美国文学考试期末知识点

2021年1月22日发(作者：阚凤岗)
1. features
of
Puritanism
请教主义
(1)Predestination:
God
decided
everything
before
things
occurred.

(2)Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from
generation to generation.
(3)Total depravity(4)Limited atonement: Only the “elect” can be saved.

2, American Puritanism
美国请教主义的
Basic Puritan Beliefs

(1)Total Depravity - through Adam and Eve's fall, every person is born sinful - concept of Original
Sin.
(2)Unconditional
Election
-
God

those
he
wishes
-
only
a
few
are
selected
for
salvation - concept of predestination. (3)Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not
for everyone. (4)Irresistible Grace
- God's
grace
is
freely
given,
it
cannot
be earned
or
denied.
Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God.

(5)Perseverance of the
and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going
against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.
(6)Puritan
values
(creeds):
Hard
work,
thrift,
piety,
sobriety,
simple
tastes.
Puritans
are
more
practical, tougher, to be ever ready for any misfortune and tragic failure and optimistic..
nce on American Literature
对美国文学影响
定义
:America literature is in good measure
a literary expression of the pious idealism of the American Puritanism bequest. All literature is
based on a myth of garden of Eden.

Symbolism
象
征

the
American
puritan’s
metaphorical
mode
of
perception
was
chiefly
instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American. Symbolism as
a technique has become a common practice in American literature.
With regard to their writing, the style is fresh, simple and direct; the rhetoric is plain and honest,
not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the direct influence of the Bible.
4.
The
literary
Scene
in
colonial
America
殖民地的美国
Humble
origins:
diaries,
histories,
journals, letters,travel books, autobiographies/biographies, sermons


各种作家
Writers: (1)John Smith
: the first American writer
(2)Anne Bradstreet
: a Puritan poet ,The Complete Work:
Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America

(3)Edward Taylor
: a variety of verse: funeral elegies, lyrics, a medieval
Metrical History of Christianity
(mainly a history of martyrs). His best works, according to modern
critics, are the series of short Preparatory Meditations.
5;Features of Colonial Poets
殖民地诗人的特征

American literature grew out of humble origins. Diaries, histories, journals, letters, commonplace
books, travel books, sermons, in short, personal literature in its various forms, occupy a major
position in the literature of the early colonial period.

They faithfully imitated and transplanted English literary traditions.---In English style
They were servants of God.---Puritan poets
They served either God or colonial expansion or both.
6,
Anne Bradstreet’s Works

1,
“Some vers
es on the
Burning of Our House”
2,
“The Spirit and the Flesh”
3,The Tenth Muse Lately
Sprung Up in America(
the first collection published by English colonists living in America
)

l points in this period:
(1)William Hill Brown
published the first American novel
The Power of Sympathy
in 1789.
(2)Charles Brockden Brown
) was

the first American author to attempt to live from his writing.
He
developed
the
genre
of American Gothic.
He
employed
new
narrative
techniques.
Another
significance
was
his
description
of
his
characters’
inner
world,
so
his
works
can
be
read
as
psychological novel.
(3)Roger
Williams
(1603-1683)
Preach
for
civil
and
religious
liberty
and
against
the
puritan
oligarchy of for democratic government and oppose to the eviction of the Indians.

Works
: The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience
(4)CJohn Woolman
1:From a pious Quaker family

2:Transcendentalism

humanitarianism
3:Plea for the rights of all men and the abolition of the slavery system.
Works:
Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes; A Plea for the Poor.

(5)Thomas Paine :
A great influence in the American Revolution

Works: The Rights of Man; The Age of Reason
(6)Philip
Freneau:

“Poet
of
the
American
Revolution”

“Father
of
American
Poetry”
,the
most
significant poet of 18th century in America. Some off his themes and images anticipated the





















works of such 19th century American Romantic

writers as Cooper, Emerson, Poe and Melville.
His works:(1)
The Rising Glory of America
1772
《美洲光辉的兴起》

(2)

