chapter three

1、The Age of Realism 1. the three conflicts that reached breaking point (1) industrialism vs. agrarian rrin (2) culturely-measured east vs. newly-developed west (3) plantation gentility vs. commercial gentility 2. 1880s urbanization: from free competition to monopoly capitalism 3. the closing of Ameri

2、can frontier Historical Background 1. truthful description of life 2. typical character under typical circumstance 3. objective rather than idealized, close observation and investigation of life -“Realistic writers are like scientists.” 4. open-ending: -Life is complex and cannot be fully understood

3、. It leaves much room for readers to think by themselves. 5. concerned with social and psychological problems, revealing the frustrations of characters in an environment of sordidness and depravity Features Three giants in American Realism: William Dean Howells Henry JamesMark TwainHowells is known

4、to be the father of American realism, and a denouncer of the sentimental novel. He himself belonged to the middle class and so he almost depicted the pictures of life of middle class in contemporary America . Prolific writer with works including plays, novels, poems, and critical essays.William Dean

5、 Howells A Modern Instance (1882) A Womans Reason (1883) The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885)賽拉斯拉帕姆的發(fā)跡 A hazard of New Fortunes (1889) A Traveler from Altruria (1894) Criticism and Fiction, Literature and LifeMajor Works1. Realism is “fidelity to experience and probability of motive”. 2. The aim is “talk

6、 of some ordinary traits of American life”. 3. Characters should have solidity of specification and be real. 4. Realism is by no means mere photographic pictures of externals but includes a central concern with “motives” and psychological conflicts. Interpreting sympathetically the “common feelings

7、of commonplace people” was best suited as a technique to express the spirit of America.Howells view points5. He condemns novels of sentimentality and morbid self-sacrifice, and avoids such themes as illicit love. 6. Truth is the highest beauty, but it includes the view that morality penetrates all t

8、hings. 7. With regard to literary criticism, Howells felt that the literary critic should not try to impose arbitrary or subjective evaluations on books but should follow the detached scientist in accurate description, interpretation, and classification. Howells view points8. Howells believed the fu

9、ture of American writing was not in poetry but in novels, a form which he saw shifting from romance to a serious form.A realist novel published in 1885，the story follows the materialistic riseof Silas Lapham from rags to riches,and his ensuing moral susceptibility.Silas earns a fortune in the paintb

10、usiness, but he lacks social standards,which he tries to attain through hisdaughters marriage into thearistocratic Corey family. Silasmorality does not fail him. He loses hismoney but makes the right moraldecision when his partner proposesthe unethical selling of the mills toEnglish settlers.The Ris

11、e of Silas Lapham William Dean Howells House in Cambridge - “fidelity to experience and probability of motive” - do nothing more than “talk of some ordinary traits of American life.” - “seek him in his habitual moods of vacancy and tiresomeness” - “common feelings of commonplace people” - “verisimil

12、itude exist only in reality and truth is the highest beauty”Howells definition to realism Comment“He can only write of what his fleshly eyes have seen.” - Henry JamesHowells viewed realism as nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material. I hope the time is coming when not on

13、ly the artist, but the common, average man, who always has the standard of the arts in his power, will have also the courage to apply it, and will reject the ideal grasshopper wherever he finds it, in science, in literature, in art, because it is not simple, natural, and honest, because it is not li

14、ke a real grasshopper. But I will own that I think the time is yet far off, and that the people who have been brought up on the ideal grasshopper, the heroic grasshopper, the impassioned grasshopper, the self-devoted, adventureful, good old romantic card-board grasshopper, must die out before the si

15、mple, honest, and natural grasshopper can have a fair field.Quotation Literary theory represented in the work- a famous scene in which Howells declared his theory on novel. The scene: at a dinner party Characters: a lady and a gentleman Topic of discussion: literature (popular romantic) “ Old-fashio

16、ned heroes” and “unnecessary sacrifices” were common elements in the pretty pictures of life romantic novels created. Lady - “ theres such a dear old-fashioned hero and heroine in it, who keep dying for each other.” Gentleman (mouthpiece for Howells) - “ the novelists might be the greatest possible

