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1、American Romanticism,Hawthorne,Melville and Poe,Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864),I.General Introduction,Influences on Hawthorne:Salem-early childhood,later work at the Custom House.Puritan family background-one of his forefathers was Judge Hathorne,who presided over the Salem witchcraft trials,1692.Tr
2、anscendental Doctrines in Hawthorne:Self-Reliance,Compensation and circle.,Main Works,Young Goodman Brown,1835Twice-Told Tales,1837 Mosses from an Old Manse,1846 The Scarlet Letter,1850 The House of Seven Gables,1851 The Blithedale Romance,1852 The Marble Faun,1860,II.,III.The Research of Hawthorne
3、and His Works,A.Reasons for Hawthornes Current Popularity,a.One of the most modern of writers,Hawthorne is relevant in theme and attitude.,b.Hawthorne rounds off the puritan cycle in American writing-belief in the existence of an active evil(the devil)and in a sense of determinism(the concept of pre
4、destination).,c.Hawthornes use of psychological analysis(pre-Freudian)is of interest today.,d.In themes and style,Hawthornes writings look ahead to Henry James,William Faulkner,and Robert Penn Warren.,Major Themes in Hawthornes Fictions,a.Alienation b.Initiation c.Problem of Guilt d.Pride e.Puritan
5、New England f.Allegory g.Other themes:individual vs.society;self-fulfillment vs.accommodation;hypocrisy vs.integrity;love vs.hate exploitation vs.hurting;fate vs.free will,Major Themes in Hawthornes Fictions,a.Alienation：a character is in a state of isolation because of self-cause,or societal cause,
6、or a combination of both.b.Initiation：involves the attempts of an alienated character to get rid of his isolated condition.c.Problem of Guilt：a characters sense of guilt forced by the puritanical heritage or by society;also guilt vs.innocence.,e.Pride:Hawthorne treats pride as evil.He illustrates th
7、e following aspects of pride in various characters:physical pride(Robin),spiritual pride(Goodman Brown,Ethan Brand),and intellectual pride(Rappaccini).f.Puritan New England:used as a background and setting in many tales.g.Allegory:Hawthornes writing is allegorical,didactic and moralistic.,h.Other th
8、emes:individual vs.society;self-fulfillment vs.accommodation;hypocrisy vs.integrity;love vs.hate exploitation vs.hurting;fate vs.free will,Who is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter?,When the young woman the mother of this child stood fully revealed before the crowd,it seemed to be her first impul
9、se to clasp the infant closely to her bosom;not so much by an impulse of motherly affection,as that she might thereby conceal a certain token,which was wrought or fastened into her dress.In a moment,however,wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another,she took th
10、e baby on her arm,and,with a burning blush,and yet a haughty smile,and a glance that would not be abashed,looked around at her townspeople and neighbors.On the breast of her gown,in fine red cloth,surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread,appeared the letter A.-
11、from Chapter II The Market-place,IV.The Scarlet Letter(1850),A.Plot Overview,B.Analysis of Major Characters,Hester Prynne,Hester is the books protagonist and the wearer of the scarlet letter that gives the book its title.The letter,a patch of fabric in the shape of an“A,”signifies that Hester is an“
12、adulterer.”,Dimmesdale,Pearl,Chillingworth,Hester,daughter,lover,daughter,husband,A,By degrees,nor very slowly,her handiwork became what would now be termed the fashion.Whether from commiseration for a woman of so miserable a destiny;or from the morbid curiosity that gives a fictitious value even to
13、 common or worthless things,or by whatever other intangible circumstance was then,as now sufficient to bestow,on some persons,what others might seek in vain;or because Hester really filled a gap which must otherwise have remained vacant;it is certain that she had ready and fairly requited employment
14、 for as many hours as she saw fit to occupy with her needle.Vanity,it may be,chose to mortify itself,by putting on,for ceremonials of pomp and state,the garments that had been wrought by her sinful hands.Her needlework was seen on the ruff of the Governor;military men wore it on their scarfs,and the
15、 minister on his band;it decked the babys little cap;it was shut up to be mildewed and moulder away,in the coffins of the dead.But it is not recorded that,in a single instance,her skill was called in aid to embroider the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride.-from Chapter V Heste
16、r at the Needle,And,as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends,nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment,people brought all their sorrows and perplexities,and besought her counsel,as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble.Women,more especially,in the continually recurring trials