The Wild Honey Suckle












1786

《野地里德忍冬》

(3)
The Indian Burying Ground





1788

《印第安人墓地》


(4The
Dying Indian: Tomo Chequi








《奄奄一息的印第安人：托姆
·
柴吉》


关于他的评价：
He was the most significant poet of 18th century America.
Some of his themes and images anticipated the works of such 19th century American Romantic
writers as Cooper, Emerson, Poe and Melville.
Poet of American Independence
: Freneau provides incentive and inspiration to the revolution by
writing such poems as

Journalist:

Freneau
was
editor
and
contributor
of
The
Freeman's
Journal
(Philadelphia)
from
1781-1784. In his writings, he advocated the essence of what is known as Jeffersonian democracy
- decentralization of government, equality for the masses, etc.
Freneau's Religion:
Freneau is described as a deist - a believer in nature and humanity but not a
pantheist. In deism, religion becomes an attitude of intellectual belief, not a matter of emotional
of spiritual ecstasy. Freneau shows interest and sympathy for the humble and the oppressed
Freneau as Father of American Poetry: His major themes are death, nature, transition, and the
human in nature. All of these themes become important in 19th century writing.
All the romanticizing the wonders of nature in his writings...he searched for an American
idiom in verse.
8
：
The American Enlightenment
美国启蒙运动

(1)It was a part of a larger intellectual movement known as the Age of Enlightenment. Influenced
by the scientific revolution of the 17th century, the Enlightenment took scientific reasoning and
applied it to human nature and society.


(2)Reason was advocated as the primary source and basis of authority.
There was a shift from God-centered thinking to human being centered. Instead of going through
life unhappy and thinking they had to suffer so they could enjoy the afterlife - people began to
think about what they could accomplish on earth.
(3)Equality The American Enlightenment inflenced Benjamin Franklin dramatically.
Great Awening
影响

(1)It is a serires of religious revivals that swept over the American colonies about the middle of
the 18th century.

(2)It results in doctrinal changes and influnce social and political New England it was
started by the rousing preaching of Jonathan Edwards

9:Jonathan Edwards
Works:
(1)The Freedom of the Will


《论意志自由》
(2)The Great Doctrine of
Original Sin Defended

《论原罪》
(3)The Nature of True Virtue

《论真实德行的本原》


Assessment

Jonathan Edwards was a good deal of a transcendentalist

because of his ideas:a, The spirit of revivalism

b. Regeneration of man

c. God’s presence


d.
Puritan idealism
10:Benjamin Franklin Works:




1
：

The Autobiography

《自传》

（
1
）
The Autobiography
is, first of all, a Puritan document. It is a record of self-examination and
self-improvement.

（
2
）
The
Autobiography
is also an eloquent elucidation of the fact that Benjamin Franklin was
spokesman for the new order of 18th century enlightenment, and that he represented in America
all
its
ideas,
that
man
is
basically
good
and
free,
by
nature
endowed
by
God
with
certain
inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
（
3
）
Through telling a success story of self-reliance, the book celebrates, in fact, the fulfillment of
the American dream.
Now a look at the style of The Autobiography will readily reveal that it is the pattern of Puritan
simplicity, directness, and concision
The Autobiography

《自传》
:It is perhaps the first real post- revolutionary American writing as
well as
the first real autobiography
in English.

It gives us the simple yet immensely fascinating record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a
state of poverty and obscurity into which he was born, the faithful account of the colorful career
of America’s first self
-made man:
2
：

Poor Richard’s Almanac


《穷理查德格言历书》

Poor Richard’s Almanac
is full of adages
and common-sense witticism which became ,very quickly, household words.
Benjamin Franklin Borrowed from such writers as Defoe, Swift, and Pope , and used his own wit
to simplify and enrich their axioms

11
：

General Introduction to Romanticism
浪漫主义介绍


a. Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and

intellectual movement that originated in the



second
half
of
the
18th
century
in
Western
Europe,
and
gained
strength
during
the
Industrial


Revolution.


b.
It
was
partly
a
revolt
against
aristocratic
social

and
political
norms
of
the
Age
of
Enlightenment
and
a
reaction
against
the

scientific

rationalization
of
nature,
and
was
embodied most

strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature.

