The American Tradition in Literature

The Big Questions

• How did we get to where we are today?

• What does it mean to be an American?

From here

To here

Puritanism

Puritanism

After Columbus, Europeans first explored the New World for:1. a faster route to the Far East2. precious metals and jewels3. the Fountain of Youth

By the end of the 16th century, Europeans began to be interested in establishing settlements.

People who settled in North America sought:1. land2. good wages3. religious freedom

The Puritan way of life was based on the following beliefs:1. God's grace (predestination); each evildoer provided a visible lesson to teach

others to resist temptation.2. a simple, purified religion3. a divine mission (A City Upon A Hill)

American Puritanism as a pervasive way of life lasted one century.

The New England Puritan generally wrote for instruction or religious inspiration.

Puritanism:1. had its beginnings in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I2. aimed to purify the Church of England of all traces of Catholicism in liturgy,

theology, and church organization.3. sought to return to the values of early Christianity, the recognition of the

Bible as the sole source of religious authority, and the establishment of a theocracy.

Unsuccessful attempts to impose their beliefs on the Church of England brought persecution upon the Puritans and led to the migration of many to Europe and America.

The government they envisioned in America was not intended to provide religious freedom for all.

Puritanism

However, a number of paradoxes in their lives soon helped to moderate the fanaticism of the early founders. For example, they encouraged tradesman and craftsmen to live among them without regard to religious conviction because their skills were needed if the community was to prosper.

Their preachers were highly educated men, who supported their points with precise reasoning, yet the Puritan faith was basically superstitious and irrational.

The Puritan vision of America as a divinely appointed land is linked to: 1. the "American Mission"2. "Manifest Destiny"3. "The American Dream"

Puritanism

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”

What can welearn aboutthe Puritans from this story?

The Puritan View of Nature

The Puritans who arrived in America in 1620 held vastly different attitudes toward the natural world than we do today.

For example, they feared the American wilderness for some very practical reasons:

1. Most Puritans came from an area in England that was not densely forested.

2. They were also afraid of the wild animals that inhabited the American wilderness. They were not accustomed to seeing mountain lions and bears, for example.

3. They were also afraid of the Native Americans who inhabited the wilderness.

Practical Fears

The Puritan View of Nature

Spiritual Fears

In addition to their practical reasons for fearing the American wilderness, the Puritans’ fears were also rooted in their religious and spiritual beliefs.

For example, in ancient Hebrew, the words “wilderness” and “desert” roughly translated the same way. The “desert” was a place of spiritual temptation.

In the New Testament, when Christ wandered for 40 days and 40 nights, he wandered in the desert. During this time, by whom was Christ tempted?

Consequently, the early Puritans viewed the American wilderness as a place of spiritual temptation.

After all, the wilderness was already occupied by the “Red Men,” pagans whom the Puritans believed were “devilish.”

Therefore, when a young, Puritan man, like Goodman Brown, decides to take a walk into the forest on a dark night, who do you think he is likely to encounter?

Hawthorne’s “House of the Seven Gables” in Salem, Massachusetts

The Revolutionary Period

The Revolutionary Period

The leading American writers of the period concerned themselves with:1. science2. ethics3. government

Characteristic of the Age of Reason is emphasis on order and moderation.

The growth of American culture between 1763 and 1789 took the following forms:1. an American acting company performing American plays.

2. American painters (Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull) achieving success and fame in Europe.

3. the opening of museums.

American Painters of the Revolutionary Period

John Singleton Copley’s painting of Paul Revere

John Trumbull’s painting of George Washington

American Painters of the Revolutionary Period

Gilbert Stuart’s painting of George Washington

Note: Notice that many earlyAmerican paintingswere portraits offamous Americans.

Copley, Trumbull, and Stuart were thefirst Americanpainters to gain a reputation in Europe.

Romanticism

Between 1789 and 1837, the United States experienced:1. the Industrial Revolution2. territorial expansion3. development of a national literary culture

During the same period, America experienced a growth of nationalism which had its sources in:

1. a second war with England (1812)2. rapid industrialization3. a centralized political system

During this period, America grew most spectacularly through the Louisiana Purchase.

