Published papers related to American literature

American literature has experienced more than 200 years of development since the colonial period and has become increasingly mature. The following is what I collected for you. Welcome to read the reference!

Article 1

A brief introduction to American natural literature

As a literary genre, American natural literature is traditionally influenced by European romanticism. But it was born in the "new world" civilization of the United States, and naturally has characteristics that other countries do not have. American natural literature originated in the17th century and laid the foundation in the19th century, forming a contemporary literary school with unique American characteristics.

Ecological consciousness of the relationship between man and nature in natural literature

First, the concept of American natural literature

Literally speaking, natural literature is nothing more than writing with nature as the theme. But the connotation of this concept itself is very rich. It is a kind of literature produced under the special natural and humanistic background of the United States. Natural literature attracts attention because of its novelty and uniqueness. Formally, it belongs to non-fiction prose literature, which mainly appears in the form of prose and diary. From the content, it is mainly to think about the relationship between man and nature. In short, the most typical expression of American natural literature is the first person, which describes the author's physical and mental experience from the civilized world to the natural environment in a realistic way.

The significance of American natural literature lies in innovation. In the tradition of western civilization, people always tend to treat spirit and matter, self and environment, man and nature separately and differently. The motive force of the development of American natural literature is the integration of spirit and matter, self and environment, man and nature. From the original pure natural history to rubbing literature into natural history; From the early natural prose, which mainly explores nature and personal thoughts and behaviors, to the contemporary natural literature, which advocates the coexistence of man and nature. We can say that from the development trend of American natural literature, we have seen the evolution of human civilization.

Second, the development of American natural literature.

As a concept, natural literature came into being in modern times, but it was formed in a long historical process and has its historical origins.

/kloc-John of the 0/7th century? Smith's New England and William? Bradford's History of Plymouth is written in descriptive prose, with fresh and simple language and full of vigor and vitality, which laid the foundation for the unique style of natural literature in the future.

/kloc-Jonathan in the 0/8th century? In Autobiography and The Image of Another Sacred Object, Edwards boldly integrated the inner spiritual experience with the external natural scenery, and showed metaphorically that God made the whole material world a "shadow of the spiritual world". /kloc-William, another influential figure in the 0/8th century? Bartram is regarded as "the first person to gain a reputation in European and American literary circles" in the United States. His masterpiece Travels not only reflects the author's philosophy as a natural person, but also has an influence on European romanticism. It is generally believed that natural prose became a unique style at the end of 18, and its symbol was the appearance of Barthelme's travel notes.

19th century, with Thomas? Cole's Essay on American Scenery, Ralph? Waldo. With the advent of Emerson's On Nature and other works, American writers began to regard the scenery of the New World as the source of literature and art. Before that, American writers and artists often turned their eyes to the European continent to seek the cultural foundation of literary and artistic creation. Cole's conclusion in his prose is that American communication does not pay attention to the past, present and future. If Europe represents culture, then the United States represents nature. Americans who grew up in the country of nature should look for the source of culture and art from nature. Based on this idea, Cole established the Hudson River School in the United States, and put forward the declaration of "taking nature as canvas", which attracted a group of natural painters called "new vision" by Emerson. Later, the works of this school of painting and American natural literature played a complementary role.

Emerson's spirit and humanistic thought have been the focus of American culture and literature for a long time. But at present, there are not many people who discuss and discuss the theme of "Emerson and nature" in China. In fact, from Emerson's transcendentalism and his works, or from his life and diary, it is not difficult to see his special feelings and close contact with nature. As far as Emerson's works are concerned, his first work is about nature. He improved Edwards' point of view and clearly pointed out that "nature is a symbol of spirit".

Henry. David? Thoreau's Walden once topped the list of "Ten Books Constituting American Character" in 1985 by American Heritage magazine. He is regarded as an idol of American culture and the most influential nature writer in America. His spirit is regarded as the heritage of American culture. Walden Lake has also become a prototype for many Thoreau followers to yearn for the holy land and follow suit. Thoreau is usually regarded as Emerson's "saint". Judging from their roles in natural literature, they have similar souls. From a modern point of view, Thoreau seems to have played a better role in American natural literature than Emerson. Thoreau not only put Emerson's theory into practice, but also was one step ahead of Emerson. He foresaw the contradiction between industrial civilization and nature and put forward the view that "the world can only be protected in the wilderness".

