作者：圣才电子书
出版社：圣才电子书
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童明《美国文学史》笔记和课后习题（含考研真题）详解试读：
第1部分 早期美国文学：殖民时期至1815年
第1章 “新世界”的文学
1.1 复习笔记
I. Discoveries of America（发现美洲大陆）
Who discovered America?
谁发现了美洲？
1．The credit is often attributed to Christopher Columbus. The moment when the new continent was “discovered” is even determined by some historians at the exact hour of 2:00 A.M., Friday, October12, 1492, when Columbus recorded how he spotted the land. Yet Columbus’s reputation as the discoverer of the New World is controversial.
一种说法是哥伦布发现了美洲大陆。但是，这种说法颇具争议。
2．Another noteworthy discoverer of America as a distinctly new region is the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci. It is because of Vespucci’s story that the New World was named “America”.
另一种值得注意的说法是佛罗伦萨航海家阿美利哥·韦斯普奇发现了这片新土地，而“美洲”也正是由他的名字而命名的。
II. Native American Oral Literature（美国土著口头文学）
There were mainly three major types of the native American oral literature:
美国土著口头文学主要有三种不同的形式：
1．Origin stories are those dramatizing tribal interpretations of how the earth originated or of how people established relationships with plants, animals and the cosmos.
起源故事是一些对世界起源的戏剧性的解释，解释地球如何产生，人类如何与植物、动物和宇宙产生联系。
2．Trickster tales are humorous tales featuring trickster characters. Trickster figures are people in the form of animals such as Coyote, Raven, Blue Jay, Mink, or Rabbit. One might also say that they are half animal and half human.
魔法故事是一些关于魔法人物的幽默故事。魔法人物是以动物形象呈现的人，如狼、乌鸦、兔子等。也可以说他们是半人半兽。
3．Historical narratives are diverse in kinds. Some of them are tribal records of historical events. Many other narratives feature legendary figures that move in recognizable historical settings. In such tales, the line between an actual event and tribal belief is blurred.
历史叙事种类多样。有些是部落对历史事件的记录。许多其他叙事中的传奇人物来源于真实的历史背景。
III. European Exploration Writings（欧洲探索写作）
1．Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) （克里斯托弗·哥伦布）
Christopher Columbus made four voyages to America between 1492 and 1502. The first voyage was recorded in a journal now lost but it is partially survived in an abstract by Bartolome de Las Casas.
克里斯托弗·哥伦布曾在1492至1502年间四度前往美洲。第一次航行被记录在日记里，现已遗失，但是它的部分内容被卡萨斯写在了一篇摘要中。
2．Captain John Smith (1580-1631) （约翰·史密斯上尉）
Since John Smith’s writings were the first ones appearing in English in the New World, those who believe Americanness should be defined more in connection with British cultural sources suggest that American literature should begin with Captain Smith.
因为约翰·史密斯的作品是在新大陆出现最早的英语作品，所以一般认为美国文学开始于史密斯上尉。
(1) Life（生平）
Smith was born into a moderately prosperous family at Lincolnshire, England. He received a good education. At the age of 15, he was enlisted to fight in the Netherlands. Loving adventures, he joined the expedition which founded the Jamestown colony when he returned from the military.
史密斯出生于英格兰林肯郡的一个小康家庭。他受过良好的教育。15岁时参军，奔赴荷兰作战。他喜欢冒险，离开部队后，加入了建立詹姆斯敦殖民地的探险。
(2) Major Works（主要作品）
A Description of New England (1614)《新英格兰描述》（1614）
The True Travels, Adventure, and Observations of Captain John Smith (1630)《约翰·史密斯上尉的真实游历、冒险和观察》（1630）
Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New England, or Anywhere (1631)《为新英格兰或其他地方无经验的种植园主做广告》（1631）
1.2 课后习题答案
1．Give a brief account of Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and Martin Waldseemuler so that you can establish one version of the “origin” of America.
Key: Christopher Columbus was often regarded as the founder of “America”, but it was very controversial because that Columbus who “discovered” America in fact thought that he had reached Asia. He was so convinced that he had reached the land of the great Khan that in his four voyages between 1492 and 1502, he interpreted everything he saw according to his pre-established view of what Asia or Asians should look like.
