3General.pptVIP

* 大学英语精品课程 The American Dream in American Literature “美国梦”最初是清教移民对自由信仰、自由创造的渴望 和梦想，随后在那片新大陆上及向西部开拓的过程中，美国梦演变 为对幸福的追求，尤其是对成功的追求，包括事业、爱情、财富等。 南北战争后，随着工业化进程的深入和大都市的相继出现，美国梦 更是流行并具体化为对金钱的渴望和追求，它使人们相信：在美国 这块土地上，机会均等，只要努力奋斗，一个没有鞋子穿的穷孩子 完全可以成为百万富翁并获得幸福. The American Dream: New England: Plymouth(1620), Massachusetts(1630) The South: Jamestown in Virginia, 1617, Virginia Company in London A commercial venture Puritans for Religious freedom For the Puritans: to “build a city on a hill” 2. For the southerners: to “find the vale(valley) of plenty” Two Dimensions of American Dream The American Dream: A product of the frontier and the west. It believes in the goodness of nature and man. It represents the romantic enlargement of the possibilities of life. As long as one work hard, he surely can become successful and fulfill his wishes. American individualism ( the importance of single man, initiative independence) Writer, printer, publisher, scientist, and diplomat, he was the most famous and respected private figure of his time. He was the first great self-made man in America. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) “First great man of letters” ---- David Hume Autobiography Benjamin Franklin embodied the Enlightenment ideal of humane rationality. Practical yet idealistic, hard-working and enormously successful, Franklin recorded his early life in his famous Autobiography. The most famous section describes his scientific scheme of self-improvement. Franklin lists 13 virtues: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He elaborates on each with a maxim; for example, the temperance maxim is Eat not to Dullness. Drink not to Elevation. A pragmatic scientist, Franklin put the