陈婷婷 The Differences between Mark Twain &William Dean Howells vs

5 Aspects 1.About their family background 2.About their education 3.About their career 4.About their writing style 5.Conclusion

1.About their family background Mark Twain( ) --Born in Florida, Missouri --The 3rd son,6th of seven children,only three of his siblings survived childhood. --Twain’s father was an attorney and a local judge.

Hannibal(1939), Missouri,the model town forTom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Childhood Slave state

In 1847,Father dies of pneumonia, leaving family in difficult circumstances. A great change,and the start of the tragedy of his life.

Born in Martinsville, Ohio (now known as Martins Ferry, Ohio) The 2nd of eight children His father was a newspaper editor and printer Moved frequently around Ohio. William Dean Howells ( )

2.About their education Mark Twain--completed the fifth grade.(-_-) 、 Educated himself in public libraries in the evenings, finding wider information than at a conventional school. William Dean Howells--Received little education,but read a lot.

Howells received his most important schooling in the print shop and taught himself German, Italian, and Spanish, shaping his taste by reading in those literatures as well as English and American works.

American Writer Humorist Journalist Lecturer Essayist 3.About their career

C areer and Its Influence He works in different place as different roles,like tramp printer, prospector,cub pilot and so on. These experience becomes a catalyst for his many excellent works, such as"Tom Sawyer","The Innocents Abroad" and "The Mysterious Stranger".

C areer and Its Influence These works unveil American's vivid life,and encourage people to drop his religious illusion, then make a better world by himself. As a result, America laugh with him. But his entire life is haunted by personal tragedy. So his writing style is changed from humor to satire.

American Novelist Critic Playwright Essayist Poet Ideologist 3.About their career

C areer of Dean Howells -Began to help his father with typesetting and printing work at an early age. -Turned to editorial work on the Ohio State Journal during1856 to Accepted an editorial post on the Nation in New York in Worked on the Atlantic Monthly as assistant editor in January 1866 and was promoted to editor in chief in Accepted the editorship of Harper's Monthly in 1886

4. About their writing style Mark Twain Influenced by journalism, wedded to the vernacular, direct and unadorned but also highly evocative and irreverently humorous – changed the way Americans write their language. His characters speak like real people and sound distinctively American, using local dialects, newly invented words, and regional accents.

4. About their writing style William Dean Howells Emphasized ethics. Held that truth is the highest beauty. Stressed the need for sympathy and moral integrity, and the need for different social classes to harmoniously adapt to their environment and to one another.

The literary critic should not try to impose arbitrary or subjective evaluations on books but should follow the detached scientist in accurate description and interpretation. The critic’s job was “to identify the literary species and explain the weaknesses of a work in the light of the author’s intentions.” Literary Criticism

Literary Theory He condemned novels of sentimentality and morbid self-sacrifice. He advocated honesty and social responsibility in literature. His view on realism was “ nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material.”

Conclusion Mark Twain William Dean Howells totally different below above

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