美国文学习题与练习I. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GodQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Who are the sinners in the hands of an angry God?2. What does the expression that the speaker has chosen imply?3. Why can t the wicked Israelites foresee the destruction to which they are exposed?4. Why do wicked men deserve to be cast into hell?5. Why are the wicked Israelites not fallen already?6. Is there anything a natural man can do to secure himself from hell?7. What can keep wicked men out of hell?8. Why is God so angry with the wicked men who are now on earth?9. What would happen if God should withdraw his restraining power?10. Under what circumstances is God under an obligation to keep a natural man from eternal destruction?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What imagery does the speaker use to describe the invincibility of God？2. Give one example of the speaker s metaphorical mode of perception.3. Find two epigrams in the texts.4. What is the speaker s purpose of depicting such a horrifying image of the wicked men dangled over the pit of hell?5. What effect do you think this sermon will have on the listeners?A Question for WritingWhat religious doctrines of the Puritans are portrayed in Jonathan Edwards sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”?II. From The AutobiographyQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Why did Franklin set up a Public Subscription Library in Phila-delphia?2. What did the Library afford him?3. What did he consider as a means of obtaining wealth and distinction?4. What did Franklin regard as the essentials of every religion?5. Make a shorthand list of the memorable anecdotes Franklin tells about himself.6. According to the selection, why did Franklin cr eate his “Method” for “moral perfection”?7. Can you summarize Franklin s “Method”for “moral perfection”?8. What surprised Franklin when he began to follow his plan for self-examination?9. What satisfaction did he have? What gave him the most trouble?10. At first Franklin s list contained twelve virtues. Why did he later add Humility to his list?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. How would you describe Franklin s writing style?2. What is Franklin s purpose of writing The Autobiography? And how does that purpose change throughout the work?3. Franklin often struggles to strike a balance between promoting humility and promoting his accomplishments. How successful is he in maintaining this balance?4. Discuss Franklin s optimism as a young man versus the diminished optimism he has as an adult looking back on his life. How do the two work together?5. How does Franklin employ humor in The Autobiography? Find three examples of humor or worldly wisdom that help illustrate why Franklin was regarded as one of the wittiest Americans of the eighteenth century.6. How can writing an autobiography contribute to self-knowledge? By way of example, explain what Benjamin Franklin The Autobiographer comes to see about Benjamin Franklin the young man.A Question for WritingMany critics regard The Autobiography as a statement about American national identity. What ideals does the book convey? And why are these ideas worth pursuing?III. From NatureQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. According to paragraph 1 in the “Introduction”, what does Emerson say would happen if the stars appeared one night in a thousand years?2. According to paragraph 2, why does Emerson believe that the stars awaken a reverence in people?3. When do natural objects make a similar impression of reverence?4. How does Emerson describe the lover of nature?5. What does Emerson mean when he says, “In the woods too, a man casts off his years”?6. Why does Emerson say, “I am part particle of God”?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What is Emerson s idea about the relationship between man and nature?2. According to Emerson, what is the distinction between adult and children?3. Where does Emerson believe the power for a true relationship between man and God comes from?4. What Transcendental ideas does Emerson express in this essay?A Question for WritingWhat does Emerson mean when he describes himself as “a transparent eyeball” when he is in the woods? How does this state of mind affect his relationship with God?From Self-RelianceQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. What does the Epilogue to Beaumont and Fletcher s Honest Man s Fortune imply?2. What, according to Emerson, is the highest merit that we ascribe to great men?3. According to Emerson, under what conditions will man be “happy and strong”?4. What, according to Emerson, does society require of its members?5. According to Emerson, what will happen if we live truly?6. What does Emerson want the American people to declare?7. What does Emerson urge people to do?8. What lessons do the great figures of the past teach us about the concept of self-reliance?9. What is the central doctrine in Emerson s ethical thought?10. Is Emerson optimistic or pessimistic about human nature and human potential?