American natural literature made new progress in the 20th century. Before the 20th century, natural literature was full of idealism, and its authors were optimistic and enterprising about nature, hoping to seek the liberation of personality, the root of culture and the sublimation of spirit, but their thinking and writing focus was still limited to the category of nature and self or nature and personal thoughts and behaviors. Only in the 20th century, people like John? Burroughs and John? Moore and Mary? With the appearance of cross-century natural literature writers such as Austin, natural literature has opened up a broader prospect. At this time, natural literature began to show the relationship between nature and human beings, as well as the harmony between human beings and ecology.

In terms of breadth, natural literature in the 20th century is no longer confined to the east coast of the United States, but covers almost the whole United States. With the appearance of female writers such as Austin, Dillard and Williams, the male-dominated field of natural literature began to have female voices. This description of natural conditions in different regions and different voices makes American natural literature form a multi-dimensional combination, making it colorful and lively. As far as depth is concerned, because most natural literature writers in the 20th century have mastered the knowledge of natural science and human ecology, they undoubtedly gained deeper insight than their predecessors. Aldo? Leopold put forward the concept of "land ethics" on an abandoned farm in Wisconsin, calling on people to cultivate an "ecological conscience". Edward? Abby put forward a new model of harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature in the uninhabited western desert: opposition-compromise-balance. Terry? t？ Williams is in Salt Lake, calling on people to treat the wilderness as an emotion and love it as a person. In the minds of contemporary natural literature writers, the relationship between man and nature is no longer "me and it", but "you and me". They believe that there is no pure self, only a self that is integrated with the ecological environment in which they live. They believe in "survival of the fittest" no longer, but "* * *".

Third, summary.

In a word, natural literature evokes people's consciousness of harmonious coexistence with the ecological environment in the form of literature, and inspires people to pursue a lofty and magnificent spiritual realm. Aesthetically, it shows a unique aesthetic orientation of being natural and fresh. Exploring this field will be as exciting as European immigrants discovering new lands.

References:

[1] Henry? Nash? Smith. Virgin land [M] Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 199 1.

[2] Annie? Dillard. Due to friendly translation. Tian Wen by the stream [M]. Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2003.

[3] Slovic. Contemporary American nature writing. Tokyo: Wencang Publishing House, 1993.

[4] Don Shays, Nature Writing: American Pastoral Impulse. New york: Twayne Press, 1996.

the second

On the disillusioned American dream in American literature

Abstract: "American Dream" is an eternal theme in American literature. Especially after the two world wars and the first capitalist crisis, a large number of literary works closely followed the literary works to comprehensively reflect and criticize the theme of "American Dream". Through the close reading of The Great Gatsby and The American Tragedy, this paper reveals the decay and disillusionment of the "American Dream" from different historical periods and angles.

Keywords: American dream; American tragedy; disillusion

I. Introduction

When studying American literature, we first come into contact with the American dream, the theme of American literature. The "American Dream" has broad sense and narrow sense. The American Dream in a broad sense refers to the national ideal of "democracy, equality and freedom". In a narrow sense, it refers to an individual's dream of success through self-struggle. The emergence of "American Dream" has its specific historical background. From the day when the first immigrants landed on the American continent in the17th century, poor European farmers could own a piece of land easily. After the civil war, opportunities came one after another, which set off national madness. The United States has become a country of "milk and honey", and a large number of immigrants with "American dream" flock to it. The unique natural conditions are the natural basis for the formation of the American dream, and the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence has given the American dream an ideological basis. According to the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, and the creator endowed them with inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Driven by the American dream, the United States has developed rapidly, especially the "gold rush" in California in 1848, which triggered a large-scale "westward movement" and the "American dream" further developed. Because of this, "American Dream" has become an eternal theme in American literature.

Second, the disillusionment of the American dream

Scott. Fitzgerald F. Scottfitzgcrald, 1895 ~ 1940 and Theodore? Theodore dreiser, 187 1 ~ 1945 are all great American writers. They were born in different periods in the United States and their backgrounds are completely different, but their masterpieces all show the same tragic theme-the decay and disillusionment of the "American Dream".

