Excellent model essay for graduation thesis of British and American literature 1
An analysis of cultural problems in British and American literature
Language and literary works can accurately reflect the customs, beliefs and universal values of a national cultural environment. In the process of studying British and American literature, they will inevitably come into contact with all kinds of cultural knowledge contained in their works. The main purpose of offering English and American literature courses in schools is to cultivate students' reading appreciation and understanding ability in English and American literature reading.
Keywords: British and American literary and cultural issues, historical and cultural background
With the acceleration of economic globalization, British and American literature has gradually become a compulsory course that colleges and universities attach great importance to. The main purpose of offering English and American literature courses in schools is to cultivate students' reading appreciation and understanding ability in English and American literature reading. The emphasis on British and American literature courses in colleges and universities has played a great role in improving students' English level, but some cultural problems have also followed. Many students have gradually lost their interest in reading English and American literature because of their lack of in-depth understanding of English and American literature, which requires us to have a solid grasp of linguistic knowledge and extensive knowledge of English and American culture in the process of reading English and American literature, so as to continuously enhance the positive significance of offering English and American literature courses.
First, the importance of cultural factors in British and American literature
With the increasingly close communication between China and other countries in the world, intercultural competence has gradually become an important part of English teaching, and it has gradually shown great vitality in the teaching of British and American literature. Language itself is a kind of culture, and language and literary works can accurately reflect the customs, beliefs and universal values in a national cultural environment. In the process of learning British and American literature, we will inevitably come into contact with all kinds of cultural knowledge contained in the works. In the process of learning British and American literature, we will learn.
In the traditional teaching of British and American literature, most university literature teachers in China pay too much attention to text reading and research on British and American literary works, ignoring the guidance for students to understand the background of British and American literary creation. This teaching method makes most students lack the basic cultural understanding ability, the cultural factors in British and American literature, and the cultural connotation in the British and American literary works they read, which makes students only superficial when reading British and American literary works and cannot accurately reveal the deep level of literary works.
The study of any literature course requires a strong cultural thought and a certain understanding ability. In order to improve their understanding ability in studying literary works, learners need to have a deep understanding of the background and cultural knowledge produced by such literary works. An excellent literature learner should have strong attainments in cultural experience, cognitive ability and language knowledge. In the process of learning English and American literature, it is very important for learners to master certain knowledge of language and culture, but it is not enough to master only knowledge of language and culture. Really understand the content of British and American literature thoroughly.
We should also constantly strengthen our understanding of British and American cultural background knowledge. Only with the help of British and American cultural background knowledge can learners truly understand the cultural connotation in British and American literature, have a basic grasp of the lifestyle, religious customs, way of thinking, value orientation and historical development in British and American literature, and truly understand the thoughts and feelings in the works. This ability to understand literary works is not cultivated overnight. In this process, students must persevere, and literature teachers should also guide students to master the correct learning methods, form a good habit of reading British and American literary works scientifically, and let students constantly improve their ability to read British and American literary works and improve their literary literacy.
Second, the cultural issues in the study of British and American literature
1. Social and cultural issues in the study of British and American literature.
Any language is actually a kind of culture, and in the process of language development, social culture will also have a certain impact on it. Language is an important element of literary works, and the language and culture formed in different social environments are different, which makes literary works inevitably influenced by social culture in the process of creation. For example, the word "door" in the "photo gate" and "donation gate" that we often talk about at present actually represents a kind of "scandal", so how did the meaning of the word "door" come from? This is related to a certain social background. Since then, when people encounter some social scandals, they often think of this incident, and the word "door" has gradually gained another cultural meaning.
2. Regional cultural issues in the study of British and American literature.
The regional culture we are talking about is actually a culture with regional cultural characteristics gradually produced in a specific regional environment. If students don't understand these regional cultures in the process of studying British and American literature, it may cause literary obstacles. For example, when studying the poet Shelley's ode to the west wind, if students have an accurate understanding of the climate in Britain, they can't understand why the author writes "west wind" as the image of the wind in the footsteps of spring, because in our country, when it comes to west wind, people usually associate it with the word "cold west wind". In literary works, the west wind not only represents the unsuitability of the climate, but also often sets off a depressed and depressed mood in his works. In Britain, which is located at high latitude, the west wind is very warm and comfortable, which is a cultural difference between regions.
3. Historical and cultural issues in the study of British and American literature.
Historical and cultural factors have a great influence on any kind of literary works. Literary works themselves are the reflection of national history and culture, and they are gradually produced in the process of social and historical development. If students do not understand the history and culture of British and American countries when studying British and American literary works, some cultural obstacles will inevitably appear when understanding the meaning of the works. China is very different from western history in the process of historical development. If we can't accurately grasp the differences in the process of historical development, it is very easy to produce.
4. Religious and cultural issues in the study of British and American literature.
Many literary works in the world involve religious and cultural factors such as Islam and Buddhism. Different countries and regions believe in different religious cultures, and the distribution of religious cultures is also different, which makes the culture of each country affected in the development process, and the religious beliefs of different countries can reflect certain cultural taboos in this region. If we don't know enough about this cultural taboo, it is likely to cause obstacles to understanding literary works. For example, in our country, there are Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. These religions have profoundly influenced the thoughts of literary creators and greatly influenced the cultural connotation of China's literary works. For British and American literary works, their inner meaning will naturally be influenced by the religious culture in this region. Most people in Europe believe in Christ. China's religious and cultural beliefs are very different, and these differences often make China students.
For example, "an after life" refers to the time after death according to the religious culture of _ _ _. It is impossible for students who do not understand western religious culture to associate this word with "after death". For another example, a Jew wears a black robe on the road. If other Jews ask him to take off his black robe, it means that this person has betrayed his Jewish faith and is spurned by everyone, because the black robe is Judaism in the eyes of Jews.
abstract
In view of the cultural problems in the education of British and American literature in China, literature teachers must fully grasp the historical and cultural knowledge and background materials in the creation of literary works, guide students to pay more attention to the cultural problems in British and American literature, enhance students' sensitivity to absorb the cultural knowledge of British and American literature, enable students to master scientific learning methods in the process of learning British and American literature, develop good habits of reading British and American literature, and comprehensively improve students' literary literacy.
References:
[1] fu. The Importance of British and American Literature Teaching in Higher Education [J]
[2] Luo Qilun. On strengthening the study of literary texts in the teaching of British and American literature [J]
[3] Zhang Hui. The Application of Constructivism in the Teaching Mode of British and American Literature [J]
[4] Fan Xiaohong. British and American literature teaching and harmonious personality shaping of college students [J]
[5] Liu Ke and Wang Yongheng. Reflections on the teaching of British and American literature under the network environment in the new period [J]
Excellent thesis of British and American literature graduation thesis II
Biblical phenomena in British and American literature
Abstract: British and American literature is deeply influenced by the Bible. Without the Bible, the history of British and American literature will be rewritten. British and American literature is inextricably linked with the Bible. This paper intends to discuss the Bible phenomenon in British and American literature from two aspects: first, the concept and spirit of the Bible have had a far-reaching impact on British and American literature; Second, the Bible is the main source of British and American literary creation materials.
Keywords: Biblical concepts and spiritual materials in British and American literature
As an important part of world literature, British and American literature has two traditional roots: ancient Greek and Roman mythology and the Bible. Without these two foundations, British and American literature would be impossible. Since the Middle Ages, the Bible has been called "the only book" and "the book among books". As a book with the widest spread, the deepest influence, the largest circulation and the largest number of readers in British and American society, the concept and spirit of the Bible have deeply penetrated into the consciousness of British and American people. Almost all the important poets and writers in Britain and America are closely related to the ideas and images in the Bible. This makes it objective and pertinent to explore the various influences of the Bible on the works of British and American writers, which is of great theoretical and practical significance for comprehensively and accurately grasping the context and laws of the development of British and American literature.
First of all, British and American literature embodies the idea and spirit of the Bible.
