American Enlightenment__ Literature(美国文学)课件.ppt

Revolutionary Period (1775-1783);In the 18th century, people believed in man’s own nature and the power of human reason. With Franklin as its spokesman, the 18th century America experienced an age of reason. Words had never been so useful and so important in human history. People wrote a lot of political writings. Numerous pamphlets and printings were published. These works agitated revolutionary people not only in America but also around the world.;The 18th-century American Enlightenment was a movement marked by an emphasis on rationality rather than tradition, scientific inquiry instead of unquestioning religious dogma, and representative government in place of monarchy. Enlightenment thinkers and writers were devoted to the ideals of justice, liberty, and equality as the natural rights of man. The colonists who would form a new nation were firm believers in the power of reason; they were ambitious, inquisitive, optimistic, practical, politically astute, and self-reliant. ;Leading writers and their works;;《自传》;At 16, he began to publish essays under the pseudonym “Silence Do good” . At 17, he ran away to Philadelphia to make his own fortune. He set himself up as an independent printer and publisher. In 1727 he founded the Junto club. Franklin’s Contributions to Society He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital. He founded an academy which led to the University of Pennsylvania. And he helped found the American Philosophical Society. ; Franklin’s Contributions to Science;The Autobiography is a record of self-examination and self-improvement. Benjamin Franklin was a spokesman for the new order of the 18th century enlightenment The Autobiography is a how-to-do-it book, a book on the art of self-improvement. (for example, Franklin’s 13 virtues) Through telling a success story of self-reliance, the book celebrates, in fact, the fulfillment of the American dream. The Autobiography is in the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision.;;《美洲光辉的兴起》;