Unit Eleven On Consigning Manuscripts to Floppy Discs And Archives to Oblivion

1. Unit Eleven On Consigning Manuscripts to Floppy Discs And Archives to Oblivion By Willis E McNelly Luozhaohui 1

2. Willis E.McNelly:the author (1920- ),U.S teacher,editor, and author, received his M.A. degree from Loyola University in 1948 and his Ph.D from Northwestern University in 1957.Since 1968 he has distinguished himself as professor of English at California State University, Fullerton. 2

3. Background Knowledge Some word processors or computers: (Wangs, IBMs, Apples,etc.) Some word processing programs: Wordstar,Scriptsit,Apple writer programs,… Introduction of computer technology and its development 3

4. William Butler Yeats 4

5. W.B. Yeats and M. Gonne William Butler Yeats,(1865-1939),Irish poet playwright, and patriot, is the greatest lyric poet in English of the early 20th century. In 1889, he met and fell in love with the fiery Irish patriot Maud Gonne, who figured prominently in many of the poems written in the latter part of Yeats’ career. 5

6. Maud Gonne (1866-1953) ,Irish nationalist, was famed as the friend of Yeats. She dedicated her life to the cause of Irish independence, and engaged in constant political agitation against the British. She helped to found an Irish nationalistic movement (the Sinn Fein). She was a lifelong friend and source of inspiration of Yeats, but she refused his many offers of marriage. 6

7. Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950): U.S.poet; and winner of 1923 Pulitzer Prize in poetry ; one of the most successful and respected poets and one of the most skilled writers of sonnets in the 20th century. She used traditional verse forms in the expression of simple, strong emotions. Her major efforts were devoted to lyric poetry in “A Few figs from Thistles”(1920), “Second April”(1921) and “the Ballad of the Harp Weaver”(1922). 7

8. A Few Figs from Thistles(1920) Study the “first fig” and try to work out its implication: My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But, oh, my foes, and, oh, my friends – It gives a lovely light. 8

9. Ray Bradbury and “Fahrenheit 451” the author of more than 500 published literary works, was born in Illinois, on August 22, 1920, an imaginative child prone to nightmares and frightening fantasies, which he later drew on for his writing. He began writing for 4 hours a day when he was 12 years old. And in 1943, he became a full-time writer. he often blends science fiction with social criticism and writes about the destructive tendency in humans to use technology at the expense of moral and aesthetic concerns. 9

10. Fahrenheit 451 It’s a highly acclaimed story about Guy Montag who is a fireman who burns books in a futuristic American city. In Montag’s world, firemen start fires rather than putting them out. The people in this society do not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive very fast, watch excessive amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the empty radio programs. 10

11. When Montag realizes burning books has been a vicious plan to destroy human civilization, he escapes and finds a group of renegade（叛逆） intellectuals (“the Book People”). Together they search for survivors in this brainwashing world and try to rebuild civilization.(see reference) Consider the last sentence in para. 3. 11

12. James Joyce(1882-1941) the man second only to William Shakespeare in terms of the command of English language; Irish novelist, playwright, and poet,transformed the traditional novel by a multitude of new methods and stands at the center of innovative modern literature. Ulysses (1922) : one of his masterpieces 12

13. Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Franklin And his famous letter to president of Yale(1790) Ronald Reagan Declaration of Independence The constitution of the U.S.(Framed by George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, John Jay, Rufus King, Edmund Randolph, Gouverneur Morris, and Benjamin Franklin) 13

14. , third president of the United States (1801-1809) and author of the Declaration of Independence. He was one of the most brilliant individuals in history. His interests were boundless, and his accomplishments were great and varied. He was a philosopher, educator, naturalist, politician, scientist, architect, inventor, pioneer in scientific farming, musician, and writer, and he was the foremost spokesman for democracy of his day. Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) 14

15. American printer, author, diplomat, philosopher, and scientist, whose many contributions to the cause of the American Revolution (1775-1783), and the newly formed federal government that followed, rank him among the country’s greatest statesmen. Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790) • Benjamin Franklin was a statesman and diplomat for the newly formed United States, as well as a prolific author and inventor. Franklin helped draft, and then signed, the Declaration of Independence in 1776. 15

16. Questions for Discussion What is the thesis of the text? Can you find any sentence(s) in the text to express the thesis? How do you interpret the sentence “…beauty was born out of its own despair, and blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil” in para.2? The creation of beauty was the result of a painstaking process, so much so that sometimes writers simply lose hope; and the wisdom imbued in great works was the result of many sleepless nights. 16

17. Which paragraphs are devoted to the point that manuscripts reveal the tremendous efforts and strong passion that their writers pour into the creation of their works? How do you understand the last sentence “How appropriate, even ironic,it might have been had his various drafts gone the way of the burning books and disappeared into the memory bank”? 17

18. What’s the point illustrated in para.4? Comment of “And” in “Libraries preserve them,…And word processors totally eliminate them.”(in para.8) Pick out the rhetorical questions and comment on their effect. 18

19. Two categories of manuscripts are mentioned in the text: Literary manuscripts(paras. 2-4) and non-literary manuscripts (paras. 5-7). The literary type records the creative process of the artist, and it is more significant for literary studies and appreciation; the non-literary type reveals to us our past, and is more significant for historical studies. 19

20. Assignment Discuss with you classmates or friends whether the argument of the author is totally valid or not. Discuss: will Internet enlarge or shorten the distance between people? Prepare for Unit 12 (presentation). 20

21. The end of unit 11 21