1、英语短篇小说教程英语短篇小说教程Short Stories in English:A Reading CourseUnit OneIntroduction:The Short StoryReading:“Early Autumn”by Langston Hughes Comment on the following statement:Do you agree to this opinion?“Autobiography is fiction,for in the process of writing the author will have inevitably created a fict
2、itious character.”Comment on the following statement:Israel Zangwill,an English writer,says something about the“truth”of fiction.Do you agree to this opinion?“In Literature,everything is true except names and places;in history nothing is true except names and places.”The Random House Dictionary defi
3、nition of the word“fiction”:The class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration,esp.in prose form.The four main categories of literature:lfiction:novel,novella,short stories,myth,legend folktalelpoetry:ballad,epic,free verse,psalm,sonnet ldrama:play,opera,radio/TV/film scriptslprose:es
4、say,criticism,literary theory,(auto)biographySylvan Barnet:A Short Guide to Writing about Literature Perhaps the first thing to say is that it is impossible to define literature in a way that will satisfy everyone.And perhaps the second thing to say is that in the last 20 years or so,some serious th
5、inkers have argued that it is impossible to set off certain verbal works from all others,and on some basis or other to designate them as literature.It is an honorific word,or a body of work embodying eternal truth and eternal beauty.John M.Ellis:The Theory of Literary Criticism The word literature i
6、s something like the word weed.A weed is just a plant that gardeners for one reason or another dont want in the garden,but no plant has characteristics that clearly make it weed and not merely a plant.Robert Frost and Ezra Pound:lRobert Frost:Literature is“a performance of words.”lEzra Pound:Literat
7、ure is“news that stays news.”Essential differences between fiction and non-fictional writings:lThe former has two levels of understanding,the narrative level and the authorial level,or the surface level and the deep level of understanding;lThe former allows different interpretations;lThe former requ
8、ires imaginative participation on the part of the reader;lIn the former,the authors voice is generally disguised,speaking through a persona.Discussion:Is it literature?The old dog barks backward without getting up.I can still remember when he was a pup.Robert Frost:“The Span of Life”Discussion:Is it
9、 literature?坟是白馒头，井像黑窟窿，黄狗身上白，白狗身上肿。Discussion:Is it literature?Thirty days hath September,April,June and November;All the rest have thirty-one,Excepting February alone Which has twenty-eight in fine,Till leap year gives it twenty-nine.Reading and Textual Analysis Langston Hughes:“Early Autumn”Quest
10、ions 1.Even though we call it a“short story,”is there much“story”in the usual sense of the word?Is“story”an inevitable part?3.Is there a clear message?What is Marys problem?4.How does the story touch the reader if it is a touching one?5.What part does the setting play in the story?Henry James:lThe b
11、est fiction would not rely primarily upon plot,instead,would derive its impact from truth of detail.Jack London:l(Good literature)transcends the limits of particularity to reach universality.Isarael Zangwill:lArt deals with essences,not with accidents.Chekhov:It is not the business of a writer to an
12、swer the great questions but to state the questions correctly.英语短篇小说教程英语短篇小说教程Short Stories in English:A Reading CourseUnit TwoThe Author,the Narrator and the ReaderReading:l(1):“The Washwoman”by I.B.Singer l(2):“A Piece of Yellow Soap”by Frank Sargeson The Author The author is not the same as the n
13、arrator even when an author uses the first-person“I”.The author creates and chooses a narrator to tell a story and he might as well choose a totally different narrator to make a different story.A highly sophisticated author can choose a nave person,a child for example,to tell a story.The Narrator Wh
14、o is telling the story determines the storys point of view the vantage point from which events are presented.The implications of this choice are far-reaching.The perspective from which a story is told determines what details are to be included in the story and how they are to be arranged and present
15、ed.The narrator of a story may be:reliable or unreliable,objective or subjective,fair or partial,sympathetic or detached,simple-minded or sophisticated,ignorant or insightful.In other words,he may or may not present an accurate picture of events.The Reader:lSince the narrator does not always represe
16、nt the author,the reader can not take the narrators words for granted,but needs to weigh and decide how much he can trust the narrators story.lThe reading process is interactive,with the reader playing the role of both a receiver and a contributor,as meaning can only be discovered and constructed by
17、 the reader.lIt is a mistake to think that,for each story,there is one“correct”interpretation for all readers.The first-person narration:The first-person narration is provided by a narrator inside the story as the main character,or a participant,or an observer.This way of narration can present incid
18、ents more convincingly as the story is told by“I”personally.But the first-person narrator is,by definition,limited because he presents a situation as only one person sees it.The third-person narration:lThe omniscient narrator is a third person narrator who knows everything.This kind of narrator can
19、present an overview of events and characters,and can move in and out of the characters minds freely.lThe limited omniscient narrator gives a narration that focuses only on what a single person experiences.In other words,events are limited to one persons perspective,and nothing is revealed that the n
20、arrator does not see,hear,feel,or think about.The Nave Narrator A nave narrator is a story teller who does not fully understand the significance of the story he is telling,thus a special literary effect,which we call dramatic irony,is achieved between his limited understanding and the readers better
21、 understanding of the situation.Reading and Textual Analysis (1):I.B.Singer“The Washwoman”(2):Frank Sargeson“A Piece of Yellow Soap”Questions for Discussion:lIn this Unit,we have two stories about two washwomen.There are a lot of similar descriptions and common characteristics in the two stories.Fin
22、d and list them.lThe two first-person narrators tell two stories of two washwomen who share similar tragic fates.Discuss the differences in the narrators that result in the differences in the way the two short stories are told,and the different effect achieve.(Please make reference to“Reading Tips”o
23、n page 11 and page15)lDoes the piece of washing soap(in“A Piece of Yellow Soap”)have the“power”as the narrator tells us?What is the“power”that forces him to take off?英语短篇小说教程英语短篇小说教程Short Stories in English:A Reading CourseUnit ThreeThe Setting and the ThemeReading:“The Discus Thrower”by Richard Sel
24、zer The Setting and the Background:The setting often refers to the geographical location and the historical period in which a literary work is set,but it can mean more than just the background-the time and the place.It can be a key force in the story.The setting may influence the characters,affect o
25、r reflect their emotional state,create a mood for the story,and reinforce the central ideas that the story examines.The Setting:lThe historical setting refers to the approximate period of time during which a story takes place.lThe geographical setting refers to the actual location in which a story t
26、akes place.lThe physical setting refers to the various physical attributes of setting,for example,the stormy weather,or the groomy midnight,which help create a storys atmosphere.lThe cultural setting refers to the social conventions and the general environment,for example,the religious,moral,politic
27、al and emotional conditions by which characters may be constrained.The Setting:When the setting dominates,or when a piece of fiction is written largely to present the manners and customs of a locality,the writing is called local color or regionalism.The Theme and the Subject:lSubject refers to what
28、the story is about,while theme is a general idea that extends beyond the story and applies to the world outside fiction.lSubject is the narrators contents and concern,while theme is the authors implication,some comment on values in human nature and conduct.The Theme and the Subject:lThe theme of a s
29、tory is seldom stated explicitly.Instead,it is implied and conveyed through the selection and arrangement of details,and through the actions and reactions of the characters.lIf the subject of a story is growing up,its theme may be childhood innocence vs.the corrupted adult world.lIf the subject of a
30、 story is about war,it may reveal its theme of the conflict between human nature and patriotism.The Theme:Certain themes are frequently found in fiction,such as loss of innocence,pain of love,struggle of women for equality,generation conflict,clash between desire and conscience,search for ones cultu
31、ral identity and the tension between idealism and reality.The Story:The Discus Throwerby Richard Selzer Judith Ramsay:With his deftness of style,his imaginative use of medical ans surgical materials,and his clear narrative talent,Rechard Selzer creates a metaphor for medicine which has all the stran
32、ge,crude honesty that gives his writing its power.Critic David Johnson:l“How can we face death if we are still alive?”l“How can death inform life if death has not been reached?”Questions for Discussion:lWhat impression do you get of the patient from the description given in the story?lList the abnor
33、mal behaviors of the patient.What do we understand his abnormality?lRead carefully the paragraph about plate-throwing(lines 73-77).Why does the writer give such detailed description of it?What is your interpretation of this rather abnormal behavior?lWhy does the writer choose“The Discus Thrower”as t
