er aristocratic entourage and its purposeless and meaningless life. He becomes the aide of a highly untraditional governor. Willie Stark represents for Jack Burden the example of power effectively used, of a driving force t hat can give purpose and meaning to life. Wille is crude, uncultivated, not a gentleman, has no ancestors, nor traditions. But he lives in the present, not in the past. Besides, Jack believes in Willie s efforts to give the poor people a fairer share of the benefits of government. He is convinced that Willie is on the side of the right. Thus Willie s attraction for Jack is both ideological and personal.works by Robert Penn Warren are The Circus in the Attic (1947), World Enough and Time (1959), a description of a mysterious murder in Frankfort, historical novels of the Civil War period The Cave (1959), and Wilderness (1961). Penn Warren is also known as a critic, scholar and teacher. He taught at Louisiana State University and the universities of Michigan and Yale. He composed textbooks that were most influential in shaping the teaching of English in America.
literature modernism prose drama
Comprehension Questions and Tasks
1. Speak on the American literary realism in the first half of the XX-th century. Name the significant poets and the main themes they touch upon in the poetry. Comment on Imagism, an important literary movement of the time. Historical fiction became popular in the Depression, didn t it? Why? Name the representatives of the group as writers of fiction (western novel, short stories, novel of manners).
. What is the theme of Dreiser s first novel Sister Carrie ? What idea dominates Dreiser s novel An American Tragedy , and why did he choose as the main characters the most ordinary of American youths? What is similar in the ambitions of Clyde and Roberta? Why is Dreiser considered the leading writer of the first half of the XX-th century?
. Where did Robert Frost live in the United States? How does Robert Frost describe nature in his poems? (Analyse some of his comparisons in the poems printed in this book.) How did farm life influence his poetry? What are his themes? What was peculiar to Frost's style? What did Robert Frost say about the role of art in life? p align="justify">. Say a few words about Sherwood Anderson s biography. Anderson is more than just a regionalist. - Why? Name his chief literary works and the themes they deal with.
. Say a few words about the life and the work of Francis Fitzgerald. Were his novels autobiographical? Where did Fitzgerald find themes for the fiction? Speak on the subject of The Great Gatsby. p align="justify">. The influence of what literary trend is felt in early Faulkner s works? What is the central factor of Faulkner s interest in the 20-s? What theme are the books about Jefferson belong to? What novels describe the race problems of the USA? Why did Faulkner compare his characters with the characters in the Bible? How do the critics characterize the creative work of the writer?
. Why was Hemingway considered to be one of the most experienced journalists of the 20th century? How did his first short stories come to be written? What was Hemingway's social viewpoint? What were his ideas about literature and the writers? Why did Hemingway search for new forms in literature? What is meant by the concise Hemingway style ? What do the mountain snows symbolize? Comment on Hemingway s war books. Why did war become the main subject in Hemingway s works? Give a short account of the novel A Farewell to Arms . Characterize the hero and the heroine of the novel. Tell the story of The Old Man and the Sea . Characterize Santiago. How does Hemingway see the moral strength of man in the battles of life?
. Give a brief account of Robert Penn Warren s life and literary work. Comment on the subject of All the King s Men. Name the main heroes of the novel and characterize them. What other branches are there to Warren s literary activity?
UNI...
