南开大学 外国语学院 美国文学教程 The_Age_of_Realism.pptVIP

* The Age of Realism 现实主义文学时期 The year 1865 is considered as an important year in the shift from Romanticism （浪漫主义）to Realism （现实主义）in American literature．Realism had always existed in literature，but yet not until the late nineteenth century did realism dominate in American Literature．The American society after the Civil War (1861—1865) provided rich soil for the rise and development of Realism． The Civil War was a turning point in American history．It brought America’s great change from an agrarian （农业的）to an industrial society．The principal issue of the war was the conflict between industry and capitalist dermocracy （民主） in the North and agriculture and slavery in the South．The war ended with the overwhelming triumph of industrialism over agrarianism. The War brought many great changes to every aspect of American people. The Civil War destroyed the romantic concept of war. In the eyes of romanticists，wars were always glorious, grand，and noble encounters，something heroic. However, the amazing number of dead soldiers made it hard for people to have a noble vision of mankind any more. Therefore, Mark Twain once described man as “the only animal who indulged in one after another of the atrocity （凶恶，残暴） of war．” This statement is a representative attitude of the post-Civil War writers in America．To them，there is nothing romantic about war． Moreover, the Civil War also changed American people’s views on values, morality and religion．Before the Civil War，the puritan ethic （清教的价值观）was the dominant morality in America．Puritans believed in the principles of evil and“salvation”. They considered perseverance （坚持不懈），stark （全然的）simplicity，and strenuous （艰苦，繁重的）good works as virtue，and regarded idleness，drunkenness and sexual immorality as depravity （堕落）. However，materialism had shaken the religious conviction of the Puritans. Stimulated by materialism，people were eager to pursue money and enjoyed the pleasures of life．They became dubious about human na