1、Unit 4 Exploring literature Extended reading How to appreciate fiction Fiction is a form of literary work created from imagination. It is not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include the novel, short story, and novella (
2、中篇小说). Learn background information Analyse the main elements The author The work Setting Plot Characters Writing style Theme Point of view How to understand and appreciate fiction Background information The author Name: Birth: Death: Nationality: Career: Remembered as: Notable awards: Ernest Heming
3、way 1899 1961 American Novelist, short story writer, journalist one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century Noble Prize in Literature in 1954 Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953 Hemingways works The Sun Also Rises (1926) 太阳照样升起 Men Without Women (1927) 没有女人的男人（短篇小说集） A Farewell to Arms (
4、1929) 永别了，武器 The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories (1938) 第五纵队与首辑四十九篇（短篇小说集） For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) 丧钟为谁而鸣 The Old Man and the Sea (1952) 老人与海 Hemingways life story Started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen Joined a volunteer ambu
5、lance unit in the Italian army after America entered the First World War Spent considerable time in hospital after a wound Returned to America and became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers (From Nobel Lectures, Literature 19011967, Editor Horst Frenz, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amster
6、dam, 1969) The work The Old Man and the Sea, short heroic novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1952. It was his last major work of fiction. The story centres on an aging fisherman who engages in a battle to catch a giant marlin. The novel is based on a true story that happened to his friend, a fi
7、sherman named Gregorio Fuentes. Hemingway was deeply moved by the story and decided to write a novel. The Old Man and the Sea was an immediate success and came to be regarded as one of Hemingways finest works. It won him the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953 and was cited when he won the Nobel Priz
8、e in Literature in 1954. A hugely popular film adaptation starring Spencer Tracy was released in 1958. The main elements of the novel Setting Plot Characters Writing style Theme Point of view Setting The setting is the environment in which a story unfolds. Time The time in setting can refer to the l
9、ength of time in which the story unfolds (as short as a day or as long as 1000 years or more). The time can also refer to the time period, the historical era (for example the Middle Ages) in which the novel is set. Place The place is where the story happens. The story may happen in a specific countr
10、y, city or neighbourhood or span several. Mood The mood of a storys setting refers to the tone you create by providing details of time and place. Context The context in setting refers to the way time and place come together to show how elements of setting (such as politics, culture, society) shape (
11、or limit) peoples choices and actions. Functions of setting as the background for action as the antagonist as a means of creating appropriate atmosphere as a means of revealing characters personalities as a means of reinforcing the theme Whats the setting of The Old Man and the Sea? Start and end se
12、tting The beginning and conclusion of the story take place in a small fishing village just outside Havana. Santiago lives alone in a small fishing hut. The small town setting conveys a sense of community. The setting also supports the melancholy tone of the novel. At sea in the Gulf of Mexico The pr
13、imary story takes place out at sea in the Gulf of Mexico. Santiago spends several days in his one-person fishing boat searching for a good catch. The setting supports the moody tone and the feeling of loneliness. The simple setting of the fishing boat contrasts with the vastness of the ocean and the
14、 power of the attacks. The setting creates sympathy for Santiagos hardship as well as his efforts to conquer nature. Whats the setting of the excerpt in the textbook? Plot The plot is the literary element that shows the arrangement of events and actions within a story. Exposition: the start of the s
15、tory, the situation before the action starts Rising action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment, either mentally or in action Falling action: all of the action which follows the climax Resolution: the conclusion,
16、the tying together of all of the threads Whats the plot of The Old Man and the Sea? Santiago, a Cuban fisherman has gone fishing constantly for 84 days, got nothing. At 85th day, he set out his small boat alone. He caught a huge marlin fish. A pack of sharks followed after the marlin and the old man
17、 fought against the shark. He felt very tired, hungry and thirty, but he didnt give up. When the old man got ashore, only skeleton remained. The old man was so exhausted, and he staggered back to his hut, and fell into bed. After the intense struggle, the old man finally caught the fish. Exposition
18、Rising action Climax Falling action Resolution Whats the plot of the excerpt in the textbook? Characters The characters are imaginary people that writers create in stories. The person, thing, or force that works against the protagonist Can be another character, a family, a society rule, a force of n