“America” was named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian merchant, explorer and cartographer, who sailed to Brazil in 1501 under the Portuguese flag and he noted: “we arrived at a new land which we observed to be a continent.” In 1503 his book Mundus Novus (The New World) was printed and was more widely circulated than anything written by Columbus. Many people think that he was the very person discovered “America”.
Martin Waldseemuller was a German geographer. He found Vespucci’s work when he was preparing a new edition of the world’s map. It was Waldseemuler who decided that the new land should be named after its finder: Amerigo. On his 1507 world map, this German geographer marked the new territory—what he called the “fourth part” of the world following Europe, Africa, and Asia—as “America”. Vespucci as an explorer is also controversial in that he fabricated the tale that he had made a 1497 voyage during which he found the Southern American continent. It is quite possible that he made up the story to beat Columbus as the first discoverer.
At any rate, it was Vespucci’s writings and Waldseemuller’s map that made Europeans aware of the “fourth part” of the world. The Europeans then understood that Columbus’s description of the New World as a string of Asian islands was quite misleading. At any rate, to the New World called “America” European settlers came in incessant waves.
2．Give some specific examples for the argument that the “origin” of America is multicultural.
Key: There were many explorers from different nations came here and exerted their influence on the native people of the new land. For example, people came from England, brought with their culture, religions, traditions and so on.
3．From the first few pages of this book, do you acquire a new understanding of “discoveries” of America? If so, what is this new understanding?
Key: Yes, I acquire a new understanding of “discoveries” of America. Before I read the passage, I thought it was Columbus that discovered America, and there was nothing worthy of doubting about. But after I read it, I found that the fact was not like what I thought. I get new knowledge about the discoveries of America which enriched my mind.
At the same time, I realize that histories were past, and everyone has the rights to explain it, perhaps, as he wants to. So, if we want to know histories in the way as it really was, we should read materials as much as possible.
4．What is the story of the word “Indian” as it is applied to the indigenous people in America?
Key: When Columbus set sail from Spain on August 3, 1492, he was driven by the desire to find a convenient sea passage to the Orient, or, more specifically, a passage to the land of Kublai Khan as Marco Polo had described it in his 13th century travelogues. When he arrived at America, he was so convinced that he had reached the land of the great Khan that in his four voyages between 1492 and 1502, he interpreted everything he saw according to his pre-established view of what Asia or Asians should look like. He thought that he had reached Asia and the land under his feet was India. So, the indigenous people in America were wrongly called “Indian”.
5．What are the consequences of the Native Americans’ “contact” with European settlers? Why do you think the word “contact” is used by some historians?
Key: Native Americans were greatly influenced and conquered by European settlers, because Europeans at that time were very strong and aggressive, especially England, Span, France and so on. In fact, from Columbus’ friend’s informal account of their second voyage to America, we can see how quickly the relationship between the Europeans and the natives deteriorated.
Historians use “contact” mainly because that Native Americans and Europeans could not communicate with each other in an effective way. At that time, there were so many striking differences between them, economically, religiously, culturally, and politically.
6．What are “origin stories?” Give two examples.
Key: Origin stories are those dramatizing tribal interpretations of how the earth originated or of how people established relationships with plants, animals and the cosmos. “Earth-Diver” and “First Beginning” are two typical original stories.
7．Give examples to explain “trickster tales” and “historical narratives” in Native American literature. Compare the discussion of Native American literature in this chapter with that in Chapter 26. Discuss the continuity.
Key: Trickster tales are humorous tales featuring trickster characters. Trickster figures are people in the form of animals such as Coyote, Raven, Blue Jay, Mink, or Rabbit. One might also say that they are half animal and half human. A good Chinese analogy for the “trickster” would be Sun Wukong the Monkey King.
Historical narratives are diverse in kinds. Some of them are tribal records of historical events. Many other narratives feature legendary figures that move in recognizable historical settings. In such tales, the line between an actual event and tribal belief is blurred. Of this vast historical literature, many stories recount European colonization from the perspective of Native Americans. For instance, to the Yuchis, a tribe in the Southeast, white people emerged from the sea foam of the Atlantic. The Yuchi tale “Creation of the Whites” reveals so much of the emotions associated with the first encounters between the Europeans and the natives.
