Western Culture精简.ppt

The Great-Chain Why Literature? Naturalism -- General Introduction Naturalistic works often include uncouth or sordid subject matter; for example, émile Zolas works had a frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, sex, prejudice, disease, prostitution, and filth. As a result, Naturalistic writers were frequently criticized for being too blunt. Naturalism -- British Literature Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) - Tess of the D’Ubrervilles -The Return of the Native - Far From the Madding Crowd - The Mayor of Casterbridge Pessimism The author’s detachment from the story Determinism: the power of the characters influence over their own lives is taken away by nature or fate Surprising twist at the end of the story 一个好女孩被两个男人毁了 Characteristics of Tess Naturalism -- American Literature Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) - Sister Carrie (1900) - Trilogy of Desire (The Financier 1912; The Titan 1914; The Stoic 1917) - The American Tragedy (1925) Naturalism -- American Literature Sister Carrie (1900) Dissatisfied with life in her rural home, Carrie takes the train to Chicago to a pursuit of the American dream. She makes it, but she is not contented, because with wealth and fame, she still finds herself lonely. She is a product of a competitive, amoral society, a realization of the theory of the survival of the fittest according to the social Darwinism. Modernism -- General Introduction Modernism is a cover term for a number of tendencies in the arts which were prominent in the first half of the 20th c. The deliberate departure from tradition and the use of innovative forms of expression that distinguish many styles in the arts and literature of the 20th century. Modernism -- General Introduction Modernism reflects the impact upon literature of the psychology of Freud and the anthropology of Sir J. Frazer, as expressed in The Golden Bough金枝(1890) which shows the impor