Unit 5: American Literature

Guide

Hello, everybody! I am Wang Lili again from the School of English and International Studies of Beijing Foreign Studies University. You will study unit 5 together with me. This unit is about American literature. As you know, literature is an important part of a culture. It is impossible to understand a foreign culture well without knowing anything about the literature of that culture. Although American literature doesn't have a very long history as British literature, it has produced many famous writers and numerous great works. I'm sure that you are familiar with some of the great names such as Whitman, Mark Twain, Hemingway and Faulkner. This chapter will give you an overall picture of the most important American writers and their major works. Before we start, here are some questions for you to consider. Let's see if you know the answers. There is a space below each question. Please type in your answer in the space and then check your answer to see if it is correct.

1.	Is Whitman 　　　　?
	(a) a novelist (b) a poet　 　　Answer:

2.	Is Mark Twain the author's 　　　　?
	(a) real name (b) a pen name 　　Answer:

3.	Who wrote the novel The Scarlet Letter,___________.
	(a) hawthorne (b) emerson (c) hemingway 　　Answer:

4.	Is the novel Moby-Dick one of the most important works of American literature?
	(a) Yes. (b) No. 　　Answer:

5.	Of the following writers, who is NOT a Nobel Prize winner for literature?
	(a) Toni Morrison. 　　 (b) Ernest Hemingway. (c) William Faulkner. (d) F. Scott Fitzgerald. 　　Answer:

Did you get all the answers correct? Congratulations, if you did. If you didn't, it doesn't matter. If you read the following chapter carefully, you will surely find the right answers to all the above questions and will learn a lot more about American literature. Before we begin to read the text, let's go over the focal points. Please keep them in mind when reading the following chapter for they will help you grasp the most important points.