Advanced English
Unit 9
Book 1
Pre-reading questions
 Background knowledge
 Macro-structure of the text
 Detailed Study of the text
 Rhetoric devices
 Follow-up discussion
 Exercise and homework

Tasks
Pre-reading Questions
1.
2.
How do you understand the title?
What do you know about Mark Twain?
Mirror
1. “Mirror” here means a person who gives a true representation
or description of the country.
2. Generally speaking, all literary giants in human history are
also great historians, thinkers and philosophers. Their works
often reveal more truth than many political essays.
3. Mark Twain was one of these giants, and his life and works are
a mirror of America of his time.
Mark Twain
• Real Name
• Meaning
• Life
• Works
• Assessment
Mark Twain: (1835-1910)
Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Two Fathoms deep—
the depth of water necessary for
the steamer boats to pass safely
Early life experience
 Boy in a little town in Mississippi
 At 11, he lost his father
 At 13, he stopped schooling
 Tramp printer
 Steamboat pilot on the Mississippi
 Confederate guerrilla
 Prospector
 Reporter on the far western frontier
 Traveler abroad

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Main
Works
The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn
The Prince and the Pauper
 The Cop and the Anthem
 Running for Governor
 The £1,000,000 Bank-Note
 The Innocents Abroad
 The Celebrated Jumping Frog of
Calaveras County
 The Gilded Age

Other
Works
His Misfortunes


Financial difficulties
Personal tragedies
his father
his brother
his two-daughters
his son
his wife
A Brief Assessment
Remarks: Mark Twain is a part of America. His personal
success and failure were those of America. He moved,
along with America, from innocence to experience.
Ernest Hemingway : All modern American literature
comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry
Finn. ... There was nothing before. There has been
nothing as good since.
Mark Twain and the Barber
Mark Twain —Mirror of America
Part I (Para.1): It serves as an introduction
of the whole text.
Part II(Para2-18): It provides his early life,
his success and comments on his works.
Part III (Para.19-21): It devotes to his
personal tragedy and conclusion.
Rhtorical Devices
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Metaphor
Simile
Hyperbole
Parallelism
Personification
Antithesis
Euhemism
Alliteration
Metonymy
synecdoche
Questions for Discussion
 Why is Mark Twain one of America’s
best-loved authors?
 Give a brief account of Mark Twain’s
experience before he became a writer.
 When did Mark Twain become a pilot
on a steamboat?
 What story did he write that made
him known as “the wild humorist of
the Pacific slope”?
Written Homework
 Why does the writer consider Mark
Twain a mirror of America？
References
 http://www.jpkc.cq.edu.cn/ChongQ_2004_dxyy/kj/tl/t
l2/index.htm
 http://blog.hjenglish.com/cxchun/articles/403413.ht
ml
 http://www.fync.edu.cn:8080/2006jpkc/ll2/jiaoan.asp
 《高级英语》学习指南 第一册
 《高级英语》教师用书 第一册
 《马克·吐温》by Frorrest G. Robinson， 上海外语教育出
版社。
 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.