2025年美国文学要点与备考策略解析

1.WhdlisTranscendenlcilisni?

InNewEngland,anintellectualmovementknownastranscendentalism

developedasanAmericanversionofRomanticism.Themovementbeganamong

aninfluentialsetofauthorsbasedinConcord,Massachusetts,andwasledby

RalphWaldoEmerson.LikeRomanticism,Transcendentalismrejectedboth

18th-centuryrationalismandestablishedreligion,whichforthetranscendentalists

meantthePuritantraditioninparticular.Instead,thetranscendentalistscelebrated

thepowerofthehumanimaginationtocommunewiththeuniverseandtranscend

thelimitationsofthematerialworld.Thetranscendentalistsfoundtheirchief

sourceofinspirationinnature.Emerson*sessayNature(1836)wasthefirstmajor

documentofthetranscendentalschoolandstatedtheideasthatweretoremain

centraltoit.HisotherkeytranscendentalistworksincludeTheAmerican

Scholar(1837),avolumeinwhichheaddressedtheintellectuaTsdutytoculture,

andSelf-Reliance(1841),anessayinwhichheassertedtheimportanceofbeing

truetoone'snature.

2.WhatisLocalColorism?

Post-CivilWarAmericawaslargeanddiverse(variousenoughtosenseitsown

localdifference.Regionalvoiceshademergedfromnewlysettledterritoriesinthe

SouthandtothewestoftheAppalachan.Localcolorismisauniquevariationof

theAmericanliteraryrealism.Generally,theworksbylocalcoloristsareconcerned

withthelifeofasmall,well-definedregion.Thiskindoffictiondepictsthe

charactersfromaspecifiedsettingorofanera,whicharemarkedbyitscustoms,

dialects,Idndscdpe,orotherpeculidritiesIhdthaveescapedstdnddrdizingcuIturdI

influence.

3.Whatisnaturalism?

Inliterature,thetermreferstothetheorythatliterarycompositionshouldaim

atadetached,scientificobjectivityinthetreatmentofnaturalman.Themovement

isanoutgrowthof19th-centuryscientificthought,followingingeneralthe

biologicaldeterminismofDarwin,stheory,ortheeconomicdeterminismofKarl

Marx.Artistically,naturalisticwritingsareusuallyunpolishedinlanguage,lacking

inacademicskillsandunwieldyinstructure.Philosophically,thenaturalistsbelieve

thattherealandtrueisalwayspartiallyhiddenfromtheindividual,orbeyondhis

controlandthatmenarecontrolledandconditionedbyheredity,instinct,chance

andaboveallenvironment.NotablewritersofnaturalisticfictionwereStephen

Crane,FrankNorris,SherwoodAndersonandTheodoreDreiser.

4.Whatis^stream-of-consciousness*1?

StreamofconsciousnessisatermcoinedbyWilliamJamesinhisThe

PrinciplesofPsychologytodescribetheflowofthoughtsofthewakingmind.Now

itiswidelyusedinaliterarycontexttodescribetheunspokenthoughtsand

feelingsofthecharacters,withoutresorting(jiezhu)toobjectivedescriptionor

conventionaldialogue.ItwasadaptedanddevelopedbyJoyce,V.Woolf,and

others.Theabilitytorepresentthefluxofacharacter'sthought,impressions,

emotions,orreminiscences,oftenwithoutlogicalsequenceorsyntax,markeda

revolutionintheformofnoveldtthattimesThought,irnpressions,emotions,or

reminiscences,oftenwithoutlogicalsequenceorsyntax,markedarevolutionin

theformofnovelatthattime.

5.WhatistheLostGeneration?

TheLostGenerationreferstothedisillusioned(awaken)intellectualsand

artistsoftheyearsfollowingtheFirstWorldWar,whorebelledagainstformer

idealsandvaluesbutcouldreplacethemonlybydespairofacynicalhedonism.

TheremarkofGertrudeStein,“Youarealostgeneration/addressedto

Hemingway,wasusedasaprefacetothelatter1snovelTheSunalsoRises,which

brilliantlydescribesthoseexpatriates(yimin)whohadcutthemselvesofffromtheir

pastinAmericainordertocreatenewtypesofwriting.

6.WhatisBlackHumor?

Blackhumorisatypeofmodernhumorthatiscausedbyanger.Itoften

describesgruesomeevents,whicharenormallyassociatedwithpleasantoccasions,

thusproducingthecongruouseffectforhumor.Blackhumorattacksonsocial

moresthroughshockinglanguageandoffensiveimagery.Blackhumorisakindof

desperatehumor.Itisthelaughterattragicthings.Inthismeaninglessworld,

accordingtoBlackHumorists,man'sfateisdecidedbyincomprehensivepowers.

Wecan'tdoanythingaboutit;thereforewemayaswelllaugh.Sardonicand

imaginative20th-centuryAmericanwritersoftenusedthenoveltoridiculesociety.

SuchnovelistsasThomasPynchon,JohnBarth,andKurtVonnegut,cametobe

neverconfinedthelimitlesspowerofhercredtivityandinidgindtion.usetoher

deliberateseclusion,herpoemstendtobeverypersonalandmeditative.