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. In this essay, Emerson points out what conformity leads to, and advocates self-reliance. What is the foundation of self-reliance?2. Emerson maintains that a true individual must be willing to face the consequences of thinking individually and critically and he must not be trapped into mediocrity by his own fear of being inconsistent or not in step with his peers. Find some examples from this essay to show his individualism.3. Today most people like traveling. But why does Emerson say that the soul is no traveler and traveling is a fool s paradise?4. According to Emerson, society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other. For everything that is given, something is taken. For instance, the civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. Do you agree with him? Why or why not?5. What is Emerson s most striking stylistic quality?6. Emerson uses many epigrams in this essay. List some examples to show the stylistic features of his writing.A Question for WritingTo what extent can the concept of self-reliance be considered a fundamental American idea?IV. The RavenQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. What was the narrator doing when he first heard the tapping?2. What did he see when he opened the door?3. What did he see when he flung the shutter?4. Where was the raven? And what did it look like?5. Why did the narrator associate the raven with an agent of the supernatural?6. What was the only word that the raven spoke?7. Why did the narrator think that the raven spoke only one word?8. What did he guess the word “Nevermore” meant?9. What did he ask the bird to do toward the end of the poem?10. Did the bird leave the narrator alone at the end of the poem?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What do you think the raven symbolizes? Why?2. Evaluate the narrator s emotional state at the beginning of the poem, in the last but one stanza, and in the last stanza.3. In this poem the raven steadily repeats the word “Nevermore”. What do you think is the poet s intention of letting the raven repeat this word?4. What is the theme of this poem? Is it Poe s favorite theme?5. Poe often uses sound devices to produce a musical effect. Find out and discuss the sound devices that he uses to produce a musical effect in the poem.A Question for WritingPoe believes that the function of poetry is not to describe and interpret earthly experience, but to create a mood in which the soul is elevated to supernal beauty. Describe the mood of this poem, and discuss its relations with Poe s idea of the function of poetry.V. The Minister’s Black VeilQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. How does the black veil, when the minister first wears it, affect his parishioners?2. How does the black veil affect the minister s sermons that Sunday morning?3. What is the villagers response to the minister s black veil?4. What happens in the afternoon when the minister bends over the coffin of a young lady?5. What happens during the wedding of a handsome couple that night?6. Why do the deputies fail in their attempt to remove the minister s black veil?7. Elizabeth thinks that the veil might well be a “symptom of mental di-sease”. What is the specific nature of the disease? What evidence is there to suggest that she might be right?8. “Among all its bad influ ences, the black veil had the one desirable effect of making its wearer a very efficient clergyman.” Explain what this desirable effect is?9. Why does the Reverend Mr. Clark persuade Father Hooper to remove his black veil before he dies?10. When the minister is dying, he says: “I look around me, and, lo! On every visage a Black Veil!!” What does he imply?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. “All through life that piece of crape had hung between him and the world; it had separated from cheerful brotherhood and woman s love, and kept him in that saddest of all prisons, his own heart.”What effect does the veil have on Mr. Hooper s life?2. Mr. Hooper dislikes the black veil himself. His antipathy to the veil is known to be so great that he never willingly passes before a mirror, nor stoops to drink at a still fountain. Why does he persist in wearing it?3. The black veil is the major symbol in the story. What do you think is its function in the story?4. Does Hawthorne believe that ever yone seems to cover up his innermost “evil” in theway the minister tries to convince his people with his black veil? If he does, do you agree with him?5. Hawthorne and Emerson are contemporaries and they are both members of the Transcendental Club, but they have different views of man and the world. Discuss the differences between these two writers.A Question for WritingIntellectually intrigued by the prospect of evil, Hawthorne s fiction is noted for its pessimistic reflection of a world dominated by Puritanism. Does he recognize a decadence inherent in Puritanism and the oppressing guilt and secrecy to which it inevitably leads?VI. When I Heard the Learn’d AstronomerQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. What aids does the astronomer use during his lecture?2. What does the speaker feel about the lecture as he listens?3. Where does the speaker go when he wanders off?4. What does the speaker do after he leaves the lecture room?5. What is the difference between the astronomer and the speaker?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What wisdom does the speaker find that the astronomer and his audience do not have?2. What is the rhythmic pattern of the poem? What does this pattern imply?3. What poetic devices are employed in this poem? And what is the effect?4. What does this poem have in common with Romantic or Transcendentalist poetry that you have read? In what way is it different?Cavalry Crossing a FordQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. What is the central image in the poem?2. What are the four parts of the image?3. What adjectives does the poet use to paint this verse picture?4. What do lines 3 and 4 imply?5. Do the soldiers really care about the war?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What functions does the central image perform in the poem?2. What atmosphere does the poem create?3. What is the poet s attitude toward the war?4. Comment on the poet s attitude toward the war.Come Up from the Fields, FatherQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Who receives the letter and calls the father and mother to the front door?2. What is the mother s reaction to receiving the letter?3. What has happened to the son?4. Why does the poet describe the prosperous farm in Ohio?5. What is the effect of the news on the mother?