美国文学chapter2 The Realistic period (现实主义文学.DOCVIP

chapter2 The Realistic period (现实主义文学时期) 本章概述一. 十九世纪中期现实主义文学产生的历史、文化背景；二、美国现实主义文学创作的基本特征、基本主张；三、对同时代与后期美国文学的影响；四、主要作家作品。 文学史分析一、The time period :The period ranging from 1865 to 1914 has been referred to as the Age of Realism in the literary history of the United States .二. The theoretical base :1.The thoughts of Howells豪威尔斯 :A. The literary principle :The fidelistic reflection of human reality is most clearly expressed by William Dean Howells . B. The influence :Guided by this principle of adhering to the truthful treatment of life , the realists touched upon various comtemporary social and political issues . 2. The subject matters :A. The characters :They introduced industrial workers and farmers , ambitious businessmen and vagrants流浪者 , prostitutes妓女 and unheroic ?nhir?uik]胆怯的soldiers as major characters in fiction .B. The modes :They approached the harsh realities and pressures in the post Civil War society either by a comprehensive picture of modern life , or by a psychological exploration of mans subconsciousness . 3. The three towering figures :The three dorminant figures of the period are William Dean Howells , Mark Twain and Henry James . A. The common features :a.They brought to fulfillment native trends in the realistic portrayal brought to perfection teh vernacular style .b.They established the literary indentity of distinctively American protagonists ,主角 specifically the vernacular hero and the American Girl .C. In short , they set teh example and charted the future course for the subjects , themes ,techniques and styles of fiction . B. The distinctions :a. They differed in their understanding of the truth .While Mark Twain and Howells seemed to have paid more attention to the life of theAmericans ,Henry James had apparently laid a greater emphasis on the inner world of man .b. Though Twain and Howells both shared the same concern in presenting the truth of the American society , they had each of them differ