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1、The Virtues of Ambition,Introduction to the Author,Joseph Epstein(1937-), noted essayist,short story author and novelist, was born in Chicago and grew up in Rogers Park. He then attended the University of Chicago and is now a promineng member of the literature faculty at Northwestern University. He
2、is a teacher in the acclaimed prose, writing fiction, as well as literature classes on Henry James, Willa Cather, and Joseph Conrad. He won the 1998 harold Washington Literary Award for the most prominent man or women of letters in Chicago.,Perhaps one of the cleverest writers of our times, Epstein
3、specializes in the personal or familiar essay. His insightful and penetrating observations and wry prose combine to make him one of the most enjoyable contemporary authors. He has also written short fiction, as well as a number of works of literary criticism. His works: Divorced in America, 1974 Amb
4、ition,1980 Plausible Prejudices, 1985 The Middle of My Tether Family Territory,Introdution to the Text,Is ambition good or bad? There are those who argue that ambition is often evil; that “dreams of glory” ( in the words of the author) too often result in selfishness, rivalry, corruption, and a gene
5、ral lack of moral standards. If you are truly ambitious, then your goal whether fame, wealth, or power comes before everything else, including your family, other people, and even your own moral values. Hitler is one well-known example of the evils of ambition, and one neednt look far to find other e
6、xamples among both public figures and perhaps even our own acquaintances.,On the other hand, examples of ambition also include people working for the good of others such as Martin Luther King and Ghandi. Epstein argues that far from being an evil, ambition is in fact a virtue and necessary for the f
7、unctioning of society. He argues that ambition involves much more than just “dreams of glory” it also includes the work and discipline to make those dreams come true. Ambition, says Epstein, is critical for both great leaders and the more humble members of the middle class. Rather than being an evil
8、, ambition is something that brings progress and life to society.,The structure of the text,Part 1 (para.1-3): None of this seems a sufficient cause for driving ambition under the counter. Part 2 ( para.4-5):What is the worst that can be said about ambition. Part 3 ( para.6-7): There is a heavy note
9、 of hypocrisy in this. Part 4 ( para.8-11): To discourage ambition is to discourage dreams of greatness. Part 5 ( para.12-13): How unrelievedly boring life would be.,Language Points,Rorschach word (line 1, Para. 1) =Rorschach inkblot test, which was developed in 1921 by Swiss psychiatrist Herman Ror
10、schach (1844-1922). He believed that people reveal their personality traits and unconscious thoughts by how they interpret inkblot designs. Psychologists administer the test by showing subjects a series of ten inkblot cards, asking them to describe what they see, and questioning them about their res
11、ponses. Rorschach words refer to words that have the feature of revealing a great deal about people when they define them.,Line 1-2, para.1,define it and you instantly reveal a great deal about yourself. If you define ambition according to your personal understanding, you will reveal a lot about you
12、rself, your dreams, your desires, your values, your philosophy, etc.,Line 2-5, para 1.,Even that most neutral of works, Websters, in its Seventh New Collegiate Edition, gives itself away, defining ambition first and foremost as “ an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power.” Even that most neutral of
13、dictionaries, websters, in its seventh New Collegiate edition, shows its biased interpretation of ambition, its first definition of ambition being “ an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power.”,give itself away: reveal itself e.g. The swindler gave himself away when he was asked to establish his iden
14、tity. She really likes him and thinks no one knows, but the look on her face when I mentioned his name gave her away.,Lines 5-7, para 1,Ardent immediately assumes a heat incommensurate with good sense and stability, and rank, fame, and power have come under fairly heavy attack for at least a century
15、. The word “ardent” immediately takes on a desire disproportionate to good sense and stability, and rank, fame, and power have been severely criticized for at least a century.,Be commensurate with: match sth. in size, quality, or length of time E.g. The salary will be commensurate with age, experien
16、ce and position. Be commensurable to/with: can be measured by the same standard as E.g. Their achievements are not commensurable.,Lines 8-11, para. 1,One can, after all, be ambitions for the public good, for the alleviation of suffering, for the enlightenment of mankind, though there are some who say that these are precisely the ambitious people most to be distrusted. Surely one can strive to be successful, rich and powerful in order to help ease human suffering and enlighten mankind,
