Literary History of the United States.docx

Literary History of the United States.docx

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LiteraryHistoryoftheUnitedStates

研究生写作课程论文

论文题目LiteraryHistoryoftheUnitedStates

姓名YongChang-Zhu朱永昌

专业Materialscience

Contents

Abstract

America’shistoryofliteraturebeganwiththeswarminginofimmigrantswithdifferentbackgroundandcultures.Afterthat,AmericanliteraturehadbeengreatlyinfluencedbytheEuropeancultureforalongperiod.ItwasnotuntilAmerica’sindependence,didAmericansrealizedthattheyneednationalliteraturestrongly,andAmericanliteraturebegantodeveloped.TheCivilWarwasawatershedinthehistory,afterwhichAmericanliteratureenteredaperiodoffullblooming.Romantics,whichemphasizedindividualismandintuitionandTnscendentalismrepresentedbyEmersoncameoutintobeing.ThiswasanexcitingperiodinthehistoryofAmericanliterature.Liketheflowersofspring,thereweresuddenlymanydifferentkindsofwritingatthesametime.TheyhavegivendepthandstrengthtoAmericanliterature,andacceleratedtheformingofHighRomantics.ButduetotheinfluenceofCivilWar,theAmericansocietywasinaturbulentsituation.Thewritingsaboutlocallife,criticalrealismandunveilingthedarksideofthesocietywereincreased.AfterTheFirstWorldWar,Americanswereatalosspostwar,andtheModernAmericanliteraturebegan.

Keywords:

NationalLiterature,Romanism,Transcendentalism,LocalColor,Realism,Modernliterature

摘要

从殖民地时期起，欧洲殖民者和清教徒翻开了美国文学史的第一页。

这往后很长一段时期，美国文学一直都受到欧洲文化的很大影响。

一直到美国独立后，美国人强烈地感觉到了民族文学的需要，美国的民族文学开始发展。

南北战争是美国文学史上一个分水岭，战后美国文学进入了一个全盛时期，产生了强调个性主义和直觉的早期浪漫主义，和以爱默生为代表的超验主义文学。

爱默生的时代是美国前所未有的文学变动时代，产生了一大批优秀的作家和作品。

他们突出地给予了当时美国文学以深度和力量，也促进了罗曼主义高潮的来临。

但是由于战争的影响，社会动荡不安，这时的作品更注重于揭示社会的阴暗面，同时美国的民族文学进一步发展，创作出许多带有本土色彩和批判现实主义的作品。

一战后，美国人陷入战后的茫然，美国也开始进入了现代文学阶段。

关键词：

民族文学，浪漫主义，超验主义，本土色彩，现实主义，现代文学

TheprocessofAmericanliteraturecanbedividedintofollowingmainperiods:

ColonyandPuritanliterature;earlynationalliterature;latternationalliteratureandModernliterature.

America’shistoryofliteraturebeganwiththeswarminginofimmigrantswithdifferentbackgroundandcultures.Afterthat,AmericanliteraturehadbeengreatlyinfluencedbytheEuropeancultureforalongperiod.Americanliterature,liketheflowersofspring,thereweresuddenlymanydifferentkindsofwritingatthesametime.TheyhavegivendepthandstrengthtoAmericanliterature,andacceleratedtheformingofHighRomantics.

ButduetotheinfluenceifCivilWar,theAmericansocietywasinaturbulentsituation.Thewritingsaboutlocallife,criticalrealismandunveilingthedarksideofthesocietywereincreased.AfterTheFirstWorldWar,Americanswereatalosspostwar,andtheModernAmericanliteraturebegan.

1.ColonialandearlyAmericanliterature

1.1.TravelersandExplorers

WhentheEuropeanexplorersfirstcametothisnewcontinent,thenativeIndianswhoprobablygotherefromAsiaaboutfifteenthousandyearsagowerestillinorigin,andtheyevenhadnowrittenlanguage,“Thetraditionalliteraturewasoriginallytransmittedalmostentirelybywordofmouth,andthereforebelongstothecategoryoforalliterature,”（WuDingbo,1）Astimepast,moreandmoretravelersandexplorersswarmedin.Theywrotealotofdiaries、letters,andtravelaccountstodescribethenewlandassecondEden.NowandersomebodysaidthattheearliestAmericanliteraturewerethetravelaccountswrittenbyEuropeanadventurers.AmongthemostremainedwereCaptainJohnSmith’sTrueRelationofVirginia（1608）,andDescriptionofNewEngland（1616）.

1.2Pilgrimsettlements

Severalyearslater,anothergroupofsettlersalsoarrivedintheNewWorld.ThisgroupwaslookingfortheJamestownsettlement.However,becauseofbadnavigation,theylandedinMassachusetts.TheywerealsocomingtotheNewWorldwithdreamsofsuccess,buttheirgoalwasdifferentfromtheJamestownsettlement.TheywantedtostartanewworldgovernedbytheBible.TheywerecalledPuritansbecausetheywantedtoliveabetterlifebymakingthemselvespure.TheyfirstarrivedontheMayflowerandsettledinPlymouth.Thisisthegroupweareusuallythinkingaboutwhenwetalkaboutthe"firstAmericans."

ThemostsignificantpoetsfromthisperiodwasAnneBradstreet（1612-1672）.HerpoemsinTenthMuseLatelySprungUpInAmerica（1650）reflectedtheconconcernsofwomenwhocametosettleinthecolonies,andinallherpoems,however,sheshowsherstrongbeliefinGod.

2.18thcentury—theAgeofreason

2.1TheAgeofreason

Inthe18thcentury,peoplebelievedinman’sownnatureandthepowerofhumanreason.WithFranklinasitsspokesman,the18thcenturyAmericaexperiencedanageofreason.