The Christian spirit of kindness, forgiveness and fraternity runs through the Bible, and proverbs and admonitions about kindness, forgiveness and love abound in the Bible. These proverbs and proverbs tell the world that with love, all faults and hatred can be resolved, and love is the bond that harmoniously connects all truth, goodness and beauty. Galatians says, "Serve one another with love, because all the laws combine one sentence, that is, love your neighbor as yourself." (Because all the laws are fulfilled in one sentence, and it is in this sentence. You should love your neighbor as yourself. ? -Galatians Chapter 5 of the New Testament) Many British and American writers are deeply influenced by this spirit, and their works reveal and express this central idea all the time.
In many of Shakespeare's works, friendship is its theme. Romeo and Juliet, for example, is praised by the world as an eternal ode to love and beauty. Through the feud between Montague and Capulet and the love of life and death between the two children, it is reflected that the original beautiful love was destroyed by the struggle aroused by hatred, but the ending of the play reveals the light of "harmony" and expresses the spirit of positive optimism and high spirits.
There is a strong Christian spirit here, which is to use "love" to resolve all evils. In this sense, the hero and heroine Romeo and Juliet in the play are just a pair of young martyrs. They used actions and "love" to resolve the deep-rooted hatred between the two families.
Another example: Russia/kloc-Leo, the great novelist of the 0/9 th century? Tolstoy, he is also a devout _ _ ACTS. His lifelong pursuit and all his works are inextricably linked with Christian worship. In his masterpiece Resurrection, he preached forgiveness and fraternity, instead of fighting violence with violence, he advocated the self-improvement of human nature.
Tolstoy thinks that the spiritual revival of the hero and heroine Duke Nekhludoff and prostitute Maslova is the spiritual revival of _ _ and the return of humanity. As a jury, Duke Nekhludoff found in court that the defendant's prostitute Maslova was Katyusha, the girl he seduced when he was young. His conscience was discovered, and he began a series of repentance and atonement activities. Finally, he was forgiven by Maslova and felt the power of love and kindness. This shows that the novel Resurrection advocates the spirit of fraternity advocated by the Bible.
In British and American literature, there are many works that run through the spirit of kindness, forgiveness and fraternity in the Bible. British and American literature's inheritance of the concept of the Bible is mainly reflected in the original sin of human nature, God's judgment, sacred redemption and moral perfection. Sacred love must have a deep understanding of the biblical concepts in British and American literature in order to fully appreciate the artistic charm of British and American literature.
Second, British and American literature takes the Bible as its creative material.
"Although the Bible is not a literary book, it has a high literary value." "The meaning of the Bible has different new inspirations for each generation". The Bible is the eternal motif of literary works and an inexhaustible treasure house for British and American writers. Because the Bible enjoys a wide audience in Britain and America, it can be said that the stories and characters in the Bible are well-known in Britain and America. Quoting or using biblical allusions for narrative reasoning is easier for readers to accept, and can also enrich the connotation of the work and deepen the theme. Therefore, British and American writers always consciously or unconsciously quote or use biblical allusions in one way or another in their literary creation.
1. Direct reference.
The most recognizable thing is that the writer directly quotes the words or names of the characters in the Bible as the titles or names of the characters in his works, so as to cause the corresponding connection between his works and the Bible. Or directly quote biblical stories as creative material. For example, the title of White's novel The Man in the Carriage is: From the Bible? Ezekiel in the Old Testament implies the theme of mental torture and atonement in the novel. Steinbeck's The Joy of Eden and other titles are taken from the Old Testament? Ecclesiastes, chapter one; William, the representative writer of American southern literature? Faulkner's masterpiece Absalom, Absalom! ",from the title to the story, borrow the story of King David and Absalom in the Bible; Jocelyn, the protagonist of Golding's The Tower, combines three biblical characters: Adam, Cain and Satan.
The title of Hemingway's masterpiece The Sun Also Rises quoted the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes, a sentence from chapter one, verse five. This shows that there is an obvious correspondence between British and American literature in the twentieth century and the Bible text, and they have the same structure in terms of themes and characters.
Among the important writers of British and American literature in the twentieth century, T? s？ Eliot advocated the use of "mythological techniques" for creation earlier. And his myth mainly comes from the Bible. Eliot successfully used biblical allusions such as "Death and Rebirth", "Looking for the Holy Grail", "Fire and Water" and "Atonement and Redemption" in his poetry creation, which excavated the inner world of modern people and linked ancient times with modern times, making his works have a heavy sense of history, greatly enhancing the symbolic significance of his works and making his works have eternal artistic charm.
