Immigrants' travel

The development history of American literature is very short, only 500 years since Columbus discovered the New World and only about 200 years since the founding of the United States. More than 200 years ago, the mainland of the United States was still in the colonial period, and there were only folk oral creations by indigenous Indians and travel notes and diaries written by British immigrants. From 65438 to 0775, the "American War of Independence" broke out between the American nation and the British suzerain. 1On July 4, 776, the United States declared its independence. 1783 won the war of independence and the British colonial rule in North America came to an end. After independence, the United States quickly entered the stage of free competition of capitalism, but the industrial revolution originated in Europe produced completely different results in the north and south of the United States. The North has enacted a constitution, practiced democracy and made great progress in economic development. 1860 ranks fourth in the world. And slavery continues in the south. In this way, there was a sharp contradiction between the two systems, and finally a civil war broke out in 186 1. After nearly five years of civil war, it ended in victory in the north. This nearly 100-year history is a period of free competition of American capitalism.

From the end of the Civil War to the outbreak of the First World War, American capitalism was in the stage of transition to imperialism and expansion abroad. During this period, the total industrial output value of the United States jumped from the fourth in the world in 1860 to the first in the world in 1894. Then there are monopoly trusts, and industrial and financial giants control the political and economic lifeline of the country. In addition, a series of social problems such as unemployment, slums and environmental pollution have also appeared one after another. At the same time, American monopoly groups also stepped up capital export in an attempt to establish political and economic monopoly groups in the United States. In the First World War, the United States, as a neutral country, made a fortune in the arms trade. It has made great progress in post-war science and technology and industrial production, and entered the ranks of world powers, but the corresponding poverty, pollution and class contradictions are also more acutely reflected. At the same time, it expanded more widely and participated in the national liberation movements that strangled China, the Philippines and other countries.

Literature is an image reflection of social life, and this special social history of the United States is of course also reflected in literary creation, which has an important impact on literary creation. Throughout the history of American literature for more than 200 years, it can be divided into four development periods. It can be the first period before the civil war, the second period from the civil war to the first world war, the third period between the two world wars and the fourth period after the second world war.

Before the civil war, that is, the first period, romanticism was the mainstream of American literature. Because American literature in this period reflected the ideals and enthusiasm of the emerging bourgeoisie, its expression was fresh and lively, and it was influenced by the romantic literary movement in Europe, which was still in its heyday at that time, resulting in its romantic tone. His representative writers and works are: Irving and his notes on experience (1820), Cooper and his pioneers (1923), Hawthorne and his scarlet letter (1850), Melville and his Mobidick (1850). Poems include Poe and His Crow (1845), Longfellow and His Song of Warsaw, Whitman and His Leaves of Grass, etc. Most of these excellent romantic works are based on American life, shining with the brilliance of humanism and democracy, marking the first prosperity of American literature. During this period, a masterpiece of abolitionist literature, Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, was also produced (1852).

From the end of the Civil War (1865) to the outbreak of World War I (19 14), realism replaced romanticism and became the mainstream of American literature. Among them, Mark Twain is the founder of American realistic literature. O Henry's short stories are called "humorous encyclopedia of American life". Jack London's novel Iron Shoes is Uncle Tom's Cabin which slavery is exposed.

Realistic literature in America is decades behind that in Europe. 19 the United States was still in The Romantic Period in the 1930s and 40s when critical realism literature in western Europe rose. However, when the civil war ended, American capitalism entered the stage of imperialism, and the ills of capitalist society, such as the continuous bankruptcy of the middle and small bourgeoisie, the expanding army of unemployment, the increasingly sharp class contradictions, and the existence of racial discrimination, were even more exposed, making people disillusioned with the ideal of bourgeois freedom and democracy. Therefore, with the development of society and the progress of science, new ideologies have emerged. For example, the discovery of cells, energy transformation and biological evolution in the field of science and technology, and the establishment of Einstein's theory of relativity have all prompted people to look at problems dialectically. Dialectical materialism in philosophy continues to develop, and Nietzsche's "Superman" theory, Comte's positivism and william james's and Dewey's positivism philosophy are also very popular in the United States. With the development of science and philosophy in the field of religion, people are increasingly alienated from it. This universal concern for the general trend of the times makes people pay more attention to reality, so romanticism is no longer in tune with the times, and the influence of European realism promotes the vigorous rise of realistic literature.