The
movement
stressed
运动强调

a.
strong
emotion
as
a
source
of
aesthetic

experience,
placing
new
emphasis
on
such
emotions
as
trepidation,
horror
and
awe
—



especially
that
which
is
experienced
in
confronting
the
sublimity
of
untamed
nature

and
its
picturesque
qualities, both new

aesthetic categories.

b. It elevated folk art and custom to something noble.
c. It argued for a







of language, custom and usage.

12
：
Characteristics of Romanticism:
浪漫主义特征
（
1
）
an innate and intuitive perception of man,
nature and society
—
reliance on the subconscious, the inner life, the abnormal psychology

（
2
）
an emphasis
on
freedom,
individualism and
imagination
—
rebellion
against
neoclassicism
which stressed formality, order and authority

（
3
）
a profound love for nature
—
nature as a source of knowledge, nature as a refuge from the
present, nature as a revelation of the holy spirit the quest for beauty
—
pure beauty

the
use
of
antique
and
fanciful
subject
matters
—
sense
of
terror,
Gothic,
grotesque,
odd
and
queer

13
，
Romanticism

Historical Background
历史背景

1
，
Political:
After
American
Revolution,
American
developed
into
a
political,
economic
and
cultural independence. Democracy and equality became the ideals of the new nation. Complete
changes came about in the political life of the country.
2.
Economic:
Industrialism
spread
widely
and
fast.
A
large
number
of
immigrants
arrived.
All
these produced an economic boom.
3.
Both
the
change
in
political
and
the
economic
development
brought
about
a
sense
of
optimism and hope.
4. Culturally: Magazines appeared in ever-increasing numbers and they played an important role
in facilitating literary expansion.
5. Foreign influence added incentive to the growth of romanticism in America.

14Features of American Romanticism
美国浪漫主义特征

a.
Imitative:
Some
of
the American
Romantic
writings
were
modeled
on
English
and
European
works.
The
Romantic
Movement
proved
to
be
a
decisive
influence.
Without
it,
the
rise
of
Romanticism
would
have
been
impossible.
Romanticism
writers
such
as
Scott,
Coleridge,
Wordsworth, Byron all made a stimulating impact on American literature.

b. Independent: From the very beginning, American Romanticism exhibited distinct features of its
own.
It
originated
from
a
mixture
of
factors
which
were
altogether
American
rather
than
anything else.


c. Puritan influence over American Romanticism was clearly noticeable. E.g., the author tended
more to moralize than writers in England.

15
：
Uniqueness of Am. Romanticism:
美国浪漫主义独特性


Unique
subject
matter
：
The
western
movement
：
the
American
national
experience
of
pioneering
into
the
west
proved
to
be
a
rich
source
of
material
for
American
writers
to
draw
upon.
They
celebrated
American’s
landscape
with
its
virgin
forests,
meadows,
groves,
endless
prairies, stream, and vast oceans. The wildness came to function almost as a dramatic character
that symbolized moral law.

Uniqueness of Am. Romanticism:
：
the newness as a nation
美国浪漫主义独特性的具体体现

（
1
）
The ideals of individualism and political equality, and their dream that America was to be a
new
Garden
of
Eden
for
man
were
distinctly
American.
This
feeling
of
newness
was
strong
enough to inspire the romantic imagination and channel it into different vein of writing.
Puritan moral values
（
2
）
Puritan
influence
over
American
Romanticism
was
clearly
noticeable.
E.g.,
the
author
tended more to moralize than writers in England.

（
3
）
Mixture
of
different
races
：
The
immigrants
coming
from
different
cultural
and
social
background bring with them different cultures

16. Two phases:
两个时期


a. 1770s to 1830s

Early period Representatives: Washington

Irving, James Fenimore Cooper



b.1830s
to
1860s

Late
period

summit
of
American
literature
Representatives:
Emerson,
Thoreau,

Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Dickinson, Poe



etc.

17
：
Washington Irving
“
：
Father of American Imaginative literature”
；
Washington Irving
“Father
of the American short story
His Works
a.
A
History
of
New
York
from
the
Beginning
of


the
World
to
the
End
of
the
Dutch
Dynasty



1809


《纽约外史》


b. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent




1819-1820


《见闻札记》

c. Bracebridge Hall


1822
《布雷斯布里奇庄园》


d. Oliver Goldsmith


1840
《哥尔德斯密斯》


e.
Life of George Washington




1855-1859


《华盛顿传》


The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent




1819-1820


《见闻札记》

评价：
（
1
）
The Sketch Book is a collection of essays, sketches,

and tales.

