Unit10 American Literature

Generally speaking, American literature forms a part of English Literature , because it is written in the English language. As the life and experience of American people is unique, and in many ways different from other English-speaking countries, it deserves to be set apart.( 区分 )

Lead inLead in

Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel HawthorneNathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864

描写罪恶对人的精神面貌的作用

The Scarlet Letter( 红字 )

The House of Seven Gables

表现祖上的罪孽对后代的报应 .

Novelist and short story writer, a central figure in the American Renaissance( 复兴 ).

Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher StowePresident Lincoln greeted her as the “little woman who

wrote the book that made this Great War.”

Walt Whitman1819-1892

Leaves of Grass

19 世纪美国最伟大的诗人 .一位伟大的民主诗人 , 他的诗歌唱一切平凡普通的人和平凡普通的事物 .Song of Myself( 自己的歌 ) 概括惠特曼一生的主要思想 ,是他最重要的作品 . A manuscript of Whitman

Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman

Mark Twain Mark Twain

The Notorious Jumping Frog of CalaverasThe Innocents AbroadThe Gilded AgeThe Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnA Million pounds

Jack London 1876-1976

•The Son of the Wolf, 1900. The Sea Wolf, 1904.

•The Call of the Wild, 1903. Before Adam, 1906.

•Martin Eden, 1909.John Barleycorn, 1913. •Jerry of the Islands, 1917. Michael, Brother of Jerry, 1917.

Ernest Hemingway 1899-1961(the lost generation 迷惘的一代 )

ReadingReadingReadingReadingUnit 10

O, Henry, Sydney Porter(1862~1910)A highly praised master of short stories and tales. He wrote with realistic detail based on his first-hand experiences both in Texas and in New York City. Born in North Carolina. Father, a physician. Mother died when he was 3. At the age of 15,he left school. In 1894 he started a humorous weekly The Rolling Stone. In 1897, he was convinced embezzling money and later he went to prison. While in prison he began to write short stories. He died in New York City at the age of 47. An alcoholic, he died Penniless. During his life time, O, Henry published 10 collections and over 600 short stories. p86 exx3 Works:The Gift of Magi / The Last LeafThe Furnished Room( 带家具的房间 )

The Gift of MagiThe Gift of Magi

The Last Leaf

• To approach is to move towards. It is often used with seasons and special occasions (New Year, Christmas, birthdays) as in the example here, as well as with people and moving objects (vehicles, etc).

• To brave as a verb, means to face an adverse or difficult situation, even though the person may not be brave (as in the meaning of the adjective: courageous).

• Pneumonia is a serious illness of the lungs.• A masterpiece is a great work of art, like a

painting, sculpture or piece of music or writing (poetry, fiction, etc.)

• Johnsy and Sue are artists who move into Greenwich Village in New York City. As Winter approaches and the weather gets colder, Johnsy becomes ill with pneumonia. She gets so sick that she believes that when the last leaf falls from the vine outside her window, she will die. An old artist, named Behrman, who lives in the same building as the girls, braves a storm one night to paint a leaf on the wall — a leaf that will never fall. Cold and wet from painting in the icy rain, he catches pneumonia and dies. This gives Johnsy the hope to survive her illness, and it also creates the masterpiece Behrman had always dreamed of painting

Hot discussion:Which day is Christmas?What do people in western countries wish for on Christmas day?Do you think all the people can afford a Christmas gift?Suppose you are in love with one person who also loves you, you want to buy him/her a gift but you are too poor to afford one, what would you do in this case?

1. What are the main characters of the story?

2. When does the story take place?

3. What is the problem the character must face and overcome?

P85 exx4

Della and Jim, a poor couple.

The day before Christmas.

Della wants to buy Jim a Christmas present, and Jim wants to buy Della a gift.

Listen to the tape Listen to the tape While listening, think about the following questionsWhile listening, think about the following questions

Comprehensive Questions:Comprehensive Questions:

1. How did Della expect Jim to react when he sa

w her? 2. What was Jim’s reaction? Describe his feelings?

3. Why did Della burst into tears when she open

ed the package?

Careful readingCareful readingCareful readingCareful reading 1. How did Della expect Jim to react

when he saw her?

Della expects Jim to be angry or

surprised. She also expects him to

disapprove or dislike. But she does

not see any of the feelings she had

been prepared for.

1. How did Della expect Jim to react

when he saw her?