AmongthemostrenownedwastheworkCommonSense（1776）ofThomasPaine（1737-1809）.It’stheringingcallforthedecorationofliberty.HealsowroteCrisis（1774-1783）andTheAgeofReason（1794-1796）,accordingtoWu,“Hethoughtthatreligionshouldbebasedonrational,reasonableground.”（WuDingbo,12）ThepamphletshelpedcompletethedebatethatresultedinAmerica'sseparationfromEngland.

AndofcourseforalltheAmericans,themostimportantdocumentfromthisperiodwasasinglesheetofpapercalledTheDeclarationofIndependence（1776）,mainlywrittenbyThomasJeffersonandBenjaminFranklin.

DuringthistimewritersthoughtthatthetruthshouldbereliedonBible,churchmen,authorities,orpracticeandexperience.

2.2EarlyNationalLiterature

DuringtheperiodofAmericanRevolutionWar,Americannationalliteraturecameintobeing.Sincebeforethewar,Americanpeoplehavealreadyhadtheawarenessofnationalindependence,sotheywrotemanypoliticalwritingsrevolutionarypoems.

ThewarhelpedthefirstimportantAmericanprosewritersandpoetsgrowupbothculturallyandartistically.Furthermore,theindependenceofnationledtotheindependenceofnationalliterature.Fromthismomenton,Americanpeoplebegantounderstandofmeaningofbeingareal”American“.

3.TheflourishingofAmericanliteraturein19thcentury

3.1  EarlyRomantics

Inearly19thcentury,WashingtonIrving（1783-1859）,thepersonbornwiththenewnation,hisTheSketchBookcreatedanewstyleofAmericanliterature—shortnovel.JamesFenimoreCooper（1789-1851）His"Leather-Stocking"novelstoldusastoryabouthowthebraveimmigrantsfightwithsavageusingwhattheyhavelearntfromnature.

AnotherfamouswriterofthistimewasWilliamCullenBryant（1794-1878）,hewasregardedoneoftheearliestnaturalistpoetsinAmericanhistory.HisgreatestpoemThanatopsiswaspublishedintheNorthAmericanReviewin1817.Heappreciatesnormalbirdsandflowers,throughwhichappreciatedharmoniousrelationshipbetweenhumanandnature.TheRomanticsemphasizedindividualismandtheythoughtfeelingsandemotionsweremoreimportantthanreasonandcommonsense.

3.2TheTranscendentalism

“TheNewEnglandTranscendentalismwasromanticidealismonpuritansoil”（WuDingbo:

28）.Itstressedthepowerofintuitionplacedspiritfirst,andittooknatureassymbolicofspiritorGod.TherewerethreemainfeaturesofTranscendentalismwereUnitarianism,idealisticphilosophy,andorientalmysticism.  RalphWaldoEmerson（1803-1882）,theleaderofAmericanTranscendentalism.“Hecaptainedagroupofenthusiastandformedatranscendentalclubwiththem.HealsohelpedtosetupandeditedthetranscendentalistjournalTheDial.”Hehadwrittenmanyfamousessays.AmongthebestareNatureandTheAmericanScholar,whichhasbeencalled“America’sDeclarationofIntellectualIndependence”.EmersonwroteinTheAmericanScholar（1837）,amanmust"learntodetectandwatchthatgleamoflightwhichflashesacrosshismindfromwithin."Themainkeytothisinnerworldistheimagination.Man'simaginationleadstoexpression.Ourexpressionmakeseachofusauniquehuman.Romanticismbecamethewayofthinkingforthisgenerationofwriters.

HenryDavidThoreauwasalsooneofthewritersofTranscendentalism,andhisfamousessaywasWalden,inwhichherevealedthehiddenspiritualpossibilitiesineveryone’slife,andtoconsideratethepursuitofmaterialthings.

4.LocalColorAndRealism:

ANewFlavortoAmericanLiterature

4.1LocalColorFictionandMarkTwain

LocalColorFictionfirstappearedintheearly19thcentury,andithadfurtherdevelopingaftertheCivilWar.Thiskindofliteraturemainlydescribesthelocallife.Itskeynotewasoptimistic,andthelanguagewasnarrativeandhumorous.Forexample,theworkofBretHarte（1836-1902）toldusthelifeofAmericanwesternminers.MarkTwainwasthemainwriterofthisperiod.Hewrotefornearly50years,andhehadactuallywrittenmanydifferenttypesofstories.Nevertheless,TwainisrememberedmostforTheAdventuresofTomSawyer（1876）,LifeontheMississippi（1884）andTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn（1884）.Thecharactershecreatedwerehumorousandfullofwittiness.  MarkTwain’sworkwasregardedthewitnessofAmerica’spurelocallife.AccordingtoCalkins,“FewAmericanwritershavewrittenthesameafterreadingTwain,forhehashelpedchangetheentirecountrywithhishumorandskillfulstorytelling.”（CarrollC.Calkins,124）.

4.2RiseofRealism

Romanticwritersfocusedonthedevelopmentofplot,makethestoryasinterestingandattractiveaspossible,whilerealismwritersemphasizedthecharacterizationofcharacters,focusedonobjectivityratherthananidealisticviewofhumannatureandhumanexperience.

WilliamDeanHowells（1837-1920）insistedthatRealismwasthetruthfultreatmentofmaterialmoralproblemsofsociety.AndinO.Henry（1862-1910）’sfictions,allhischaracterswerecommonpeopleandalwayshadanironicalandsurprisedending.  

Therewasanotherstyleofwriting