（
2
）

In The Sketch Book, the most famous and frequently anthologized
（选编）

are

“Rip Van
Winkle”
《瑞普
·
凡
·
温克》

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

《睡谷的传说》


(3
）
The short story as a genre in American literature began with The Sketch Book.

(4)The
book
touched
the
American
imagination
and
foreshadowed
the
coming
of
Hawthorne,
Melville, and Poe. (5)It also marked the beginning of American Romanticisms.

The evaluation of Irving
：
a:Father of American literature


b
：

The beginning of short story as a genre-
“Father of the American short story”


c

The first American writer of imaginative literature to gain international fame

d

The Sketch Book
also marked the beginning of American Romanticism
The theme of the story
The story of man who has difficulties facing his advancing age
The
contradictory
impulses
in
America
toward
work-
the
puritan
attitude
as
opposed
to
the
American desire for leisure
The theme of escape from one’s responsibilities and even one’s history

The loss of identity
19
：
James Fenimore Cooper(1789-1851)

Major
Works
：
Precaution
戒备

(1820,
his
first
novel,
imitating
Austen’s
Pride






and
Prejudice
)


The Spy
间谍

(his second novel and great success)


皮袜子故事集：
“
Leatherstocking Tales” (his masterpiece, a series of five


novels):
The Pioneers
开拓者
, The Last of the Mohicans
最后的莫西干人
,
The Prairie
草原
, The Pathfinder
探路者
, The
Deerslayer
杀鹿者


point
of
view
：

the
theme
of
wilderness
vs.
civilization,
freedom
vs.
law,
order
vs.
change,
aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights

Theme
：
a.
America
was
made
conscious
of
his
past,
particularly
the
contribution
from
the
Mohicans.
b.
The
antithesis
between
nature
and
civilization,
at
the
cost
of
the
life
and
labor,
will
be
dissolved to push the development of frontiers.
c. The battle between the colonists caused the trage
dy of Indians in American continent

The features of Cooper
：
He is a mythic writer Good at inventing plots (Cooper had never been
to the frontier area personally.)
Style: powerful, yet clumsy and dreadful

Wooden Characters
：
Use of dialect, but not authentic (criticized by Mark Twain
)
19
：超验主义：
Transcendentalism
（
1
）定义
Emerson’s
Definition
：
In
his
essay

Transcendentalist,
transcendentalism is “idealism; i
dealism as it appears in
1842
The
factors
that
influenced
New
England
Transcendentalism
：
New
England
Transcendentalism
was the Product of a combination of foreign influences and the American Puritan tradition

a.
Foreign
influences:
the
introduction
of
idealism
(
唯心主义
)from
Germany
and
France
and
Oriental mysticism

b. American Puritanism

Major Features
超验主义特征：
emphasis on spirit or the Oversoul as the most important thing in
the
universe.

1
The
Oversoul
was
an
all-pervading
power
for
goodness,
omnipresent
and
omnipotent, from which all things came and of

which all were a part. It exists in nature and
man alike and constituted the chief elements of the universe

2

It emphasized the significance of the individual and believed that the individual was the most
important element in society and that the ideal kind of individual was self-reliant and unselfish.
It took nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God
3
All things in nature were symbols of the spiritual, of God’s presence. Nat
ure was alive, filled
with God’s overwhelming presence. Everything in the universe was viewed as an expression of
the divine spirit.

4 It stressed the power of intuition. It stressed the power of intuition, believing that

people
could learn things both from the outside world by means of the five senses and from the inner
world
by
intuition.
But
the
things
they
learned
from
within
were
truer
than
the
things
they
learned
from without,
and transcended
them.
It
held
that
everyone
had
access
to
a
source
of
knowledge that transcended the everyday experiences of sensation and reflection. Intuition was
inner light within.


