. （2）After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsb

46、ys dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and go

47、lden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush. 3. What does Gatsbys Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream? （1）The schedule is a reflection of Gatsbys determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goalto be an

48、upper-class man. （2）On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive. （3）He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so tha

49、t he can get access to his beloved girl. Money is important，but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsbys romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusi

50、on of American Dream. 4.When you read the line He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in , what images does it create in your mind, given the novels numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes? （1）From this line , supe

51、rficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who cannot see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of

52、 Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsbys tragedy. （2）After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburgs eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this

53、is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the peoples life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.

54、补充：1. Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the texts major themes.Eg. Geography，Weather2. Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.Eg. The Green Light; The Valley of Ashes; The Eyes

55、 of Doctor T. J. EckleburgTERMSImagism：A literary movement launched by British and American poets early in the 20th century that advocated the use of free verse, common speech patterns, and clear concrete images as a reaction to Victorian sentimentalism.American Romanticism: The Romantic period cove

56、rs the first half of the 19th century. A rising America with its ideals of democracy and equality, its industrialization, its westward expansion, and a variety of foreign influences made literary expansion possible following the nations political independence. Romanticism shares certain general char

57、acteristics: moral enthusiasm, faith in value of individualism and intuitive perception and a presumption that the natural world was a source of goodness and mans society a source of corruption. Transcendentalism: The major features of T can be summarized as follows: 1) the transcendentalist placed emphasis of spirit, or the Over Soul, as the most important thing in the universe; 2)They stressed importance of the individual; 3) They offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit of God. Transce