Stephen Crane斯蒂芬·克莱恩.ppt

1、a,1,Stephen Crane (1871-1900),American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist As a representative of American Naturalism and Impressionism, Stephen Crane is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.,a,2,Introduction,a,3,Brief Introduction:,He is

2、 an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. He wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.,a,4,Characteristics Descript

3、ive vividness Intensity Distinctive dialects Irony,Common themes Fear Spiritual crisis Ideals vs realities Social isolation,a,5,Life,Crane, the youngest of 14 children, was born in 1871 in Newark, New Jersey. His father was a strict minister, who died in 1880, leaving his devout, strong mother to ra

4、ise the rest of the family. He attended preparatory school at the Claverack College (1888-1890). He spent less than two years at Syracuse University and then went to New York City to become a journalist .,a,6,He wrote his first book, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and published it in 1893 at his expe

5、nse. In 1895 the publication of The Red Badge of Courage and of his first book of poems, The Black Riders, brought him international fame. He was hired to go to Cuba as a journalist to cover the Spanish-American War . On the way to the island, Crane was in a shipwreck. This experience directly led t

6、o his most famous short story The Open Boat (1897).,a,7,When staying in Jacksonville, Florida, he met the owner of a brothel, Cora Taylor. This meeting was the beginning of a love affair and she accompanied him to Greece as he reported on the Greco-Turkish War for New York newspapers; and stayed wit

7、h him until the end of his life.,a,8,After reporting on the Spanish-American War, Crane returned home to England, where he made friends with Joseph Conrad, H.G. Wells, and Henry James. The stress of this life, compounded by an almost blatant（公然的） disregard for his own health, led to his contracting

8、tuberculosis （肺结核）. He died in June 1900, at the age of 29.,a,9,His Major Works,Novels Maggie: A Girl of the Streets 街头女郎玛吉 The Red Badge of Courage 红色英勇勋章 The Little Regiment The Third Violet Active Service Georges Mother,the first work of American literary Naturalism.,a,10,Short Stories The Open B

9、oat 海上扁舟 The Monster 怪物 The Blue Hotel 蓝色旅馆 The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky 新娘来到黄天镇 Poems The Black Riders 黑骑者 War is Kind 战争是仁慈的 Historical book Great Battles of the World 世界之伟大战役,a,11,Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,Cranes first novel. It talks about a pretty young slum girl driven to brutal excesses

10、by poverty and loneliness. It was considered so sexually frank and realistic, that the book had to be privately printed at first.,Eventually it was hailed as the first genuine expression of Naturalism in American letters and established its creator as the American apostle of an artistic revolution w

11、hich was to alter the shape and destiny of civilization itself.,a,12,The Red Badge of Courage: an episode of the American Civil War,one of the finest books of American literature; It was innovative stylistically as well as psychologically. Often described as a war novel, it focuses less on battle an

12、d more on the main characters psyche and his reactions and responses in a wartime situation.,It reflects the private experience of Henry Fleming, a young soldier who flees from combat.,a,13,Poetry,The poetic style was unconventional. It was written in free verse without rhyme, meter, or even titles

13、for individual works. They are typically short in length and most do not use stanzas(节) and refrains（叠句）.,a,14,Significant Style,Cranes works reflect many of the major artistic concerns at the end of the nineteenth century, especially naturalism, impressionism, and symbolism. His works insist that p

14、eople live in a universe of vast and indifferent natural forces. Many readers (including Hamlin Garland and Joseph Conrad, who were personal friends of Crane) have used the term “impressionist” to describe Cranes vivid renderings of visual beauty and uncertainty.,a,15,Writing technique :,Naturalism

15、Realism Impressionism the use of color and chiaroscuro,a,16,The Open Boat is often classified as a work of naturalism because of the works philosophical speculations.,a,17,Definition,As a genre, naturalism emphasized heredity and environment as important deterministic forces shaping individualized c

16、haracters who were presented in special and detailed circumstances. At bottom, life was shown to be ironic, even tragic.,a,18,Features of naturalist writing:,A. naturalist writers turned literary creation into a mechanical record of society, in a way of attempting to achieve extreme objectivity and

17、frankness. They never made comments on the characters and their behaviors. B. The characters were often figures of low social and economic classes, some physically strong but weak-willed figures. There were also some healthy and lofty persons, but their ending were miserable. C. The viewpoint from w

18、hich the writers understood problems was amoral, or non-moral. They stressed men had no free will, their lives were controlled by heredity and environment.,a,19,Realism,It broadly defines as the faithful representation of reality or verisimilitude“. Realism is a literary technique practiced by many