Influence
超验主义的影响：
1 It served as an ethical guide to life for a young nation and brought
about the idea that human can be perfected by nature. It stressed religious tolerance, called to
throw off shackles of customs and traditions and go forward to the development of a new and
distinctly American culture.
2
It
advocated
idealism
that
was
great
needed
in
a
rapidly
expanded
economy
where
opportunit
y
often
became
opportunism,
and
the
desire
to
“get
on”
obscured
the
moral
necessity for rising to spiritual height.
It helped to create the first American renaissance
–
one of the most prolific period in American
literature
Significance: New England Transcendentalism is

the summit of American Romanticism.

Representatives:

Emerson,

Thoreau


20
：
Ralph Waldo Emerson
拉尔夫
·
瓦尔多
·
爱默生


His Works
：
a.
Essays
《散文集》


b.
Nature
《论自然》
(a book which declared the


birth of Transcendentalism)

c.
The American Scholar
《论美国学者》
(American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence)

d.
Divinity, The Oversoul
《论超灵》

e.
Self-reliance
《论自立》

f.
The Transcendentalist
《超验
主义者》

His point of view

a. One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence
of the “oversoul”.

b. He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying(
圣洁的

神圣化的
) moral influence
on
man,
and
advocated
a direct
intuition
of
a
spiritual and
immanent(
内在的

固有的
)
God
in
nature.
c. If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can
hope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by “the infinitude of man”.

d. Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes
the world by making himself.

His aesthetics

a. poets should function as preachers who gave directions to the mass.

b.
True
poetry
and
true
art
should
ennoble
and
serve
as
a
moral
purification
and
a
passage
toward organic unity(
有机统一
) and higher reality.

c. Emerson places emphasis on ideas, symbols and imaginative words.

d. As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America and the life today.

e.
Emerson’s
aesthetics
brought
about
a
revolution
in
American
literature
in
general
and
in
American
poetry
in
particular.
It
marked
the
birth
of
true
American
poetry
and
true
America
poets such as Whitman and Dickinson

Nature
（论自然）
：
Emerson’s first published work was
Nature
(1836). This work has the clearest
statement of Transcendentalist ideas.
Nature

is considered the “gospel” (
真理

信条
)of American
Transcendentalism. It has an Introduction and eight chapters:

2. Commodity 3. Beauty 4. Language 5. Discipline 6. Idealism 7. Spirit 8. Prospects.

The
major
thesis
of
the
essay,
in
Emerson‘s
words,
is
that
we
should
now
“enjoy
an
or
iginal
relation to the universe,” and not become dependent on past experiences of others or on holy
books, creeds , dogma(
教条

教理
).

主要内容：
In it Emerson stated that man should not see nature merely as something to be used;
that
man’s
relationship
with
nature
transcends

the
idea
of
usefulness.
Nature
is
a
kind
of
discipline to man. Once you are in nature, totally in solitude, you feel you’re nothing, but you see
all. Nature makes people feel transparent(
透明的
) and humble. Meanwhile, He saw an important
difference between
understanding
(judging things only according to the senses) and
reason
The American Scholar
论美国学者

These
two
works
made
him
famous.

As
“Man
Thinking”,

the
Scholar
should
know

how
to
think when confronted with Nature, the Past (in the form of books) and Action (life).

Emerson
particularly
warns
that
the
past
should
be
used
to
inspire
and
not
to
enslave
the
scholar. Emerson argued in the speech that the age called to the Scholar for active participation
and leadership.

It is

American’s Declaration of
Intellectual Independence

Self- Reliance(
论自助
)
Self-Reliance
is one of the most famous of these lecture essays, and is widely read in American
high
schools
today.
Emerson
believed
above
all
in
individualism,
independence
of
mind,
and
self-reliance; He admired courage and was not afraid of changing or clashing ideas.
Equally important is Emerson’s essay
The Over-Soul (1841).


The Major Themes in Emerson’s Works
：


the emphasis on the independence and separateness
of
the
individual,
and
the
right
(and
duty)
of

man
rise
to
his
full
potential,
asserting
the
inalienable

worth of every man.





“Another sign of our times…is the new importance given to the single person

Emerson’s Influences on

A.L

a

He called on American Writers to write about America in a peculiarly
American
way.
b
His
perception
of
humanity
and
nature
as
symbols
of
universal
truth
encouraged
the
development of the
symbolist
movement in A. art and literature.
c

He embodied a
new

nation’s desire and struggle to assert
（
维护

主张）

its own identity in its
formative period.

