南开大学 外国语学院 美国文学课件The_Magic_Barrel课堂展示版

南开大学 外国语学院 美国文学课件

The Magic BarrelBernard Malamud (1914—1986) was born in Brooklyn,New York. In 1936,he graduated from City College (纽约市立学 院) obtained his Master's Degree from Columbia (哥伦比亚大 and 学)in 1942.He survived and profited from the wearing experience of teaching evening high school classes in New York for nine years, from 1940 to 1949. He then taught at Oregon State University and at Bennington College in Vermont,with leaves of absence to lecture at Harvard. Unlik many of his contemportaries,Malamud's work suggests the modern human being’s ability to affirm life (维护生灵) .A Jewish -American writer, he used his Jewish background (犹台人 的历史，文化背景), speech patterns (话语方式) ,and sensibility (对生活的敏感)to create the atmosphere of a world in which life matters (日常生活是重要的， 有意义的) and in which the magical and even the sacred hover just above the everyday (日常生活受控 于魔力抑或一种神圣的力量). His fiction, which mixes together comedy and pathos (把喜剧与痛苦的元素相糅合) ,fantasy and realism (想象与现实) explores the full range of possibilities open , to modern human beings (发掘现代人生活中的各种情景): their capacity for success and failure, happiness and pain, love and hatred, .Malamud's The and suffering and redemption (受难与赎罪)

南开大学 外国语学院 美国文学课件

Magic Barrel (1958),a collection of short stories,won him the National Book Award (全国图书奖) 1959. in Among the subseque are 1959), New A novels (其后发表的小说有) The Assistant (店员， Life (新生活，1961),The Fixer (基辅怨，1966),The Tenants (房 客， 1971), God's Grace (上帝的恩惠， and 1982). other volumes His of short stories are Idiots First (白痴第一，1963) and Rembrandt's Hat (拉姆布兰特的帽子，1973).

Not long ago there lived in uptown New York, in a small almost meager room, though crowded with books, Leo Finkle, a rabbinical student in the Yeshivah University. Finkle, after six years of study, was to be ordained in June and had been advised by an acquaintance that he might find it easier to win himself a congregation if he were married. Since he had no present prospects of marriage, after two tormented days of turning it over in his mind, he called in Pinye Salzman,a marriage broker whose two—line advertisement he had read in the Forward. The matchmaker appeared one night out of the dark fourth—floor hallway of the graystone rooming house where Finkle lived,grasping a black,strapped portfolio that had been worn thin with use.Salzman,who had been long in the business,was of slight but dignified build, wearing an old hat,and an overcoat too short and tight for him.He smelled frankly of fish, which he

南开大学 外国语学院 美国文学课件

loved to eat，and although he was missing a few teeth，his presence was not displeasing，because of an amiable manner curiously contrasted with mournful eyes．His voice，his lips，his wisp of beard，his bony fingers were animated，but give him a moment of repose and his mild blue eyes revealed a depth of sadness，a characteristic that put Leo a little at ease although the situation，for him，was inherently tense．

He at once informed Salzman why he had asked him to come，explaining that his home was in Cleveland，and that but for his parents，who had married comparatively late in life，he was alone in the world．He had for six years devoted himself almost entirely to his studies, as a result of which，understandably，he had found himself without time for a social life and the company of young women．Therefore he thought it the better part of trial and error—of embarrassing fumbling ---- to call in an experienced person to advise him on these matters．He remarked in passing that the function of the marriage broker was ancient and honorable，highly approved in the Jewish community，because it made practical the necessary without hindering joy. Moreover，his own parents had been brought together by a matchmaker．They had made, if not a financially profitable marriage—since neither had possessed any worldly goods to speak of ---- at least a successful one in the sense of their everlasting devotion to each other．Salzman listened in embarrassed surprise，sensing a sort of apology. Later, however, he experienced a

南开大学 外国语学院 美国文学课件

glow of pride in his work，an emotion that had left him years ago，and he heartily approved of Finkle．

The two went to their business．Leo had led Salzman to the only clear place in the room，a table near a window that overlooked the lamp—lit city．He seated himself at the matchmaker side but facing him，attempting by an act of will to suppress the unpleasant tickle in his throat．Salzman eagerly unstrapped his portfolio and removed a loose rubber band from a thin packet of much-handled cards．As he flipped through them，a gesture and sound that physically hurt Leo，the student pretended not to see and gazed steadfastly out the window．Although it was still February，winter was on its last legs，signs of which he had for the first time in years begun to notice．He now observed the round white moon moving high in the sky through a cloud menagerie，and watched with half-open mouth as it penetrated a huge hen, and dropped out of her like an egg laying itself．Salzman，though pretending through eye-glasses he had just slipped on，to be engaged in scanning the writing on the cards, stole occasional glances at the young man's distinguished face，noting with pleasure the long severe scholar‘s nose，brown eyes heavy with learning，sensitive yet ascetic 1ips'and a certain almost hollow quality of the dark cheeks．He gazed around at shelves upon …… 此处隐藏：18123字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……