Transcript of Mr. Lawrence BLITZ Week: Day 2. American Literature is exactly what it sounds like literature that...
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- Mr. Lawrence BLITZ Week: Day 2
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- American Literature is exactly what it sounds like literature
that is specific to America. So what exactly does that mean?
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- The history of American Lit. begins with the 1 st
Americanswhich are who? Literature is told through the oral
tradition (whats the problem here?) Works largely consist of origin
myths, legends, chants, and other stories Spiritual forces show up
in water, land, animals, etc. which shows a major theme in Native
American literaturereverence for nature.
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- The next period goes from the people that were already here to
the people that discovered America. This period is called the
Exploration Period. The main writers during this time were
explorers (Christopher Columbus, John Smith, William Bradford) who
mainly wrote their accounts down in diaries, journals, and
histories. Many of which are more fiction than fact.
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- The Early Colonial Period the main writers were Puritans which
is why this age is often referred to as Puritanism. Puritan life
focused on two thingsGod and work. They lived what we would
consider to be lame lives from the way they dressed to their
conversations. The main writers from the Puritan age: Edward Taylor
Huswifery, Anne Bradstreet To My Dear and Loving Husband, and
Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
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- Early American Fiction features the birth of two unique
narratives. The captivity narrative are stories of people captured
by "uncivilized" enemies. The narratives often include a theme of
redemption by faith in the face of the threats and temptations of
an alien way of life. The most famous of these being Mary
Rowlandsons Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary
Rowlandson.
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- The second unique genre is the slave narrative which is an
autobiographical account of life as a slave. The most famous of
these are The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas: An American Slave, and
Up from Slavery (by: Booker T. Washington)
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- The Revolutionary Period produced some of Americas finest
political and philosophical writings. It also marked a movement
into what is known as the Age of Reason or Age of Enlightenment.
Key works of this period focus more on reason and common sense over
tradition, scientific investigation over dependence on religious
doctrine, and democracy over monarchy.
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- The major writers and works of the Revolutionary Period are:
Benjamin Franklins Autobiography and Poor Richards Almanac, the
writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Patrick Henry
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- As you can tell the Revolutionary Period did not produce much
creativity in its writings with the exception of one
standoutPhillis Wheatley. Phillis Wheatley was a slave purchased by
John Wheatley who was lucky enough to be taught to read. She was
well versed in the classics (Shakespeare, mythology, the Bible,
etc.)
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- On Being Brought from Africa to America 'Twas mercy brought me
from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand That
there's a God, that there's a Saviour too: Once I redemption
neither sought nor knew. Some view our sable race with scornful
eye, "Their colour is a diabolic die." Remember, Christians,
Negro's, black as Cain, May be refin'd, and join th' angelic
train.
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- This is where American fiction begins to become unique and
develop a truly American voice. Romantic writings focus on feelings
and the individual. Characters in these works are often heroic and
larger than life. They strive to find their identity in hostile and
lonely settings. Romantics believe in individualism and that
manifests itself in the beauty of nature and the power of
imagination.
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- In the early Romantic we see writers such as James Fennimore
Cooper (The Last of the Mohicans), Washington Irving (Rip Van
Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and The Devil and Tom Walker),
Edgar Allan Poe (The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, etc.), Nathaniel
Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter), Herman Melville (Moby Dick).
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- A crucial literary development occurred during the Romantic
Period called transcendentalism. This movement started with the
thoughts of philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and it was the belief
that the world and God were one. According to Emerson each persons
soul was a part of nature and therefore it was identical to God.
And that man can reach a God-like state through his own genius,
imagination, self- reliance, and connection to nature. Emerson
fully explains the principles of Transcendentalism in his essay
Nature
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- Emerson had a protg named Henry David Thoreau who was also a
transcendentalist. In his book Walden he describes the joy he took
living in his cabin on Walden Pond depending on no one but himself
for survival. In 1844 Emerson wrote an essay The Poet in it he
claimed that we were in need of a truly American poetic voice we
were too much like England. This essay changed the course of
American Poetry forever!
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- Free Verse Free Style
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- The last great writer of The Romantic Period is normally
considered to be Harriet Beecher Stowe. She wrote a book called
Uncle Toms Cabin which shocked America by presenting the horrors of
slavery told through the eyes of a white woman.
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- Realism and Naturalism usually begins with the Civil War and
ends with WWI. Realism is the exact opposite of Romanticism. There
is nothing fantastic about it. The characters, settings, themes,
plots are all realistic. Realism and Naturalism reflect the daily
life and language of American life. Characters in the these stories
have both virtues and vices and reflect a society that is far more
industrialized and urban than the agricultural society seen in
Romanticism.
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- The fiction writer realism has to offer is Samuel Clemens who
wrote under the pseudonym Mark Twain. His classic The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn brings readers face to face with the issues of
slavery, education, morality. However Twain does this by using
humor, a realistic plot, and regionalism)
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- Other famous novelists of Realism include William Dean Howells,
Henry James, and Edith Wharton. These writers produced works that
portray wealthy Americans who have to deal with their own spiritual
blindness, selfishness, and greed. Sometimes they come out of it
okay as in Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham. Which tells the story
of a wealthy business man who chooses bankruptcy over
immorality.
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- Toward the end of this period in the late 1800s and early 1900s
we see what are called Naturalistic writers. Naturalism focuses on
deep social problems caused by industrialization, a loss of
morality, alienation, and over crowded cities. The concentrated on
the lives of the poor and the outcasts. And the overwhelming
environmental forces that alter a persons ability to make the best
decisions.
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- Famous writers and works of Naturalism include: Jack London
(The Call of the Wild), Stephen Crane (The Red Badge of Courage and
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets), Theodore Dreiser (An American
Tragedy).
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- This period shows a wide range of themes and characters largely
in part because of all the challenges America was facing (WWI, the
Great Depression, and WWII). In this periods you see themes such as
the horrors of war, racism, innocence, disillusionment, the
consequences of greed and materialism, and loneliness vs.
love).
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- Famous writers include: F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby),
Ernest Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea),William Faulkner (As I
Lay Dying, Absalom, Absalom!)
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- Here you also see the Social Protest writers John Steinbeck (Of
Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath), Sinclair Lewis (Babbit, It Cant
Happen Here). The Harlem Renaissance also falls here with writers
like Richard Wright (Native Son), Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes
Were Watching God), Langston Hughes (I Too, Sing America, Harlem),
Loraine Hansberry (A Raisin in the Sun).
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- Here you see EVERYTHINGthis is the literary period that America
is in now. Writers are influenced by the Cold War, the Civil Rights
Movement, drugs, religion, globalization (Im tired of typingjust
make note everything!!!)
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- Metafiction-the blending of fiction and non-fiction
Existentialism-literature that focuses on extreme despair Magical
Realism-literature in which magic (like ghosts) is viewed as
something everyday to the characters
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- Here you see many writers from other cultures burst onto the
American literature scene. Hispanics like Sandra Cisneros (House on
Mango Street) and Rudolfo Anaya (Bless Me, Ultima). And members of
the Asian community such as Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club) and Maxine
Hong Kingston (The Warrior Woman).
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- Good Luck Class of 2012 GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!