Classic English works and culture inheritance经典英文作品欣赏与诵读(期末论文).doc

课程：经典英文作品欣赏与诵读Classic English works and culture inheritanceThink of culture inheritance and most of us will think of different kinds of spiritual culture and material culture,among which literature is an element that cannot be denied.And when it comes to literary heritage,we won't miss classic English works for their influence is just too profound to avoid.Then why classic English works?How on earth can they have such enchanting power?As we all know,almost everyone of us have,voluntarily or involuntarily,read lots of classical literature since our student days.At first we read in Chinese only,some classical Chinese literary works and some Chinese versions of foreign literature for example,and when we grow old enough to understand English,we begin to have exposure to original English literature -Jane Eyre,Wuthering Heights,Pride and Prejudice,Uncle Tom's Cabin and so on.From my perspective,a novel in English is not so much a familiar one as a totally alien thing.When I received The Left Hand of Darkness and read it for the first time,I didn't know,for God's sake,anything about it!Well,it can be somewhat exaggerated,but I believe that you can surely understand my feeling when I found myself even didn't know how to connect the name "Estraven" with its translation.I had a tough time digesting all of this and when I started to get accustomed to English,I had to admit that it was so fascinating an experience to enjoy original works.I can picture Gethen(a planet in the book I just referred to) in my mind;I can feel the hero's desperation in the penal farm;I can imagine Estraven's determination on saving Genly;I can get overwhelmed on reading that they are crossing the ice sheet;I can empathizing Genly's great grief on losing his faithful friend.So as you can see,good classic English works can stimulate so many emotions and make people resonate,not to mention making contributions to cultural inheritance.Provided that a man was well-educated with numerous classic works and made good understanding of them,then he would certainly inherit the quintessential part of culture and realize the necessity of pass it on to the next generation.In the following part I will talk about the relationship between classic English works and culture inheritance detailedly.The meaning of classicWhen we say the word "classical",it is usually associated with something that has a deep relationship with traditional culture,but "classic" is far more than that.It can refer to something that is most excellent,splendid or first-class.So a novel written in the 18th century can be called classical literary work,while only a few excellent ones can be called classic.Consequently,classic English works are those with profound connotation,considerable art value,long-lasting artistic appeal and recognition from the general public.Artistic appealIt is not exaggerated to say that the artistic appeal is the life of art works.Those with amazing artistic appeal can easily attract people and classic English works are of course no exception.It is horse sense that the inheritance of culture relies on generations of people's joint efforts.So if we want to pass these works down on to our descendants,they themselves need to be fascinating enough,for we know that a dull but important encyclopedia comes down yet is merely read unless necessary.With enough enchantment,classic English works can appeal to more and more young people,which is a crucial part in cultural inheritance,since a culture cannot exist for a long time unless there are enough inheritors.In the process of people accepting these works as part of cultural essence,they can in turn be a medium of cultural essence,through which culture inheritance is achieved as classic works are handed down.Dear teacher,forgive me for saying one thing that have little to do with this paper.It just occurred to me that I have got stuck with this article for nearly a week.Actually I have lots of ideas to express but it sucks when I have to list them and write in details.Maybe it won't bother you if I write more casually?I'm begging your kindness to pardon me. And there is another case to demonstrate the importance of artistic appeal,Wuthering Heights. The complex relation between main characters,thrilling revenge story and romantic love make up this brilliant book.After I finished it on a schoolday of junior high,I was so absorbed in the plots and sad atmosphere that I just couldn't forget what I had read.In the following days,I told my classmates about the book and encouraged them to read it and there turned out to be a good response.Read,popularization,read-then splendid works are spread while a bond of culture and modern society is established.Profound connotationClassic English works always have profound connotation,which is recognised by public.To get start with this part,let's have a brief retrospect on some typical classic English works.The novel Little Women tells a story of four sisters who are not different from us and that life is about being grateful and content with what you have;Uncle Tom's Cabin,one of the greatest book in American history,stirred the consciousness of slavery;and The Catcher In the Rye,another hit written by Salinger,became a wind vane for teens immediately it came out-it contains anger and anxious,to which the young willingly resonate;Gone With the Wind and Jane Eyer also taught us something about responsibility,humanity and true love.No need to list more here.All these works share the similarity of being rich in connotation and inspiration which can be found in other classic English works as well,and which contribute a lot to recognition and inheritance of these works.Detailedly,let's pick up the Bible as our pointcut.The Bible,the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity,is generally described as the greatest book in the world,not only for the incessant impact it has on human beings but also its influence on culture.Such being the case,stories from the Bible are undoubtedly shining pearls in the treasure-house of world literature.Here are two of them.The Creation of the World,one of the most famous pieces in the Bible,tells how God created the world.Stories of this kind never lacks of metaphors and symbols.For example,Adam was created with the dust from the ground,with Eve from a rib of Adam-soil and bones,two things that are closely related to death and sometimes even hints of it.So we can conclude that life isn't always the opposite of death but a twin of it,for we perceive our fated death when we are still alive.They two seem to go after each other like an endlessly circulating ring,don't they?As for another celebrated story,The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ,it has even more revelation to explore.There is no difficulty figuring out that the death of Jesus had won for man the tolerance and forgiveness from God and as a consequence,followers wear the cross on the chest to represent them.Besides,the death of Jesus also be extended as Israelites' jumping out of misery,which can be put in other words as man's being rescued.In addition,the name "Judas" has equaled to betrayal and unfaithfulness while "Jesus" means sacrifice and selflessness.Profound connation in classic English works requires interpretation along with popularization, which depend on disseminators' persistent efforts.In the next part I'll attach significance to the discussion about their long-lasting impact on man and culture.Subtle influence待添加的隐藏文字内容1As I have referred to in the part of artistic appeal,things that we convey to our descendants are what we have learned from these classic works,especially virtues,experience and a sense of beauty.This is also where the key of culture inheritance lies.Let's pick up where we stop in last part.Though it dose have dross,the Bible has directed generations to kindness.The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ implies selfless sacrifices,constant belief and justice;The Babel pose a reflection on unity and division;Joseph Meets His Brothers in Egypt is about domestic affection and tolerance;Floodwaters and Noah's Ark leads people to believe the rewords for good and punishment on evil.These beliefs and virtues have so deeply rooted in people's characters that as long as they believe in God, they will hold on to these kindness.Such is the charm of classic English works.We read as we explore,we explore as we understand,we understand as we change and we change as we influence those around us.Subtle influence acts on us and hence,we grow educated enough to contribute to culture inheritance.And culture inheritance,is not just the inheritance of some books,stories and legends but also the popularization of its essence.From the classic we get to know what to do with our culture.We accept the effect from classic English works and in turn we pick up what is worth treasuring and pass is down to generations.It's a mutual process.I would like to say that we are the very medium between classic English works and culture inheritance.In a nut shell,extraordinary English works help develop well-rounded people and they know even more about these works with their ability of seeking the essence of culture.After that,classic English works are recognised and spread more wildly with the inheritance of the best of our culture is accomplished.Finally let me take a sentence adapted from the Bible as my closing word-Let there be truth and beauty,and there were classic works. REFERENCES:http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible经典英文作品欣赏与诵读 胡志军 主编