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Sherwood Anderson 1876-1941

Sherwood Anderson 1876-1941. I. General Introduction II. Analysis of The Triumph of the Egg Ш. Appreciation. I. General Introduction. 1.His Position in American Literature “writer’s writer”, “father of my generation of American writers”(William Faulkner)

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Sherwood Anderson 1876-1941

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  1. Sherwood Anderson 1876-1941

  2. I. General Introduction II. Analysis of The Triumph of the Egg Ш. Appreciation

  3. I. General Introduction 1.His Position in American Literature “writer’s writer”, “father of my generation of American writers”(William Faulkner) He influenced Hemingway, Faulkner, Hart Crane, Thomas Wolfe, John Steinbeck, Nathaneel West “He was better at teaching other writers than writing his own novel”

  4. 2.His Subject life in small towns in Midwestern America “ugliness of life, the strange beauty of life…”(Anderson) 3.His Characters grotesque, eccentric, low people with their motivations and frustrations e.g. “Paper Pills”, “Mother” from his Winesburg, Ohio 4.His Themes frustrations, failures, sense of isolation, of loss, alienation, loneliness, lack of love and understanding, fear

  5. 5.Unique Features 1) psychological and emotional aspect of American small town life in terms of Freud’s theories; intensity of feelings; 2) epiphany: moments of self-understanding: “a gift for pouring life into a moment”(Malcolm Cowley) 6.His style Simple, use of the vernacular; He has the power of colloquial speech of Twain and “pure and beautiful prose” of Gertrude Stein

  6. II.The Triumph of the Egg 1. Structure 2. Characters 3. Themes 4. Meanings of the Title 5. Style 6. Appreciate some paragraphs

  7. 1. Structure——Contrast 1) Before Marriage: cheerful, kindly man; no trying After Marriage: ambitious, getting up in the world (para.1-3) 2) Their Business: (1) Chicken Raising (para.4-11) Chickens are born out of the eggs, and will suffer many diseases, most of which are dead. Even some of them struggle through to maturity, they die in the end. The dreadful cycle is thus made complete. The Consequence: Father fails and egg wins.

  8. (2) Restaurant Business (para.12-29) Grotesque Chickens Collection: wonder, growing rich by exhibiting them. He is a rock on the subject of his treasure. Valuable. Wonderful . The consequence: Only to make his guest ill. Egg tricks: make an egg stand –rolled over and lay on its side. heat an egg in vinegar and put it into a bottle without breaking its shell– the egg broke under his hand, and the contents spurted over his clothes. The consequence: Father fails and egg wins.

  9. 2. Characters 1) “I”-the narrator of this story-the son Pursue the quiet rural life and dislike and mock his parents’ ambitious life full of hard work and failures. 2) Joe Kane One of the guests in their restaurant and identified father’s complete failure. His appearance and participation reflects not father’s tragedy but the whole family’s.

  10. 3) Mother Teacher, a tall silent woman with a long nose and troubled grey eyes. A serious, responsible and ambitious woman. A good wife and a good mother. The main cause that makes father fail and become tragic, actually she is also a tragedy to some extent. 4) Father——leading character of this novel cheerful, kindly farm-hand—— ambitious, habitually silent, discouraged, a little insane(in his son's and Joe's eyes, stage fright) a typical example of broken American dream

  11. 3. Themes Frustration of American dream 1) What is American Dream？ American Dream is a belief that after a hard struggle the United States will be able to achieve the ideal of a better life, that is, people have to work through their own hard work, courage, creativity and determination to move towards Prosperity, rather than rely on specific social classes and other assistance. 2) Comments on American Dream Excessive emphasis on material wealth and happiness in the measure of victory on the role

  12. 4. Meanings of the Title 1) Man is defeated by his egg(his dream and his fate) 2) Implication of Aesop’s fable (“The Hen and the Golden Eggs”) “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch” 3) Grotesque eggs and chickens: symbols of grotesque people 5. Style Plain language, straightforward narrative, wry humor

  13. Homework Search for Katherine Anne Porter’s personal information and preview The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, and give us a presentation on these by using PPT.

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