2. Use special technology.
Some British and American writers don't directly quote biblical allusions, and don't take the road of completely copying them. But according to the expression of his own thoughts, he reformed the prototype of biblical allusions. The long poem Beowulf, which is regarded as one of the oldest works in the history of English literature, has already talked about God, saying that the monster Glendale is a descendant of Cain. Cain is the Old Testament? Characters in Genesis. He is the son of Adam, the first man created by God, and Eve, the first woman. He seduced and killed his younger brother Abel out of jealousy, thus becoming the first sinner in the world. Although Beowulf transformed the story of Genesis, it is still in line with the spirit of the Bible to say that the bloodthirsty Glendale is a descendant of Cain.
Byron's mystery play Cain is also a biblical story. But Byron, who sympathized with the revolution, adopted the method of stealing columns in the use of biblical stories. According to the tradition of the Bible, Cain killed his younger brother Abel out of jealousy, so God punished him for wandering around and became a lost dog. However, in Byron's works, Cain's image is quite different. Cain doubted the goodness of God and despised the attitude and practice of parents and younger brothers kowtowing to God. Byron regarded Satan as the embodiment of fearless violence and longing for freedom, and deliberately portrayed him to enlighten and inspire Cain to resist the greedy and violent God.
Another way for British and American writers to use biblical allusions is to integrate the meaning of biblical stories into the plots or characters of their works by means of metaphor, metaphor or symbol, so that these stories can play a powerful role in contrast and contrast.
People who don't know the story background of the Bible will inevitably become superficial and superficial when understanding such literary works. In the first scene of the fourth act of The Merchant of Venice, Portia disguised himself as a man and appeared in court as a lawyer, pretending to refute Bassanio's request for law reform, which made the cruel Shylock feel gratified in a hostile atmosphere.
He couldn't help cheering: "A big cow has come to be a judge! It really is, but Neil is near-re-embodiment! Smart young judge, I really admire you! " Here Shakespeare used a biblical allusion, the Old Testament? But Neil said, but Neil is brilliant and judges cases like a god. Shylock, helpless in court, suddenly heard the voice of sympathy in despair and naturally called for the young lawyer Daniel with joy. If you don't understand Shakespeare's use of the Bible, it will be difficult to understand the scene thoroughly.
abstract
The Bible is not only a religious classic, but also a way of thinking and feeling. Its ideas and spirit have profoundly influenced the British and American people's views on historical society, human destiny, individual life and other issues, making crime and punishment, morality and God, life and eternity, kindness, freedom, fraternity, equality and conscience the most basic ideological contents of British and American literary creation. The tip of the iceberg floating on the ocean is only a small part of the whole iceberg. Just as the Bible is to British and American literature, it is the relationship between the foundation of the iceberg and the top of the mountain. Sometimes a line of poetry, a sentence or even a word in British and American literary works are supported by rich biblical stories.
References:
Norton anthology of American literature. Ronald Goth Liesmaa. Al (editor. ), new york, 1979.
[2] Student Bible, New International Edition. Dessande Wan Publishing House, Grand Rapi, Michigan 1996.
[3] Murphy's boss & Supria M. Ray (editor. Bedford Review and Glossary of Literary Terms. Bedford Books, new york, 1998.
[4] Qian Qing and others: Selected Works of American Literature, The Commercial Press, 1994.
[5] Zhu: "_ _ Culture", Shanghai Bookstore, 1992.
[6] Guo Haibo, Li Shan: "The Bible and Its Magical Use", Jiangxi People's Publishing House, 1995.
[7] Ye Shuxian: "Myth-Archetypal Criticism", Xi 'an: Shaanxi Normal University Press, 1987.
[8] Eliot: "And Culture", Sichuan People's Publishing House, 1989.
[9] Wang Zuoliang and He Qishen: A History of English Renaissance Literature, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1996.9.
[10] Zhang Zhongzai: Essays on Contemporary English Literature, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1996.6.