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What contrast does the poem build?2. What is its effect of this contrast on the reader?3. What idea does the poem present?4. Why does the poet use the word “better” three times in the poem?Out of the Cradle Endlessly RockingQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. What is the effect of the use of the repeated preposition such as out, over, down, up, from?2. Describe the plot line of this poem.3. What happens to the two birds in the poem?4. What does the sea symbolize?5. What does the sea show the boy?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. How does this poem link Whitman to the Romantics?2. Describe Whitman’s account of his development as a poet.3. What is Whitman’s attitude toward “death”?4. Why does the speaker say “My own songs awaked from that hour”?A Question for WritingWhat is uniquely American about Whitman’s poetry? Consider both his theme and style.VII. A Bird Came down the Walk—Questions for Reading Comprehension1. What does the bird eat in the natural world?2. Why does the bird hop sidewise to let a beetle pass? Does the bird fear the beetle?3. What does the speaker do in stanza 4?4. Is the bird frightened by the speaker? Why?5. What does the speaker compare the bird s movement to in stanza 5?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What kind of atmosphere do the first two stanzas create?2. Interpret the implied meaning of line 2: “He did not know I saw—”.3. What effect does the comparison in stanza 5 impose on the poem?4. What is Dickinson s attitude toward nature?I Died for Beauty—But Was ScarceQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Why does the first speaker “I” say that he was scarcely adjusted?2. Why does the second speaker “he” ask, “Why I failed”?3. The second speaker says, “We Brethren are”. What does he mean?4. What happens to the two speakers toward the end of the poem? And what does it imply?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What is the theme of the poem?2. Does this poem have anything to do with Dickinson s principle of poetic composition?Because I Could Not Stop for Death—Questions for Reading Comprehension1. What does Death s carriage hold?2. What are the three things that the speaker and Death pass in stanza 3?3. What is the “House”in the ground in stanza 5? Is this the speaker s final destination?4. Is the speaker in this poem alive or dead? What day is she describing?5. Why does the day seem so long to the speaker?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What do lines 1 to 2 suggest about human behavior?2. What might the three things the speaker pass in stanza 3 represent?3. What is Dickinson’s idea about death and immortality?A Question for WritingWhat are the features of Dickinson’s poetry that impress you most?VIII. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras CountyQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Why does the first narrator call on Simon Wheeler?2. Whom does Simon Wheeler talk about? Why does he talk about him?3. Where is the narrator from? Is he educated?4. Where do you think old Simon Wheeler lives?5. Did Simon Wheeler have a good education? Why or why not?6. Why does the writer name the pup and the frog after two American politicians?7. Why is Jim Smiley s frog defeated by the stranger s?8. Do you think Simon Wheeler is a good story-teller?9. How does the first narrator respond to the story of Jim Smiley?10. How does Simon Wheeler counteract the ridiculousness of the story about Jim Smiley?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What are the differences in character and cultural background between the firstnarrator and the second narrator Simon Wheeler?2. How do these differences contribute to the humor of the story?3. How does the first narrator s language differ from that of the second? How do the differences contribute to the reliability of their narration?4. Conflicts arise when the East meets the West. How does Mark Twain present the two sides involved in the conflict?5. As a typical western hoax, the story tells about how the weak succeed in “hoaxing” the strong. In what way does the story reflect the re-ality in the California Mining camps?A Question for WritingMark Twain once said, “I see no great difference between a man and a watch, except that a man is conscious and a watch is not.” How does Mark Twain view human nature? How does the story reflect the writer’s view of hum nature?IX. The Law of LifeQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Who is the narrator of the story?2. In which season does the story take place? And who are those people in the story?3. Why is Old Koskoosh deserted by his people?4. Why does Old Koskoosh give up fighting for his life?5. How does Old Koskoosh justify the fact of being deserted?6. What do you think would happen to Old Koskoosh in the end?7. How does Old Koskoosh s death echo his hunting trip during his energetic youth?8. What, according to the story, is the law of life?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. While sitting there, Old Koskoosh recollects many things, including the famine days, the plenty days, and his hunting trip. How do his recollections contribute to the theme of the story?2. What does the title “The Law of Life” suggest?3. What do you think of the Indian tradition of “deserting the old”, taking into consideration the harsh circumstances at the time of the story?4. How does the author view the relationship between man and nature?5. What are the naturalistic views revealed in this story?A Question for WritingLondon once told Charmian, his second wife, “To me the idea o f death is sweet. Think of it—to lie down and go into the dark out of all the struggle and pain of living—to go to sleep and rest, always to be resting...When I come to die, I will be smiling at death, I promise you.” How does London’s attitude toward death find its way into this story?X. In a Station of the MetroQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Where does the narrator see the “faces”?2. What are the “faces” compared to?3. What adjectives does the narrator use to describe the “bough”? Ho w does the description foreground the “petals”?4. What are the two images juxtaposed in the poem?