【正文】 rapid development of science amp。 technology, new inventions amp。 discoveries in geology, astronomy, biology amp。 anthropology drastically shook people’s religious convictions. Darwin’s The Origin of Species (1859) amp。 The Descent of Man (1871) shook the theoretical basis of the traditional faith. On the other hand, Utilitarianism was widely accepted amp。 practiced. Almost everything was put to the test by the criterion of utility, that is, the extent to which it could promote the material happiness. Charles Dickens (18121870) I. Life: 1. a middle class family 2. once was a child labor in a shoeblacking factory 3. a clerk, a reporter, a writer 4. the poets’ corner II. Major Works 1. Oliver Twist。霧都孤兒 2. David Copperfield。大衛(wèi) 科波菲爾 (autobiographical) 3. Hard Times。 艱難時(shí)世 4. A Tale of Two Cities 雙城記 III. three periods a. optimism b. frustration c. pessimism 1. Period of youthful optimistSketches by Boz 《博茲札記》 (1836)。 The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club 《匹克威克外傳》 (18361837)。 Oliver Twist 《霧都孤兒》 or 《苦海孤雛》 (18371838)。 Nicholas Nickleby《尼古拉斯 尼克貝》 (18381839)。 The Old Curiosity Shop《老古玩店》 ( 18401841)。 Barnaby Rudge《巴納比 拉奇》 (1841) 2. Period of excitement amp。 irritation American Notes 《 美國紀(jì)行》 (1842)。 Martin Chuzzlewit 《馬丁 翟述偉》 (18431845)； A Christmas Carol 《圣誕頌歌》 (1843)。 Dombey amp。 Son 《董貝父子》 (18461848)。 David Copperfield 《大衛(wèi) 科波菲爾》 (18491850) 3. Period of steadily intensifying pessimism Bleak House 《荒涼山莊》 ( 18521853)。 Hard Times 《艱難時(shí)世》 (1854)。 Little Dorrit 《小杜麗》 (18551857)。 A Tale of Two Cities 《雙城記》 (1859)。 Great Expectations 《遠(yuǎn)大前程》 or 《孤星血淚》 (18601861)。 Our Mutual Friend 《我們共同的朋友》 (18641865)。 Edwin Drood 《艾德溫 德魯?shù)轮i》 (unfinished) (1870) Distinct Features of His Novels 1. Character Sketches amp。 Exaggeration In his novels are found about 19 hundred figures, some of whom are really such “typical characters under typical circumstances”, that they bee proverbial or representative of a whole group of similar persons. As a master of characterization, Dickens was skillful in drawing vivid caricatural sketches by exaggerating some peculiarities, amp。 in giving them exactly the actions amp。 words that fit them: that is, right words amp。 right actions for the right person. 2. Broad Humor amp。 Perating Satire Dickens is well known as a humorist as well as a satirist. He sometimes employs humor to enliven a scene or lighten a character by making it (him or her) eccentric, whimsical, or laughable. Sometimes he uses satire to ridicule human follies or vices, with the purpose of laughing them out of existence or bring about reform. 3. Complicated amp。 Fascinating Plot Dickens seems to love plicated novel constructions with minor plots beside the major one， or two parallel major plots within one novel. He is also skillful at creating suspense amp。 mystery to make the story fascinating. 4. The Power of Exposure As the greatest representative of English critical realism, Dickens made his novel the instrument of morality amp。 justice. Each of his novels reveals a specific social problem. 5. unnatural happy ending His Literary Creation amp。 Literary Achievements Charles Dickens is one of the greatest critical realistic writers of the Victorian Age. It is his serious intention to expose amp。 criticize in his works all the poverty, injustice, hypocrisy amp。 corruptness he saw all around him. In his works, Dickens sets a full map amp。 a largescale criticism of the 19thcentury England, particularly London. A bination of optimism about people amp。 realism about society is obvious in these works. His representative works in the early period include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield amp。 so on. His later works show a highly conscious modern artist. The settings are more plicated。 the stories are better structured. Most novels of this period present a sharper criticism of social evils amp。 morals of the Victorian England, for example, Bleak House, Hard Times, Great Expectations amp。 so on. The early optimism could no more be found. Charles Dickens is a master storyteller. His language could, in a way, be pared with Shakespeare’s. His humor amp。 wit seem inexhaustible. Characterportrayal is the most outstanding feature of his works. His characterizations of child (Oliver Twist, etc.), some grotesque people (Fagin, etc.) amp。 some ical people (Mr. Micawber, etc.) are superb. Dickens also employs exaggeration in his works. Dickens’ works are also characterized by a mixture of humor amp。 pathos. William Makepeace Thackeray I. Life a. born in India。 b. studied in Cambridge。 c. gambling and bad investments d. has to make a living by writing articles for newspapers and magazines. II. features a. Just like Dickens, Thackeray is one of the greatest critical realists of the 19th century Europe. He paints life as he has seen it. With his precise and thorough observation, rich knowledge of social life and of the human heart, the pictures in his novels are accurate and true to life. b. Thackeray is a satirist. His satire is caustic and his humour subtle. c. Besides being a realist and satirist, Thackeray is a moralist. His aim is to produce a moral impression in all his novels III. Vanity Fair masterpiece 1. title: from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. 2. Subtitle: “A novel without a hero” the bourgeois and aristocratic society as a whole no positive characters (c) female 3. plot( p193 196) Read the story from P137 to P138 by yourself. Make clear about the development of the plot and relations between main characters. (Rebecca Sharp, Amelia Sedley, Joseph Sedley, Sir Pitt Crawley, Rawdon Crawley, Lord Steyne, Gee Osborne, William Dobbin) Amelia: goodnatured, sentimental, and simpleminded Gee Osborne: