英美短篇小说Unit16NeighbourRosicky

《英美短篇小说Unit16NeighbourRosicky》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《英美短篇小说Unit16NeighbourRosicky（29页珍藏版）》请在装配图网上搜索。

1、 _Willa CatherUnit 1 6 Neighbour Rosicky Brief Introduction Willa Cather (Willa Cather, 1873-1947), American novelist, short story writer, poet. “The greatest woman writer since the founding of the United States ” “ A defender of spiritual beauty in the process of material civilization. ” She was bo

2、rn in Virginia, the age of nine with the family moved to Nebraska, and grew up in towns in the western prairies. In her childhood she moved to the Midwest Nebraska with his parents . After graduating from the University of Nebraska she served as secondary school teachers, reporters and editors. In 1

3、 9 4 4 , she was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts, the highest gold medal eligible hospital. Her work is known as American Literature pearl. Chronicle 1873 - December 7, born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia. 1883 - moves to Red Cloud, Nebraska with her parents. 1895 - graduates from The Unive

4、rsity of Nebraska, Lincoln. 1896 - takes an editorial job at the magazine Home Monthly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and writes reviews for the Pittsburgh Leader. 1900 - lives in Washington for a few months and works as a correspondent for two Pittsburgh magazines, and in March she returns to Pittsbur

5、gh, where she becomes a high school teacher at Central High School. 1902 - travels in Europe with Isabella McClung. 1903 - publishes a book of poetry, April Twilights, and meets Edith Lewis. 1905 - publishes a collection of short stories The Troll Garden. 1906 - moves to New York City, where she tak

6、es a position as managing editor of the McClures magazine. 1908 - meets and befriends New Hampshire regional writer Sarah Orne Jewett, who becomes a great inspiration for her later works. She also begins to share an apartment with Edith Lewis, and they live together until her death. Works April Twil

7、ights (1 9 0 3 ) The Troll Garden (1 9 0 5 ) Alexanders Bridge (1 9 1 2 ) O Pioneers! (1 9 1 3 ) The Song of the Lark (1 9 1 5 ) My Antonia (1 9 1 8 ) One of Ours (1 9 2 2 ) A Lost Lady (1 9 2 3 ) Archbishop (1 9 2 7 ) The Professors House (1 9 2 5 ) Shadows on the Rock (1 9 3 1 ) Sapphira and the S

8、lave Girl (1 9 4 0 ) These novels announced her themes of strong women, the fight against provincial life, and the dying of the pioneer tradition. Writing features of Willa Cather s worksl full of vitality and philosophy and the figures are vivid.l novels without furniture“l Willa Cather s review an

9、d reappear Neighbour Rosicky Neighbour Rosicky is a short story by Willa Cather. It appeared in the Womans Home Companion in 1930, under the title Neighbor Rosicky. In 1932, it was published in the collection Obscure Destinies. Part 1 “Neighbour Rosicky” is the story of a 65-year-old Czech farmer, A

10、nton Rosicky, who now resides in Nebraska with his wife and six children. The story begins with Anton at Dr. Ed Burleighs office, where he learns that he has a bad heart. The doctor informs him that he can no longer continue to work the fields, and should stick to less strenuous chores about the hom

11、e and barn. The Rosicky familys kindness is reflected in Dr. Burleighs (whom the family refers to as “Dr. Ed”) recollection of the hospitality shown in their home after delivering a neighbors baby. He feels sorry for them, as they never flourish in life despite their compassion for others. Part 2 On

12、 his way home from the doctors, Rosicky stops at the general store to buy fabric and candy for his wife. Before returning home, he stops to admire the graveyard that borders his property. The snow reminds him that winter brings rest for nature and man. When he arrives home he explains to his wife th

13、at his heart “aint so good like it used to be.” Together they recall their loving marriage, and the difference between themselves and the other farmers in the area. The Rosickys prefer to live happy and keep their children healthy, rather than having money and selling their cream off to a creamery.

14、Part 3 Out of worry, Mary travels to see Dr. Burleigh to find out more about Rosickys heart. After her visit, she talks with her boys to make sure that he is not doing anything too strenuous. Finally, Rosicky stops fighting and gives in to the doctors orders. Rosicky spends his time that winter stay

15、ing indoors doing carpentry and tailoring. He kept all of his tools in on a shelf in “Fathers corner.” While sewing, he begins thinking about his past tailoring in New York City when he first came to America. Although his wages were adequate, he did not save any money because he loaned it out to fri

16、ends, went to the opera, and spent it on girls. He was unhappy in the city, and realized that he needed to be in contact with the earth; so at the age of 35, he moved west to Nebraska to start a new life as a farmer. Part 4 Rosickys oldest son, Rudolph, and his “American” wife, Polly, rent a farm cl

17、ose by. Rosicky is worried about their marriage because Polly is a city girl, not used to having to be on a farm. He is concerned that because of Pollys unhappiness, Rudolph will take a job in the city where he can make more money, and she can be around the life she is accustomed to. Rosicky offers

18、to loan them the family car to go into town on this and future Saturday evenings. To make sure they go out that night, Rosicky also does the dishes and cleans up the kitchen for Polly. Part 5 On the day before Christmas, Rosicky is reminded of his time in London, where he was faced with the difficul

19、ties of finding food and shelter. He begins to worry about the crops and if they will be able to handle the tough winter that is ahead of them. Mary attempts to lighten the mood by reminding him of a year in which the heat destroyed the crops around the Fourth of July, and how he showed no despair a

20、t that time. r New Years dinner. This is followed by numerous stories told back and forth amongst the family, one of which recounts an episode when Rosicky was in London and stole a goose from his landlady. Afterwards, he felt such guilt that he searched the city to find a way to replace it, eventua

21、lly meeting wealthy Czechs who gave him the money he needed. Polly is extremely moved by this story, and decides that she wants to invite Rudolphs family to their home fo Part 6 At the end of the story, Rosicky imagines the future of his children and hopes that they do not suffer like he did through

22、out the beginning part of his life. Rosicky goes to Rudolphs farm to help him tend to the alfalfa field. The strenuous labor causes him to have a heart attack, and Polly comes to Rosickys aid and calls him “Father” for the first time. She realizes that his gratefulness and compassion comes across as

23、 a love that no one has ever shown her before. Rudolph and Polly later take Rosicky back to his home, where he dies the next morning. At the end of the story, Dr. Burleigh stops at the graveyard where Rosicky is buried to pay his respects. He reflects on Rosickys fulfilling life and how it “seemed t

24、o him complete and beautiful.” Rosicky as Immigrant Boyhood in rural Bohemia (age 12) Teenage years in Londons Cheapside, poor tailors apprentice (age 12-20) single, young adult life in New York, tailor, learned English (age 20-35) later life as Nebraska farmer, a family man and landowner (age 35-65

25、) Conflicts Immigrant life VS Modernism structure Country VS City Immigrant VS American A work of modernism, tries to unify a broken world through the life a man who bridges contradictions. Themes Literary Criticism Willa Cather migrated in 1883 with her family to the plains of Nebraska. This move g

26、ave her firsthand experience in order to write stories of the immigrant experience. Clifton Fadiman, in a review of Cathers work, states “no one has better commemorated the virtues of the Bohemian and Scandinavian immigrants whose enterprise and heroism won an empire.” In “Neighbour Rosicky” Cather portrays a realistic image of the immigration and settlement process, through Anton Rosickys story. She specifically represents the Czech immigrant ideals which are independence, hard work, family unity, and freedom. The endThank You!