Mark TwainMirror of America,Mark Twain-马克吐温 (1835-1910),the pen name (pseudonym) of Samuel Langhorne Clemens 塞缪尔朗赫恩克莱门斯,Life story/ biography -Noel Grove,Life experiences,grew up on the Mississippi River at 12, father died, 13, left school a full time printers apprentice; 18, went to New York, a tramp printer 22,a steamboat pilot until 1861(26) -gave him a wide knowledge of humanity,The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, -confederate guerrilla Gold or silver fever-tried mining, speculating, but failed In Virginia City, a local journalist -on February 3,1863, “Mark Twain” was born,His most productive years,Married in 1870 (35) and moved to Hartford. Conn where he lived his most productive years till 1891 (56) Tom Sawyer 1876 Huckleberry Finn 1884- all modern American literature comes.“ (Ernest Hemingway),Personal tragedies,1. his investments and golden rush failed 2.Father: pneumonia 3.Brother Henry: killed by a steamboat explosion 4.Son died at 19th month 5.two daughters died 6.His wife succumbed to heart attack -turn to be very bitter and satirical in his later days,His works-Stories,1867:“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” “卡拉韦拉斯县驰名的跳蛙”-a frontier tale-He became nationally famous 1899: The Man That Corrupted Hardleybug败坏了哈德莱堡的人,local color,represented social life through portraits of local places which he knew best,drew from his own rich fund of knowledge of people and places,tall tales (highly exaggerated),a texture of most local color literature，a sense of humor,writing feature I,he used colloquial language, vernacular language, dialects Words: short, concrete, direct in effect sentence wandered/ travelled across,New American experience,Twain lived in the stirring years in American history a. American Civil War b. The westward expansion c. Golden Rush d. Rapid development of Capitalism e. Emergence of Imperialism,Main artery of transportation in the young nations heart -metaphorical expression Artery-main channel Heart-central part,A Steamboat,View on the River,Crops in the North,Tobacco corn fur lumber wheat,Crops in the South,Cotton whiskey sugar,The climax of Westward expansion,When America became independent, there were only 13 states along the Atlantic Ocean. By 1850, U.S has expanded to the Pacific, including the massacre of the native Indians, the Louisiana Purchase 1803,Golden Rush,In 1848, gold was found in California. People rushed there to seek their fortune, known as the “golden rush”, reaching its climax in the 1860s.,Paragraph 4-6 early years of life,The cast of characters -actors in a play or movie -(figurative expression) people of all sorts Cosmos: a place where one can find all types of characters Resurface: reappear,A river pilot,piracy,lynching,medicine show,The colorful language that he soaked up with a memory that seemed phonographic. The colorful language that he took in mentally with a good memory that seemed to be able to record things like a phonograph.(simile) 他的所见所闻，连同他那留声机般准确的可靠记忆吸收来的丰富的语言，都得以在其作品中再现。,paraphrase,Steamboat decks teemed not only with the main current of pioneering humanity. Steamboat decks were filled with people of pioneering spirit and lawless people like prostitutes, gamblers and villains.,teem with: to be full of/ to have great in number E.g.His head teems with clever ideas. -The marshes teem with mosquitoes in summer. Hustlers: a person who get things through deceit. Now in U.S. the word means a street walker.,From them Mark Twain gained a keen perception of the human race, of the difference between what people claim to be and what they really are. 马克吐温敏锐洞察人类的本性，同时也认识了人们的言行不一。 antithesis,antithesis,The word “antithesis” comes from the Greek word “antithenai”, meaning “opposition”. Antithesis, favored by many speakers when persuading, places contrasting ideas side by side for emphasis and rhythm. The elements (usually two) are contrary in meaning but similar in form.,examples,Marriage is easy, housekeeping is hard. Penny wise, pound foolish. Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.,The world will little note or long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. -Abraham Lincoln My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. - John F. Kennedy,Paragraph 6,When railroads began drying up the demand for steamboat pilots and the Civil War halted commerce. -Because of the railroads there was no more demand for steamboat pilots. The civil war brought commerce to a temporary stop.,Who diligently avoided contact with the enemy. -who constantly and carefully avoided clashes with the enemy. This is a roundabout way of saying “avoid fighting” or “retreated”,Nevada,Flirt with: 拍拖，与调情 Rebuff: to be rejected （追求女子）而被拒绝 -metaphor He tried but not very hard or persistently enough to get the