Unit 10  American literature

show the picture of nathaniel hawthorne and his famous work the scarlet letter on the screen.
t: who’s he? and have you read the novel?
sa: he is nathaniel hawthorne. i know a little about him. hawthorne is a novelist and short story writer and the scarlet letter is one of his most successful works. but i haven’t read the novel.
t: good. do you know some other best-known works written by hawthorne？
sb: let me try. the house of the seven gables, twice told tales and the artist of the beautiful.
t: very good! let’s see something about him.
show the brief introduction on the screen and ask someone to read it aloud.

    

nathaniel hawthorne
born in salem, massachusetts. novelist and short story writer, a central figure in the american renaissance. nathaniel hawthorne’s best-known works include the scarlet letter (1850) and the house of the seven gables (1851).
t: we have learned something about nathaniel hawthorne. now look at this! have you read the story? and do you know something about its writer?
show the pictures of harriet beecher stowe and her famous work uncle tom’s cabin on the screen.
       
sc: yes! many of us have read the story. it is an antislavery novel written in 1852 by harriet beecher stowe. the story was about a faithful black slave was killed by a cruel white enslaver and made people know how cruel the slavery was. it aroused the people’s sympathies.
t: great! now, let’s learn something more about harriet beecher stowe.
show the brief introduction on the screen and ask someone to read it aloud.
harriet beecher stowe
 born in the usa. in 1811. her book uncle tom’s cabin not only made her famous but also shook the world and was helpful in causing the american civil war. there was time when every english-speaking person had read the novel that did so much to stop slavery. president lincoln greeted her as the “little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.”
t: have you read these poems?
show the poetry anthology on the screen.
ss: no. heard about it but haven’t read it. / yes. the poems in the anthology are wonderful...
t: yes. that is a wonderful poetry anthology written by a great poet walt whitman. in 1855 whitman published a volume of 12 poems at his own expense, leaves of grass, which he had begun working on probably as early as 1847. it was criticized because of its innovation in verse form, that is, the use of free verse in long rhythmical lines with a natural, “organic” structure.