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IntroductionI.Whydowehavesuchcourse?Englishliteratureisoneofthecompulsoryandmostimportantcourses.However,theEnglishliteraturecoursesofferedaremerelytaughtattheleveloflearninggeneralinformationanddevelopingliteralunderstanding.Admittedly,suchcourseshelpthem/youalotintheir/youracquisitionoftheEnglishlanguage.ButthefunctionofEnglishliteraturereachesfarbeyondthat.InreadingEnglishliterature,astudentshouldhavethepowertodiscernhowhumanbeingstranslatetheirexperienceintoartisticexpressionandrepresentation;howwriters,throughtheircreativeimpulses,conveytoustheirinsightsintohumandestinyandhumanlife;andhowsocialconcernisinvolvedinaspecificformofhumanimagination.Inaddition,studentsshouldelevatetothelevelofcultivatingacuriosityfortheunknown,thinkingcogentlyandlogically,expressingthemselvesclearlyandconcisely,andobservingtheworldaroundthemcriticallyandobjectively.Butmoststudentsarestillatalossastohowtheycaneffectivelyanalyzealiteraryworkbythemselvesinanyoftheserespects,eventhoughtheyhavereadplentyofexcerptsfromrepresentativeworksintheBritishandAmericanliterarycanon.Andtheytendtohavelittleideawhatrolethebeginningpartplaysinthewholestory,howtheplotdevelopsandcomestoresolution,inwhatwaypointofviewdeterminesareader’sunderstandingofthestory,andhowtheimagesandsymbolsarerelatedtothetheme.Uponconsiderationofthesefactors,wehavesuchcoursewiththeintentionofcultivatingbothstudents’literarysensibilitiesandtheir/yourcriticalpowerwhenreadingEnglishshortstoriesandnovels.II.Introductionaboutreadingastory1.WhatisStory?“Yes–oh,dear,yes—thenoveltellsastory.”ThisisForster’sremark,whichisworthspecialattention,forheissomeoneinthetradeandwithrichexperience.InhisAspectsoftheNovelhelists“story”asthefirstaspect.Peoplereadingnovelsforstoriesusuallyaskquestionslike“whathappenednext?”and“and”whatwouldhedonext?”Thesequestionsattesttothetwobasicelementsofastory.Theoneistheeventandtheotherthetime.Astoryisaseriesofhappeningsarrangedinthenaturaltemporalorderastheyoccur.Storyisthebasisofthenovel,andindeedthebasisofnarrativeworksofallkinds.2.ThestructureandfunctionsofastoryPlot;character;pointofview;theme;style3.WhatisFiction?Fiction,thegeneraltermforinventedstories,nowusuallyappliedtonovels,shortstories,novella,romances,fables,andothernarrativeworksinprose,eventhoughmostplaysandnarrativepoemsarealsofictional.(P.83.ConciseDictionaryofLiteraryTerms)4.TheStoryandtheNovelToreadnovelsforstoryisnothingwrong,butnothingprofessionaleither.“Onemarkofasecond-ratemindistobealwaystellingstories.”TheremarkbytheFrenchwriterjeandeLaBruyere(1645~1696)isalsotrueofthereader.Ifthepurposeofthenovelisonlytotellstories,itcouldaswellremainunborn,fornewspapersandhistorybooksaresufficienttosatisfypeople’sdesireforstoriesaboutbothpresentandpast,andevenaboutfuture.Infact,manynewapapermenhavebeendissatisfiedwiththeirjobofreportingandcomeintothefieldofnovelwriting.Defoe,Dickens,Joyce,HemingwayandCamuswereamongthemostfamousandthemostsuccessfulconverts.Evenhistoriansmayfeelobligedtodomorethanmerestoriesorfacts.EdwardGibborn’sDeclineandFalloftheRomanEmpireispraisednotonlyforitsmultitudinousfactsandrationalisticanalysis,butmoreforitsbeautyofnarrativestyle.Intellingstories,thenovelistaimsatsomethinghigherorheintendstoaddsomethingtothemere“facts.”Asindicatedinthedefinitionofthenovel,whatmakesanovelisthenovelist’sstyle(personalizedpresentationofthestory)andinterpretationofthestory.ChapterOnePlotI.WhatisPlot?1.AccordingtoAristotlewhatarethesixelementsofthestructureoftragedy?Tragedyasawholehasjustsixconstituentelements…andtheyareplot,characters,verbalexpression,thought,visualadornment,andsong—composition.Fortheelementsbywhichtheyimitatearetwo(verbalexpressionandsong—composition),themannerinwhichtheyimitateisone(visualadornment),thethingstheyimitatearethree(plot,characters,thought),andthereisnothingmorebeyondthese.2.WhatisPlotunderthepensofmodernnovelistsandstorytellers?Andhowtounderstand“Plot”inastory?(“”ppt:‘Thequeendied,nooneknewwhy,untilitwasdiscoveredthatitwasthroughgriefatthedeathoftheking.’…P.6Itsuspendsthetime-sequence,itmovesasfarawayfromthestoryasitslimitationswillallow.)Thestoryandthecharacteralonecannotmakeanovelye.Tomakeanovel,aplotisprerequisite.AlookattheexamplesuggestedbyE.M.Forsterwillhelptodistinguishbetweenthestoryandtheplot.“Thekingdiedandthenthequeendied”isnotaplot,butastory.Ifwemakeit“Thekingdiedandthenthequeendiedofgrief,’wehaveaplot.Thiscausalphrase“ofgrief”indicatesourinterpretationandthusarrangementofthehappenings.Intheworldofrealityeventstakeplaceoneafteranotherinthenaturaltemporalorder,butintheworldoffictionitisthenovelist’sdesignthatoneparticulareventoccurafteranotherparticularevent.Theveryword“plot”impliesthenovelist’srebellionagainstthenaturallawandhisendeavortomakemeaningsoutofthehappeningsthatmayotherwisebemeaningless.“Thehappenings”mayormaynotberealhappenings.(Sowhatplotis--)Aplotisaparticulararrangementofhappeningsinanovelthatisaimedatrevealingtheircausalrelationshipsoratconveyingthenovelist’sideas.Aplotissometimescalledastoryline.Themostimportantofthetraditional