高英Lesson7TheLibidofortheUgly.pptVIP

Unit 7 The Libido for the Ugly By H. L. Mencken Teaching Points I. Background knowledge II. Introduction to the passage III. Text Analysis IV. Rhetorical devices V. Questions I. Background Knowledge A. Introduction to the author: Henry Louis Mencken (1880 - 1956) --- the first American to be widely read as a critic --- the most prominent newspaperman --- book reviewer --- political commentator --- a prolific writer of his day. Henry Louis Mencken was born in Baltimore City, September 12, 1880 to a family of cigar makers. While he spent his youth and early adulthood following his fathers footsteps in the cigar trade, he spent his free time writing and reading voraciously. By the age of eight, he had already become interested in literature, and owned his first library card by the age of nine. In 1888, he received his first inking kit, and began his long career of publishing and working with the presses. After his fathers death in 1899, H.L. Mencken left the cigar industry and earned his first position with the Baltimore Morning Herald as a reporter at the age of 18. His eagerness to learn the trade quickly earned him the title of editor in under two years, a position he kept until the Herald ceased to exist in 1906. From there he moved to the Baltimore Sun where he remained on staff until 1948. But H.L. Mencken was no ordinary reporter. His reviews and columns became some of the widest-read columns in the country. Among many of his amazing reports, H.L. Mencken was well known for his commentary during the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1929. As a free-lance columnist, his columns addressed many of the social issues of the day, ranging from civil rights and social Darwinism to Prohibition and the Great Depression. While not everything he wrote was politically correct and considered by some to be down right racist and elitist, his writings with the Baltimore Sun and later the magazine he ed