advanced english book 2. unit 12 the discovery of what it means to be an american by james baldwin...

Advanced English Book 2

Unit 12 The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American by James Baldwin Lecturer: Meng Fanyan

Teaching Aims 1) Improving students ability to read between lines and understand the text properly; 2) Cultivating students ability to make a creative reading; 3) Enhancing students ability to appreciate the text from different perspectives

4) Helping students to understand some difficult words and expressions; 5) Helping students to understanding rhetorical devices; 6)Encouraging students to voice their own viewpoint fluently and accurately.

Teaching Points I. Background knowledge II. Introduction to the passage III. Text Analysis IV. Rhetorical devices V. Questions

Time allocation 1) Background knowledge (15 min.) 2) Detailed study of the text (180 min.) 3) Structure analysis (15 min.) 4) Language appreciation (15 min.) 5) Free talk (30 min)

I. Background Knowledge 1. About the author(1924--1987) James Baldwin, and his major works --a leading Negro novelist and essayist in the 50s --a major spokesman for his race in the civil rights movement of the 60s

I. Background Knowledge an American negro writer, born in Harlem, lived much of his life in New York City. For ten years he lived in Europe as member of a colony of American expatriates. He is hailed as one of the great novelists and essayists of America. Some of his important works are: Go Tell It on the Mountain ; Notes of a Native Son ; Nobody Knows My Name; The Fire Next Time; No name in the Street; and If Beale Street Could Talk. James Arthur Baldwin was born in Harlem, New York City, Aug. 2, 1924 and died on Nov. 30, 1987..

Background Knowledge The eldest of nine children, his stepfather was a minister. At age 14, Baldwin became a preacher at the small Fireside Pentecostal Church in Harlem. After he graduated from high school, he moved to Greenwich Village.

Background Knowledge In the early 1940s, he transferred his faith from religion to literature.

Background Knowledge Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) Notes of a Native Son (1955) Another Country (1962) Going to Meet the Man (1965) Nobody Knows My Name (1961) Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone (1968)

Background Knowledge From 1948, Baldwin made his home primarily in the south of France, but often returned to the USA to lecture or teach. In 1957, he began spending half of each year in New York City.

Background Knowledge In 1983 Baldwin became Five College Professor in the Afro-American Studies department of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He spent his latter years in St. Paul de Vence on the Riviera, France, where he died of stomach cancer on November 30, 1987.

2. Anna Karenina a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. It is considered to be one of the masterpieces of world literature. It was first published from 1875 to 1877 as a serial in the Russki Vestnik (Russian Messenger). The first complete English translation appeared in 1899.

Anna Karenina contains two main narrative lines. The major story deals with the unhappy marriage of Anna and Aleksei Karenin and with Anna's tragic affair with Count Vronsky. The unhappy domestic life of Anna's brother, Prince Stepan Oblonsky, serves to echo Anna's predicament. In contrast, Tolstoy presents the second plot, dealing with the relationship between Kitty Shchesbatskaya and Konstantin Levin, who marry and pursue lives of homely "family happiness".

In his examination of these two different stories, Tolstoy creates a muhitude of episodes of high life in Moscow and St. Peter burg and of country life in the district of Korazinsky. Tolstoy also contrasts the shallowness of Karenin, a public official who moves in a corrupt society, and the serious dedication of the idealistic landowner Levin.

Tolstoy undoubtedly depicted his own nature in the personality of Levin, using this character to voice his observations on philosophy, agronomy, and religion. There is no doubt that Tolstoy drew many of the details of the novel from his own experiences, and the characterizations from his keen study of his relatives and friends. Thus he painted from real life the gambling scenes, the horse racing, the death of Levin' s disreputable brother, the hunting episodes, and the quaint naivete of the peasantry.

Although the novel is distinguished for its fine evocation of the old order in Russia, its greatest strength lies in its brilliant characterizations. In his heroine Anna -- a woman of sensitivity and honesty, who also possesses fears and weaknesses -- Tolstoy has drawn one of the most unforgettable characters in all the fiction. All of the major characters, as well as many of lesser importance, are delineated with equal precision. Despite some careless- ness in style and occasional incongruities, Anna Karenina is a masterwork of both social history and fiction.

3. Tolstoy. Count Leo Tolstoy (Russian name Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, 1828--1910)

a Russian novelist and philosopher, and is considered one of the world's greatest writers. Of a noble family, he was born in Yasnaya Polyana, his parents restate near Tula. Orphaned at nine, he was brought up by his aunts and privately tutored. At 16 he was sent to the University of Kazan, at which he studied languages and law. His classes bored him and he left without a degree. He returned to his estate in 1849 and made several abortive attempts to aid and educate the serfs there. Tolstoy then began a profligate life in Moscow and St. Peterburg.

