1. Owen
Writer; born in New York on April 3, 1783. He was frail and sickly in his childhood and dropped out of school at the age of 16. He studied law in several law firms, but he had no interest in law. He loved literature and wandering. In 1804, he went to Europe to recuperate due to illness. He visited France, Italy and the United Kingdom. He once wanted to become a painter. After returning to China in 1806, he worked as a lawyer in Virginia, and later helped his two brothers run the import business. At this time, he was engaged to Matilda, the daughter of lawyer Hoffmann. She died early in 1809; later, although he had several relationships, he always lived a single life. In 1807, he, his brother William and others co-founded an irregular periodical, "Miscellaneous", and began his literary creation activities, revealing his humor, wit and implicit satirical talents.
Irving's first important work was "The Foreign History of New York" (1809). For the next 10 years, except for a short-term military post in 1814 during the Anglo-American War, he has been helping his brother in business. In 1815, Owen went to Liverpool, England, to work in the branch opened by his brother; in 1818, the branch closed down due to the economic depression, and Owen stayed in England to make a living by writing.
2. Cooper, J. F
Novelist. Born on September 15, 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey. When he was 2 years old, his family moved to Cooperstown, New York. He was deeply attracted by the nearby lakes, forests and legends about the Indians. In 1806, he learned sailing on a merchant ship, and later participated in shipbuilding work at a naval base on the shores of Lake Ontario, and was once appointed a naval captain. In 1811, he resigned from the Navy, married the daughter of a landowner, and settled in Cooperstown. Started writing novels at the age of 31. The first novel "Alert" was published at his own expense in 1820 and was very unsuccessful. Encouraged by his wife, he changed direction and wrote what he believed "should be a purely American, patriotic-themed book", The Spy. The novel became popular after its publication in 1821. Later, he wrote "The Pioneers" (1823), which reflects frontier life, and "The Helmsman" (1824), which reflects sailing life. He created three different types of novels in the history of American literature, namely the revolutionary historical novel "The Spy" and "Frontier Adventure". The novel "The Pioneers" and the sea adventure novel "The Helmsman".
In 1826, he served as the American consul in Lyon, France, and traveled to Italy and England. In addition to writing maritime adventure novels, he also wrote a trilogy reflecting European life: "The Assassin" (1831), "The Black Religion" (1832) and "The Executioner" (1833), showing the influence of religious power and feudal power. The rise of capitalism was preceded by decay and decline.
The novels "Homeward Bound" and "The Face of Home" (1838), written after returning to China in 1835, not only satirized American society, but also satirized the hypocrisy and foolishness of some characters in Cooperstown, and were therefore well received. Public opinion attack. In his later years, he even supported the United States' war of aggression against Mexico. Died on September 14, 1851.
Cooper wrote more than 50 novels and other books during his 30-year creative career. His most accomplished works, such as the five-part "Leatherstocking Tales", had a great influence on American western novels. It still has many readers.
3. Emerson, R. w．
Thinker, prose writer, poet. Born on May 25, 1803 in Boston into a priest family. Died in Concord, Massachusetts on April 27, 1882. Graduated from Harvard College at the age of 17. He entered Harvard Divinity School in 1826 and was allowed to preach the following year. In 1828, he became the pastor of the Second Church in Boston, belonging to the Unitarian sect that was dominant in New England at that time. Later, because he did not agree with some of the teachings of this sect, he gave up the priesthood and traveled to Europe in 1833. He visited Randall, Coleridge, Wordsworth, etc., the pioneers of the Romantic movement, and became close friends with Carlyle. And was deeply influenced by Kant's transcendental philosophy. After returning to China, he published "On Nature" in 1836. This book contains the germ of almost all his important thoughts.
On August 31, 1837, Emerson delivered a speech titled "On American Scholars" at an American college fraternity, criticizing the money worship in American society where the soul is subordinate to money and the phenomenon of capitalist division of labor that alienates people into objects. , emphasized the value of human beings; he proposed that the task of scholars is to freely and bravely reveal the truth from the surface in order to inspire, improve and guide people; he called for the promotion of national self-esteem and opposed blindly following foreign doctrines. This speech was a sensation and had a significant impact on the rise of American national culture. It was hailed by Holmes as "our ideological declaration of independence."