陳昕妤的部落格

Final Exam Essay Explanation 

●Conflict

The conflict is to see if the princess is real or not.

● Climax

The climax is when the princess said she had a bad sleeping => figure out that she is the real princess.

●Resolution

The pea was stored in the museum. 

The pea makes the princess real.

 

考試的時候,要寫20句以內,5句以上

 

 

 

 

王爾德的童話

●The happy Prince

The Happy Prince and Other Tales (sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket".

In a town where a lot of poor people suffer and where there are a lot of miseries, a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter, meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince", who on reality has never experienced true sorrow, for he lived in a palace where sorrow isn't allowed to enter. Viewing various scenes of people suffering in poverty from his tall monument, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the golden leaf covering his body to give to the poor. As the winter comes and the Happy Prince is stripped of all of his beauty, his lead heart breaks when the swallow dies as a result of his selfless deeds and severe cold. The statue is then brought down from the pillar and melted in a furnace leaving behind the broken heart and the dead swallow and they are thrown in a dust heap. These are taken up to heaven by an angel that has deemed them the two most precious things in the city. This is affirmed by God and they live forever in his city of gold and garden of paradise.

 

 

 

●The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant owns a beautiful garden which has 12 peach trees and lovely fragrant flowers, in which children love to play after returning from the school. On the giant's return from seven years visiting his friend the Cornish Ogre, he takes offense at the children and builds a wall to keep them out. He put a notice board "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED". The garden falls into perpetual winter. One day, the giant is awakened by a linnet, and discovers that spring has returned to the garden, as the children have found a way in through a gap in the wall. He sees the error of his ways, and resolves to destroy the wall. However, when he emerges from his castle, all the children run away except for one boy who was trying to climb a tree. The giant helps this boy into the tree and announces: "It is your garden now, little children," and knocks down the wall. The children once more play in the garden, and spring returns. But the boy that the Giant helped does not return and the Giant is heartbroken. Many years later after happily playing with the children all the time, the Giant is old and feeble. One winter morning, he awakes to see the trees in one part of his garden in full blossom. He descends from the castle to discover the boy that he once helped lying beneath a beautiful white tree that the Giant has never seen before. The Giant sees that the boy bears the stigmata. He does not realize that the boy is actually the Christ Child and is furious that somebody has wounded him.

"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."
"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love."
"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.
And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let Me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with Me to My garden, which is Paradise."

Shortly afterwards, the happy giant dies. That same afternoon, his body is found lying under the tree, covered in blossoms.

 

 

 

 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived.

This book is a realistic fiction, also a picaresque fiction. 

含有initiation在小說裡面

湯姆在經過很多個冒險後,變成了一個社會化的孩子,並失去了原有的純真

 

老師寫的導讀

湯姆歷險記是child protagonist

《湯姆歷險記》的確擁有許多兒童文學經典的共通特質：諸如爭取小讀者認同的孩童主角(child protagonist)、弱勢族群的集結以挑戰威權、領導統御與兄弟情誼、追求夢想與冒險等暢銷元素。且書中對於每一個情節，都有合理而深刻的動機描述，讓這本少年成長冒險寫實小說，多了心理層面的深刻。

 

弱勢族群集結起來挑戰權威

在《湯姆歷險記》裡，我們看到無論孩童主角(child protagonist)湯姆和他的死黨哈克或是反角(antagonist)印第安喬，都是主流社會下的弱勢族群，呼應了小孩原本在智識體能和經濟威權方面的無力。這也是許多兒童文學經典的共同點：這些主角們不是孤兒單親就是窮苦無依，要不然就是些極度孤絕的心靈，舉凡像哈利波特(Harry Potter)、《綠野仙蹤》的桃樂絲(Dorothy)、《秘密花園》的瑪麗(Mary Lenox)、爸爸命喪隔壁Mr. McGregor 菜園的彼得兔(Peter Rabbit) 、《小婦人》中的馬爾屈女孩(March girls)或是《漫遊奇境》的愛麗思(Alice)。

 

馬克‧吐溫常用錯誤的拼音來顯示出書裡主角的地位, 故常常說「英文要好才可以讀馬克·吐溫的書」

I ain't doing my duty by that boy, and that's [the Lord's truth], goodness knows. Spare the rod and spile the child, as [the Good Book] says. I'm a laying up sin and suffering for us both, I know. He's full of the Old Scratch, but laws-a-me! he's my own dead sister's boy, poor thing, and I ain't got the heart to lash him, somehow. Every time I let him off, my conscience does hurt me so, and every time I hit him my old heart most breaks. Well-a-well, man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble, as [the Scripture] says, and I reckon it's so. 

卻忠實地再現波麗阿姨這個密蘇里鄉下女人的方言口音。馬克．吐溫用拼音(如spoil卻念成spile)、口說文字(如ain't doing)和節構破碎的語句(run-on sentences)，加上常張冠李戴的經典諺語和自以為是的真理格言，還有三不五時(這裡英文才七行不到就提了三次)就捧出來的聖經名言，絮絮叨叨的波麗阿姨下里巴人的氣質於是躍然紙上。

Spare the rod and spile Spare the rod and spoil 才是正確的, 這是不打不成器的意思

 

 

Tom

Tom 這個名字來自Doubting Thomas.