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. Does the poet supply you with any information about how you should think or feel about the poem?2. Why do es the poet use the word “apparition” rather than the word “appearance”?3. Pound himself mentions the following Japanese haiku (a two-line couplet with rhymes) in an essay. Compare “In the Station of the Metro” with this haiku and discuss their simila rities and differences.The footsteps of the cat upon the snoware like the plum blossoms.4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Imagist poetry, using this poem as an illustration?A Question for WritingIn what way does this poem reflect Imagist poetry?XI. The Road Not TakenQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Why does the speaker feel sorry in the first stanza?2. Why does the speaker think that the second road may have the better claim?3. Which road does he take? Why?4. Why does the speaker say that he will be telling this story with a sign “ages and ages hence”?5. Does the speaker think he has made the wrong choice? Why or why not?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What do the two roads represent?2. What does the speaker s choice tell about him?3. Are the two roads the same or different? What do their similarities or differences suggest?4. Why is the poem entitled “The Road Not Taken”?5. What rhythmical devices does the poet use in the poem?A Question for WritingWhat philosophy of life is implied in the poem? Have you met with any dilemmas in your life comparable to the speaker’s?Mending WallQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. How many characters are there in the poem? Who are they?2. What is the thing that “doesn t love a wall”(line 1)?3. What happens as a result of the fact that “Something there is that doesn t love a wall”? What other kind of destruction to the wall is described in Lines 5 to 9?4. How do the speaker and his neighbor go about fixing the wall at spring mending-time (Lines 12 to 22)?5. What is the central issue or subject matter in the poem?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What kind of darkness surrounds his neighbor? And why is the neighbor compared toa savage?2. Why does the speaker say that the wall stays always where we do not need it (Line 23)?3. What does the wall symbolize? What do people wall in and wall out?4. How is the speaker s attitude towards the wall different from his neighbor s?5. What do the speaker and his neighbor represent respectively?A Question for WritingHow do you understand “Good fences make good neighbors” (Line 27)?Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Why is the owner of the woods unable to see the speaker stopping by his woods?2. What causes the speaker to stop?3. What is the horse s response when the speaker stops?4. When and where does the event in the poem take place?5. Why does the speaker find the woods lovely?6. What must the speaker do before he goes to sleep?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What is the function of the horse in the second and third stanzas?2. What internal conflict does the speaker experience when he decides to leave the woods?3. What might the incident by the woods represent?4. Why does the poet repeat the line “And miles to go before I sleep”? Does the meaning of the word “sleep” alter in a ny way?5. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? What effect does this rhyme scheme create? Or how is the poem “knit” to a close?XII. A Clean, Well-lighted PlaceQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Why does the old man come to the café and get drunk every night?2. What is the reason for the old man s attempted suicide?3. Neither of the two waiters in the story is named, and their dialogue is not identified.However, the reader is still able to distinguish them, mainly through their different attitudes towards the old man drinking at the café. In what ways do the two waiters differ?4. What different views do the two waiters hold towards life?5. How does the old man carry himself when he leaves the café?6. Why is the middle-aged waiter reluctant to close up for the night?7. What does he do on the way home?8. “Nothing” is the key word in the story. What deeper meaning does the author give it as the story unfolds?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. Notice the contrast between “darkness” and “light” in the story. What sy mbolic meanings does the title of the story “A Clean, Well-lighted Place” bear?2. What information can you gather about the social background and the setting of the story?3. Lord s Prayer appears at the end of the story with some key words replaced by the Spanish word “nada”, which means “nothing”. Why?4. What effect does Hemingway create by not naming any of his characters in the story? How do you understand the last sentence, “Many must have it”?5. What are the principal features of Hemingway s style?A Question for WritingHemingway’s major theme is “grace under pressure,”that is, keeping one s dignity in the face of extreme situations. How is this theme presented in the story?XIII. A Rose for EmilyQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. Where is the story set?2. Explain the basic plot in its chronological order. Is it in accordance with the narrative order?3. Does Miss Emily love Homer Barron? And does he really love her?4. What is Miss Emily s attitude towards her father? Why doesn t she cry when her father dies?5. Why does Miss Emily kill Homer Barron? What motivates her to do that?6. Why does Miss Emily keep Homer Barron s body in her room?7. The character of Miss Emily is revealed in several episodes in the story. What kind of person is she? And what does she represent?8. What is the attitude of the people of the town toward Miss Emily and her family?