美国文学第一章

《美国文学简史》常耀信 第一章，Origin-Puritanism was a religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century.

Chapter1 Colonial America

• Background
  • American puritanism
    • • Origin-Puritanism was a religious reform movement that arose w ithin the Church of England in the late 16th century. Under siege from church and crown, it sent an offshoot in the third and fourth decades of the 17th century to the northern English colonies (New England) in the New World.
    • 1. Puritan values/Creeds
      • hard working
      • thrift
      • pious
      • optimistic
      • Puritans are more practical, tougher, and to be ever ready for any misfortune and tragic failure.
    • 2. Doctrines of Puritanism
      • • The puritans accepted the doctrines of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement (or the salvation of a selected few) through a special infusion of grace from God, all that John Cal vin had preached.
      • 1) Predestination（宿命论）：God decided everything before things occurred.
      • 2) Original sin （原罪）：Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation.
      • 3) Total depravity（人性本恶/ 完全堕落）：Humanity'’s utter corruption since the Fall.
      • 4) Limited atonement （有限救赎）：Only the "elect” can be saved.
    • 3. Influence of Puritanism
      • American Puritanism wsa one of most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature.
      • Puritanism can be compared with Chinese Confucianism.
  • American dream
    • The American Dream is the faith held by many in the United States of American that through hard work, courage, and determination one can a chieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. Nowadays the American Dream has led to an emphasis on material wealth as a measure of success and /or happiness.
  • Colonial period
• General introduction--Main Features of Colonial Literature
  • American literature grew out of humble origins. Personal literature in its various forms, occupy a major position in the literature of the early colonial period.
  • In content these early writings served either God or colonial expansion or both.
• Major writers of colonial period (P16-25)
  • • 1. John Smith (1580-1631)(16) • 2. William Bradford (1590-1657)(16) • 3. John Winthrop (1588-1649)(17) • 4.Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)(17-18) • 5.Edward Taylor (1642-1729)(19-20) • 6. Roger Williams (1603-1683)(20) • 7. John Woolman (1720-1772)(21) • 8. Thomas Paine (1737-1809)(22) • 9. Philip Freneau (1752-1832)(22) • 10.Charles Brocken Brown (1771-1810)(24)
• 5.1 John Smith (1580-1631)
  • Captain John Smith was one of the founders of the colony Jamestown, Virginia.
  • His writings about North America became the source of information about the New World for later settlers.
  • A Description of New England 《新英格兰叙事》（ 1616 ）
    • •the fertile and vast new continent ----A new Garden of Eden
  • General History of Virginia《弗吉尼亚通史》（1624）
    • •Its an American legend
    • • His capture by the Indians
    • •His rescue by the famous Indian Princess Pocahontas
• 5.2 William Bradford (1590-1657)
  • •One of the greatest of colonial American, wholly consecrated to a mission in which he regarded himself as an instrument of God.
  • •At the age of 18, he accompanied the group to Holland to escape persecution.
  • •13 years later he was one of those who, on December 11, took on the Mayflower and entered Plymouth Bay.
  • •From 1622 until his death, Bradford was reelected as governor.
  • •Masterpiece: Of Plymouth Plantation (普利茅斯拓荒记) 1826
    • •A story of these early American and their long geographical and spiritual pilgrimage.
    • •Through the story, we share the struggle, the fears, and the victories over the elements.
    • •Bradford sees the signs everywhere and always keeps sight of signs of God’s judgment and providence.
    • •Bradford writes in the Puritan Plain style, seldom using any metaphor or decorative language.
• 5.3 John Winthrop (1588-1649)
  • •The first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
  • •He states in his speech that there was the cause between God and his people who entered into a covenant with God for this work of building a new Garden of Eden in the new world.
  • A Model of Christian Charity 1630 《基督教慈善的典范》
• 5.4 Anne Bradstreet (安妮·布拉德斯特里特) (1612-1672)
  • • the first American woman poet
  • •a puritan poet
  • 1.Anne Bradstreet’s Life
    • * She was born and educated in England. * At the age of 18, she came to America in 1630 with her father and husband. * She had 8 children. * She became known as the “Tenth Muse” who appeared in America.
  • Anne Bradstreet’s Works
