復習筆記：

第一部分 ?殖民地時期的美國文學

第1章 約翰·史密斯

1.1 復習筆記

I.Historical Introduction（歷史背景）

(1)It was not until the beginning of the 17th century that the vast continent where the United Stateswas located was stepped into by explorers from Britain and a few European countries. In the early17th century,the British eventually settled in Virginia and Massachusetts, laying the foundation for thewell-known mainstream American culture.

(2) The colonies that became the first federation were mostly maintained by British traditions,governed by British law,relied on British commerce, and were named after British monarchs andterritories.

(3)Early American literary works were mostly narratives and diaries written by the colonists. Thecontent was mainly about their voyage to this new continent, how to adapt to the new life on theisland, and how to deal with the local Indians.There were also letters,contracts,government charters,religious and political declarations.

(4)In 1607,British colonists established the first permanent colony in Jamestown, Virginia, NorthAmerica.The British mercenary Captain John Smith was one of these colonists. In the early 17thcentury,his report on exploring the New World was considered the first American literary workwritten in English.

（1）直到17世紀初，美國所在的廣袤大陸才被英國及少數(shù)幾個歐洲國家的探險家涉足。17世紀早期，英國人最終在弗吉尼亞和馬薩諸塞定居，奠定了人們熟知的美國主流文化的基礎。

（2）成為第一個聯(lián)邦的殖民地大部分是由英國的傳統(tǒng)維系，受英國法律管轄，依靠英國商貿(mào)，以英國君主和領地命名。

（3）美國早期文學就是這些殖民者寫的敘述文和日記，主要是關于他們來到這塊新大陸的航海歷程，如何適應島上的新生活，如何和當?shù)赜〉诎踩舜蚪坏?；還有信件、契約、政府憲章、宗教和政治聲明。

（4）1607年，英國殖民者在弗吉尼亞詹姆斯敦建立了第一個在北美的永久性殖民地。英國雇傭兵約翰·史密斯上尉就是這批殖民者中的一員。17世紀初，他發(fā)表的關于探尋新大陸的報告被認為是第一部用英語寫作的美國文學作品。

II.Early New England Literature（早期新英格蘭文學）

New England literature embodies a variety of ideas from the very beginning. Its content involvestopics such as theology,morality,history, and politics. The Puritans came to New England forreligious freedom.They endured hardship and the harsh church rules for a long time. Through years ofhard work,they developed a lifestyle which was compatible with their melancholy religion, that is,hardwork,thrift,piety,and temperance. These main values were fully reflected in their works,including sermons, books and letters of some famous pastors such as John Cotton and Cotton Mather.

新英格蘭文學打一開始就充滿了各種各樣的思想，內(nèi)容涉及神學、道德、歷史和政治等話題。清教徒來到新英格蘭是為了獲得宗教自由，他們長期地忍受著困苦和教堂嚴酷的教規(guī)。通過多年的努力，他們養(yǎng)成了一種與他們憂郁的宗教相適應的生活方式，即勤勞、節(jié)儉、虔誠和節(jié)制。這些主要價值觀充分體現(xiàn)在他們的作品中，包括一些著名的牧師如約翰·科頓和科頓·馬瑟等的布道詞、書籍和信件等。

III.Puritan Thoughts（清教徒的思想）

(1)Literally speaking,the Puritans wanted to purify their beliefs and behaviors. The Puritan was a“would-be purifier."The term was coined by their opponents to mock them. It is used to mock thosewho think they were holier and better. These fearless Puritans accepted this title and regarded it as asymbol of honor.

(2) The Puritans wanted to restore the simplicity and holiness of the church and the theologicalauthority of the Bible.They saw the corruption of the Anglican Church, so they wanted to break awayfrom it.

(3) Puritans included people from the humblest to the loftiest ranks of English society, educated anduneducated,poor and rich. Their common shortcoming was that they viewed things too extreme.ThePuritans believed that they were chosen by God, and those who lived differently from them wereagainst God's will and were not accepted. They were keen to defend their beliefs, and they often couldnot tolerate other beliefs.

(4)The Puritans lived a hard life of self-discipline. They tended to regard happiness and laughter as amanifestation of sin.

(5) The religious education of the Puritans tended to overemphasize the harsh side of God whileignoring the benevolent side of God.

（1）從字面上講，清教徒想要凈化他們的信仰和行為，他們是“靈魂將要得到凈化的人”。這一詞是由他們的對手造出來諷刺他們的，用來嘲諷那些自認為更圣潔、更美好的人。這些無畏的清教徒接受了這一稱呼，并視其為榮譽的象征。

（2）清教徒希望恢復教堂的樸素和圣潔，以及《圣經(jīng)》的神學權(quán)威。他們看到英國國教的腐敗，因此想脫離國教。

（3）清教徒涵蓋英國社會中最卑微到最高貴的人，受過教育的和沒受過教育的人，貧窮的和富裕的人。他們的共同不足是對事物看法過分極端。清教徒認為自己是上帝選定的人，而那些與他們生活方式不同的人就是違背上帝的意愿，不被接受。他們熱衷于為自己的信仰辯護，而通常難以容忍其他信仰。

（4）清教徒們過著一種自律艱苦的生活，他們傾向于將快樂和歡笑看成是一種罪惡的表現(xiàn)。

（5）清教徒的宗教教育傾向于過分強調(diào)上帝嚴厲的一面，而忽略了上帝仁慈的一面。

IV． John Smith（1580-1631）（約翰·史密斯）

(1)Captain John Smith became the first American writer. His first work is A True Relation of SuchOccurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of ThatColony (1608). The letter responded to the opinions on opening up the colony and praised thesuperiority of the New World. His next book was A Map of Virginia: with a Description of theCountry (1612).The book was a guide to the country and an invitation for adventurers to come to theNew World to further expand the cultivation industry here.

(2)Smith published eight in all, some of which explored the history of New England. Smith's workreflected the idea that America needs “workers” instead of “gentlemen" in the face of the difficult taskof establishing colonies and pushing the frontiers westward. This kind of thinking slowly evolved intothe basic idea of American history.

（1）約翰·史密斯成為第一位美國作家。他的第一個作品是寄給在倫敦的弗吉尼亞公司的一封信：《自殖民地第一次在弗吉尼亞墾荒以來發(fā)生的各種事件的真實介紹》，信中回應了關于開辟殖民地的意見，贊揚了新大陸的優(yōu)越之處。他隨后又寫了《弗吉尼亞地圖：一個鄉(xiāng)村的描述》。這本書是一本指南，也成為了冒險家來新大陸進一步擴大這里的種植業(yè)的邀請函。

（2）史密斯共出版了8部作品，部分是關于新英格蘭的歷史。史密斯作品中反映的思想-面對建立殖民地和“西進”的艱巨任務，美國需要“工人”而不是“紳士”＿慢慢演變成了美國歷史的基本思想。

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