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a masterpiece of American dream disillusionment in the 1920s. The novel describes the love tragedy of the protagonists Gatsby and Tessie, and profoundly reveals the disillusionment of the American "American Dream" in the 1920s. Gatsby, the son of a poor family, fell in love with Tessie, the daughter of a rich family during his service, but Tessie didn't want to marry Gatsby who had nothing. After the war, Gatz was more unforgettable than Tessie. After making a fortune through illegal transactions, he revisited the old love with Tessie, but Tessie still didn't have the courage to give up his wealth and status. After the car accident, Gatsby took the initiative to protect Tessie. Tessie's husband, Tom, murdered Gatsby with her dead husband, and then left with Tessie. Gatsby's beautiful dream, which was built with all his life's efforts, was shattered in the face of harsh reality. Gatsby's experience profoundly reveals the disillusionment of the "American Dream". Fitzgerald linked Gatsby's dream with the dream of early American immigrants through the mouth of storyteller Nick, and traced the origin of the American dream. Early American immigrants dreamed of creating wealth through personal struggle. Gatsby regards Tessie as the embodiment of his dream and tries to win her back with his own efforts. However, social reality forced him to use improper means to realize his ideal, and Gatsby's road to riches showed the corruption of American spirit.

Theodore? Dreiser is the most accomplished realistic writer in America in the early 20th century. His works represent the progress and brightness of modern American literature. Dreiser's novel The Tragedy of America profoundly analyzes the society in which the rich and the poor are opposed to each other in America. Clete, the hero of the novel, was born in a poor family. He didn't want to suffer, so he left home to find his own way out. The filth and corrosion of capitalist society have brought him great changes. He ate and drank and turned a blind eye to his poor mother. In order to marry the daughter of a big capitalist, he squeezed into the upper class and drowned his lover Roberta. Through Colette's life from pursuit and struggle to depravity and destruction, the work points out the root of this tragedy, that is, the modern American life centered on money has had a decisive impact on the formation of Colette's world outlook and the choice of life path. Moreover, as long as this environment and this system remain unchanged, Colette's tragedy, which is also the tragedy of American society, will continue from generation to generation.

Third, the theme of the disillusionment of the "American Dream"

These two works were written in different times and have different styles, but their themes are surprisingly similar, that is, the tragic expression of the "American Dream".

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby tells the story of a young man's pursuit and disillusionment. In the history of western literature, this is a theme that is often repeated, but the author combines his profound and calm experience of American life and writes it into a meaningful tragedy of disillusionment of the "American Dream". Gatsby's pursuit is also the expectation of many Americans, and the novel finally ends Gatsby and their "American dream". Theodore? Dreiser's masterpiece An American Tragedy is based on 1906 Chester? Gillette murdered grace. Based on Brown's real case. Dreiser refined and processed it, turning a trivial little tragedy into a national tragedy. What he involves is not only a tragic figure, but also a tragic civilization. Dreiser described Colette as a character created, forced and destroyed by the environment. With pity, he discussed the experience of a kind child who distorted human nature and degenerated into a cruel murderer in the process of realizing his dream and pursuing wealth and status. American Tragedy adopts a purely naturalistic creative technique, reveals the tragedy of personal life destruction with objective narration and simple language as far as possible, and makes the work a perfect social text. It has created the tragedy of the self-destruction of the lower class youth who are full of yearning for money and status. This is not only a tragedy of one person, but also a tragedy of a country and a civilization.

Four. conclusion

Throughout the above two novels, although the contents are different, the theme of "American Dream" is constantly developing. No matter how rich Gatsby is, he can't be accepted by the so-called upper class; However, Colette's personal tragedy is no longer a tragedy of one person, but a tragedy of the whole United States. place

Therefore, if only the pursuit of wealth and fame and fortune is the goal of life, and it has reached an inhuman and pathological level, it also profoundly reflects that the dream of "human alienation" in capitalist society will be shattered sooner or later, and the tragic ending of the two protagonists is inevitable. Besides Fitzgerald and Dreiser, many famous writers are also deeply influenced by the theme of "American Dream". For example, Hemingway and Faulkner, in their works, extended people's disappointment with the "American dream" to disappointment with the United States. The "American Dream" can no longer bring people a beautiful vision and the strength of struggle, and its beautiful aura has long since disappeared. The disillusionment theme of "American Dream" has profound critical significance and aesthetic value. No matter the two writers themselves or the protagonists in their works, they have been pursuing the illusory "American Dream" and the wealth, money and power that can reflect their self-identity and value all their lives. The cruel reality urges them to clearly realize the destructive role of material struggle and hedonism, showing a tragic sense of disillusionment of the times.

References:

[1] Liu Baorui et al., On American Writers [M], Beijing: Life, Reading and Knowledge Joint Publishing,1984;

[2] Dong Hengxun et al., On Modern American Novelists [M], Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 1987.

[3] F.S. Fitzgerald: On Foreign Language Teaching, Teaching and Research Press, 1992.

[4] Dr. Theodore Ethel. An American tragedy. T.Y. Crowe Company Press, 1964.