17、help to us if they painted life as it is, and human feelings in their true proportion and relation.” Material rise - Rise of the new house The destruction of the house - financial falling - meanwhile, moral rise “ Rise” & “Falling” a. optimistic tone; b. moral development and ethics, c. lacking

18、of psychological depth is a demerit compared with other authors like Henry James Features of Howells works - one of the key figures of 19th century literary realism - contributing significantly to literary criticism- well-known playwright - a pioneer of modern psych-analysis novels in western world

19、1843 1916signatureHenry JamesA Tragedy of Errors (1864)Transatlantic Sketches (1875) The American (1877) Daisy Miller (1878) The Europeans (1878) The Portrait of a Lady (1881) Washington Square (1881) The Bostonians (1886) The Princess Casamassima (1886)The Tragic Muse (1890) WorksGuy Domville (play

20、, 1895) What Maisie Knew (1897) The Turn of the Screw (1898) The Awkward Age (1899) The Wings of the Dove (1902) The Ambassadors (1903) The Beast in the Jungle (1903) The Golden Bowl (1904) English Hours (1905) The American Scene (1907) Works James is one of the major figures of trans-Atlantic liter

21、ature. He often wrote about the conflicts between American and European manners and customs, as is widely known the “international theme”. His works frequently juxtapose characters from the Old World (Europe), embodying a feudal civilization that is beautiful, often corrupt, and alluring, and from t

22、he New World (United States), where people are often brash, open, and assertive and embody the virtuesfreedom and a more highly evolved moral characterof the new American society.The International Theme James explores this clash of personalities and cultures, in stories of personal relationships in

23、which power is exercised well or badly. His protagonists were often young American women facing oppression or abuse. innocence unsophistication enthusiam vulgality ignorance freshness freedom individualityEurope vs. AmericaEuropean personalitiesAmerican personalities over-refinement sophistication c

24、omplexity high cultivation degeneratonJames seemed to value both the sophistication of Europe and the idealism of America. In its intense focus on the consciousness of his major characters, Jamess later work foreshadows extensive developments in 20th century fiction. Indeed, he might have influenced

25、 stream-of-consciousness writers such as Virginia Woolf. It is also possible to see many of Jamess stories as psychological thought-experiments. That is the reason why he was redeemed as “the pioneer of modern psycho-analysis novels in western world” and forerunner of stream-of-consciousness novels.

26、Focus on consciousness James contribution to the art of重點(diǎn) fiction lies in his psychological realism. He helped the transformation of novels from its alliances with the journalism and romantic storytelling into an art form of penetrating analysis of individuals confronting society, chronicles of the

27、psychological perceptions that James himself defined as the highest form of experience.Psychological Realism James thinks that the readers strong sense of the authors presence distracts from the story its dramatic vividness, while the authors detachment adds to the work the effect of objectivity. Th

28、erefore, he attempts to avoid a disturbing and unwarranted incursion of the author into the work by any means. To achieve it, unlike traditional writers, James attempts to us an innovation means of narration: impersonality (作者退場). The technique of impersonality mainly concerns two aspects: the third

29、 peron narration and the technique of central intelligence. Narrative technique This is a limited point of view, with which the novel can be constituted by what one or more characters sees, hears, feels and thinks. This one or more characters can be called “central intelligence”. They narrate and th

30、e novelist rarely comes to stage. Thus the untiy and coherence of the novel are emphasized to the utmost by the singleness of the point of view. Limited point of view: central intelligence James works are most often the portrait of a lady or a man. And most of his narrators present their stories in

31、the third-person narrative. James practically banished the “I”narrator in his pracice and theory of novel. This change of narrator from the first person to the third person, far from being a merely technical one, can explain Jamess complex attitude towards impersonality. Third person narraton The Po

32、rtrait of a Lady It is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who in affronting her destiny, finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Generally regarded as the masterpi

33、ece, this novel reflects Jamess continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal.Main CharactersGilbert OsmondIsabel Archer & Madame MerleT

34、hematic concerns International theme - the American naivety in confrontation of European sophistication. American innocence in contract and contrast with European decadence, and its moral and psychological complications. Isabel Archer VS. Madame Merle and Gilbert Osmond the conflict between the indi

