文档介绍：会计学
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英文学名利场英文VanityFair
●Background
●Content
●Characters
●Literary significance and criticism
Historical Context
The novel is based on British upper-middle society in nineteenth century.
Britain has strong, developed industry and commerce, and merchants who became rich by exploiting colonists dominate the society.
Britain was at war with France, which is the battle of Waterloo.
All the people among the upper-middle society scrambled for fame, wealth and power.
Publication
Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1847–48, satirizing society in early 19th-century Britain.
The book's title comes from John Bunyan's allegorical story The Pilgrim's Progress. Vanity fair refers to a stop along the pilgrim's progress: a never-ending fair held in a town called Vanity, which is meant to represent man's sinful attachment to worldly things.
Content of the novel
Amelia Sedley, of good family, and Rebecca Sharp, an orphan, leave Miss Pinkerton's academy on Chiswick Mall to live out their lives in Vanity Fair.
Rebecca first attempts to enter the sacred domain of Vanity Fair by inducing Joseph Sedley, Amelia's brother, to marry her. Rebecca takes a position as governess at Queen's Crawley, and marries Rawdon Crawley. But because of his marriage, Rawdon's rich aunt disinherits him.
As a friend of George Osborne, William Dobbin becomes the instrument for getting George to marry Amelia. George dies at Waterloo. Amelia would have starved but for William Dobbin's anonymous contribution to her welfare.
Both Rebecca and Amelia give birth to sons. When she becomes the favorite of the great Lord Steyne, she accumulates both money and diamonds. But she hides much of her loot. In the meantime innocent Rawdon draws closer to Lady Jane, wife of Rawdon's older brother, Pitt, who has inherited from the rich aunt. When Rawdon discovers Rebecca in her treachery, he left her.
Because he