美國文學(xué)期末復(fù)習(xí)

1、HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF LITERATURE美國文學(xué)史及選讀美國文學(xué)史及選讀American Literature American Literature 美國文學(xué)史及選讀美國文學(xué)史及選讀HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREHerman MelvilleHerman Melville - -everlasting nayeverlasting nay Life experience Literary Career Theme and Style Appreciation of Moby Dick HISTORY AN

2、D ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE His LifeHis Life 1.Born in New York City, Herman Melville was the son of a prosperous merchant who died when Herman Melville was only twelve. (happy childhood to 11; little education)2. worked early: bank clerk; salesman; farm-hand; school teacher;3.The boy was for

3、ced to leave school.Unable to find a profession, he became a sailor. He went to sea at about 20 as a whaler;HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURELife experience (2)4.Three things deserve mention about his life: a.going out to sea b. marriage c. friendship with HawthorneHis sailing tears gave

4、him the background Of ships and islands that served him well in his early successes,Typee(1846).His masterpiece Moby Dick, a whaling story took almost a century before the novel was recognized by readers. Herman Melville soon became known as the “man who lived among cannibals.”His commercial failure

5、 of the works made his death unnoticed by the public in 1891.HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURELife experience (3)5 voracious reader;prolific for 8 years after his return from the sea;6 later in his life wrote other books and some long stories;7 worked in the Custom House in New York for t

6、he last 20 years of his life;8 died at 72 in oblivion.HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURELiterary Career Novels about the sea are extremely popular in the early 1840s. By writing these novels, Melville established his reputation as an adventure writer. Melvilles writings can be divided into

7、 two groups: 1) Early works 2) Later Works 3) Comment on his worksHISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREEarly worksNovels:Typee (1846) 泰比泰比 (made him famous)Omoo (1847) 奧穆奧穆Mardi (1849) 瑪?shù)诂數(shù)?-adventures among the people of South PacificRedburn (1849) 萊德伯恩萊德伯恩 -a voyage to EnglandWhite Jacket (

8、1850) 白衣白衣 -life on a United States man-of-warMoby Dick (1851) 莫比莫比.迪克迪克 The White Whale(masterpiec)Pierre (1852) 皮埃爾皮埃爾HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE Later WorksNovels:The Confidence-Man (1857) 騙子騙子Billy Budd (1924) 比利比利.巴德巴德Long stories:Benito Cereno (1856)貝尼托貝尼托.西萊諾西萊諾 Bartleby (185

9、6) 巴比妥巴比妥Poem:Clarel (1876)克萊爾克萊爾HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREComment on his worksIn his early ones Melville is more enthusiastic about setting out on a quest for the meaning of the universe, hence they are more metaphysical and the main characters are ardent and self-dramatizing I, d

10、efying God, as best reflected in Moby Dick. In the later works, Melville becomes more reconciled with the world of man in which one must live by the rules.HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE Theme and StyleTheme and Style 1) Alienation between man and man, man and society, and man and natur

11、e. Captain Ahab seems to be the best illustration of it all.2) rejection and quest. The narrator Ishmael is a good example.3) symbolism. The voyage itself is a metaphor for “search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience”. 4) ambiguity. Through employing the technique of multi

12、ple view in his narratives.HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREAppreciation of Moby Dick General IntroductionPlots (P83)StyleQuestion for discussion HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREGeneral Introduction Melville is best known as the author of one book, Moby Dick, which is one of t

13、he worlds greatest masterpieces. It is an encyclopedia of everything, history, philosophy, religion, etc. in addition to a detailed account of the operations of the whaling industry. But it is first a Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against overwhelming odds in an indifferent and even hostile

14、universe (P83). It is a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe, a spiritual exploration into mans deep reality and psychology. It reveals the basic pattern of 19th-century Am. life: loneliness and suicidal individualism in a self-styled democracy. (P85)HISTOR

15、Y AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREMain Characters in Moby DickPequod:the ship of the storyCaptain Ahab:the main characterStarbuck and Stubb: two of the matesMoby Dick:the great white whaleIshmael:the young sailor who narrates the bookHISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREStylea. The use of

16、 allegory and symbolismb. The production of the first American prose epic.c. LanguageHISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREThe use of allegory and symbolism Instead of putting the battle between Ahab and the whale intosimple statements, he used symbols, that is, objects or personswho represent

17、 something else. The Pequod is a microcosm ofhuman society and the voyage becomes a search for truth. Thewhite whale, Moby Dick, symbolizes nature. It is complex, unfathomable, malignant, and beautiful as well. For the characterAhab, the whale represents evil. Ahab wills the whole crew on thePequod

18、to join him in the pursuit of the big whale so as to root out the evil, but only to be destroyed by evil, by his ownconsuming desire, his madness. He becomes evil himself in histhirst to destroy the evil. For author, as well as the reader andIshmael, the narrator, Moby Dick is still a mystery, an ul

19、timatemystery of the universe, inscrutable and ambivalent, and the voyage of the mind will forever remain a search of the truth.HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREThe production of the first American prose epicThe production of the first American prose epic An epic is generally a long poem

20、on an important theme. Although the book is presented in the form of a novel, at times it seems like a prose poem.HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE LanguageLanguageMuch of the talk in the novel is sailor talk, and much of the language is purposely old-fashioned, for effect. Different leve

21、ls of language use and styles turn the whole book into a symphony with all musical instruments going on to form a melody.HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREQuestions for discussion 1) symbolic meaning of Moby Dick (P86) evil to some; goodness to others; both to still others;2) portrait of Ahab (P84-85) a typical Melvillean isolator; an Emersonian self-reliant individual; a victim of solipsism;HISTORY AND ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATUREStudy Questions1.What kind of novel is Moby Dick? Moby Dick, “