Lesson 15The Damned Human Race课15倒霉的人类.pptVIP

Lesson 15The Damned Human Race Mark Twain Study Focus 1. To know the background of the essay and introduction of the author. 2. To analyze the features of the essay. (style, tone, diction) 3. To appreciate alliteration and rhyme. Part One Pre-reading Tasks Introduction to the Author Definition of Black Humor Background of the Text Introduction to Mark Twain Mark Twain (1835～1910 ) (whose real name was Samuel Clemens) was born in Missouri and grew up close to the banks of the Mississippi River. Clemens started out as a printer, then turned to piloting a steamboat on the Mississippi River until the American Civil War. In 1861, Clemens served briefly as a soldier in the Confederate army. Later that year, Clemens moved to Nevada and began writing articles as a newspaper reporter. In 1863, Clemens began signing his articles with the pseudonym Mark Twain. He took it from the call of the pilots on the river steamers, which indicated that the water was twelve feet deep, a safe depth for a steamer. In 1865, Twain finished his first story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which became an instant hit. In 1870, Twain married Olivia Langdon, and they later moved to Hartford, Connecticut. In his later years, Twain became a celebrity, becoming known for wearing white suits wherever he went. Although known primarily as a humorist during his life, scholars now regard his work as some of the best and most authentic in American literature. His portraits of pre-civil war America, and his use of spoken language in his novels dominate Twains legacy. His works are famous for his black humor. Black Humor Black humor is a literary term that refers primarily to a kind of bitter and often outrageous satire. Much black humor is directed against greed, narrow-mindedness, complacency, and hypocrisy.  Black humor frequently satirizes societys institutions, including government bureaucracies, the military, and large corporations, depicting them as dehumanizing org