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  In the nineteenth century the Romantic genre of literature became an important modeof expression for many Black American writers. Afrequent characteristic of Romantic writing is the use of historical material; Black writers have used this genre to transforman oftenharsh historical reality into animagined world ruled by their own ethical vision.In transforming history into fiction, Romantic writers have given their work a mythic quality thatdeepens the significance of plots,characters, and historical events.

  Clotel, a novel written in 1853 by William WellsBrown, is an early example from this romantic tradition. Clotel’s heroes are idealized, fighting slavery through superhuman action. For Brown, the Black man or woman was destined to move toward spiritualperfection, but was being blocked by the dehumanizing effects of slavery. The conflicts in Clotel are both an ongoing political one,between slaves and their owners, and a wider moral conflict between good and evil.

  More than a hundred years after Brown wrote,Black writers like Toni Morrison and David Bradley continue in the Romantic tradition. Both Morrison and Bradley write about Black characters who undertake the archetypalquest for selfhood. Their characters arecompelled to confront not only their own histories but the history of their cultures. Interestingly, both of these writers seem to be walking the same path as their characters, employing rhetorical devices and themes characteristic of old African legends.

  1.The author’s main purpose is to

  (A)describe the characteristics of the Romantic genre

  (B)introduce to the reader some excellent Black authors

  (C)analyze the artistic merits of select books

  (D)describe how a genre of writing was employed by certain authors

  (E)show how writing can influence culture

  2.An “idealized” hero, as described in paragraph 2, has which of the followingcharacteristics?

  (A)supernatural abilities

  (B)a friendly disposition

  (C)a deferential demeanor

  (D)a sharp mind

  (E)a desire to discover oneself

  3.It can be inferred from the passage that

  (A)William Wells Brown, Toni Morrison, and David Bradley are all Black Americans

  (B)Morrison and David Bradley are the most compelling Romantic writers

  (C)the Romantic genre of literature is one of the most celebrated

  (D)slavery is a subject commonly explored by all Black American writers

  (E)the Romantic genre of literature was created by Black Americans

  4.The “quest for selfhood” (paragraph 3) undertaken by Morrison’s and Bradley’s characters is best described as an effort to

  (A)achieve spiritual perfection

  (B)gain the acceptance of one’s ancestors

  (C)understand both themselves and their peoples

  (D)convince themselves that they are virtuous

  (E)cast off the shackles of slavery

  5.The word “path” in paragraph 3 is a(n)

  (A)allusion

  (B)simile

  (C)metaphor

  (D)analogy

  (E)exaggeration

  6.Which of the following might the author discuss next?

  (A)other styles of writing utilized by Black authors

  (B)more recent Romantic books written by Black authors

  (C)famous modern Black authors and their works

  (D)other novels written by William Wells Brown

  (E)African authors writing in the Romantic tradition

  VocabularyLearning Section

  學術高頻詞匯：

  genre (文學、藝術、電影或音樂的)體裁、類型;

  mode 樣式;樣本、范例;

  characteristic 特征、特點、品質;

  harsh 嚴酷的;艱苦的、惡劣的;

  ethical 道德的、倫理的;

  vision 視野;想象;

  mythic 神話的=mythical

  deepen 加強，變強烈;

  significance 意義、含義;重要性;

  bedestined to 注定、預定

  perfection 完善、完美

  dehumanize 使喪失人性、使無人性

  de-否定、相反;除去

  ongoing 持續存在的;仍在進行的、不斷發展的;

  conflict (～between Aand B)沖突、爭論;

  undertake 承擔;從事;負責;

  archetypal典型的——[引申]archetype 典型

  confront 使遇到、使面對

  rhetorical 修辭的

  device (使做某事更容易一些的)特殊方法、手段

  rhetoricaldevice 修辭手法

  legend 傳說、傳奇;

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