    • “Some verses on the Burning of Our House” “The Spirit and the Flesh” The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America（the first collection published by English colonists living in America ）
• 5.5 Edward Taylor (1642-1729)
  • • a meditative poet, a puritan poet
  • •For all his indulgence in his“un-Puritan” imagery, however, he was, first and last, a Puritan poet, concerned about how his images spoke for God.
  • •“Huswifery”
  • • Upon a Spider Catching a Fly(P20)
    • •The poet sees the spider as a symbol of Hell. It is obvious that Taylor has faith in God who can save the erring, or the sinful, humankind from the evil designs of Hell.
• 5.6 Roger Williams (1603-1683)
  • He will go down in American history as a staunch fighter for freedom and democracy.
  • He encouraged religious toleration and protect Indian rights.
  • The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience
    • • It furiously attacks the “soul-killing” requirement of religious conformity and vigorously upholds the spiritual freedom of the individual.
• 5.7 John Woolman (1720-1772)
  • • He was born into a Quaker family.
  • • He taught goodness and piety, spoke against total depravity, original sin and limited atonement, and attacked all sort of iniquity, such as social evil and the atrocious slavery system.
  • • Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes
  • • A Plea for the Poor
    • He tried to plead for the rights of all men and for the abolition of the slavery system.
  • • The Journal
    • an influential moral classic not only in nineteenth-century America but also in modern times. The religious piety, the dedication to the ideal of humanitarianism and the kind , gentle character of the man filled the pages.
• 5.8 Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
  • •His life was one of continual, unswerving fight for the rights of man.
  • • He was a major influence in the American Revolution.
  • Common Sense
    • He attacked British monarchy and added fuel to the fire which was soon to bring the colossus of its colonial rule down in flames.
  • American Crisis
    • It is made up of 16 pamphlets written between 1776 and 1783
    • •the first pamphlet “The Times that Try Men’s Soul” came out at one of the darkest moment of the revolution.
  • The Rights of Man
  • The Age of Reason
  • The French Revolution (1789--1799)
• 5.9 Philip Freneau (1752-1832)
  • He was the most important poet of eighteenth-century America.
  • Apart from the fact that he used his poetic talents in the service of a nation struggling for independence, writing verses for the righteous cause of his people and exposing British colonial savageries, he was a most notable representative of dawning nationalism in American literature.
  • • Almost alone of his generation, Freneau managed to peer through the pervasive atmosphere of imitativeness, see life directly, and appreciate the natural scenes on the new land and the native Indian civilization.
  • •The Wild Honey Suckle
  • •The Dying Indian: Tomo Chequi
  • The Indian Burying Ground
• 5.10 Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810)
  • •His first novel, Wieland; or, The transformation: An American Tale has been considered as the first American novel.
  • Gothic features （imitation） Gothic features （imitation）
  • Edgar Huntly
  • Ormond
  • Arthur Mervyn
  • •His awareness that his inspiration was rooted in his own land, its new life and energy which, he felt, offered the writers with areas of exploration different from European subjects. (the conflicts with the Indians and the dangers of the wildness of the American west)
  • Another thing of historic significance that Brown did was his description of his characters’ inner(motional) world. a neurotic
• 第一周
• 美国文学
• General introduction to American Literature 6
  • The Contemporary Period 1945- "垮掉的一代"
  • 反文化小说：J.D Salinger-The Catcher in the Ray
  • "黑色幽默" ：海勒，冯内古特
  • 美国非裔作家小说/黑人文学
  • 当代女性作家小说; The Joy Luck Club
  • 犹太作家小说；
• General introduction to American Literature
  • Colonial Period 殖民时代 (1620-1820)
    • 1. Colonial period
    • 2. Franklin
  • Romantic Period 浪漫主义时期 (1820-1865)
    • Irving· Cooper
      • 欧文 and 库珀
    • Emerson· Thoreau
      • 爱默生 and 梭罗
    • Hawthorne· Melville
      • 霍桑 and 梅尔维尔
    • Whitman· Dickinson
      • 惠特曼 and 狄金森
    • Allan poe
      • 爱伦·坡
  • Realistic Period 现实主义时期 (1865-1918)
    • Howells· James
      • 豪威尔斯 and 詹姆斯
    • Mark Twain
      • 马克·吐温
    • Dreiser· Jack London· O.Henry
      • 德莱塞, 杰克·伦敦 and 欧·亨利
  • Modern Period 现代时期 (1918-1945)
    • Pound
      • 庞德
    • T.S. Eliot
      • 托马斯·斯特尔那斯·艾略特
    • Frost
      • 弗罗斯特
    • Fitzgerald· Hemingway
      • 菲茨杰拉德 and 海明威
    • Faulkner
      • 福克纳
  • Post-modern Period 后现代时期
  • Contemporary Period 当代时期