Dickinson/spoetry,despiteitsostensibleobviousformalsimplicity,isremarkable

foritsvariety,subtletyandrichness;andherlimitedprivateworldhavenever

confinedthelimitlesspowerofhercreativityandimagination.

9.WhatisthefeatureofthemaincharacterinW.FaulknerrsARoseforEmily?

ARoseforEmilyisFaulkner,sfirstshortstorypublishedin1930.Setinthe

townofJeffersoninYoknapatawpha,thestoryfocusesonEmily,aneccentric

spinsterwhorefusedtoacceptthepassageoftime,ortheinevitablechangeand

lossthataccompaniesit.AsadescendentoftheSouthernaristocracy,Emilyis

typicalofthoseinFaulkner'sYoknapatawphastoriesthatarethesymbolsofthe

OldDeepSouthbuttheprisonersofthepast.Thedeformed(disabled)personality

andabnormalityEmilydemonstratesFaulkner,spointofviewthatbyalienating

oneselffromreality,apersonisboundtobeatragedy.Emilyisregardedasthe

symboloftraditionandtheoldwayoflife.Thusherdeathparallelswiththe

declineoftheOldSouth.

10.WilliamFaulkner,aNobelPrizewinner;hasanimportantpositionin

Americanliterature.Doyouknowanythingabout"YoknapatawphaCounty?"What

arehisartisticachievements?

aYoknapatawphaCountyisanimaginedplacebasedonFaulkner'sown

hometown,aplacethathetookforthesettingof15ofhis19novelsandmany

shortstories.ThissnidllregionintheAmericanSouthbecomesinFaulkner'sfiction

anallegoryoraparableoftheOldDeepSouth.

b.TheSoundandtheFury,hismasterpiece,isanaccountofthetragic

downfalloftheCompsonfamily.Thenovelusesfourdifferentnarrativevoicesto

piecetogetherthestoryandthuschallengesthereaderbypresentinga

fragmentedplottoldfrommultiplepointsofview.HewasawardedtheNobel

Prizeinliteraturein1949.Faulknerespeciallywasinterestedinmultigenerational

familychronicles,andmanycharactersappearinmorethanonebook;thisgives

theYoknapatawphaCountysagaasenseofcontinuitythatmakestheareaandits

inhabitantsseemreal.

11.WhatarethestylisticfeaturesofHemingway'snovels?

Hemingway,snovelsaremainlyconcernedwith“tough“people,knownfor

theHemingwayheroofathleticprowess(weili)andmasculinity(male)and

unyielding(nevergiveup)heroism,whoseessentialcourageandhonestyare

implicitly(implied)contrastedwiththebrutalityofcivilizedsociety.Hedealswitha

limitedrangeofcharactersinquitesimilarcircumstanceandmeasuresthem

againstanunvaryingcode,knownas"graceunderpressure",whichisactually

anattitudetowardslifethatHemingwayhadbeentryingtodemonstrateinhis

works.Inthegeneralsituationofhisnovels,lifeisbutalosingbattle;however,itis

alsoastrugglemancandemonstrateinsuchawaythatlossbecomesdignity;man

canbephysicallydestroyedbutneverdefeatedspiritually.

Heniingwayoncesaid,“ThedignityofrTiovementofanicebergisduetoonly

one-eightof

itbeingabovewater.eightofitbeingabovewater?Typicalofthis

“iceberg"analogy(leisi)isHemingway,sstyle:Hemingway,seconomical

writingstyleoftenseemssimple,buthismethodis

calculated(rightquadrangle).Inhiswriting,Hemingwayprovideddetached

descriptionsofaction,usingsimplenounsandverbstocapturescenesprecisely.

Bydoingsoheavoideddescribinghischaracter1semotionsandthoughtsdirectly.

Hemingwaywasdeeplyconcernedwithauthenticityinwriting.Besides,

HemingwaydevelopsthestyleofcolloquialisminitiatiedbyMarkTwain.The

accentsandmannerisms(specialhabit)ofhumanspeecharewellpresented,and

theuseofshort,simplewordsandsentenceshasaneffectofclearness,terseness

andgreatcare.

12.WhatisthethemeandthemajorcharacterinF.S.Fitzgerald*sTheGreat

Gatsby?

ConsideredasFitzgerald7sfinestwork,TheGreatGatsby,writtenincrisp,

conciseproseandtoldbyNickCaraway,asatiricyetsympatheticnarrator;itisthe

storyofJayGatsby,ayoungAmericanfromtheMidwest.Gatsbybecomesa

bootleggerinordertoattainthewealthandlavishwayoflifehefeelsare

necessarytowintheloveofDaisy,amarried,upper-classwomanwhohadonce

rejectedhim.ThestoryendstragicallywithGatsby*sdestruction.Thebookdeals

withthebdnkruplcyoftheprotdguriists/personaldredrusduetotheclashes

betweentheirromanticvisionoflifeandthesordidreality.

Theheroofthenovel,Gatsby,isthelastofromanticheroes,whoseenergyand

senseofcommitmenttakeshiminsearchofhispersongrail.Gatsby*sfailure

magnifiestoagreatextenttheendoftheAmericandream.Theprotagonist1s

pursuitofhisdreamonlyprovestobenothingbut