In 1851 he followed his brother into army service in the Caucasus, where he wrote Childhood (1852). This became the first part of an autobiographical trilogy, which includes Boyhood (1854) and Youth (1857). In 1854 he took part in the defense of Sevastopol, descriptions of which were published in Nekrasov' s journal, the Contemporary, attracting considerable attention for their unvarnished picture of war. He left army service in 1855 and for several years divided his time between his estate and the literary circles of St. Peterburg.

His diary of the period reveals his intense dissatisfaction with his libertine existence. He set up a school for peasant children on his estate, emphasizing a spontaneous approach to learning. When his school proved 'impractical, he visited Western Europe and there began to question the bases of modern civilization. In 1862. Tolstoy married Sophia Ardreyevna Bers, a young, well- educated girl who bore him 13 children. His candor concerning his infidelities and his harsh conception of her wifely duties contributed to the instability of their marriage.

During the time he wrote The Cossacks (1863) and his masterpieces War and Peace(1862 1869) and Anna Kareni~za (1873- 1876). War and Peace is a vast prose epic of the Napoleonic invasion of 1812. It illustrates Tolstoy' s view of history as proceeding inexorably to its own ends. a view in which mankind appears as an accidental instrument. This thesis is conveyed by a stream of brilliantly conceived character sand incidents. Anna Karenina, his most popular work, concerns the tragedy of a woman's faith in romantic love.

About 1876 the doubts that had beset Tolstoy since youth, fed by his Puritan temperament in conflict with his sensuality gathered force. The result of his painful self-examination was his conversion to the doctrine of Christian love and acceptance of the principle of nonresistance to evil. The steps in his conversion are set forth in his Confession (1897). For the rest of his life Tolstoy dedicated himself to the practice and propagation of his new faith, which he expounded in a series of works, among them A Short Exposition of the Gospels (1881), What I Believe in (1882), What Then Must We Do? (1886), and The Law of Love and the Law of Violence (1908).

Tolstoy' s insistence on putting his beliefs into practice and abandoning all earthly goods led to a permanent breach between himself and his wife. His children, with the exception of the youngest daughter, Alexandra, sided with their mother. In 1910, at 83, Tolstoy left home with Alexandra without a specific destination. He caught a chill and died at the railroad stationmaster' s house at Astapovo.

4. James: Henry James (1843--1916), American novelist and critic. A master of psychological novel, James was an innovator in technique and one of the most distinctive prose stylists in English. He was one of the writers who laid the foundations of modern "stream of consciousness" fiction. Some of his famous works are: The Bostonians ; The Spoils of Poynton ; The Wings of the Dove ; The Ambassadors ; The Golden Bowl, etc.

5. Texas G. I. : a Texan enlisted soldier of the U. S. armed forces; a symbol of U. S. patriotism 6. Smith: Bessie Smith (1898?--1937), American negro singer. The power and somber beauty of her voice, coupled with songs representing every varlet of the blues, earned her the title "Empress of the Blues. " 7. pickaninny: a negro child

8. Right Bank and the Left: the two banks of the river Seine, which flow., through the city of Paris. The Right Bank is the larger section and the center of business activity and amusements. The Left Bank, lined by the famous open-air book stalls, is the intellectual, governmental, and military section.

9. regular guy: an ordinary person; a person same as any other person; a person in the same social and economic class and with the same general intellectual level and interests as the speaker

10. les misfrbles: Les Misfrbles, title of a great novel of social consciousness, published in 1862 by the great French novelist, Victor Hugo. In this novel political systems, prison reform, prostitution, and the judicial system are all carefully scrutinized. The title can be translated as the pitiful, wretched, or miserable people.

11.Camus: Albert Camus (1913--1960), French writer. Camus was one of the most important authors and thinkers of the 20th century. He became active in social reform and was briefly a member of the French Communist Party. In World War II he joined the French resistance and was principal editor of the underground paper Combat. Comus was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature. Some of his famous works are: Le Mythe de Sisphe; Caligula ;L 'Homme Rvolt; La Chute ; etc.

12.Little Rock: city, state capital of Arkansas. The city became a center of world attention in 1957, when Federal troops were sent there to enforce a 1954 U. S. Supreme Court ruling against segregation in the public schools.

II. Introduction to the Passage 1. Type of literature: --- a piece of expository writing

II. Introduction to the Passage 2. The thesis expressed by the title of the essay: --- The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American

II. Introduction to the Passage 3. A brief discussion about the title of this essay: --The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American or --The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American Writer or --The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American Negro Writer

II. Introduction to the Passage 4. Discoveries made in Europe: --- five points

II. Introduction to the Passage 1. American is different from the European. 2. It is a complex fate to be an American. 3. All Americans, white or black, loved their country and were not at home in Europe. 4. Americans knew more about each other than any European ever could. 5. Europe was part of their identity and part of their inheritance.

