首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Mark Twain: One of America’s Best Known and Best Loved Writers Mark Twain wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in 1884
Mark Twain: One of America’s Best Known and Best Loved Writers Mark Twain wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in 1884
admin
2010-10-14
32
问题
Mark Twain: One of America’s Best Known and Best Loved Writers
Mark Twain wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in 1884. Since then, the book has been published in at least 60 languages. Some people say it is the best book ever created by an American writer. American students still read this book. And parents, teachers and literary experts still debate the issues discussed in the book.
The writer who became Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835. He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri on the Mississippi River. After his father died in 1847, young Samuel went to work as an assistant to a publisher. 10 years later, he became a pilot on a steamboat that sailed on the Mississippi. He heard the riverboat workers call out the words "mark twain !" that was a measure for the depth of water.
In 1861, the American Civil War put an end to steamboat traffic on the Mississippi. So Clemens traveled west and became a reporter for newspapers in Nevada and California.
Began to Write
Later, he wrote funny stories and called himself Mark Twain. Twain became famous for his story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in 1865. It tells about a jumping competition among frogs.
Twain also traveled a lot and began writing books about his travels. His stories about a trip to Europe and the Middle East were published in "The Innocents Abroad." And his stories about life in the western United States became the book called "Roughing It."
In 1870, he married Olivia Langdon and moved to Hartford, Connecticut. During the 1880’s, he wrote books for children, such as "The Prince and the Pauper." It tells about a poor boy who trades identities with a member of England’s ruling family. Twain also wrote "Life on the Mississippi." This book describes his days as a steamboat pilot and his return to the river 20 years later.
A Successful Writer and Speaker
Mark Twain was already a successful writer before he became famous as a public speaker. Over the years, he had invested a lot of money in unsuccessful businesses. In 1893, he found himself deeply in debt. So to earn money, he traveled around the world giving humorous talks. His speeches made people laugh and remember events they had experienced.
However, his later life was not a happy one. Two of his daughters died. His wife died in 1904 after a long sickness. Some critics think Mark Twain’s later works were more serious because of his sadness. He died of heart failure in 1910.
Mark Twain was the first writer to use the speech of common Americans in his books. He showed that simple American English could be as fine an instrument for great writing as more complex language. Through his books, he captured American experiences as no other writer had.
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
Many of the stories take place in Hannibal, Missouri. The small wooden house where he lived as a boy still stands there. Next to the house is a wooden fence. It is the kind described in Twain’s book, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," published in 1876.
In that story, Tom bas been told to paint the fence. He does not want to do it. But he acts as if the job is great fun. He tricks other boys into believing this. His trick is so successful that they agree to pay him money to let them finish his work. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is considered one of the best books about an American boy’s life in the 1800s.
Tom Sawyer’s good friend is Huckleberry, or "Huck," Finn. Mark Twain tells this boy’s story in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Huck is a poor child, without a mother or home. His father drinks too much alcohol and beats him.
Huck’s situation bas freed him from the restrictions of society. He explores in the woods and goes fishing. He stays out all night and does not go to school. He smokes tobacco.
Huck runs away from home. He meets Jim, a black man who has escaped from slavery. They travel together on a raft made of wood clown the Mississippi River.
Mark Twain started writing "Huckleberry Finn" as a children’s story. But it soon became serious. The story tells about the social evil of slavery, seen through the eyes of an innocent child. Huck’s ideas about people were formed by the white society in which he lived. So, at first, he does not question slavery. Huck knows that important people believe slavery is natural, the law of God. So, he thinks it is his duty to tell Jim’s owners where to find him.
However, gradually, Huck comes to understand that Jim is a good man. He finds he cannot carry out his plan to tell Jim’s owners where to find him. Instead, be decides to help Jim escape. He decides to do this, even if God punishes him.
Huck’s moral search is part of Twain’s humor. Huck’s heart leads him to do the right thing, even when everything he has been taught tells him it is wrong. Huck’s nature is good, but he has no idea of it. Twain tells us more through Huck’s voice than Huck himself knows.
It took Mark Twain longer to write "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" than any of his other books. He started writing in 1876, but put the story away after about two years of work. He returned to it in 1883. It was published the next year.
