1、William Makepeace Thackeray(18111863)威廉梅克皮斯萨克雷,William Makepeace Thackeray,William Makepeace Thackeray,studied at Cambridge and left it without taking a degreein 1833 went into politics and worked as an editor of abourgeois radical newspaper.failure in business made him turn to journalism for a livi
2、ng.His first literary success came with a series of satirical sketches.After 1848,Thackeray seemed to lose all hope ofimprovement in social life,and turned to pessimism.,His Life,born in India5 yearssent to England Cambridge,Indian Company officialcartoon drawing satirical versesedited a student pap
3、er 1830,without a degree,His Life,Germany,France,England,The Natural Era,radical newspaper,articles,satirical sketches,Vanity Fair in 1847,peak,into politics Italya bourgeois,His Life,successin Writing career,failure in his life,tragic marriageneglected by Motherlooked down upon by his peersheart tr
4、oubles,died of heart attack in London on Christmas Eve in 1863,His Literary Works,1)The Book of Snobs势利人脸谱势利者集It gives a satirical description of the different strata/streit/of the ruling classes of England and is regarded as a prelude to Thackerays major literary career.,His Literary Works,2)Vanity
5、 Fair名利场3)The History of Pendennis彭登尼斯4)The Newcomes纽克姆一家,5)The History of Henny Esmond亨 利埃斯蒙德6)The Virginians,弗吉尼亚人,historical novels,The Virginians is the sequel to Henry Esmond,deaAlintgruwthitfhultphiectyuoruensgomf eEnsgladndveintutrhes during thebeAgminenrinicganofWthare o1f8tIhndcepnetnudrye,
6、nce,a critical andthsearcoarsrtuipct dleifsecroipfttiohne oEfngElnisghlisahrifsatoshcrioancayb.le Society(上流社会).,Major works,his first literary success and a gallery of snobs from different walks of English life.,The Book of Snobs(1847)The peak of his literary career,A novel without a hero,Pendennis
7、,Vanity Fair,Vanity Fair was published in 1847-1848 in monthly installments,showing a picture of the life of the ruling classes of England.The title was taken form Bunyans Pilgrims Progress.The sub-title of the book,A Novel Without a Hero,suggests the fact that the writers intention was not to portr
8、ay individuals,but the bourgeois and aristocratic society as a whole.,The writer describes the life of the ruling classes of England in the early decades of the 19th century,and attacks the social relationship of the bourgeois world by satirizing the individuals in the different strata of the upper
9、society.It is a world where money grubbing is the main motive for all members of the ruling classes,and they had no scruples whatever in employing all possible means to attain the end.,Vanity Fair:General Introduction,Vanity Fair is Thackerays masterpiece.It was published in 1847-48 in monthly insta
10、llments.The sub-title of the book,“A Novel Without a Hero”,suggests the fact that writer s intention was not to portray individuals,but the bourgeois and aristocratic society as a whole.The title was taken from Bunyans“Pilgrims Progress”.,Vanity Fair:General Introduction,In this novel Thackeray desc
11、ribes the life of the ruling classes of England in the early decades of the 19th century,and attacks the social relationship of the bourgeois world by satirizing the individuals in the different strata of the upper society.It is a world where money grubbing is the main motive for all members of the
12、ruling classes.,Characters in Vanity Fair,Amelia Sedley,the daughter of a wealthy merchantRebecca(Becky)Sharp,an orphanJoseph,Amelia s brotherSir Pitt Crawley;Rawdon CrawleyGeorge OsborneDobbin,Plot,Becky and Amelia leaving schoolIn Amelias home,Becky tries to entrap JosephBecky becoming Sir Pitt Cr
13、awleys governess,secretly married to Rawdon CrawleyRawdon Crawley imprisoned for debt,finds Becky entertaining Lord Steyne.Leaves for India and dies of feverBecky lives with Joseph and gets all his property when he dies.Becky lives like a grand lady.,Becky Sharp,Becky Sharp is a classic example of t
14、his money-grubbing instinct.Her only aspiration in life is to gain wealth and position by any means,fair or foul.Cringing to the rich and titled snobs,clever Rebecca at the same time perceive how shallow,vain and worthless they are.Nevertheless,she flirts and carries on illicit relations with all ri
15、ch and powerful men,young and old,within her reach for the sole purpose of living a comfortable life.Of course she has her vanity also of outrivalling other women in beauty and in her power over men,and of gaining admittance into high society,but all such vanity is inseparable bound up with greed fo
16、r wealth.,crafty,unscrupulous,resourceful,shrewd,sophisticated beyond her years.,Character Analysis of VanityFair,characters,Rebecca Sharp,a bourgeois society,cunning,immoral and quick-witted 随机应变的shrewd,unscrupulous,sophisticated世故的,simple,sentimental,weak,but good at heartAmelia Sedley,Analysis of Vanity Fair,In the novel,Becky Sharp is a classic example of this money-grubbing instinct(本能).Everyone wishes to gain something in Vanity Fair and acts almost in the same manner as Becky.The Story of