Della expects Jim to be angry or

surprised. She also expects him to

disapprove or dislike. But she does

not see any of the feelings she had

been prepared for.

2. What was Jim’s reaction? Describe his

feelings?

Jim stares at Della with a strange

expression on his face. He can’t believe

what he has seen. He seems to be in a

dream. He has a complicated feeling

which he can’t express in words, so he just

hugs Della in his arms to show his love to

her.

2. What was Jim’s reaction? Describe his

feelings?

Jim stares at Della with a strange

expression on his face. He can’t believe

what he has seen. He seems to be in a

dream. He has a complicated feeling

which he can’t express in words, so he just

hugs Della in his arms to show his love to

her.

3. Why did Della burst into tears

when she opened the package?

When she opens the package and

sees a set of beautiful combs in it, she

feels both happy and sad, because she

gets what she has longed for but she

has lost her hair and it’s useless now.

3. Why did Della burst into tears

when she opened the package?

When she opens the package and

sees a set of beautiful combs in it, she

feels both happy and sad, because she

gets what she has longed for but she

has lost her hair and it’s useless now.

Answer the following questionsComprehension:1. Why did Della weep before Christmas? A. She couldn’t see Jim during Christmas. B. She had little money to buy Jim a present. C.Jim didn’t give her a Christmas gift.

2. What did Della do to get enough money? A. She sold her gold watch. B. She found a job at a barber shop. C. She had her long hair cut and sold it.

3. How much was Della’s hair? A. 20 dollars B. 21 dollars C. 1.87 dollars

B

C

A

A

4. What was Jim’s reaction when he saw Della’s short hair? A. He was surprised. B, He simply stared at Della with strange expressions. D. He had no reactions.

5. How did Jim get the money to buy the comb? A. He sold his gold watch to get the money. B. He had enough money to buy it. C. He asked his friends for the money

B

A

AnalyseAnalyse AnalyseAnalyse 1. Do you know the type of literature?

It’s a novel.

2. Please tell me the five elements of a

novel: time, place, persons, event and

end.

Time and Place:

It happened in a poor family in a small town on

the day before Christmas.

1. Do you know the type of literature?

It’s a novel.

2. Please tell me the five elements of a

novel: time, place, persons, event and

end.

Time and Place:

It happened in a poor family in a small town on

the day before Christmas.

Persons:

There are just two main characters, Della and

Jim, a couple.

Event:

“buy Christmas presents for each other”, and

the end of the story is that they both sell

their valuable things for the gift to the other

but both of the gifts have no use any longer

because of the losing of their possessions.

Persons:

There are just two main characters, Della and

Jim, a couple.

Event:

“buy Christmas presents for each other”, and

the end of the story is that they both sell

their valuable things for the gift to the other

but both of the gifts have no use any longer

because of the losing of their possessions.

End:

But they got real love.

3. What can we learn from the story?

Love is the most costly in the world.

/ One can sacrifice anything for

love.

End:

But they got real love.

3. What can we learn from the story?

Love is the most costly in the world.

/ One can sacrifice anything for

love.

1. She stood by the window and looked out at a grey cat walking along a grey fence in a grey backyard.

The writing style of the novel is unique. Psychology The writing style of the novel is unique. Psychology description is widely used in O Henry’s works.description is widely used in O Henry’s works.

What does the colour grey tell you?

2. Suddenly Della walked to the mirror. Her eyes were shinning.

What does the word shining tell you?

3.And then she quickly did it up again. She hesitated for a minute and stood still while a tear or two fell on the worn red carpet.

Why did Della do her hair up? Why hesitated? What does still mean?

4.She… ran out the door and down the stairs to the street.Della ran up one flight of stairs…”Give it to me quick,” said Della.

Why did she run?What does the word quick tell you?

5.The next two hours she was searching the stores for Jim’s present…She had turned all of them inside out.

How do you understand the word search and inside out?

6.She looked at herself in the mirror for a long time?

What was she probably thinking about when she was lookingat herself in the mirror?

People say in today’s world, only money is the most important in everything. Love is something that can’t separate from money. There is not true and pure love in the world. Do you agree? Make up a dialogue with your partner.

HomeworkHomeworkHomeworkHomework

Retelling the story according to

the Following pictures. Try to

use your own words.

Retelling the story according to

the Following pictures. Try to

use your own words.

WritingWriting WritingWriting

P219 exx3 A Summary