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tic fiction, a pioneer in psychological description, and the outstanding representative of the 19th century American literature. C. He wrote as a moralist. D. His most famous novel is The Scarlet Letter. 5. Edgar Allan Poe (18091849) A. Born in Boston in 1809. B. Poe’s life was very miserable. C. He is a critic, a poet and a novelist. D. He wrote 50 stories, 70 poems and some criticisms. E. Famous works: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Black Cat. F. The “father of detective stories” 6. Mark Twain (18351910) A. Basic information: a. The pen name of Samuel L. Clements. b. A realistic writer called “the true father of our national literature” B. Life: a. Born on Nov. 30, 1835. b. An apprentice on a steam boat. c. A soldier during the Civil War. d. In 1862 he went West and wrote many humorous sketches. C. Contributions: a. His masterpiece is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. b. He is humorist and he connected American folk humor and serious literature. c. He satirized the evils of the society greatly, but later he showed a pessimistic attitude to society. 7. Theodore Dreiser (18711945) A. One of the great American realists or naturalist. B. His novels deal with everyday life, with details, mixed with good and bad, but without ments. C. Two periods boarded by the Russian Revolution: Before that his writing was realistic and naturalistic. After that he gave up naturalists, and became a socialist writer. D. The American Tragedy is his masterpiece. E. He joined the American Communist Party. F. He is an outstanding representative of modern American progressive literature. G. His works revealed the tragedies of American society, but he failed to find ways to solve these problems. 8. Jack London (18761916) A. Born on Jan. 12th, 1876 in San Francisco. B. He led a very poor and miserable life. C. Best novels: The Call of the Wild and White