19、schools of writing.,a,20,Difference between realism and naturalism,Unlike realism, which focuses on literary technique, naturalism implies a philosophical position: for naturalistic writers, since human beings are, in Emile Zolas phrase, human beasts, characters can be studied through their relation

20、ships to their surroundings.,a,21,Both modes often deal with the local and contemporary. The naturalist, however, discovers in this material the extraordinary and excessive in human nature.,a,22,Impressionism Impressionism is a style of painting that gives the impression made by the subject on the a

21、rtist without much attention to details .Writers accepted the same conviction that the personal attitudes and moods of the writer were legitimate elements in depicting character or setting or action . Briefly, it is a style of literature characterized by the creation of general impression and moods

22、rather than realistic moods .,a,23,文学方面的印象主义，一般来说是一种高度个性化的写作手法，反映作家的个人气质。 创作方法是致力于捕捉模糊不清的转瞬即逝的感觉印象。 文学中的印象主义者更注意这种瞬间感觉经验如何转化为感情状态。 反对对所描写的事物之间的联系进行合乎逻辑或理性的提炼加工，于是他们本人也成了传达外界刺激与本能反应之间的中介。,a,24,Contrasts man and nature/ boat and waves ( the sea) / man and creatures on the sea ( birds) / the beauty of

23、nature and the cruelty of nature/sea travellers and land dwellers ,a,25,Perspective One of the main themes of the story concerns the limitations of any one perspective, or point of view. Cranes famous first sentence of the story presents this theme immediately: “None of them knew the color of the sk

24、y.” The men in the boat are so focused on the danger presented to them by the waves that they are oblivious(忘却的) to all else.,Theme,a,26,The story continually emphasizes the limitations of a single perspective. When the shipwrecked men are first spotted from the shore, they are mistaken for fisherme

25、n. The people on shore do not perceive their distress and only wave cheerfully to the men. Crane writes of the men in the boat that if they were viewed “from a balcony, the whole thing would doubtless have been weirdly picturesque.” This serene perspective contrasts markedly with the frightening and

26、 violent reality the men in the boat are experiencing. Cranes point seems to be that humans can never fully comprehend the true quality of reality, but only their own limited view of it.,a,27,Death The drama of the story comes from the mens realization that they are likely to drown. Having to confro

27、nt the probability of their own imminent death, each of the characters accepts what Crane calls a “new ignorance of the grave-edge.” (P118) It is interesting that Crane refers to this understanding as “ignorance” rather than “knowledge.” Being at the mercy of fate has demonstrated to them how wrong

28、their previous beliefs about their own importance had been. The correspondent, in particular, is troubled by the senselessness of his predicament, and he thinks about a poem in which a French soldier dies, unceremoniously（随便地）, far from his home and family.,a,28,Facing senseless death, the universe

29、suddenly seems deprived of the meaning he had previously attached to it. Thus, he is overtaken by a new “ignorance” about life, rather than a new “knowledge.” Crane seems to endorse（赞同） the idea that nature is random and senseless by having the oiler drown in the surf. Of all the men, the oiler seem

30、ed the most likely to survive, being the most physically fit. His death implies that the others survival was merely the result of good fortune. Once the survivors are safe from danger, however, deaths senselessness is quickly forgotten.,a,29,Free Will One of the main concerns of the Naturalists invo

31、lved the dilemma of whether human beings could exercise control over their fate or whether their fate was predetermined by their environment. To state it differently, they asked whether humans possess a free will or were powerless to shape external events. The Naturalists analyzed the various natura

32、l forces that effected the “struggle for life.” These concerns are evident in “The Open Boat.”,a,30,Although the four men are clearly making the best effort to get to shore, it is never certain until the end whether they will drown. Their fate seems to rest mostly in the hands of forces beyond their

33、 control. A prime example of this comes when the correspondent gets caught in a current while trying to swim to the shore. He is trapped by an invisible force an underwater current which he can neither understand nor escape. For unknown reasons, the current suddenly frees him and he is washed ashore

34、 by a giant wave. It seems clear that Crane attributes the correspondents survival more to uncontrollable forces than to his own efforts.,a,31,4 Characters,Captain: The captain is injured and unable to help row the lifeboat. The captain is more forlorn(绝望的)and dejected（沮丧的） than the other characters after having lost his ship. And yet he feels that it is his duty to guide the men to safety. Cook: In the story the cook is described as fat and untidily dressed. He does not help row, but he does bail s