American Literature books summary
Дисциплина: Иностранные языкиТип работы: Реферат
Тема: American Literature books summary
We are lucky to present you
Short Summaries of the Books
You Have to Read in the course of
the English Literature by Stulov
Thursday, April 3 2002
Contents
TOC \\o \"1-1\"
AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE 17
TH TO THE 20
TH CENTURIES
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PAGEREF _Toc4653183 \\h
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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PAGEREF _Toc4653184 \\h
ALL THE KING’S MEN
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PAGEREF _Toc4653185 \\h
CATCH-22
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PAGEREF _Toc4653186 \\h
Catcher in the Rye
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PAGEREF _Toc4653187 \\h
FAREWELL TO ARMS
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PAGEREF _Toc4653188 \\h
Grapes of Wrath
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PAGEREF _Toc4653189 \\h
Great Gatsby
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PAGEREF _Toc4653190 \\h
Long Day\'s Journey Into the Night
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PAGEREF _Toc4653191 \\h
Moby Dick
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PAGEREF _Toc4653192 \\h
Scarlet Letter
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PAGEREF _Toc4653193 \\h
Slaughterhouse Five
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PAGEREF _Toc4653194 \\h
Sound and the Fury
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PAGEREF _Toc4653195 \\h
Streetcar Named ”Desire”
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PAGEREF _Toc4653196 \\h
AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE 17
TH TO THE 20
TH CENTURIES
Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was merely a
group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent--colonies from which a few hardy souls tentatively ventured westward. After a successful
rebellion against the motherland, America became the United States, a nation. By the end of the 19th century this nation extended southward to the Gulf of Mexico, northward to the
49th parallel, and westward to the Pacific. By the end of the 19th century, too, it had taken its place among the powers of the world--its fortunes so interrelated with those of other
nations that inevitably it became involved in two world wars and, following these conflicts, with the problems of Europe and East Asia. Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as
well as changes in ways of thinking and feeling, wrought many modifications in people\'s lives. All these factors in the development of the United States molded the literature of the
country.
The 17th century
American literature at first was naturally a colonial literature, by authors who were Englishmen and who thought and wrote as such. John Smith, a soldier of fortune, is
credited with initiating American literature. His chief books included A True Relation of . . . Virginia . . . (1608) and The generall Historie...