II. Introduction to the Passage 5. A profound impact of Europe on Baldwin: -- he was free of being a discriminated Negro. -- he was forced to reassess and reconsider many things he had always taken for granted. -- the acceptance of his Negro origins

Words and expressions Fate: lot or fortune n. , , vt. , fated adj. , , fateful adj. , , , , Fates n.

Words and expressions Beginning an essay with a quotation lends authority and force to what one intends to say. But be effective the quotation must be well- chosen as this one is.

Words and expressions Extremely controversial proper noun--- People give very different definitions or interpretations of the word America. They fail to agree and quarrel over the different definitions and interpretations.

Words and expressions Motley: having or composed of many different or clashing elements motley adj. , , , n. , , ,

Words and expressions It was borne in on me ---I was made to realize

Words and expressions pockets --- a small area or group of a specified type

Words and expressions maverick n. vi.

Words and expressions At odds with her time and place --- whose thoughts and actions were out of harmony with her time and place in society.

controversial (adj.) : stirring up controversy debatable motley (adj.) : of many colors or patches of color having or composed of many different or clashing elements heterogeneous identity (n.) : the condition or fact of being a specific person or thing individuality

prop (n.) : a rigid support as a beam stake or pole placed under or against a structure or part alabaster (n.) : a translucent whitish fine grained variety of gypsum used for statues vases etc cadence (n.) : inflection or modulation in tone any rhythmic flow of sound

pickaninny (n.) : a negro child cripple (v.) : frustrate hinder make unable or unfit to act function effectively etc breakthrough (n.) : a strikingly important advance or discovery in any field of knowledge or activity

skirmish (n.) : a brief fight or encounter between small groups usually an incident of a battle any slight unimportant conflict brush rung (n.) : any of the crosspieces constituting the steps of a ladder lukewarm (n.) : (of liquids etc )barely or moderately warm( )

paradox (n.) : a statement that seems contradictory unbelievable or absurd but that may actually be true in fact paranoia (n.) : a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions as of grandeur or esp. persecution often, except in a schizophrenic state with an otherwise relatively intact personality

accessible (adj.) : easy to approach or enter pocket (n.) : a small area or group of a specified type pimp (n.) : one who is an agent for a prostitute or prostitutes and lives off their earnings procurer

perpetual (adj.) : continuing indefinitely without interruption unceasing constant preconception (n.) : bias or prejudice terrace (n.) : an unroofed paved area immediately adjacent to a house etc

corny (adj. [cloolq.]) : unsophisticated oldfashioned trite banal sentimental etc sojourn (n.) : a brief 0r temporary stay visit incorrigible (adj.) : not corrigible that cannot be corrected improved or reformed esp. because firmly established, as a habit

efface (v.) : rub out as from a surface erase wipe out obliterate( ) ( ) fathom (v.) : measure the depth of get to the bottom of understand thoroughly unprecedented (adj.) : having no precedent or parallel unheardof novel

compulsive (adj.) : of having to do with or resulting from compulsion taboo (n.) : any social prohibition or restriction that results from convention or tradition( ) sustenance (n.) : that which sustains life nourishment food

inexorable (adj.) : that cannot be moved or influenced by persuasion or entreaty unrelenting sorely (adv.) : urgently greatly extremely wed (v.) : unite or join closely

arm (n.) : any combatant branch of the military forces intangible (adj.) : that cannot be easily defined formulated or grasped vague ( )

at bottom: fundamentally actually At bottom I dont trust him

in night (from) : escaping from She has to face what she is always in flight from now

in relief : in sharp contrast The peaks stood out in bold relief against the azure sky

be borne in on upon sb : if a fact is borne in 0n someone, they realize that it is tree( ) It was borne in on us how close we had been to disaster

III. Text Analysis Organization of the text: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

IV. Rhetorical Devices 1. metaphor 2. simile 3. transferred epithet

Special Difficulties 1. Some methods of developing ideas: --a point by point analogy --simultaneous comparison --alternating comparison

Special Difficulties 2. Distinguishing synonyms: --complex/complicated --delusion/illusion --intellectual/intelligent/clever --probable/likely/possible

Special Difficulties 3. Paraphrasing some sentences

Special Difficulties 4. Identifying figures of speech

V. Questions 1. How did Baldwin discover what it means to be an American? 2. Why did the writer leave America for Europe? 3. Why did the writer go to Switzerland? How did Bessie Smith help him?

V. Questions 4. Is the title well chosen? Could you suggest a more fitting title? 5. Comment on the first sentence of the essay. Is it an effective way of beginning this essay? Give your reasons. 6. What is the paradox in paragraph 13? How does the writer explain this paradox?

advanced english book 2. unit 12 the discovery of what it means to be an american by james baldwin...

Documents

s slide

background knowledge

meng fanyan slide

encouraging students

enhancing students ability

cultivating students

james baldwin lecturer

james arthur baldwin