The Debate on Twain’s Book
From the beginning, the book "The Adventures of Hackleberry Finn" was hotly debated. Some early critics praised its realism and honesty. But the leading critics of Twain’s time hated it. They objected to the personality of Huck -- a rough, dirty and disobedient(不顺从的)boy.
They were insulted by Twain’s attacks on the commonly accepted morals and traditions of white society. And they disliked the way Twain used the language of a common, uneducated person to tell the story. No writer had ever done that before.
The debate over "Huckleberry Finn" reopened in recent years, but for different reasons. The book uses the racist expressions of its time. So some people say reading it is too painful and insulting for black children.
They know that Twain was really attacking racism. But he attacked indirectly, and with humor. So they feel young people will not understand what he was attempting to do. A few American schools have harmed the book for young children. A few have banned it for all students. Some schools used a version in which all racist words have been removed.
Other people say young people can understand "Huckleberry Finn" if they study it with a good teacher. They say the book remains one of the best denunciations(谴责)of racism ever written.
There is no longer any debate about the importance of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in American literature. In 1935, Ernest Hemingway wrote: "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ’Huckleberry Finn.’ There was nothing before. And there has been nothing as good since."
Mark Twain traveled many places around the world, such as Europe, the Middle East.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/JY87777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Tochangeajob.B、Toturnthebossdown.C、Tostriketheiron.D、Toaskforaraise.D题目问男士建议女士做什么。女士说想要求老板加薪,但又怕老板拒绝。男士说女士干得
A、LondonandWestminster.B、LondonandSt.Asaph.C、LondonandBirmingham.D、LondonandSt.Paul’s.A题目问根据这篇稿子伦敦包括哪些城市。短文中明确讲到“S
A、Attheairport.B、Atthesceneryspot.C、Inarestaurant.D、Inastore.D关键字眼处设题。男士说他妻子昨天在这里买的数码相机坏了,女士向男士索要收据,由此可以推测对话发生的地点在商
A、TheybothliveinNewYork.B、TheybothknowJack.C、Theyarebothinterestedinmusic.D、Theybothenjoycamping.C题目问Laura和K
A、Hemakesafoolofhimselfbyeatingtoomuch.B、Helikestoeatsomethingotherthanbeef.C、Hewantstoeatsomemoreroast
Participationinhighschoolsportsisnotaconstitutionalright.Rather,itisa【C1】______,paidforbytaxpayers,opentostu
Participationinhighschoolsportsisnotaconstitutionalright.Rather,itisa【C1】______,paidforbytaxpayers,opentostu
Art,saidPicasso,isaliethatmakesusrealizethetruth.Soisamap~Wedonotusually【B1】______thepreciseworkofthemap
WhyTheyCameNotmanydecisionscouldhavebeenmoredifficultforafamilytomakethemtosayfarewelltoacommunitywhe
A、Thelocalgovernments.B、Theirowners’families.C、Advertisements.D、Theaudience.C细节题。文中提示电视台、报纸、杂志、电台等传媒是私有的,然后用一问一答给出此题的正解,
随机试题
帝国主义是近代中国贫困落后和一切灾难祸害的总根源。
阅读下面这篇短文,回答问题。答司马谏议书王安石某启:昨日蒙教,窃以为与君实游处相好之日久,而议事每不合,
Here’safamiliarversionoftheboy-meets-girlsituation.Ayoungmanhasatlastpluckedupcouragetoinviteadazzlingyoung
A.苦味B.咸味C.二者均是D.二者均不是能泻火存阴的药物多具有()
期货投机行为的存在有一定的合理性,这是因为( )。
中国人民银行制定的《贷款损失准备计提指引》规定,对贷款进行分类后,按贷款计提损失准备,其中,对于关注类贷款,计提比例为___________;对于可疑类贷款,计提比例为___________。()
电子音乐:
6,21,43,72,()
地方高校的整体办学实力不及国家重点建设高校,是不能争取更多博士授权点的重要原因。但也有不少学者和高等教育管理者认为,长期以来,博士点授权层次结构不合理,过于限制地方高校博士点授予指标数量,缺乏科学评估地方高校学科发展水平,地方高校在博士点设置方面拥有的自主
A、Havemorepeopleworkonthereport.B、Finishthereporthimself.C、Writethereportthisafternoon.D、Allowmoretimetofini
最新回复
(
0
)