Henry David Thoreau



a. A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers(1849)
《
康科德和梅里
马克河上的一周

》


b.
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and


Walden / Walden

《瓦尔登湖》


c.
Civil Disobedience

《论公民之不服从》
It influenced people such as Mahatma Gandhi.

point of view
He
did
not
like
the
way
a
materialistic
America
was
developing
and
was
vehemently(
激烈的
)
outspoken on the point.
He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.
Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw nat
ure as a healthy influence on man’s spiritual
well-being.
He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.
He was very critical of modern civilization.
“Simplicity…simplify!”

He has trust in the future and has belief in a new generation of
men.

Civil Disobedience
The essay makes it clear that this stance(
立场

姿态
) is not a matter of whim
（一时的兴趣

奇想）

but a demanding moral principle.
The appeal of civil disobedience in the North grew in the wake of the Compromise of 1850, which
included the hated Fugitive Slave Law, requiring all citizens to aid in the return of escaped slaves
to their owners. Though civil disobedience is usually associated with passive resistance, Thoreau
brought out the more direct action of John Brown.
Thoreau's essay had a profound influence on reformers worldwide, from Gandhi in South Africa
and India; to Martin Luther King, and the opposition to the Vietnam War in the United States.

Walden (1854
In 1854, Thoreau published the book by which he will always be best known,
Walden, or Life in
the
Woods.

It
is
by
far
the
deepest,
richest,
and
most
closely
jointed
of
his
books.
It
shows
Thoreau at his best, and contains all that he had to say to the world. In fact, he is a man of one
book, and that book is
Walden.


Thoreau's
Walden

is
mythic,
poetic,
fictitious,
fabulous,
and
metaphoric
in
the
best
senses
of
these terms. In it the artistically recreated real-life experience (itself an experiment in
living)
becomes
a
symbolic
model
or
paradigm
for
an
embodied
spiritual
quest
for
the
disembodied,
for
a
journey
from
the

to
the
divine

of
life.
The
thesis
of
Walden is clearly indicated in the first chapter of the book. True economy has nothing to do with
the
ways
and
means
of
increasing
wealth,
with
methods
for
multiplying
the
superfluities,
the

necessaries
of
life.
True
economy
is
that
which
simply
provides
the
flesh
with
what
belongs to the flesh so that the spirit may go about its own business.

The book described the author’s extremely simpl
e life and regeneration he experienced when he
lived near the Walden pond.
This is a book on self- culture and human perfectibility
Thoreau has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man. He holds that the most
important
thing
for
men
to
do
with
their
lives
is
to
be
self- sufficient
and
strive
to
achieve
personal spiritual perfection.
In the book Thoreau criticized the modern civilization and told people to leave the life of hurry
and bustle and to sink themselves in nature.

It
is
a
book
full
of
ideas
expressed
to
jostle
his
neighbors
out
of
their
smug(
自鸣得意的
)
complacency(
自满

满足

For
the
fatal
modern
craze
for
monetary
success
he
prescribes
a
panacea(
灵
丹
妙
药
)
“Simplicity…simplify!”
Spiritual richness is real wealth.

One’s soul might not help one u
p in the
world, but it will

help make real progress in self-improvement
Regeneration is a major thematic concern of
warden
Regeneration is a major thematic concern of
warden

and thus decide the structural framework of
the book. The whole book is within the frame of a single year, and progresses through spring,
summer and autumn to winter.

Evaluation
Comparing with Emerson who was a great thinker, Thoreau was a great experimentalist who
put Emerson's Transcendental doctrines into practice in the actual life.