Thomas 在質疑耶穌是否會復活時, 耶穌就出現並說了"Now, you can place your finger in my palm." 

你要相信看不到的東西才叫信仰

其實這個圖手擺放的位置是錯的

耶穌是在星期五被釘(但會在三天後復活), 所以天主教徒星期五不吃肉,只吃魚

而耶穌身上有五個傷口, 所以五這個數字在critical literature 佔有一席之地

 

Picaresque Fiction

The picaresque novel (Spanish: "picaresca," from "pícaro," for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction that depicts the adventures of a roguish hero/heroine of low social class who lives by his or her wits in a corrupt society. Picaresque novels typically adopt a realistic style, with elements of comedy and satire. This style of novel originated in 16th-century Spain and flourished throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It continues to influence modern literature.

俗稱惡漢體小說, 這種小說鮮少會有女主角, 唐吉軻德為第一部這類型的小說(它也同時是一本反騎士小說)

唐吉軻德旁邊一定會跟著一位胖僕人(主僕關係)

魔戒也有主僕關係

Initiation

Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role. Examples of initiation ceremonies might include Hindu diksha, Christian baptism or confirmation, Jewish bar or bat mitzvah, acceptance into a fraternal organization, secret society or religious order, or graduation from school or recruit training. A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites, such as those depicted in these pictures, is called an initiate.

一個儀式,做了之後族群才會接納(像是迎新或畢業典禮之類的活動)

 

 

 

The Secret Garden

●Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was an English-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

她常寫成長小說

 

Little Lord Fauntleroy

Little Lord Fauntleroy is a novel by the English-American writer Frances Hodgson Burnett, her first children's novel.

In a shabby New York side street in the mid-1880s, young Cedric Errol lives with his mother (known only as Mrs. Errol or "Dearest") in genteel poverty after the death of his father, Captain Cedric Errol. One day, they are visited by an English lawyer named Havisham with a message from Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, an unruly millionaire who despises America and was very disappointed when his youngest son married an American woman. With the deaths of his father's elder brothers, Cedric has now inherited the title Lord Fauntleroy and is the heir to the earldom and a vast estate. Cedric's grandfather wants him to live in England and be educated as an English aristocrat. He offers his son's widow a house and guaranteed income, but he refuses to have anything to do with her, even after she declines his money.

However, the Earl is impressed by the appearance and intelligence of his American grandson and is charmed by his innocent nature. Cedric believes his grandfather to be an honorable man and benefactor, and the Earl cannot disappoint him. He, therefore, becomes a benefactor to his tenants, to their delight, though takes care to let them know that their benefactor is the child, Lord Fauntleroy.

Meanwhile, a homeless bootblack named Dick Tipton tells Cedric's old friend Mr. Hobbs, a New York City grocer, that a few years prior, after the death of his parents, Dick's older brother Benjamin married an awful woman who got rid of their only child together after he was born and then left. Benjamin moved to California to open a cattle ranch while Dick ended up in the streets. At the same time, a neglected pretender to Cedric's inheritance appears, the pretender's mother claiming that he is the offspring of the Earl's eldest son. The claim is investigated by Dick and Benjamin, who come to England and recognize the alleged heir's mother as Benjamin's former wife. The alleged heir's mother flees, and the Tipton brothers and Benjamin's son do not see her again. Afterwards, Benjamin goes back to his cattle ranch in California where he happily raises his son by himself. The Earl is reconciled to his American daughter-in-law, realizing that she is far superior to the imposter.

The Earl planned to teach his grandson how to be an aristocrat. Instead, Cedric teaches his grandfather that an aristocrat should practice compassion towards those dependent on him. He becomes the man Cedric always innocently believed him to be. Cedric is happily reunited with his mother and Mr. Hobbs, who decides to stay to help look after Cedric.

 

A Little Princess

A Little Princess is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's, which was serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine from December 1887. According to Burnett, after she composed the 1902 play A Little Un-fairy Princess based on that story, her publisher asked that she expand the story as a novel with "the things and people that had been left out before". The novel was published by Charles Scribner's Sons (also publisher of St. Nicholas) with illustrations by Ethel Franklin Betts and the full title A Little Princess: Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Now Being Told for the First Time.

 

 

●The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial form beginning in 1910, and first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and considered a classic of English children's literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been made.

主角從一位顧人怨的小孩(disagreeable-looking child)轉變   "Growth"在此書代表者小孩的成長與花園的成長

而花園的成長中含有著"magical"的成分在裡面(例如不知道花園裡會長出什麼)

而此書也含有著庶民文化,僕人幫助或輔佐主人(例如 Mrs. Sowerby 買跳繩給Mary)

Rejuvenation 也是此書的major themes 之一

 

At the turn of the 20th century, Mary Lennox is a sickly and unloved 10-year-old girl, born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. She is cared for by servants, who allow her to become a spoiled, aggressive and selfish child.

