《美国文学》课件Realism new

1、RealismIt refers to the approach of realist fiction which occurred at the latter part of the 19th century.In fact, the rise of realism came as a protest against the falseness and sentimentality, which the realists thought they saw in romantic literature. The realists were determined to create a new

2、kind of literature that was completely and totally realistic. Backgroundcivil warthe gilded ageimmigrant Boomingsocial problemsAmerica RealismIn American literature, the term realism encompasses the period of time from the Civil War to the turn of the century.Realists: William Dean Howells,Henry Jam

3、es, Mark TwainFeaturesFocuses on commonness of the lives of the common people; characters are from all social levelsOffers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience. FeaturesAvoid the sensational, dramatic elements of romances, aspects of contemporary life and

4、everyday scenes are represented in a straightforward or matter-of-fact manner.FeaturesDiction is natural vernacular, not poetic; tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact. Local ColorismTerm applied to fiction or verse which emphasizes its setting, being concerned with the character of a distric

5、t or of an era, as marked by its customs, dialect, costumes, landscape, or other peculiarities that have escaped standardizing cultural influences.Local ColorismA trend became dominant in American literature in the late 1860s and early 1870s. It is a variation of American literary realism. The defin

6、ition from Hamlin Garland: “such quality of texture and background that it could not have been written in any other place or by anyone else than a native” Local ColorismTexture: speech, customs and mores of one particular regionBackground: the physical setting which shapes local peoples thought and

7、behavior.Local ColorismRealism first appeared in the United States in the literature of local color, an amalgam of romantic plots and realistic descriptions of things immediately observable: the dialects, customs, sights, and sounds of regional America. Local ColorismBret Harte in the 1860s was the

8、first American writer of local color to achieve wide popularity . He presented stories about western mining towns involving colorful gamblers, outlaws, and scandalous women. Thereafter editors-ever sensitive to public taste-demanded, and such writers as Harte, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Mark Twain p

9、rovided regional stories and tales of the life of Americas Westerners, Southerners, and Easterners.Local Colorism. Local-color fictions reached its peak of popularity in the 1880s, but by the turn of the century it had begun to decline as its limited resources were exhausted and as its most popular

10、writers grew tediously repetitious or turned to other literary modesMark TwainOne of Americas first and foremost realists , humorists, the true father of American literature.(William Faulkner )Mark TwainMark Twain , which means “ two fathoms” was the pen name of Samuel Langhore ClemensMark Twain1835

11、 Born in Florida, Missouri. Halleys comet visible from earth. 1839 Moves to Hannibal, Missouri, which later serves as the model town for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Mark TwainA view of Hannibal from the MississippiMark TwainWorks as a :printership pilotreporterwriter lecturerMark TwainMarries L

12、ivy. Nook Farm house in HartfordDuring those years Sam completed some of his most famous books.A Tramp Abroad. (1880)Prince and the Pauper. (1881)Life on the Mississippi. (1883)The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court. (1889)Mark Twain1891 Leaves Hartford t

13、o live in Europe because of financial difficulties. Paige typesetter company bankrupts. 1895 Goes on worldwide lecture tour to restore finances.Mark Twain1904 Livy dies. 1910 Visits Bermuda for the last time. Dies at Stormfield, buried in Elmira. Halleys comet visible from earth. Mark TwainThe celeb

14、rated jumping frog of Calaveras county, and other sketches(1867). This work marked the beginning of Twains literary career. It is a collection of short stories from oral tales, tall tales that he heard in the west.Major worksLife on the Mississippi (1883) tells a story of his boyhood ambition to bec

15、ome a riverboat pilot.The Adventure of Tom Sawyer (1876), is usually regarded as a classic book written for boys about their particular horrors and joys. It has become the image of a peaceful small-town American boyhood for millions of people, not only in the United States but throughout the world.T

16、he Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)The book marks the climax of Twains literary creativity. It is considered as the best book that Twain ever produced. Hemingway once described the novel the one book from which all modern American literature comes. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)It wa

17、s also one of the first novels ever written in the vernacular, or common speech, being told in the first person Satire This novel shows Twains satire on southern culture before the Civil War, around 1850, when the Mississippi Valley was still being settled. Twain condemned racial discrimination. Sty

18、le Vernacular language and dialect. Local Color Twain depicted social life through descriptions of local places and people he knew best.PlotThe story is set before the American Civil War, probably in the 1830s. Huck, is a loose-living young vagabond with no mother and an alcoholic father. He meets J

19、im, a slave who is about to be sold down the river and separated from his wife and children, and they attempt to go down the Mississippi River and then up the Ohio to freedom. The book tells of their adventures together.The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnIt was publi

20、shed in 1885 It is commonly accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. It was also one of the first novels ever written in the vernacular, or common speech, being told in the first person It is also a great example of a bildungsromanEarnest Hemingway: All modern American literature comes f

21、rom one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn But its the best book weve had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since. Themes of The Adventures of Huckleberry FinConflict between civilization and natural life“ Mockery of Religion Slavery Money Freedom inhumanity Twain is known as a local colorist. Who preferred to present social life through p