In the early time, most Native American stories were orally passed on, these tales then have a performative dimension: they are not only “told,” they are also “sung” as chants and songs, and dramatized in ritual dances. The main types of their stories were origin stories, trickster tales and historical narratives. While in chapter 26, the Native American literature is in written form and those writers have their various themes and styles.
8．What is the Eurocentric thinking in the exploration writings by Christopher Columbus and Captain John Smith? How is this thinking specifically is manifested?
Key: The Eurocentric thinking is that some people think that Europe is the center of the world and it holds the most important position in the world.
Many Europeans think that they are the center of the world, and their culture, values, religion, economy, political system and so on are the best of the whole world. They think that people in other parts of the world should submit to them. So, not long after that time, some European countries began to establish colonies around the world. Even now, there are still many people in Europe hold the same idea and try to exert their cultures, values, religious beliefs and so on over people in other parts of the world, especially of some developing countries.
1.3 考研真题和典型题详解
I. Fill in the blanks.
1．Among the members of the small band of Jamestown settlers was _____, an English soldier of fortune, whose reports of exploration, published in the early 1600s, have been described as the first distinct American literature written in English.【答案】Captain John Smith【解析】约翰·史密斯上校（1580.1-1631.6.21）因在北美弗吉尼亚州建立了英国第一个永久殖民地詹姆斯敦而扬名天下。他的《关于弗吉尼亚的真实叙述》（A True Relation of Virginia）则是美国文学的“第一书”，其实也是整个美国历史的“第一书”。
2．_____ was a famous explorer and colonist. He established Jamestown.【答案】Captain John Smith【解析】约翰·史密斯上校（1580.1-1631.6.21），新英格兰的舰队司令，是英国军人，探险家和作家。他因在北美弗吉尼亚州建立了英国第一个永久殖民地詹姆斯敦而扬名天下。
3．The General History of Virginia contains Smith’s most famous tale of how the Indian princess named _____ saved him from the wrath of her father.【答案】Pocahontas【解析】约翰·史密斯在《弗吉尼亚通史》中讲述了他与印第安公主波卡虹塔斯（Pocahontas)之间的故事。公元1608年史密斯与当地印第安部落的一位叫波瓦坦的酋长谈判，这位酋长年轻的女儿波卡洪塔斯挽救了史密斯船长的性命。
II. Multiple choices.
1．The establisher of Jamestown was the famous explorer and colonist _____.
A. John Winthrop
B. John Smith
C. William Bradford
D. John Goodwin【答案】B【解析】约翰·史密斯上校（1580.1-1631.6.21）新英格兰的舰队司令，是英国军人，探险家和作家。其因在北美弗吉尼亚州建立了英国第一个永久殖民地詹姆斯敦而扬名天下。
2．Who discovered America? The credit is often attributed to _____.
A. Captain John Smith
B. Christopher Columbus
C. Amerigo Vespucci
D. William Bradford【答案】B【解析】人们一般将美洲的发现归功于哥伦布，尽管美洲是以阿美利哥·韦斯普奇（Amerigo Vespucci）命名的。
III. Explain the following terms.
1．Trickster tales
Key: Trickster tales are humorous tales featuring trickster characters. Trickster figures are people in the form of animals such as Coyote, Raven, Blue Jay, Mink, or Rabbit. One might also say that they are half animal and half human. A good Chinese analogy for the “trickster” would be Sun Wukong the Monkey King.
IV. Short answer questions.
1．Who discovered America?
Key: The credit is often attributed to Christopher Columbus. The moment when the new continent was “discovered” is even determined by some historians at the exact hour of 2:00 A.M., Friday, October12, 1492 when Columbus recorded how he spotted the land. Another noteworthy discoverer of America as a distinctly new region is the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci. It is because of Vespucci’s story that the New World was named “America.”
2．Who is John Smith?