Herman Melville (1819 ---- 1891):
Master of philosophical allegory
寓言

1:His
point
of
view
:
a.
negative
attitude
towards
life.

b.
One
of
the
major
themes
of
his
is
alienation
孤立（
far away from each other
）
. c. Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism




（
individualism causing disaster and death
）
, rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and
evil, doubts over the comforting 19th-century idea of progress

2:His Writing Style
a. Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the
technique of multiple view of his narratives. b. He tends to write periodic chapters.
c.
His
rich
rhythmical
富有节奏感的

prose
and
his
poetic
power
have
been
profusely
丰富地

commented upon and praised. d. His works are symbolic and metaphorical.
e. He includes many non- narrative chapters of factual background or description of what goes on
board the ship or on the route (Moby Dick)
His Works
a.
Typee


1846
《泰比》


b
. Omoo



1874
《奥穆》

c.
Moby Dick

1851
《莫比
·
迪克》

d.
Mardi



1849
《玛地》


f.
White Jacket




1850
《白外衣》

g
. Pierre



1852
《皮尔埃》


h.
Billy Budd


(posthumously)
《比利
·
巴德》


Moby Dick
(1)Ishmael, feeling depressed, seeks escape by going out

to sea on the whaling ship, Pequod.
The captain is Ahab, the man with one leg. Moby Dick, the white whale, had sheared off his leg
on a previous voyage, and Ahab resolves to hunt him to kill him. He hangs a doubloon on the
mast as a reward for anyone who sight the whale first. The Pequod makes a good catch of whales
but Ahab refuses to turn back until he has killed his enemy. Eventually the white whale appears,
and the Pequod begins its doomed fight with it. On the first day the whale overturns a boat; on
the second it swamps another. When the third day comes, Ahab and his crew manage to plunge a
harpoon
into
it,
but
the
whale
carries
the
Pequod
along
with
it
to
its
doom.
All
on
board
the
whaler get drowned, except one, Ishmael, who survive to tell the tale.
Moby Dick

represents the sum total of Melville’s bleak view of
the world in which he lived. It is at
once
Godless
and
purposeless.
Man
in
this
universe
lives
a
meaningless
and
futile
life,
meaningless because futile.
One of the major themes in Melville is alienation, which he sensed existing in the life of his time
on different levels, between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. Nature has
overwhelming power. Man can’t conquer nature. Man, living in this world, is a tragedy

It
is
a
negative
reflection
of
self-reliance,
and
individualism.
Ahab
may
have
be
en
Melville’s
portrait
of
an
Emersonian
self-reliant
individual.
Melville
lost
no
opportunity
in
his
criticism
of
New England Transcendentalism. Constantly under his attack is its emphasis on individualism and
Oversoul. The idea that man make the world for himself is nothing but a Transcendentalist folly.


Symbolism
the voyage: the search for the ultimate truth of experience
Moby Dick:

the final mystery of the

universe which man will do well to desist from pursuing

Ambiguity (You can understand his Moby Dick differently.)
First,
it
can
be
understand
as
a
tragedy
of
man
fighting
against
overwhelming
odds
in
an
indifferent and even hostile universe. Thus, Captain Ahab is a hero who dares to fight though he
failed at last.
Then, it can be understood as a bi
tter satire on Transcendentalism’s emphasis on self
-reliance.
Captain
Ahab

believed
in
his
own
power
(a
human
being’s
power)
too
much
and
thus
he
doomed to fail, because human’s power is limited and there is a mysterious thing existed in the
universe whic
h controlled man’s life and cannot be understood by human being.

Nowadays
some
new
research
indicated
that
the
story
means
man
should
protect
the
nature
otherwise man will be punished as those whalers in the story were punished by the whale.

Melville spoke ahead of his time. He knew that he was doomed to write a book like
Moby Dick
in
his day, but he just could not help himself because he was a dedicated literary artist. There was,
to be sure, a good deal of Ahab in him. “I have written a wicked book,” he
said after finishing
Moby Dick
, and the public felt outraged. Thus born in the 19th century, Melville did not receive
recognition until the twentieth century.

Scarlet Letter
1:The beauty shows:
Free in the jail in her mind.
Not defeated by the public opinion and the authority.

An indomitable woman.



2
What does Scarlet Letter symbolize in ordinary people’s mind?




Adultery, humiliation and evil
3
Why did Prynne decorate the Scarlet letter?
She is not defeated and humiliated by the Scarlet letter.
Scarlet letter represents her own identity in this society.
It
(scarlet
letter)
had
the
effect
of
a
spell(
咒符
),
taking
her
out
of
the
ordinary
relations
with
humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself.
What does this suggest?