17、 of wounded,wasted,wronged,misplaced,or erring and sinful passion,or with the dreary burden of a heart unyielded,because unvalued and unsought,came to Hesters cottage,demanding why they were so wretched,and what the remedy!Hester comforted and counseled them as best she might.She assured them,too,of
18、 her firm belief,that,at some brighter period,when the world should have grown ripe for it,in Heavens own time,a new truth would be revealed,in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness.-from Chapter XXIV Conclusion,But there was a more real li
19、fe for Hester Prynne here,in New England,than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home.Here had been her sin;here,her sorrow;and here was yet to be her penitence.She had returned,therefore,and resumed,of her own free will,for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would have impo
20、sed it,resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale.Never afterwards did it quit her bosom.But.the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the worlds scorn and bitterness,and became a type of something to be sorrowed over,and looked upon with awe,and yet with reverence,too
21、.-From the Final Chapter,Dimmesdale,Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated to America.He is an intelligent and emotional man,and his sermons are thus masterpieces of eloquence and persuasiveness.His commitments to his congregation（会众）are in constant
22、 conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and need to confess.,Roger Chillingworth,As his name suggests,Roger Chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth.His twisted,stooped,deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul.,Pearl,Hesters illegitimate daughter Pearl is a young girl with a moody,misc
23、hievous spirit and an ability to perceive things that others do not.,A young clergyman,who had come from one of the great English universities,bringing all the learning of the age into our wild forest-land.His eloquence and religious fervor had already given the earnest of high eminence in his profe
24、ssion.He was a person of very striking aspect,with a white,lofty,and impending brow,large,brown,melancholy eyes,and a mouth which,unless when he forcibly compressed it,was apt to be tremulous,expressing both nervous sensibility and a vast power of self-restraint.Notwithstanding his high native gifts
25、 and scholar-like attainments,there was an air about this young minister,an apprehensive,a startled,a half-frightened look,as of a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence,and could only be at ease in some seclusion of his own.-from Chapter III The Recognit
26、ion,People of New England!”cried he,with a voice that rose over them,high,solemn,and majestic,yet had always a tremor through it,and sometimes a shriek,struggling up out of a fathomless depth of remorse and woe,ye,that have loved me!ye,that have deemed me holy 1 behold me here,the one sinner of the
27、world!At last!at last!I stand upon the spot where,seven years since,I should have stood;here,with this woman,whose arm,more than the little strength wherewith I have crept hitherward,sustains me,at this dreadful moment,from grovelling down upon my face!Lo,the scarlet letter which Hester wears!Ye hav
28、e all shuddered at it!Wherever her walk hath been,wherever,so miserably burdened,she may have hoped to find repose,it hath cast a lurid gleam of awe and horrible repugnance round about her.But there stood one in the midst of you,at whose brand of sin and infamy ye have not shuddered!-from Chapter XX
29、III The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter,“Mother,”said Pearl,“was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?”“Hold thy peace,dear little Pearl!”whispered her mother.“We must not always talk in the market-place of what happens to us in the forest.”-From Chapter XXII,The Research of The Scarl
30、et Letter,a.Themes,Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.,Sin,Knowledge,and the Human Condition,Original sin,to toil,to procreate,two“labors”that seem to define the human condition,knowledge of what it means to be human,Hester:boldness;contemplation,Dimmesd
31、ale:conscience;empathy,an examination of the forces,Sin:adultery,The Puritans view sin as a threat to the community and an obstacle on the path to heaven.,Hester and Dimmesdales experience shows that a state of sinfulness can lead to personal growth,sympathy and understanding of others.,Sin vs.Virtu
32、e,2)The Nature of Evil,The embodiment of evil,The causes of evil,True evil arises from the close relationship between hate and love.,Both emotions depend on“a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge;each renders one individual dependentupon another.”,3)Identity and Society,Hesters unwillingness
33、to leave the town and to remove the scarlet letter,Her desire to determine her own identity,Running away or removing the letter:an acknowledge of societys power over her,The scarlet letter:a symbol of her own experience and identity,b.Motifs,Motifs are recurring structures,contrasts,or literary devi
34、ces that can help to develop and inform the texts major themes.,1)Civilization versus the Wilderness,The town:civilization,The surrounding forest:wilderness,A rule-bound space,A space of natural rather than human authority,Opposing behavioral systems,2)Night versus Day,Night,Day,those which are soci
35、ally acceptable,those which must take place covertly,concealment,visibility,The themes of inner vs.socially assigned identity and of outer appearance vs.internal states,3)Evocative Names,Chillingworth:cold and inhuman,Prynne:the same ending rhyme with“sin”,Dimmesdale:“dimness”(weakness,indeterminacy
36、,lack of insight,and lack of will,all of which characterize the young minister),Pearl:a biblical allegorical devicethe“pearl of great price”that is salvation.,c.Symbols,1)The scarlet letter,Symbols are objects,characters,figures,or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.,Adultery:a symb
37、ol of shame,Able:a powerful symbol of identity,Angel,Arising America:indeterminate,A sort of living version of her mothers scarlet letter;The physical consequence of sexual sin and the indicator of a transgression,sin,the vital spirit and passion that engendered that sin,2)Pearl,d.Features,SettingTh
38、emes technique,Puritan New EnglandEvil&SinSymbolism,Hester ChillingworthDimmesdale,SinEvil,Evil&Sin,Style-Typical Romantic Writer,The use of symbolsRevelation of characters psychologyThe use of supernatural mixed with the actualHis stories are parable-to teach a lessonUse of ambiguity to keep the re
39、ader in the world of uncertainty-multiple point of view,c.Symbols,The scarlet letter,Symbols are objects,characters,figures,or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.,Adultery,Able,Angel,Dimmesdale,Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated
40、 to America.He is an intelligent and emotional man,and his sermons are thus masterpieces of eloquence and persuasiveness.His commitments to his congregation（会众）are in constant conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and need to confess.,Roger Chillingworth,As his name suggests,Roger Chillingworth i
41、s a man deficient in human warmth.His twisted,stooped,deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul.,Pearl,Hesters illegitimate daughter Pearl is a young girl with a moody,mischievous spirit and an ability to perceive things that others do not.,Revelation of Characters Psychology,Hester Prynne confes
42、ses her sin and readily accepts her punishment,but lives with internal and external conflict.The preacher,Dimmesdale struggles with his own internal conflict(waits seven years to admit his sin;confesses publicly just before he dies)Hesters unforgiving husband,Chillingworth,continually seeks a means
43、for vengeance agianst Dimmesdale.,The Use of Supernatural Mixed with Actual,The response of Pearl to the symbol of sin on her mothers breast is mysterious.,The appearance of the symbol“A”in the sky.,His stories are parable-to teach a lesson,The Scarlet Letter is not a praise of a Hester Prynne sinni
44、ng,but a hymn on the moral growth of the woman when sinned against.,Use of Ambiguity to Keep the Reader in the World of Uncertainty-Multiply Point of View,In the conclusion people offer different views concerning the sign of the letter”A”on dead ministers chest.,Homework,Hawthorne is at his best whe
45、n dealing with sin,the supernatural,and New England past.How did Hawthorne deal with these in The Scarlet Letter?The way in which Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter suggests that American Romanticism adapted itself to American Puritan moralism.How did Hawthorne achieve this in the novel?Analyze the
46、main characters in the novel:Hester,Dimmesdale,and Chillingworth.Hawthorne manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple view in his narrative.What are the multiple views reveals in this novel?,Reading Assignment:Emily Dickinson“Because I Could Not Stop for D
47、eath”“I Heard a Fly BuzzWhen I Died”“A Narrow Fellow in the Grass”“I Died for Beautybut Was Scarce”,B.Presentation:Herman Melville and Moby DickEdgar Allan Poe and The Fall of the House of Usher,Thank you!,MobyDick,Herman Melville,received recognition until the 1920s,“He has a very high and noble na
48、ture”,Melvilles Major Works,1)Typee 泰皮2)Omoo 欧穆3)Mardi 玛地4)Redburn 雷得本5)White Jacket 白外衣,from his adventures among the people of the South Pacific islands,an account of his voyage to England,his life on a United States man-of-war,Melvilles Major Works,6)Pierre 皮埃尔7)Billy Budd 比利巴德(a sign that he had
49、 resolved his quarrel with God)Clarel 克拉莱尔(a poem),Melvilles Major Works,Moby-Dick 白鲸，莫比狄克,an encyclopedia of everything,history,philosophy,religion,the whaling industry,a Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fates,Excerpt,1.Come,Ahabs compliments to ye;come and see if ye can swerve me.Swer
50、ve me?ye cannot swerve me,else ye swerve yourselves!man has ye there.Swerve me?The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails,whereon my soul is grooved to run.Over unsounded gorges,through the rifled hearts of mountains,under torrents beds,unerringly I rush!Naughts an obstacle,naughts an angl
