Over the course of the semester, we have read book length works from following authors: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fenimore Cooper, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Fanny Fern. In addition, we have read short pieces related to the Transcendentalist Movement by Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Ellery Channing, Mary Moody Emerson, Amos Bronson Alcott, and Orestes Brownson.
With the exception of Longfellow's later works, all of the texts that we read cover a span of roughly thirty years time, from the 1820s through the 1850s. More narrowly, The House of the Seven Gables (1851), Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Israel Potter (1854 - 1855), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), Ruth Hall (1855), and The Courtship of Miles Standish (1858) were all written within a seven year time. F.O. Matthiessen in his seminal work The American Renaissance identified the writing from the 1850s alone, which the texts above represent merely a briefly sample, as the American Renaissance, the first definitive outpouring of American art.
My question is the following: looking at all of these works, what are some of the definitive characteristics that we find in these works, and do these texts have overarching thematic and stylistic elements that are distinctly "American" or define this period in American society? In answering the question, try to reference specific works.
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I believe there are several characteristics that make these novels "American," and some even make the novels have something in common. One of the characteristics seen throughout the majority of these novels is the idea of male power over women, which actually fits in with the American society quite nicely. Although women today now have a greater role in soceity and more rights, it is still a majorly male dominated society. With the exception of certain moments, like in Ruth Hall when she stood up to her boss when leaving the job or when Hepzibah held her ground against the Judge in House of the Seven Gables, the male dominance was there.
ReplyDeleteThe novels also had similar characteristics with themes. Pym, Israel Potter, and some of Longfellow's poems, support travel narratives. Uncle Tom's Cabin and My Bondage and My Freedom along with (more) Longfellow poems, deal with slavery. The House of the Seven Gables, and The Pioneers both have a "Judge." These are only some similarities between the novels. I was only a little surprised they had these similarities because I wasn't sure what they would be about at first. But at the same time it makes sense because they were in the same time period.
Although some of the ideas are different and don't all go completely together, I believe they really do represent the "American way" because of the male dominance, but also because of some of the hardships that are faced.
Going off of Sam's comment about the presence of the Judge's in both The Pioneers and The House of the Seven Gables...I think this figure was representative of the struggle of America to establish its own form of democracy. The Judges had the air of corruption to them, particularly Judge Pyncheon, while Marmaduke Temple turned out to have good intentions. Perhaps this was an encouragement to the American people to be more discerning and critical towards political leaders as many people of the time could be opportunists.
ReplyDeleteThe search for identity was present in Israel Potter, in My Bondage and My Freedom (Douglass fighting for his rights as a freeman), The Pioneers( Oliver Effingham's struggle to be recognized as the true heir of the Temple property and the reclaimation of his family name) and The House of the Seven Gables (the revelation of Holgrave's family background).
There were conflicts in relation to human rights, natural rights, and slavery in The Pioneers (rights of the hunter versus society, rights of the Native Americans), and My Bondage and My Freedom.Uncle Tom's Cabin discussed the rights of all people,the slaves and the free, The House of the Seven Gables focused on inheritance rights/property rights,Israel Potter was on a lifelong struggle to be recognized as an American soldier, and Ruth Hall had to reclaim the right to care for her children.
Questions of morality/religion/destiny were present in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (is Providence guiding our course?), My Bondage and My Freedom ( Will slave holders pay for their sins? Can rebellion be justified under the Christian faith?), Uncle Tom's Cabin addressed the morality of Christianity, claims of the bible, eternal salvation/eternal damnation, forgiveness, redemption, personal responsibility, Uncle Tom's spiritual trials and martyrdom, Eva's saintliness. The heroine in Evangeline found solace in the Quakers after testing out several other denominations (Norman Catholic, Jesuits), John Alden in "Miles Standish" battled with his conscience and his loyalty to God and state, Longfellow's poems often reflect on the afterlife, and the transcendentalists tried to find God in themselves and in nature. In The Pioneers, two depictions of heaven were compared (John Mohegan's heaven vs. the Christian heaven).
