I expect this course to open my eyes to story material, to unleash my too dormant imagination, to develop that quality utterly lacking in my nature--a sense of form. I do not expect to acquire much technique, l expect to be able to seize upon the significant, reject the trivial. I hope to acquire a greater love for humanity in all its forms. I have long wondered just what my strength was as a writer. I am often filled with tremendous enthusiasm for a subject, yet my writing about it will seem a sorry attempt. Above all, I possess a driving sincerity—that prime virtue of any creative worker. I write only what I believe to be the absolute truth—even if I must ruin the theme in so doing. In this respect I feel far superior to those glib people in my classes who often garner better grades than I do. They are so often pitiful frauds-artificial-insincere. They have a line that works. They do not write from the depths of their hearts. Nothing of theirs was ever born of pain. Many an incoherent yet sincere piece of writing has outlived the polished product. I write only about people and things that I know thoroughly. Perhaps I have become a mere reporter, not a writer. Yet I feel that this is all my present abilities permit. I will open my eyes in my youth and store this raw, living material. Age may bring the fire that molds experience into artistry. I have a genuine love of nature. It is not the least bit affected, but an integral and powerful part of my life. I know that Cooper is a fraud—that he doesn't give a true sense of the sublimity of American scenery. I know that Muir and Thoreau and Burroughs speak the truth. I can sense the moods of nature almost instinctively. Ever since I could walk, I have spent as much time as I could in the open. A perception of nature—no matter how delicate, how subtle, how evanescent—remains with me forever. I am influenced too much, perhaps, by natural objects. I seem bound by the very room I'm in. I've associated so long with prosaic people that I've dwarfed myself spiritually. When I get alone under an open sky where man isn't too evident—then I'm tremendously exalted and a thousand vivid ideas and sweet visions flood my consciousness. I think that I possess story material in abundance. I have had an unusual upbringing. I was let alone, thank God! My mother insisted upon two things—that I strive for perfection in whatever I did and that I always try to be a gentleman. I played with Italians, with Russians, Poles, and the 'sissies' on Michigan avenue. I was carefully watched, yet allowed to follow my own inclinations. I have seen a good deal of life that would never have been revealed to an older person. Up to the time I came to college then I had seen humanity in diverse forms. Now I'm cramped and unhappy. I don't feel that these idiotic adolescents are worth writing about. In the summer, I turn animal and work for a few weeks in a factory. Then I'm happy. My literary achievements have been insignificant. At fourteen, I made a speech which was translated into twenty-six languages and used as Red Cross propaganda. When I was younger, it seemed that everything I wrote was eminently successful. I always won a prize when I entered an essay contest. In college, I've been able to get only one 'A' in four rhetoric courses. I feel this keenly. If I can't write, what can I do? I wonder. When I was a freshman, I told Carlton Wells that I knew I could write whether he thought so or not. On my next theme he wrote 'You can Write!' How I have cherished that praise! It is bad form to talk about grades. I know. If I don't get an 'A' in this course, it wouldn't be because t haven't tried. I've made a slow start. I' m going to spend Christmas vacation writing. A 'B' symbolizes defeat to me. I've been beaten too often. I do wish that we were allowed to keep our stories until we felt that we had worked them into the best possible form. I do not have the divine urge to write. There seems to be something surging within, —a profound undercurrent of emotion. Yet there is none of that fertility of creation which distinguishes the real writer. Nevertheless, I have faith in myself. I'm either going to be a good writer or a poor fool.
问答题
There are a number of paradoxical statements in the author's self-analysis. Identify two of them and explain.
【正确答案】'I am often…seem a sorry attempt' and 'I write only what I believe to be the absolute truth—even if I must ruin the theme in so doing' are two paradoxical statements. The first one means the author is very enthusiastic for a subject in terms of writing. The second one means the author only writes the thing he thinks is true, although only writing about truth may ruin the whole piece of writing.
问答题
The author says 'Many an incoherent yet sincere piece of writing has outlived the polished products.' (Paragraph 2)Explain and comment on the idea.
【正确答案】Although the author's writing is sometimes incoherent, what he writes is all about truth and all comes directly from his heart without any artificial 'make-up', so his writing is much valuable than that written by those without any sincerity. The author here is emphasizing sincerity and truth. which is very important when someone is writing, but when it is carried out to an extreme. it is not necessarily a good thing, for writing is a process of creating beauty which of course needs polishing to make it look better.
【答案解析】 由前半部分可知作者只写真实的东西。在他 看来“I feel far superior to those glib people in my classes who often garner better grades than I do”，那些人的作品不真实，并不是发自内心的流露。因此综上可知作者认为真实的要比浮华虚伪的作品更能经得起时间考验。
问答题
What things and people are regarded by the author to be the proper material for his writing? Explain．
【正确答案】The things and people that are seen by the author's own eyes, that is, first-handed material, that 'raw, living material' he will 'open his eyes in his youth and store.' It is in some way like the writing of a reporter. He loves nature, loves truth, and prefers things to be what they originally are; therefore, he only chooses this kind of material. And moreover, he must know them thoroughly so as to give a distinct picture of what he will write.
【答案解析】 本题将答案锁定在三四 段。第三段提到“I write only about people and things that I know thoroughly.”，青年时曾经获得了一些原始的鲜活的素材。第四段提到“I have a genuine love of nature.”热爱自然，讨厌矫揉造作，对自然的感触将永远伴随自己，因此作者的经历与思想很大程度上决定了作者所写的人和事。
问答题
Does the author think of himself as a talented writer? Why or why not?
【正确答案】Yes, the author does think so, because he says 'Nevertheless, I have faith…a good writer or a Door fool' in the end to show his determination and his confidence．He has his own perspective of writing，and he believes in it，sticks to it，in hope that his unique way of writing about the truth can someday become a truth in the circle of writing, and this hope is clearly a firm belief.