The new country was bound together physically--as well as politically and economically--through:

1. early railroads2. canals3. steamboats

About 1800, there developed in European literature a shift from the classic to Romantic.

Classicism emphasized:1. reason over imagination2. the social over the personal3. the common over the individual

The following American writers were interested in developing a national literature:1. James Fenimore Cooper2. William Cullen Bryant3. Washington Irving

However, Edgar Allan Poe was an exception. He did not care to write stories that were considered “uniquely American.”

As in Europe, Romanticism placed central importance upon the emotions and upon the individual.

Edgar Allan Poe is considered the most completely Romantic of our early writers.

Washington Irving used legends and folklore to illustrate American character types and the dramatic possibilities of the American scene.

The American poet who became our first national spokesman for a new "religion of nature" was William Cullen Bryant.

Our first major American novelist, who turned to the frontier for the setting of his most popular novels, was James Fenimore Cooper.

The cherished American belief in individualism and self-development was hindered by both poverty and lack of education.

1. The idealization of rural life.2. Enthusiasm for the wild, irregular, or grotesque in nature and art.3. Unrestrained imagination.4. Enthusiasm for the uncivilized or "natural"5. Interest in human rights.6. Sympathy with animal life.7. Sentimental melancholy.8. Emotional psychology.9. Places the individual at the center of art.

Characteristics of Romanticism1800-1860

Neo-Classical vs. Romantic

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello

Thomas Cole: “The Falls of Kaaterskill

“Rip Van Winkle”by

Washington Irving

Where does “Rip Van Winkle”take place?

The Catskill Region

Why is “Rip Van Winkle” an example of a Romantic story?

It wasn’t until the late 17th and early 18th centuries that Americans started to travel to the interior of the United States. Practically speaking, as American roads improved, so did the opportunities to travel.

While the early Puritans may have been afraid of the American wilderness, Americans living during the first Industrial Revolution sought refuge in nature. In fact, the natural world provided comfort and relaxation from an urban, industrial life, plagued by terrible working conditions and widespread use of child labor.

To the Romantic writers of this time, Nature provided an escape, and, religiously speaking, if one wanted to be closer to God, he or she could witness God most vividly by seeing his ultimate creation. The Romantics viewed cities as manmade and artificial, but Nature was the creation of God.

This story takes place in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. It is a legendary story of a man who falls asleep for 20 years, and, when he wakes up, he discovers that two, monumental things have happened while he was asleep.

1. He has slept through the American Revolutionary War.2. His wife, Dame Van Winkle, has died.

It is important that you understand that Romantic literature is often escapist literature. Much of it is based upon legend and folklore.

The Romantic writers tended to emphasize two things: Nature and the individual.

This is clearly shown in the Romantic painting that introduces this section, and the one that accompanies it on the next page.

Thomas Cole: America’s leading Romantic painter

Washington Irving HomeTarrytown, New York

Why is Edgar Allan Poe’s the “Black Cat” considered a Romantic story?

Edgar Allen Poe is considered our most completely Romantic writer. However, what makes Poe a Romantic is greatly different from what makes Washington Irving, author of “Rip Van Winkle,” a Romantic.

Poe does not necessarily emphasize Nature in his stories. However, many of the characteristics of Romanticism are represented in his stories. For example:

1. Enthusiasm for the wild, irregular, or grotesque in nature and art.2. Unrestrained imagination.3. Emotional psychology.4. Places the individual at the center of art.

Poe clearly places the individual at the center of his stories, albeit his characters are typically mad or crazy. In this respect, he examines the “emotional psychology” of his characters, most of whom are wild, irregular, and grotesque.

Today, we are not as shocked by Poe’s stories as were Americans in the mid-1800s, but Poe’s “unrestrained imagination” was very unique for its time.

Edgar Allan Poe House: Baltimore, Maryland

Transcendentalism

Amos Bronson Alcott

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Louisa May Alcott

Henry David Thoreau

Concord, Massachusetts: Home of the Transcendentalists

Home of Henry David Thoreau Home of Nathaniel Hawthorne

Home of BronsonAnd Louisa May

Alcott

Home of Ralph Waldo

Emerson

Transcendentalism

As the chief intellectual movement of the period, transcendentalism contained elements of:

1. religion2. philosophy3. literary criticism

A key word--and concept--of transcendentalism is intuition.

