What is so disturbing about Jan Smiley's A Thousand Acres?

Jane Smiley's award winning and disturbing novel, A Thousand Acres, invites a critical appraisal of a popular assumption for proponents of sustainable agriculture: that family farming and sustainable agriculture are (at least indirectly) mutually reinforcing. This process begins with a plot that presents an Iowa multigenerational farm family headed by an acutely dominant father. Consequences of this dominance include subjugation of everyone involved with the farming operation, varieties of abuse of the daughters, and primitive non-environmental farming. Also in the novel three structural components of the family farm/rural setting aggravate the nightmarish situation: multigenerational participation in one farming operation, children remaining on the farm, uninterrupted, into adulthood, and the power of community appearances. It is argued that these components contribute not only to the family problems, but also to making the poor farming that emerges in this family not very coincidental. This analysis, if correct, raises many issues about farm structure and farming practices. They include how the younger generation(s) of family farm structures cope with their situations, whether aspects of family farms skew who decides to remain to farm, family farm ownership and transfer structure, how well farmers understand their own farms, and the case for voluntarism regarding environmental issues in farming. One theme throughout the essay is that the novel enables better recognition and appreciation of the subtle relationship between family problems and farming practices.     

“两英寸大小的象牙上的雕刻品”——漫谈简·奥斯汀的乡间喜剧

简.奥斯汀开辟了英国朴素现实主义小说之先河,她的小说艺术地再现了18、19世纪之交英国的乡村世界。她从现实中取材,侧重于对凡人琐事,特别是女主人公们的描写,真实鲜活地描绘了当时的社会现实。她象牙雕刻般地细腻、她优雅的散文笔法,她的机智风趣、巧妙曲折的故事情节,如磁铁般地吸引着读者。     

试述简·奥斯汀作品中茶的作用

茶叶不仅飘香在简·奥斯汀的日常生活中,而且弥漫、恰到好处地点缀在她的作品中,茶会使故事情节和人物更加生动、逼真,展现出一幅美丽、真实,而又诙谐的画面,一场场茶舞会更是令人难忘。本文采用小说文本分析与茶文化相结合的研究视角,探讨简·奥斯汀作品中茶的社会功能与作用。     

从电影《成为简·奥斯汀》看奥斯汀的人物形象

简.奥斯汀是18世纪末19世纪初英国最伟大的女性作家之一,享有"女莎士比亚"的称号。电影《成为简.奥斯汀》通过解析她的创作,以求得多方位、多层次的介绍,并凸现这位作家:奥斯汀并非冷酷、尖酸的女权卫士,而是一个以其女性特有的视角来观察、描绘这个世界,充分显示出其客观和中立。     

《简·爱》对“灰姑娘母题”的戏仿

夏洛蒂·勃朗特在《简·爱》中,通过对"灰姑娘母题"的戏仿,消解了女人非天使即魔鬼形象的二元对立,改写了女人迫害女人的关系定位,颠覆了男人拯救女人的叙事模式,从而成功地解构了父权社会中"女人不是天使就是魔鬼"女人是祸水"男强女弱"的男性主流话语,还女性以真实的形象。     

斯氏狭跗线螨的抗逆力研究

对斯氏狭跗线螨在高温、低温和水浸等不良环境下的生存状况进行了研究 ,结果表明 ,高温和低温对斯氏狭跗线螨存活的影响很小 ,在水浸环境下 ,斯氏狭跗线螨不仅能最长存活25d ,还可继续发育 ,显示其极强的抗逆力 ,对水稻具有极大的潜在危害     

毒物描写：《一千英亩》的隐型环境伦理主题

简·斯迈利的小说《一千英亩》蕴涵多种文学伦理内涵，其中隐性的毒物描写可以将该作品归入后自然小说之列。本文以环境文学之毒物描写为切入点，从环境伦理思考、环境伦理话语、环境伦理诉求三方面分析《一千英亩》的环境伦理主题，指出《一千英亩》等后自然小说中的毒物描写源于作者的毒物意识，是毒物危机背景下人类关于环境末世的环境伦理思考；潜隐在土地之争、父女矛盾等传统伦理话语下，小说揭露人类滥用化学毒物以提高土地产量， 忽视毒物对环境和女性造成的无法逆转的危害, 表面先进繁荣的农场暗藏着人与土地的生态危机，构成环境危机背景下典型的环境伦理话语；基于毒物描写的环境伦理主题反映了后自然小说的环境伦理诉求，表现出文学创作对特定历史阶段各种伦理观念和伦理道德的独特表达与作家的社会责任担当意识。