American realistic literature has several characteristics: 1, dissatisfied with the status quo. This dissatisfaction with the status quo is a direct criticism of the monopoly bourgeoisie. Because at this time, the United States has transitioned to the stage of imperialism, and the contradiction among workers, peasants, middle and petty bourgeoisie and monopoly bourgeoisie has become the main contradiction in American society. For example, Norris' novel Octopus (190 1) describes the conflict between farmers and monopoly capitalists and accuses them of oppression and exploitation. It shows sincere sympathy for the lower class people. For example, Dreiser's Sister Carrie and Girl Jenny, taking the tragic fate of two poor daughters as a clue, describe the tragic life situation of the lower class in the United States extensively and truly. 3. With racial discrimination becoming a serious social problem in the United States, opposing racial discrimination has also become an important theme in American realistic literature. For example, Mark Twain's Adventures of Hagerback Finn and Fool Wilson, Douglas's Self-Report of a Black Slave in America, etc. The main writers and works of American realism include The Rise of Silas lapham by Howells (1885), The Portrait of a Lady by James (188 1), The Happy House by Wharton (1905) and Norris's. Among them, Mark Twain, Jack London and O'Henry are the most outstanding representatives. They are famous writers who pushed American literature to the world after Whitman and Mrs. Stowe.

The period from World War I to World War II was the second prosperous period of American literature, which was called "Renaissance in the 20th century" by literary historians. In its nearly 30 years of literary development, various schools have emerged one after another, and new writers have innovative spirit. Their works also show various contradictions under the background of highly developed capitalist society from different aspects, which have had a wide influence in the world literary world. American literature has also become an independent national literature. After 1930, American writers successively won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

An important phenomenon in the history of American literature in the 1920s was the emergence of the "lost generation". After World War I, a number of war-weary and rebellious novels appeared in American literary circles. Dos Pace's novels A Man's Start-1917 (1920) and Three Soldiers (192 1) first show confusion and pessimism. Most of the writers of the "lost generation" participated in the First World War, and the survivors of these wars felt "betrayed". The sufferings in the war not only hurt their bodies, but also destroyed their spiritual world. The representative work of "The Lost Generation" is Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (1926).

At the same time, modernist thoughts from western Europe poured into American literary world, and modernist literature reached its peak. 19 12, Poetry magazine was founded in Chicago, which marked the beginning of modernist literature and art. Imagist poets represented by Pound boldly developed free verse. Instead of exploring the essential relationship between things, they try to express the feelings and consciousness of the subjective world. This unique technique of expression has had a profound influence on modern American poetry. From 19 12 to 1945, 20th-century pastoral school, Chicago poetic school and physiocratic school, represented by Frost, appeared successively in American literary circles. This period is also considered to be the most prosperous period in the history of American poetry.

American literature after World War II developed under the background of unprecedented economic and cultural prosperity. The diversified artistic pattern and artistic exploration, as well as the emergence of various schools and new people, make it another superb history of American literature. During this period, the "Beat Generation" and "Black Humor" novels, black literature, liberal poetry, Jewish literature and war novels were colorful. In all aspects of free exploration, some writers pay more attention to the problems of the empirical world, such as violence, murder, drug abuse, family disintegration, ecological deterioration, ethnic, gender and class conflicts, and the resulting mental panic, loneliness, depression, disorientation, split personality and so on; Some writers pay more attention to the transcendental world. They transcend the specific contradictions in the real society, think about the basic situation of human beings from a metaphysical point of view, and explore the ultimate truth, such as the limitations of human beings, the future, survival and destruction, the significance and value of existence, and the antinomy of civilization and progress, which are the basic themes of their works.