Believing in the goodness of the natural world and the perfectibility of human beings, transcendentalists tended to view evil as something that did not exist.

Division and Discovery

The Civil War and the FrontierThe years between 1860 and 1890 witnessed all of the following in America:

1. a long civil war2. expansion to the Pacific3. enormous economic growth

All of the following statements about the Civil War are correct:1. Many people on both sides thought it would end quickly.2. It actually lasted four blood-filled, terrible years.3. There was fear of foreign intervention.

The war's devastations and sacrifices brought one positive result, the eradication of certain sectional differences.

During the period, cities grew hugely, and the nation's population doubled, primarily as a result of immigration from abroad.

Following the war, every section of America experienced:1. a great increase in social problems2. a widening gulf between rich and poor3. widespread corruption in politics

American Realism

Realism

At the end of the 19th century, the United States:1. was the most powerful nation in the Western

Hemisphere2. was becoming increasingly and importantly

industrialized3. was welcoming a great many immigrants

Realistic writers tended to be concerned with:1. city squalor2. struggling farmers3. bad working conditions

.Realistic literature was attacked bitterly for:

1. its depressing effect2. its vulgarity and decadence3. its stubborn, unflinching truthfulness

Why is the “Coup de Grace”considered a realistic story?

Above all, realistic stories tend to concentrate on the characters more than any other elements of the story. For example, this story is concerned largely with Captain Madwell and his relationship with Crede and Caffal Halcrow.

Realistic stories also tend to be unsentimental, and this is quite obvious in this story

Ambrose Bierce:author of the “Coup de Grace”

Naturalism

Naturalism

A major intellectual influence contributing to the development of Naturalism was the implication of Charles Darwin's idea of biological evolution.

The Naturalistic writers saw people as creatures acted upon by nature, the result of environment mainly.

Realistic or naturalistic writers felt that, whatever else they might be doing, they were first of all telling the truth.

Characteristics of NaturalismThe Naturalistic Era

from 1890-1940

View of man:

1) Animal in natural world- responds to environmental forces and internal stresses and drives which he has no control over and he cannot fully understand.

2) Man victim of destiny or fate- no free choice; people are essentially controlled by their genetics and environment.

Traits and Themes to look for:

- characters have no free choice- lower to middle class characters- not many heroes or villains- fate controls characters- more skeptical of man- stresses animalistic side of characters

Why is “Death of in the Woods” an example Naturalism?

Human vs. Animal

The main theme of the story, as described by the narrator, concerns Mrs. Grimes's aim to "feed animal life"—including both humans and animals. She spends her life trying to sustain other life forms.

In other words, she feeds the German farmer and his wife, her husband and son, and the animals on their farm, making no particular distinction between them.

The men in her life are crude, selfabsorbed, abusive, not significantly different from animals.

Mrs. Grimes is an outsider in the town; therefore it seems natural that she dies in the woods, surrounded by dogs. In turn, the dogs are endowed with civilized, almost human qualities.

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

How does this story fit into the American Tradition?

American Literature’s Sub-Categories

American Literature has often been concerned with the “minority voice.” Our big question is “What Does it Mean to be an American?” Consequently, there are many sub-categories of this question. In the case of “A Rose for Emily,” the question is “What Does it mean to be a Southerner.” While Miss Emily Grierson commits murder, she is pardoned by her town because she is upholding the social custom of the Old South. This story follows some of the characteristics or romanticism, but, in some respects, it also has many of the characteristics of a Gothic Horror Story.

Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland”

This story is a more contemporary story in which Tyler writes about the problems of suburban families dealing with the problems of disassociated young people. The story is realistic, because the emphasis is on the characters more than the plot.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

by Joyce Carol Oates

If you recall, our American Tradition unit began with “Young Goodman Brown,” a story about a young, Puritan man who walks into the forest and meets the devil. In our final story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,” we return to a similar theme. In this story, an innocent, young American girl confronts a man named Arnold Friend. Take out the rs, and she is symbolically confronting “An Old Fiend.”