After a cholera epidemic kills her parents and the servants, Mary is discovered alive but alone in the empty house. She briefly lives with an English clergyman and his family before she is sent to Yorkshire, England to live with Archibald Craven, an uncle whom she has never met, at his isolated house, Misselthwaite Manor.

At first, Mary is as rude and sour as ever. She dislikes her new home, the people living in it, and most of all, the bleak moor on which it sits. However, a good-natured maid named Martha Sowerby tells Mary about the late Mrs. Craven, who would spend hours in a private walled garden growing roses. Mrs. Craven died after an accident in the garden, and the devastated Mr. Craven locked the garden and buried the key. Mary becomes interested in finding the secret garden herself, and her ill manners begin to soften as a result. Soon she comes to enjoy the company of Martha, the gardener Ben Weatherstaff, and a friendly robin redbreast. Her health and attitude improve, and she grows stronger as she explores the moor and plays with a skipping rope that Mrs. Sowerby buys for her. Mary wonders about both the secret garden and the mysterious cries that echo through the house at night.

As Mary explores the gardens, her robin draws her attention to an area of disturbed soil. Here Mary finds the key to the locked garden and eventually the door to the garden itself. She asks Martha for garden tools, which Martha sends with Dickon, her 12-year-old brother. Mary and Dickon take a liking to each other, as Dickon has a kind way with animals and a good nature. Eager to absorb his gardening knowledge, Mary tells him about the secret garden.

One night, Mary hears the cries again and decides to follow them through the house. She finds a boy named Colin living in a hidden bedroom. She soon discovers that they are cousins, Colin being the son of Mr. and Mrs. Craven, and that he suffers from an unspecified spinal problem. Mary visits him every day that week, distracting him from his troubles with stories of the moor, Dickon and his animals, and the secret garden. Mary finally confides that she has access to the secret garden, and Colin asks to see it. Colin is put into his wheelchair and brought outside into the secret garden. It is the first time he has been outdoors for years.

While in the garden, the children are surprised to see Ben Weatherstaff looking over the wall on a ladder. Startled and angry to find the children in the secret garden, he admits that he believed Colin to be a cripple. Colin stands up from his chair and finds that his legs are fine, though weak from long disuse. Colin soon spends every day in the garden, sometimes with Dickon as company. The children conspire to keep Colin's recovering health a secret, so as to surprise his father, who is travelling abroad. As Colin's health improves, his father sees a coinciding increase in spirits, culminating in a dream where his late wife calls to him from inside the garden. When he receives a letter from Mrs Sowerby, he takes the opportunity finally to return home. He walks the outer garden wall in his wife's memory, but hears voices inside, finds the door unlocked, and is shocked to see the garden in full bloom, and his son healthy. The servants watch, stunned, as Mr. Craven and Colin walk back to the manor together.

 

cholera epidemic: cholera 霍亂   epidemic 流行傳染病(一發就不可收拾的那種)

Mrs. Craven died after an accident in the garden: Mrs. Craven fall down from the swing. Fall in the garden在這邊有伊甸園的意涵, 意味著亞當與夏娃的墮落

The Fall 

After making the earth and the heavens, God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. The man was called Adam. God made a beautiful garden called Eden, a paradise full of animals and fruit trees. At the center of the garden stood a tree with the special power to give the knowledge of good and evil to anyone who ate its fruit.

God told Adam to look after the plants, but warned him, “You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you do, you will surely die."

When God realized that Adam was lonely by himself, he made him fall into a deep sleep. He took out one of Adam’s ribs and from it he made a woman called Eve to be his wife. They were both naked, but they were no in the least embarrassment.

Now in the garden was a snake, who was the the most cunning of all the animals that God had created. He used his power of persuasion to get Eve into trobule. “You won’t die if you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” he said. “Instead you will be just like God, knowing what is good and what is evil.”

Eve was so tempted by the tasty food that could make her clever that she picked some and ate it. She offered some to Adam, who ate it too. Immediately, they realized taht they were naked and they were ashamed. They sewed fig leaves together as clothes to cover themselves.

When God came walking in the garden that evening, Adam and Eve hid themselves behind the trees in fear. “Adam, where are you?” God called. “Have you eaten the food I told you not to eat?"

Reluctantly, Adam had to admit that he had. “The snake tricked me into giving it to him,” Eve explained, sadly.

God was angry that Adam and Eve had disobeyed him, and told Adam, “I will curse the ground with weed, so that you will have to work hard to grow your food.” Also, God told Eve, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing.”

Then God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden forever.

 

Falls 瀑布 Niagara Falls

Rejuvenation 回春(讓荒廢的花園變漂亮)   

juvenile少年

juvenile court 青少年法庭

adolescent/adolescence 青少年(生理層面)

young adult fiction 青少年小說