34、he title?Is it coincidence that the short story has the same title as the famous Greek sculpture Discobolus(Discus Thrower)?Discobolus英语短篇小说教程英语短篇小说教程Short Stories in English:A Reading CourseUnit FourThe Character and CharacterizationReading:“Mr.Know-All”by Somerset Maugham The Character:Originally
35、refers to a person who typifies some definite quality,but now is more generalized to refer to any person in a creative writing.The Character and Other Literary Terms:character hero and heroine anti-heroprotagonist/main characterantagonist foilThe anti-herolThe anti-hero is a fictional character occu
36、pying a central position in the plot but possessing qualities antithetical to those of the traditional hero.lThe anti-hero is not simply a failed hero but a social misfit,graceless,weak,and often comic,the embodiment of ineptitude and bad luck in a world apparently made for others.The Character:A ro
37、und character:usually has more than one quality,and grows in the course of the story development,as he reacts to events and to other characters.A flat character:is constructed around a single idea or quality.Such a character does not develop in the course of narration and is easily recognized and re
38、membered.A foil:is a supporting character whose role in the story is to highlight the protagonist by presenting a comparison or a contrast to him.A static or dynamic character:A flat or round character is also referred to as a static or dynamic character.lA static character is one who changes little
39、 if at all.Things happen to such a character without things happening within.lA dynamic character,on the other hand,is one who is modified by actions and experiences,and one objective of the work in which the character appears is to reveal the consequences of these actions.Individualized and type ch
40、aracters:Individualized characters are ones endowed with traits that mark them as individuals,as opposed to type characters.Individualized characters belong,generally speaking,to realism,as opposed to the type characters of romanticism.Characterization:Characterization is the creation of imaginary c
41、haracters so that they exist for the reader as lifelike persons.Characterization:direct and indirect presentation There are two basic types of textual indicators of character:lThe direct presentation names the character trait or sums it up,such as“hes utterly selfish”or“he loves only himself.”lThe i
42、ndirect presentation,on the other hand,does not mention the trait but display and exemplifies it in various ways,leaving the reader the task of inferring the quality they imply.The common methods of indirect presentation:lthe act and speech in the form of behavior and conversation;lthe activity of m
43、ind in musing,meditation,self-debating or interior monologue;lthe external appearance,such as a crooked face indicating a crooked mind,or a dirty and disorderly room connoting the characters state of confusion.Preference for indirect methodlIn an individualistic and relative period like our own,gene
44、ralization and classification of characters/people are less tolerated.When suggestiveness and indeterminacy are preferred to closure and definitiveness and when emphasis is put on the active role of the reader,the explicitness and guiding capacity of direct definition are often considered drawbacks
45、rather than advantages.Characterization,the direct methodsample 1:He was certain that you were as glad to see him as he was to see you.In your own house you might have kicked him downstairs and slammed the door in his face without the suspicion dawning on him that he was not a welcome visitor.He was
46、 a good mixer,and in three days knew everyone on board.He ran everything.(Somerset Maugham,“Mr.Know-All,”lines 87-91)Characterization,the indirect methodSample 2:“Do you like card tricks?”“No,I hate card tricks,”I answered.“Well,Ill just show you this one.”He showed me three.Then I said I would go d
47、own to the dining room and get my seat at table.“Oh,thats all right,”he said.“Ive already taken a seat for you.I thought that as we were in the same stateroom we might just as well sit at the same table.”(Somerset Maugham,“Mr.Know-All,”lines 77-83)Reading Tip:The story is set in the declining years
48、of the British colonialism.Many people in the British colonies,or in America,the former colony,would call themselves“English people,”regarding themselves as members of the glorious British Empire.But those“Colonial English”would not be highly regarded by some“real”English who held the attitude of ra
49、cial or national superiority.The Story :Somerset Maugh:Mr.Know-All Questions for Discussion:lSummarize the four main characters:the narrator,Mr.Kelada,Mr.and Mrs.Ramsay.lWhat are the undesirable qualities of Mr.Kelada according to the narrator?Find them out in the text and list them.Are they good pr
50、oof that Mr.Kelada is an unworthy person?lWe have been given enough hints about the true value of the necklace and the possible story behind it.Can you find them?lWhy did the narrator say by the end of the story“I did not entirely dislike Mr.Kelada”?The four main characters:lthe narrator,a reserved,