Travel and adventure was a big theme in Pym, Evangeline, and Israel Potter. Mystery and intrigue wove through The House of the Seven Gables, The Pioneers, Uncle Tom's Cabin (Legree's superstition about his mother), and even "Miles Standish" with Miles coming "back from the dead".
Violence and racism was another theme present in the Indian conflicts mentioned in Miles Standish and The Pioneers, Pym included conflict with the natives on the island, and of course the My Bondage and My Freedom and Uncle Tom's Cabin portrayed the brutal realities of the treatment of slaves. Israel Potter also points a finger at the senseless, random violence in military battles on land and sea.
Wow! After this examination I don't know how to draw it all together... The establishment of identity and rights is a big theme that could be identified as an "American" idea, because of the struggle of the young nation to find its place in the world and the issues of slavery and western expansion that were not occurring in Europe.
I think I am going to have to process all of this before I can draw any more conclusions... Can somebody help out??
I think what is most distinctly American about the works we have read is that they all contain a desire of some sort, whether it be a desire for independence (Ruth Hall), freedom and adventure (Israel Potter and Arthur Gordon Pym), spiritual freedom (the Transcendentalists), or even just physical freedom (Douglass and Stowe, which, of course, was also more than just physical freedom). The sense I got most from the works of this course is freedom, and that's very American, then and now.
ReplyDeleteI also agree whole heartedly with what Kelly said, about America being a male- run country. That applies to not only women, from that time period and our own, but it also can apply to the slavery period, as we saw in two of the works this semester. There's always a bit of an unequal playing field in the novels, with a huge difference in the depiction of women and men.
In general, I think the Romanticism period was very definitive, and everything we read this semester really enforces that. Like I said earlier, I think it's the overwhelming desires for adventure, freedom, and new artistic outlets, that really defines the time period.
I believe that the one thing that literally every book we've read this have in common is the idea of freedom. The desire for or some sense of freedom was present in every single work we read. I'm not saying that all were unified in their main plots by this, but a sub-plot or some other minor element always seemed to address freedom. For example, in "Arthur Gordon Pym," Pym's primary goal is to explore and travel the world. And when is one freer than when he or she is unencumbered by authority and is free to travel where he or she pleases? Or maybe Natty Bumppo, who more or less just wants to be left alone, free (there's that word again) to live his life as he chooses.
ReplyDeleteFreedom is even a theme in the more serious works of the semester. Frederick Douglass wanted freedom from slavery, to be his own man. He wanted to throw off the shackles of slavery. The Harris's in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," flee to Canada in order to escape slavery as well. Even Uncle Tom brings freedom, though it is spiritual freedom (as in the case of Sambo and Quimbo) rather than physical freedom.
Even Ruth Hall adheres to this freedom that the characters of the other works desire so much. The only difference? She does not actively pursue freedom herself. Her objective is never blatantly "I want to be free" so much as "I want to get out of poverty." Technically, that is freedom, however, it is not Ruth's specific goal. And she does achieve freedom. She becomes financially independent and does not require a husband for anything.
Just as America wanted freedom in it's founding, the writers of the romantic period wanted to keep that freedom. This desire is strongly reflected in their works and is likely a window into the popular mood of the time.
Not to sound too much like Osei, but I also noticed freedom as a constant theme in everything we've read. There are the obvious examples like My Bondage and My Freedom and Uncle Tom's Cabin, which deal with slavery and being freed from the slave system. I noticed many instances in The Pioneers where freedom was a theme. At the end of the novel, it comes to the point where Natty is trying to defend his freedom and live the life he wants to live in his little niche outside of the town.
ReplyDeleteIn a more subtle way, The Courtship of Miles Standish has a theme of freedom. John Alden debates about whether or not he should act on his feelings for Priscilla or obey Standish's request. This inner debate is an example of Alden trying to have the freedom to do what he wants to do.