Key: The name of Captain John Smith is now associated with the English expedition that founded the Jamestown colony in 1607. Since his writings were the first ones appearing in English in the New World, those who believe Americanness should be defined more in connection with British cultural sources suggest that American literature should begin with Captain Smith.
第2章 殖民地时期的美国文学：1620-1763
2.1 复习笔记
I. In the Colonial Period（殖民地时期）
(1) The colonial period covers almost the entirety of the 17th century and a great portion of the 18th century.
殖民地时期几乎包括了整个17世纪和18世纪的一大部分。
(2) In 1763, Indian tribes waged frontier warfare and in a few months eliminated British posts in the Ohio region, thus forcing King George to sign the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The map as a result of the 1763 Proclamation defined Northern, Middle and Southern colonies at the time.
1763年，印第安部落发动了边疆战役，几个月内就撤除英国在俄亥俄地区的职权，迫使英王乔治签署了1763年皇家宣言，此宣言将当时的殖民地划分为北部、中部和南部殖民地。
(3) In the earlier colonial period, much of the literature was produced by Puritan and Pilgrim writers.
在殖民地早期，大多数文学作品是由清教徒和朝圣者创作的。
(4) In the earlier colonial period, Southern literature emerged with distinctly non-Puritan characteristics.
在殖民地早期，南方文学出现了明显的非清教徒的特点。
(5) What colonial writers of the South have in common with those of the North is that they often wrote for utilitarian purposes.
南方作家与北方作家的共同点是他们经常为了功利主义而写作。
II. Puritan Literature（清教徒文学）
1．The story of the Puritan（清教徒的故事）
The story of the Puritans began in England. In 1543, under the rule of King Henry VIII, the Church of England was formed. Since the British monarch then controlled the church, British citizens were required to follow the rules and practices of the Church. Those who were religiously non-conforming to this established authority were called “Puritans”, a name which suggests their determination to build a church as pure as possible, in contrast to the perceived corruption of the Church of England.
清教徒的故事开始于英国。1543年，在亨利八世的统治下，英国国教形成。自从英国国王控制了教会，英国公民就不得不遵守教堂的规则和惯例。那些不遵循这一宗教权威的人被称为“清教徒”，意即他们决定建立一个尽可能纯洁的教堂，与英国国教可以预见的腐败形成对比。
They lived a very hard and difficult life and were persecuted by the Church of England severely, so many of them separated from the Church of England altogether and came to America.
他们生活困苦艰辛，遭受到英国国教的严重迫害，所以许多人从国教中分离出来，并一起前往美国。
2．Calvinism（加尔文主义）
Calvinism is a specific and rather rigid brand of Puritanism. Calvinists are those who follow the teachings of John Calvin, a religious reformer in France. They were supposedly the purest of the pure that came to the New World.
加尔文主义是清教主义一个特殊的、更加严格的分支。加尔文教徒是法国宗教改革家约翰·加尔文的追随者。他们或许是来到“新世界”的清教徒中最为纯洁的教徒。
3．Puritan Beliefs（清教徒信仰）
“Original sin” and “grace” are two most important premises in Puritanism.“原罪”和“恩惠”是清教主义两个最重要的前提。
i. William Bradford (1590-1657) （威廉·布拉德福德）
1．Life（生平）
William Bradford was born in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. After his father died and his mother remarried, Bradford was raised by his uncles and grandparents who taught him farming and animal husbandry.
威廉·布拉德福德出生在英国约克郡的奥斯特费尔德。父亲去世后母亲改嫁，于是叔叔和祖父母抚养他，并教他从事农业和畜牧业。
Bradford at first wanted to become a farmer. But his plan changed when, in his mid-teens, he was inspired by a sermon to join the Scrooby Pilgrims.
最初，布拉德福德想要成为一名农场主，但是，在他十五岁时，由于受到斯克罗比朝圣者布道的启发而改变了主意。
In 1620, the Bradford party sailed on the Mayflower and came to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Between 1621 and his death in 1656, Bradford was elected 30 times the Pilgrim Governor of Massachusetts.