35、vidual and society This moneyed world appears charming and leisurely but proves to be plagued with treachery, deceit and suffering. Stylistic analysis This novel fully manifests the “Jamesian Style” Limited point of view The point of view is strictly controlled, nothing is allowed to exceed the visi

36、on of the narrator. Isabel Archers consciousness and perception promote the plot. language The sentences are polished, insightful, accurate, highly-refined, well-balanced, diction deliberately chosen. vocabulary: large Construction: complicated, intricate Psychological analysis Special efforts are m

37、ade to describe the psychology of the character.(1835-1910)Samuel Clemens, his pen name of Mark Twain, the first major author to come from the interior of the country. Ernest Hemingways famous statement that all of American literature comes from one great book, Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,

38、 indicates this authors towering place in the tradition. Twains style, based on vigorous, realistic, colloquial American speech, gave American writers a new appreciation of their national voice. For Twain and other American writers of the late 19th century, realism was not merely a literary techniqu

39、e: It was a way of speaking truth and exploding worn-out conventions. Mark TwainvEveryone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.v The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cant read them.v Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.v Of

40、all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.v When in doubt, tell the truth.The Gilded Age (1873), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Life on the Mississippi (1883), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), The Prince and the

41、 Pauper(1881) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court (1889)The Man That Corrupted Hadleydburg (1900)Major worksThe story:A novel by Mark Twain published in 1876. Tom is an intelligent and imaginative boy, who is nevertheless careless and mischievous. In one of the books most famous episodes he i

42、s forced to whitewash the front-yard fence as punishment for playing truant. He evades the task by pretending it is a great privilege, and then allowing other boys to take over from him for a considerable price.Tom lives in the respectable home of his Aunt Polly in the Mississippi River town of St P

43、etersburg, Missouri. His preferred world, however, is the outdoor and parentless life of his friend Huck Finn. The Adventure of Tom Sawyer Later Tom becomes a hero, when at the trial of Muff Potter he stands up and accuses the true murderer. Joe rushes from the room and thus proves his own guilt. Su

44、bsequently Tom and Becky abandon a school picnic and get themselves lost for several days in the very cave where Joe is hiding. They make good their escape, and Tom then returns to cave with Huck. They find Joe dead, and also find his buried treasure. The two boys return to town as heroic as ever, a

45、nd the riches are divided between them. When Tom is rebuffed by his sweetheart, Becky Thatcher, he and Huck take to the diversion of playing pirates. By coincidence, they are in the graveyard on the night that Indian Joe murders the town doctor and frame the drunkard, Muff Potter, by placing the kni

46、fe in his hands. Tom, Huck, and a third boy hide out on a river island in fear of the murderer, and are believed dead. They finally return to witness their own passionate eulogies, and with much uproar they are discovered in the funeral audience. The Adventure of Tom SawyerTwains masterpiece, which

47、appeared in 1884, is set in the Mississippi River village of St. Petersburg. The son of an alcoholic bum, Huck has just been adopted by a respectable family when his father, in a drunken stupor, threatens to kill him. Fearing for his life, Huck escapes, feigning his own death. He is joined in his es

48、cape by another outcast, the slave Jim, whose owner, Miss Watson, is thinking of selling him down the river to the harsher slavery of the Deep South. Huck and Jim float on a raft down the majestic Mississippi, but are sunk by a steamboat, separated, and later reunited. Huckleberry FinnThey go throug

49、h many comical and dangerous shore adventures that show the variety, generosity, and sometimes cruel irrationality of society. In the end, it is discovered that Miss Watson had already freed Jim, and a respectable family is taking care of the wild boy Huck. But Huck grows impatient with civilized so

50、ciety and plans to escape to “the territories” - Indian lands. The ending gives the reader the counter-version of the classic American success myth: the open road leading to the pristine wilderness, away from the morally corrupting influences of “civilization”. Huckleberry FinnTopics for discussion Why do we say The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a realistic novel? What does Mark Twain convey through the adventures of Huck and Jim on the Mississippi? Which of the two is more