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. What do Miss Emily s house and its surrounding suggest to you? What does the story say about the male-female relationships in American society of that time?3. Except for the title, a rose is never mentioned in the story. Why do you think Faulkner chooses this title?4. Who is the narrator of the story? What do you know about him? Can you list his“values”? Are his values shared by the town?5. Is this narrator reliable? Does the sex identity of the narrator affect the narration in any way?A Question for WritingMany critics have interpreted Miss Emily as a symbol of the post-Civil-War American South. Do you agree with this interpretation?XIV. Desire Under the ElmsDiscussion Questions for Appreciation1. Abbie says that Eben’s mother would be pleased that he does what she asks him to do. Does Eben believe in it or not? Why or why not?2. It is in Eben’s mother’s parlor that Abbie finally succeeds seducing him. What is the significance of this arrangement?3. In 1929, O’Neill says, “What has influenced my plays the most is my knowledge of drama of all time,—particularly Greek drama.” Some critics also point out that Hippolytus, Phaedra and Medea serve as the prototypes of some of the characters in the play. With whom are Hippolytus and Phaedra identified in the play? And Medea? Please justify your viewpoint.4. One critic points out, “The meaning and unity of his ［O’Neill’s］work lies not in any controlling intellectual idea and certainly not in a “message”, but merely in the fact that each play is an experience of extraordinary intensity.” Do you think that this play is an experience of extraordinary intensity?A Question for WritingO’Neill is said to be interested in the theory of the psychologist Sigmund Freud: the power of irrational drive, the existence of subconscious, the roles of repression, suppression, and inhibition in the formation of personality and in adult suffering; the importance of sex; and above all, the lifelong influence of parents. Can you justify at least two aspects of Freud’s influence on O’Neill by quoting evidence from the excerpt?XV. The Catcher in the RyeQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. To what does Holden compare Phoebe s behavior when she finds out that he was expelled from Pencey?2. Where does Holden say that his father will send him when he learns that Holden has been expelled?3. Even though Holden likes Mr. Spencer, he considers him a phony, why?4. What was the Pencey alumnus looking for when he came to Holden and Stradlater s dorm?5. When Holden thinks about the nuns, what does he picture them doing?6. One of Holden s classmates, James Castle, commits suicide by jumping from a dormitory window while wearing Holden s sweater. What do you make of this?7. What does Holden think of his dead younger brother, Allie?8. Discuss Holden s relationship with Phoebe citing specifics from their conversations.Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden seems to be talking to another person. Who do you think that person is?2. Why do you think this novel is frequently subject to censorship efforts in public schools and libraries? How might you defend the book against efforts to remove it from school libraries?3. Though Holden never describes his psychological breakdown directly, it becomes clear as the novel progresses that he is growing increasingly unstable. How does Salinger indicate this instability to the reader while protecting his narrator s reticence?4. Humor plays an important role in this story. Can you find some examples in this chapter? What does this imply about Salinger s view of the human condition?5. Holden often behaves like a prophet or a saint, pointing out the phoniness and wickedness in the world around him. Are there instances where Holden is phony, too? What do these moments reveal about his character and his psychological problems?6. What do you think Holden s future will be?A Question for WritingExamine carefully the description of the “catcher in the rye.” Analyze the symbols in this description. What are the kids falling into? What does “the rye” symbolize? Why does Holden want to be the catcher in the rye? What are the positive and negative aspects of his fantasy?XVI. Everyday UseQuestions for Reading Comprehension1. When offered the quilts before she left for college, Dee refused them, ashamed to own such “old fashioned” items. Upon her return, Dee covets the folk-art objects that comprise everyday reality for her mother and sister. What accounts for Dee s change of heart?2. Has she learned to appreciate her mother and her heritage?3. By what process do the quilts get made? What is remarkable about the social occasions which bring them into being?4. Which of the various facts about the quilts do Maggie and Dee “single out” as what is “essential” about the quilts for them?5. What are the differences in character between Dee and Maggie, and how do these show up in the differences between what the quilts mean to them?6. In “Everyday Use,” Walker presents two very different perceptions of heritage and values as narrated through the viewpoint of a mother observing her two daughters. How does she describe each child? What use does the mother anticipate that Dee and Maggie would put the quilts to?7. What does the mother think of Dee s new name and the gentleman who accompanies Dee?8. The narrator indicates that she has not had much of an education, and that she is a strong, mannish, earthy woman. Is the narrator really as ignorant as she claims?Discussion Questions for Appreciation1. How do the two daughters act as foils to each other? What values does each represent, and。