美國(guó)文學(xué)是世界文學(xué)的重要組成部分。它對(duì)英國(guó)文學(xué)既有繼承，又有創(chuàng)新。初期的美國(guó)文學(xué)曾有明顯的模仿英國(guó)文學(xué)的跡象，但從19世紀(jì)中期開(kāi)始，美國(guó)文學(xué)便異軍突起，屹立于世界文學(xué)之林。它具有濃厚的民族氣息和自己獨(dú)特的風(fēng)格，宛如世界文學(xué)園圃的一朵奇葩，散發(fā)出沁人心脾的幽香。近年來(lái)，我國(guó)對(duì)美國(guó)文學(xué)的介紹和研究臼益重視，不少大專(zhuān)院校已開(kāi)設(shè)美國(guó)文學(xué)課程。

　　《美國(guó)文學(xué)選讀》是根據(jù)國(guó)家教委教材編寫(xiě)計(jì)劃而編寫(xiě)的教科書(shū)。全書(shū)共分兩冊(cè)：上冊(cè)從17世紀(jì)至第一次世界大戰(zhàn)前；下冊(cè)蓯第一次世界大戰(zhàn)迄今。它的對(duì)象是大專(zhuān)院校英文系本科高年級(jí)學(xué)生和社會(huì)上有相當(dāng)英語(yǔ)基礎(chǔ)的美國(guó)文學(xué)愛(ài)好者。

　　本書(shū)在編選作家及作品的過(guò)程中一直恪守重點(diǎn)突出的原則。每位作家項(xiàng)下都有作者介紹、作品介紹、原文和注釋4部分。作者介紹力求簡(jiǎn)短明了；作品介紹力求畫(huà)龍點(diǎn)睛；原文的選擇力求有代表性；注釋力求深入淺出。所附評(píng)語(yǔ)盡量利用國(guó)內(nèi)外評(píng)論界數(shù)十年來(lái)的研究成果，尤其重視介紹美國(guó)文學(xué)評(píng)論界近些年來(lái)的研究狀況，但決不斷章取義，不拘一人之見(jiàn)，不守一家之說(shuō)。對(duì)所選作品采取謹(jǐn)慎的態(tài)度，以它對(duì)當(dāng)代及后世的影響作為衡量準(zhǔn)則。

　　本書(shū)由南開(kāi)大學(xué)外文系英美文學(xué)研究室負(fù)責(zé)規(guī)劃和選材。李宜燮、常耀信任主編。參加編寫(xiě)的有（以姓氏筆畫(huà)為序）：馬振鈴、王蘊(yùn)茹、劉士聰、谷啟楠、柯文禮、徐齊平、高冬山、常耀信。

　　《美國(guó)文學(xué)選讀》（上冊(cè)）脫稿之后，國(guó)家教委高校外語(yǔ)專(zhuān)業(yè)教材編委會(huì)英語(yǔ)編審組根據(jù)1986年教材審稿計(jì)劃，委托天津外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院錢(qián)自強(qiáng)院長(zhǎng)主持召開(kāi)審稿會(huì)，邀請(qǐng)上海師范大學(xué)陳冠商教授任主審，北京外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院錢(qián)青教授、北京大學(xué)李淑言副教授、天津外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院金隄教授、李美玉教授、錢(qián)自強(qiáng)副教授、關(guān)肇洪副教授參加審稿，他們對(duì)書(shū)稿提出了寶貴意見(jiàn)。謹(jǐn)在此表示衷心感謝。本書(shū)出版之后，受到讀者熱情歡迎。除用作本科生教材外，有些院校還將其作為研究生教材，或研究生入學(xué)考試的必讀書(shū)之一：許多讀者還致書(shū)編者，給予鼓勵(lì)和獎(jiǎng)譽(yù)，并提出了寶貴建議和評(píng)論，天津社會(huì)科學(xué)系統(tǒng)還授予本書(shū)1986—1989年社會(huì)科學(xué)研究科研獎(jiǎng)，這些都使我們得到極大的鼓舞和幫助，我們借此書(shū)再版的機(jī)會(huì)表示由衷的感謝。

