Appunti d'inglese parte 3

• Historical context across the Atlantic (in America)

The United States: the birth of a nation
It was during the 19th century that the United States began to grow into the rich and powerful
nation it is today.
Europeans colonialized the lands of Native Americans. Cities and the railroads were built.
Successive waves of Europian immigrants moved there.
The railroads, in particular, were a crucial element in the development of the US economy the
19th century.
• Slavery and the American Civil War
The abolition of slavery in the US happened later than in Europe.
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1861.
Seven southern states formed the Confederate States of America, and four more states
followed. This led to the American Civil War (1861-1865). Its causes are complex and
controversial.

• Vocabulary
Instalments = Romanzi scritti a puntate sui quotidiani
Bildungsroman = Romanzo di formazione
Novel = Romanzo
Novelist = Romanziere
Genre/Genres= Generi
Plot = Trama
Revolving around questions of money = Giravano intorno a questioni di soldi
Making and losing fortunes = Fare e perdere fortune
From childhood/findancy to adulthood = Dall'infanzia fino all'età adulta
Omniscient narrator = Narratore onniscente
• The novel in the Victorian Age
The Victorian period can be considered the golden age of the novel. The novel reflected the
complexity of the modern world. It was the main SOURCE (fonti) of entertainment for the
educated middle classes.
Victorian novelists often published their works in instalments in literary magazines and
periodicals. This form of a publication created a certain type of expectation in readers, who
awaited the following instalment, anxious to find out what happened next in the story.
One of the most important genre was the bildungsroman which traced the life of the protagonist
from infancy to early adulthood. (e.g. "David Copperfield", " Great Expectations"- Charles Dickens,
"Jane Eyre"- Emily Bronte)
The main concern of these novels was the relationship between the individual and society. The
novelist of this period wanted to portray society in a realistic, denouncing its inequalities but
also expressing their faith in progress. Typically, the plots of Victorian novels revolved around
questions of money-the making and losing of fortunes.
The narrator of the Victorian novel is typically omniscient.
• Charles Dickens
Charles is probably the most representative literary figure of the Victorian age. He is the
first truly urban novelist. Most of his novels are set in London. Dickens claimed (reclamava/
proclamava) to know London better than anyone else. His characters give voice to all the
different social classes living in London. Charles Dickens was born in the south of England.
His family moved to London, his father was imprisoned for debt and Charles was withdrawn
(ritirato) from school. He was sent to work in a factory when he was 12 and this traumatic
experience marked him and his literary production for his life.
When his father's financial position improved, he went back to school. He became a journalist
and a novelist. His most important works are:
1. Oliver Twist
2. David Copperfield
3. Hard Times
4. Great Expectations
He also published many short stories such as "A Christmas Carol".
• Oliver Twist (1837/1839)
Themes
Oliver is an orphan. He was born in a workhorse. Dickens criticizes the Victorian policy toward
the poor. Much of the first part of Oliver Twist criticizes the charity organizations run by the
Church and the government which established "the Poor Law".
Poor Law: stipulated that the poor could only receive assistance if they moved into the
workhorses.
Workhouses were very harsh places. Children were separated from their families and put into
forced labor. Food was little and clothing was inadequate.
Workhouses operated on the principle that poverty was the consequence of laziness (pigrizia).
But as Dickens describes in his novels, the officials (funzionari statali) who ran the workhouses
were often greedy, lazy and arrogant.
In the novel, all the injustices, and violence suffered by the poor occur (si verificano) in the
city and seem to be a product of the city. Dickens describes the unhealthy conditions of
its inhabitants. On the other hand, when Oliver's new family take him to the countryside, he
discovered a "new existence". In "Oliver Twist", the countryside " purifies our thoughts" and cures
the vices that develop in the city.
In the countryside, the poor are free of squalor that afflicts those who live in the city.
At the end of the novel, Oliver and his new family settle in a small village, as if a happy ending
would only be possible there.
• Hard Times (1854)
The novel is set in the fictitious town of "Coketown" ("coke" is a type of coal+town).
It's based on the industrial town of Preston in the north of England.
The novel is a critique of some of the effects of industrial society.
Gradgrind, is a citizen of Coketown and the school headmaster. His disciplined philosophy is in
contrast with the imaginative and playful world of one of his students, Silly Jupe, the daughter of
a circus worker.
Sense of humor
Coketown is depicted realistically and is the symbol of poverty, both economic and spiritual that
oppresses the working classes.
Thomas Gradgrind represents UTILITARIANISM (a 19th century political, economic and social
doctrine which based on UTILITY) "THE GREAT GOOD FOR THE GREAT NUMBER". The core idea
of utilitarianism is that action is right if it results in the happiness of the greatest number of
people. For Dickens, its reliance on statistical evidence left no space for human qualities such
as generosity, altruism, and imagination. It is based on quantitative analysis rather than on the
individual.
Gradgrind believes that education should be practical and factual, allowing no space for
imagination or emotion.
Dickens one wrote:
" My satire is against those who see figures and averages, and nothing else-the most enormous
vice of this time."

• Vocabulary
Orphan = Orfana
Wealthy relatives = Parenti ricchi
Gothic = Gotico
Threat = Minacciare
To committ adultery= commettere adulterio

• Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Bronte was born in North Yorkshire. She had two younger sisters: Emily and Anne.
When she was 5, her mother died. She became a teacher. She wrote poems and novels. Her first
novel was JANE EYRE.
• Jane Eyre (1847)
Jane Eyre is an orphan who lives with her wealthy relatives. The plot of Jane Eyre includes many
autobiographical elements, a typical feature of Charlotte Bronte's writing.
1. First-person narration: this allows the reader to see things from Jane's point of view.
We get to know her feelings and emotions and physical passions. This went against the
Puritanical tradition. Jane Eyre mixes elements of the Buldungsroman with many conventions of
Gothic fiction.
Jane's character is deeply conditioned by her childhood experiences (her heartless aunt that
disliked and then the strict environment of the boarding school she was sent to).

Ultima modifica: 13 Nov 2019