1620年，布拉德福德一行人乘坐“五月花号”来到马萨诸塞州的科德角。在1621年至他去世的1656年间，他曾30次当选马萨诸塞州的州长。
2．Major Works（主要作品）
Of Plymouth Plantation《普利茅斯种植园史》
ii. John Winthrop (1588-1649) （约翰·温斯洛普）
John Winthrop was born in Suffolk, England, of prosperous ancestry. He studied law at Trinity College, Cambridge University. At the age of 18 John Winthrop was married and became steward and justice of peace on his father’s estate at Groton.
约翰·温斯洛普出生在英国萨福克郡的一个显赫家庭中。他曾在剑桥大学三一学院学习法律。18岁时，温斯洛普结婚，成为他父亲在格罗顿地产的管家和治安法官。
John Winthrop came to America in 1630 on the Arbella.
1630年，约翰·温斯洛普乘坐“阿尔贝拉号”前往美国。
iii. Anne Bradstreet (ac.1612-1672) （安妮·布拉德斯特里特）
1．Life（生平）
Anne Bradstreet was born in Northampton, England. When Anne was 16, she came to Massachusetts with her family, and at that time, she had married Simon Bradstreet two years earlier.
安妮·布拉德斯特里特出生在英国的北安普顿。16岁时，她举家来到马萨诸塞州，那时，她已与西蒙·布拉德斯特里特结婚两年了。
When she was young, she suffered from smallpox and the bouts of rheumatic fever. So, for the rest of her life, her health was precarious.
她年轻的时候，患过天花和风湿病，所以在她以后的岁月里，她的健康状况一直不好。
2．Poetic characteristics（诗歌特点）
(1) Because of her own health problems, images of human body, illness and mortality are dominant in her poetry.
由于自身健康原因，身体、疾病和死亡意象主导着她的诗歌。
(2) Her poetry reveal deep human love, passion, pain, as well as those pleasures associated with home such as entering friends and seeing children grow and marry.
她的诗歌揭示了深厚的人间之爱、激情、痛苦和与家庭有关的快乐，如友谊带来的快乐和儿女成长、嫁娶带来的幸福等。
(3) Some poems of her show a Puritan consciousness.
她的一些诗歌也表现出了清教意识。
3．Major Works（主要作品）
The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America《美国新崛起的第十位缪斯女神》
“To My Dear and Loving Husband”《致我亲爱深爱的丈夫》
“A Letter to My Husband”《给我丈夫的一封信》
“The Flesh and the Spirit”《肉体与精神》
“Contemplations”《沉思》
vi. Mary White Rowlandson (1637-1711) （玛丽·怀特·罗兰德森）
1．Brief Introduction （简介）
Mary White Rowlandson was born in Somersetshire, England. She was married to a minister at Lancaster. During King Phillip’s War (1675-1678), she and her three children were captured by Algonkian Indians for three months and were ransomed for £20 raised by the women of Boston in a public subscription.
玛丽·怀特·罗兰德森出生在英国的萨默塞特郡。她嫁给了兰开斯特的一位牧师。在菲利普国王战争期间，她和三个孩子被阿尔纲吉印第安人关押了三个月，最后，波士顿的一个公共订阅组织的妇女们筹措了20英镑把他们赎了出来。
2．Major Works（主要作品）
A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson《玛丽·罗兰德森夫人关于囚禁和恢复的叙述》
v. Edward Taylor (1642-1729) （爱德华·泰勒）
1．Life（生平）
Taylor was born in Sketchley, England and he grew up a nonconformist. After graduating from college, he became a schoolmaster. But his teaching career was cut short for the religious reason.
泰勒出生在英国的斯盖赤雷，他从小不信奉英国国教。大学毕业后，他成为一名校长。但是，由于宗教原因他的教学生涯很短暂。
In 1668 Taylor came to America and studied Theology at Harvard College. Graduating in 1671 with advanced standing, he chose to serve as a minister in a community of western Massachusetts. It was in that position that Taylor’s spiritual preparation took a poetic turn.
1668年，泰勒来到美国，在哈佛大学学习神学。1671年免修毕业，他选择到马萨诸塞州西部的一个社区做牧师。正是这一职位使得泰勒具备了转向诗歌创作的精神准备。
2．Poetic Characteristics（诗歌特点）
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