本单元具体教学内容、教学基本要求、单元重点与难点

第8次课： 现实主义

1.教学内容

Chapter 8 The Age of Realism

I. Background: From Romanticism to Realism

1. the three conflicts that reached breaking point in this period

2. 1880’s urbanization: from free competition to monopoly capitalism

3. the closing of American frontier

II. Characteristics

III. Three Giants in Realistic Period

1. William Dean Howells – “Dean of American Realism”

(1) Realistic principles

2. Henry James

(1) Life

(2) Literary career: three stages

(3) Aesthetic ideas

(4) Point of view

(5) Style – “stylist”

3. Mark Twain (see next section)

Local Colorism

1860s, 1870s~1890s

I. Appearance

II. What is “Local Colour”?

III. Mark Twain – Mississippi

1. life

2. works

3. style

IV. Comparison of the three “giants” of American Realism

1. Theme

2. Technique

I. Close reading and poems analysis

Excerpts from Adventrue of Huckleberry Finn

V. Twain’s realistic literature in Chinese scholar’s eye.

1.  教学基本要求

1)To make students acquire some basic knowledge of three branches of American Realism and its representatives.

2) To develop students’ understanding of the literary movement American Realism.

3) To improve students’ abilities to interpret and appreciate the realist works in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn.

4)  To improve students’ language skills of cross-cultural communication and competence

5) To improve students’ critical thinking.

 

3. 单元重点、难点 

重点

1) What is “local colorism”?

2) Appreciation of Mark Twain’s Excerpts from Adventrue of Huckleberry Finn

3) Mark Twin and China: cross-culture relationship

 

难点

The canonization of The work Adventure of Huckleberry Finn 

 The Age of Realism

I. Background: From Romanticism to Realism

1. the three conflicts that reached breaking point in this period

(1) industrialism vs. agrarian

(2) culturely-measured east vs. newly-developed west

(3) plantation gentility vs. commercial gentility

2. 1880’s urbanization: from free competition to monopoly capitalism

3. the closing of American frontier

II. Characteristics

1. truthful description of life

2. typical character under typical circumstance

3. objective rather than idealized, close observation and investigation of life

“Realistic writers are like scientists.”

4. open-ending:

Life is complex and cannot be fully understood. It leaves much room for readers to think by themselves.

5. concerned with social and psychological problems, revealing the frustrations of characters in an environment of sordidness and depravity