美国文学史及作品选读

美国文学史及作品选读Unit6AmericanRealism:WilliamDeanHowells,HenryJamesandMarkTwainHistoricalBackgroundTwophases:thephaseofanexpandingcontinentalnationfrom1865till1890s;andtheso-called“progressiveperiod”from1890still1914.AmericanRealism:1865-1914TheCivilWar:destroyedtheinnocenceprevalentearlierinthe19thcentury;(Chang,158:ledmanytoquestiontheassumptionssharedbytheTranscendentalists---naturalgoodness,theoptimisticviewofnatureandman,benevolentGod.)AmericanRealism:1865-1914TheUSchangedfromanationofdistinctregionsintoanationdominatedbyNorthernindustrialization,businessandfinance.Industrialism,mechanization,movementawayfromfarm,metropolitan,lustforwealthandpower“TheGildedAge”theageofwealthandpoverty,ofprogressanddecline,andtheageofgaudyexcesses.Theclosingfrontier:thedevelopmentofrailroads:mobile,Westernsettlement,settlementintheGreatPlainsandmountainousregions,awarenessofregionalcharacteristics;disillusionmentandfrustration,sufferingandunhappinessTheclosingfrontierFromthe1890son,therewasagreatdealofenthusiasmforvarioussocialandeconomicreforms,hencetheterm“theprogressiveera.”Mostofthewriterswhowrotewithseriousnessandconvictionweresocialcritics.TheProgressiveEraBythe1870sNewEnglandRenaissancehadwaned.(HawthorneandThoreaudead;Emerson,LongfellowandotherNewEnglandcelebritiesoldandfeeble;Melvilleceasedtopublish.Dickinsonnotbroughttolightyet.OnlyWhitmanremainedactive.)TheAgeofRomanticismandTranscendentalismwasbyandlargeover.童明，143：ParametersofRealism:“Americanrealismmaybemeasuredbythefollowingparameters”:1.RealismreactsagainstRomanticism’semphasisonintuition,imagination,adreamy(orinnocent)senseofwonder,idealism,faithinnature,andgeneraloptimisticbeliefinthegoodnessofthings.ParametersofRealism2.Realistsclaimthattheyseektruththatisverifiablebyexperienceandhavepracticalconsequences;theydonotseekabstracttruth.ParametersofRealism3.Realismisembeddedinamimetictheoryofart.“Mimesis”means“imitation.”Realistsbelievethatliteratureimitatesreality.…realistsareattentivetosuchdetailsasdialect,customs,andexperiencesthatarecommonplaceand“real.”4.Realiststrytodescribeasmallportionoftheknowableworldinordertomaintain“objectivity.”5.Localcolorandregionalwritingsconstitutedtheearlyphaseofrealism.Naturalismisanothervariationofrealisminthatitemphasizesabiologicalorsocioeconomicdeterminism.ParametersofRealismverisimilitudeofdetailderivedfromobservation”forseveraldecades,the“dean”ofhiscountry’sliterature.InawaythefatherofAmericanRealism;borninasmalltowninOhio;mostlyschooledhimselffromhisfather’sbook-shelves;theeditor-in-chiefofTheAtlanticMonthly,usedthejournaltospreadrealism;Thewritershouldrevealthegoodinlifeasmorerealthantheevil(emphasizesmorality;“thissmilingcontinent,”“smilingaspects);realismisaformofdemocracyandispeculiarlysuitableasanAmericanmethod.WilliamDeanHowells(1837-1920)AModernInstance(1882)TheRiseofSilasLapham(1885)WilliamDeanHowells:AnAmericanrealistauthorandliterarycritic.TheDeanofAmericanLettersBornintoawealthyculturedfamilyofNewYorkCity;greatinfluencefromhisfatherandbrotherFather,HenryJames,Sr.:anunorthodoxtheologian,oneofthebest-knownintellectualsinmid-nineteenth-centuryAmerica;brother,WilliamJames,philosopherandpsychologistPsychologicalrealismHenryJames(1843-1916)Literarycriticism:“TheArtofFiction”Novels:Hiswritingcareercanbedividedintothreedistinctiveperiods:A.1865-1882:TheAmerican(1877),DaisyMiller(1879),ThePortraitofaLady(1881);the“internationaltheme”:AmericaninnocenceinfaceofEuropeansophisticationB.1882-1895:talesofsubtlestudiesofinter-personalrelationships;plays:TheBostonians(1886)C.1895-1915:1895-1900:novellasandtalesdealingwithchildhoodandadolescence,arevivalofhisearlierthemeofinnocenceinacorruptedworld;TheTurnoftheScrew(1898);WhatMaisieKnew(1897);1900-1904:trilogy,threegreatnovels,TheWingsoftheDove(1902),TheAmbassadors(1903),hismostperfectworkofart,TheGoldenBowl(1904);1904-1915:someAmericanimpressionsandsomeautobiographicalmatter.HenryJamesTheInternationalThemeThefirstandthethirdstageswriteaboutthe“internationaltheme”:innocentAmericanconfrontingthesophisticatedEuropeanculture;themeetingofAmericaandEurope,AmericaninnocenceincontactandcontrastwithEuropeandecadenceandthemoralandpsychologicalcomplicationsarisingtherefrom.FortheAmericanitwasaprocessofprogressionfrominexperiencetoexperience,frominnocencetoknowledgeandmaturity.Realismandlocalcolorismdevelopedalmostatthesametimeandwereintertwined.Realismisattheheartoflocalcolorism.Theoreticalorientation:realismtriestocapturethetruthoflifeandportraylifeandpeopleastheyseeit,esp.ordinarypeople;localcolorismemphasizesthecharacteristicsoftheirownregion,deeplyrootedinAmerica,inlocalsoilandculture.Forthefirsttime,therichvarietyofAmericanlifeandAmericanpeoplearefullypresentedinliteraryworks.LocalColorismLocalcolorismismostlyconcernedwiththecharacteristicsofpeopleandlifeoftheirownregions.Asaresult,localcoloristsindifferentregionstogetherpresentedamostcolorfulandcomprehensivepictureofAmericaandAmericanlife,bestpresentednotonlythehistoryofthecountrybutthedevelop