　　盡管我們盡了最大的努力，但由于水平有限，一定會(huì)有不妥和錯(cuò)誤之處。我們誠(chéng)懇地希望同行專(zhuān)家和廣大讀者不吝指正。

　　編者

　　1991年9月

再版前言

Jonathan Edwards

Personal Narrative

Benjamin Franklin

from The Autobiography

Hector St。 John de Crevecoeur

from Letters from an American Farmer

Philip Freneau

The Wild Honey Suckle

The Indian Burying Ground

Washington Irving

from The Author‘s Account of Himself

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

James Fenimore Cooper

from The Pioneers

Ralph Waldo Emerson

from Nature

from The American Scholar

Edgar Allan Poe

The Raven

The Fall of the House of Usher

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Psalm of Life

The Tide Rises， the Tide Falls

The Slave’s Dream

Henry David Thoreau

from Walden， or Life in the Woods

Nathaniel Hawthorne

from The Scarlet Letter

Herman Melville

from Moby-Dick

Wart Whitman

from Song of Myself

I Hear America Singing

I Sit and Look out

O Captain， My Captain

Emily Dickinson

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died

My Life Closed Twice before Its Close

As Imperceptibly as Grief

Mine--by the Right of the White Election

Wild Nights--Wild Nights

A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

Apparently with No Surprise

I Died for Beauty---but Was Scarce

Tell All the Truth but Tell It Slant

I Like to See It Lap the Miles

The Brain--Is Wider than the Sky

Harriet Beecher Stowe

from Uncle Tom‘s Cabin

William Dean Howells

from The Rise of Silas Lapham

Mark Twain

from The Gilded Age

from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Henry James

The Art of Fiction

from The Ambassadors

Bret Harte

Tennessee’s Partner

Hamlin Garland

Mrs。 Ripley‘s Trip

Stephen Crane

from The Red Badge of Courage

Frank Norris

from The Octopus

Theodore Dreiser

from Sister Carrie

Jack London

from Martin Eden

The Law of Life

　　FROM LETTER IXD

　　escription of Charleston；Thoughts on Slavery；on Physical Evil；a Melancholy Scene

　　Everywhere one part of出e human species are taught the art ofshedding the blood of the other，of se~ing fire to their dwellings，ofleveling the works of their industry，half of the existence of nationsregularly employed in destroying other nations．What liale politicalfelicity iS to be met with here and there，has cost oceans of blood topurchase．a(chǎn)s if good was never to be the portion of unhappy man．Republics，kingdoms，monarchies，founded either on fraud or successfulviolence，increase by pursuing the steps of the same policy until they aredestroyed in their turn，either by the influence of their own crime．s or bymore successful but equally criminal enemies．

　　If from this general review of human nature，we descend to theexamination of what is called civilized society；there the combination ofevery natural and artificial want makes US pay very dear for what littleshare of political felicity we enJoy．It is a strange heterogeneousassemblage of vices，and vi~ues，and of a variety of other principles，forever at war，forever jarring，forever producing some dangerous，soreedistressing extreme。Where do you conceive then that nature intended weshould be happy？Would you prefer the state of men in the woods to that．of men in a more improved situation？Evil preponderates in both；in thefirst they often eat each other for want of food，and in the other they oftenstarve each other for want of room．For my‘part，I think the vices andrniseries to be found in the〕atter exceed those of the former，in which realevi〕is more scarce，more supportable，and less enormous．Yet we wish tosee the earth peopled，to accomplish the happiness of kingdoms，which issaid to consist in numbers．Gracious God！T0 what end is the introductionof SO many beings into a mode of existence in which they must gropeamidst as many errors，commit as many crimes，and meet with as manydiseases，wants，and sufferings！

　　Thc following scene wil！I hope account for”dlese melancholyreflections and apologize for the gloomy thoughts with which I have filledthis letter；my mind is and always has been，oppressed since became awitness to it．1 was not long since invited to dine with a planter who livedthree miles from．”where he then resided．In order to avoid the heat ofthe sun．I resolved to go on foot，sheltered in a small path leading througha pleasant wood．1 was leisurely traveling along，attentively examiningsome peeufiar plants which I had collected．when all at once I felt the山Tstrongly agitated，though the day was perfectly calm and sultry．1immediately cast my eyes toward the cleared ground。from which 1 wasbut at a small distance．in order tO see whether it was not occasioned by asudden shower，when at that instant a sound resembling a deep roughvoice，uttered。as I thought，a few inarticulate monosyllables．Alarmed andsurprised．I precipitately looed all round，when I perceived at about Slxrods distance something resembling a cage，suspended to the limbs of tree，all the branches of which appeared covered with large birds of preyfluttering about and anxiously endeavouring tO perch on the cage Actuated by an involuntary motion of my hands，more than by any designof my mind，I fired at them；they all flew to a short distance，with a mosthideous noise，when，horrid to think and painful to repeat，I perceived aNegro，suspended in the cage and left there to expire！I shudder when Irecollect that the birds had already picked out his eyes，his cheek boneswere bare．his arms had been attacked in several places，and his bodyseemed covered with a multitude of wounds．From the edges of thehollow sockets and from the lacerations with which he was disfigured，theblood slowly dropped and tinged the ground beneath．No sooner were thebirds flown．than swarms of insects covered the whole body of thisunfortunate wretch．eager to fCcd on his mangled flesh and to dhnk hisblood．I found myself suddenly arrested by the power of affright and terror；my nerves were convulsed；I trembled；I stood motionless，involuntarilycontemplating the fate of this Negro，in all its dismal latitude．The livingspecter，though deprived of his eyes，could still distinctly hear，and in hisuncouth dialect begged me to give him some water to allay his thirst．Humanity herself would have recoiled back with horror；she would havebalanced whether to〕essen such reliefless distress or mercifully with oneblow to end this dreadful scene of agonizing torture！”Had I had a ballinmy gun，I certainly should have despatched him；but finding myself unableto perform SO kind an office，“I sought，though trembling，to relieve himas well as I could．A shell ready fixed to a pole，which had been used bysome Negroes．presented itself to me；I filled it with water，and withtrembling hands I guided it to the quivering lips of the wretched sufferer．Urged by the irresistible power of thirst，he endeavoured to meet it，as heinstinctively guessed its approach by the noise it made in passing throughthe bars of the cage．‘’Tanke．一you white man，tanke you，pure somepoison and give me．”“How long have you been hanging there？”I askedhim．“Two days，and me no die；the birds，the birds；aaah me！“Oppressedwith the reflections which thiS shocking spectacle afforded me，I mustered strength enough to walk away and soon reached the house at which Iintended to dine．There I heard that the reason for this slave being thuspunished，was on account of his having killed the overseer of theplantation．They told me that the laws of self-preservation rendered suchexecutions necessary"and supported the doctrine of slavery with thearguments generally made rise of to justify the practice，with the repetitionof which I Shall not trouble you at present．

　　……