19、ature or a force within the main character Protagonist (主人公) Antagonis t (反派) The main character or hero in literary works, usually the one with whom the audience identifies Often referred to as “the good guy” The hero Name: Basic information: Personalities: Symbol: Santiago an old fisherman who str
20、uggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream optimistic, confident, brave, persistent the unyielding and optimistic spirit The supporting character Name: Basic information: Personalities: Symbol: Manolin a warm-hearted boy who admires and deeply loves the old man brave, responsible, stubbor
21、n, kind the new hope of the next generation The Antagonist the marlin the sharks the sea human ideal, pursuit for beyond the limits obstacle to success, a variety of difficulty difficult situation, dark reality What are the personalities of the old man revealed in the excerpt? Give some evidence. Wr
22、iting style The writing style is the unique way in which the writer chooses to assemble words and sentences together to create an overall piece of writing. Word choice Sentence length and structure Use of figurative language The perspective a writer chooses to use Hemingways Iceberg Theory If a writ
23、er of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A good writer does not need to reveal every d
24、etail of a character or action. (Death in the Afternoon, by Ernest Hemingway) 7/8 under for every 1/8 showing Iceberg principle: Concise language Deep and complicated thoughts and meanings underneath I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven- eighths of it underwater for
25、every part that shows. (Hemingway) Language style Few adjectives or adverbs Few conventional emotive language Few comments from the author Simple, short, conventional words and sentences Conciseness Repetition Vivid description of the characters thoughts How is Hemingways writing style revealed in t
26、he excerpt? Give some evidence. The fish was coming in on his circle now calm and beautiful looking and only his great tail moving. The old man pulled on him all that he could to bring him closer. For just a moment the fish turned a little on his side. Then he straightened himself and began another
27、circle. (page 53, lines 710) Short and simple sentences I moved him, he thought. Maybe this time I can get him over. Pull, hands, he thought. Hold up, legs. Last for me, head. Last for me. You never went. This time Ill pull him over. (page 53, lines 1315) Vivid description of thoughts I must get him
28、 alongside this time, he thought. I am not good for many more turns. Yes you are, he told himself. Youre good for ever. (pages 5354, lines 2224) You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing tha
29、n you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who. (page 54, lines 2729) Theme The theme is the central or underlying idea in literature, which may be stated directly or indirectly. All novels, stories, poems and other literary works have at least one theme running through them. Theme
30、 vs Subject The subject is a topic that acts as the foundation for a literary work, such as marriage in 19th-century France. The theme is an opinion the author expresses on the subject, for instance, the authors dissatisfaction with the narrow confines of French bourgeois marriage during that period
31、. How to identify the theme The statement of the theme should do the work full justice. It is fully and completely supported by the works other elements, so you need to identify the subject, the plot, the main characters, the authors point of view, etc. of the work. The title of the work often sugge
32、sts a particular focus or emphasis for the readers attention. The novel highlights the theme that man can be destroyed but not defeated. It is a representation of life as a struggle against forces in which only a partial victory is possible. Santiago embodies Hemingways definition of courage as “gra
33、ce under pressure”. He never loses dignity in the face of death.The glory and honour come not from his battle itself but from his pride and determination to fight. The theme of The Old Man and the Sea honour in struggle, defeat and death pride as the source of greatness and determination Point of vi
34、ew The point of view is the method of narration that determines the position or angle of vision from which the story is told. Commonly used points of view Third-person omniscient point of view (an all- knowing narrator) Third-person limited point of view First-person point of view Third-person point
35、 of view First-person point of view This means that the narrator is a character in the story . He or she describes the action in his or her own words. Whats shown is limited to the characters observations and thoughts. Events and characters described by a character outside the action Third-person om
36、niscient point of view The narrator is all-knowing Can see into the mind of more than one character Gives reader access to all characters Third person limited point of view The narrator tells the story from the perspective of only one character. The reader only learns what this person feels and experiences. Third-person point of view What is the point of view of The Old Man and the Sea? The writer in the novel is also the narrator. Hemingway told the story through the third-person omniscient point of view.
