Periods of American Literature

KOCAELI UNİVERSITY FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND LETTERS DEPARTMANT OF WESTERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES FROM 1492 to 1860; DIFFERENT PERIODS OF AMERICAN LITERATURE AND PROMINENT ROLE OF JOURNEY MOTIF IN TEXTS Doğaç Hüseyin KUTLU, 090112062 AMERICAN LITERATURE FINAL EXAM ASSIGNMENT SUBMITTED TO: Gulbin Evren KIRANOGLU 9 January 2014 Introduction to History, Journey and Different Periods of American Literature Literature, is pieces of writing that are valued as works of art, especially novels, plays and poems (in contrast to technical books and newspapers, magazines, etc.) (Literature def.1). Though the term is discussed by so many literary critics and philosophers in history, the formal definition can be summarized as that one. Literary works make a great contribution to the history of humanity from the very early examples of its own kind. Not only the literature but also the curiosity as the basic instinct of human nature has inspired humanity to find new things for their benefits with explorations, reconnaissance and search. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the need of more knowledge and fund causes European countries to find the New World, America. When Christopher Columbus accidently found and made the first recorded discovery of America on 12 October, 1492, he was unaware of the fact that he was beginning a new era in human history, and that would radically change the course of history. Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain on August 3, hoping to discover a route, not a region for the sake of finding a new way to India, for their natural sources like silk, spices, because Ottoman Empire cut the way of the Silk Road and the Spice Road (McKinney 2008). Columbus with the support of Spanish Court, wanted the find a new route to India, but there was another unknown continent between Europe and India, is later called as America. After many journeys to these unknown continent, geographical discoveries appears on the stage of history that idea of colonialism spread between European Countries. Europeans thanks to many journeys, did not only discover the new world, but also the knowledge like in the Renaissance. At that point, the life in the New World; the discovery, the survival, the dream, the civilization, the order, the philosophy and many other important factors is narrated by the pen of many men and women authors of literature in America. In other words; the New World creates also a specific, new kind of literature, which is called as American Literature. Literature of America between 1492 and 1860 mainly divided into four periods which are Exploration Period, Early Colonial or Puritan Period, Revolutionary Period and Romantic Period in the Age of Transcendentalism (Raab 2006: 2, 11). To understand the main idea of journey to the New World, to understand the life, culture and history of the New World, major works of different periods in American Literature should be analysed very well. For these reasons, throughout the passages; the Journal of Christopher Columbus, The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz, A Model of Christian Charity by John Winthrop, “On Being Brought to Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley and “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson will be analysed in terms of prominent motif of journey to clarify the background history of American Literature with the aspects of different periods. A- The Narrative of Exploration and Columbus’s Journal “It is not hard to understand the appeal of Columbus as a totem for the new republic and the former subjects of George III. Columbus had found the way of escape from Old World tyranny. He was the solitary individual who challenged the unknown sea, as triumphant Americans contemplated the dangers and promise of their own wilderness frontier...as a consequence of his vision and audacity, there was now a land free from kings, a vast continent for new beginnings. In Columbus the new nation without its own history and mythology found a hero from the distant past, one seemingly free of any taint from association with European colonial powers. The Columbus symbolism gave America an instant mythology and a unique place in history, and their adoption of Columbus magnified his own place in history” (Wilford 1992: 252). In the light of journal of Christopher Columbus, the narrative of exploration and the prominent role the motif of journey will be explained on this passage that Columbus’s motivation turned into religious rather than financial throughout his journey in 15th Century. Though Columbus made four voyages to the New World, no words from his own tongue was saved that Bartolome de Las Casas made abstract of Columbus’s journal with Columbus’s observations in third person narration (Zamora 1993: 7). Between the years of 1492 to 1502, Columbus made four voyages to the New World. First of all; both of previous voyages of Columbus were disappointed that he could not settle a successful colony in the New World. He also could not find any gold or silver as a financial benefit that the journey of Columbus turned into religious rather than, as Spanish court wanted too, financial as Professor Kıranoglu says so. For example, in the First Voyage: To The West Indies, he discovered four islands of Caribbean Sea, nevertheless; he thought that he discovered India, so he returned to Spain with the confidence of reaching the East, but the reality is where he had gone was a new place for Europeans, it is the West. Secondly, on the third voyage he became more desperate that he thought; there was no real heaven on Earth, that’s why he called the place he discovered, as a “Terrestrial Paradise”. It is easily seen from his journey that, Columbus’s motivation became more religious than financial. In other words; while he thought that he discovered the East, in reality he discovered the West and while Spanish Court wanted him to discover rich places which contains gold, silver, silk and spices, Columbus just found the naïve natives of that new continent. As a typical colonizer attitude towards natives, Columbus thought to Christianise Native Americans, means cultural colonizing, but in that way also he could not succeed. Lastly, after the third voyage Columbus submits himself to the prophetic books of Bible and, neither had he found any gold or silver, nor he established a peaceful, successful colony. Columbus wanted to be hero, so; he needed to make voyages to success, and he was ambitious that he searched for new lands to achieve his goal, but to have a financial support for voyages, he had to convince the Queen of Spain, that’s why he developed the idea of “Terrestrial Paradise” and “Garden of Eden”. After the fourth voyage, he became miserable and died as an unsuccessful admiral. In short, Columbus never realized the magnificence of what he actually did find that the journey of Columbus’s motivation in the beginning was for financial, but in time because of the failures, it changed into religious one as Professor Kıranoglu says so. B- Analysing of The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz, Aztec Colonization Bernal Diaz’s great masterpiece; The Conquest of New Spain, is going to be analysed in this passage that the prominent role of journey in 16th Century, colonizing the Aztec civilization, is so associated with Diaz’s work. In 1568 Diaz’s text was published which contained the Conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortes, is narrated with the important events from the early 16th Century. Firstly, in The Conquest of New Spain, the basic motivation of Spanish Conqueror, Hernan Cortes, is frightening the natives which aims at achieving colonizing. For example, Cortes ordered gunners to load cannons with a big charge of powder, so they can make a great noise when it is fired, the aim of which is frightening and astonishing natives with technology. Cortes also gives commands to his soldiers to gallop their horses to dunes, so that he could easily make natives understand that they are insuperable. These messages greatly shows the typical colonizer attitudes towards natives. While Spanish Navy in the order of Hernan Cortes, had technologic guns, steels, horses, Aztecs had just the primitive arrows and bows. Secondly, one of the ambassador of Montezuma, the king of Aztec Civilization, wants a helmet from a soldier of Cortes, Spaniards wants to see the gold of them in return. Again as a typical attitudes towards natives, Spaniards uses native’s naivety against them and exploit them. As the journey of 16th century was about colonizing, of course while Spaniards were seeking for gold, sugar, tobacco, namely imperialistic manners, natives because of colonizing, were slaughtered, raped, and exploited. Lastly, another part of the Diaz’s work, Donna Marina, in her native name La Malinche appears on the work that her appearance shows another colonizing attitudes towards natives. Unlike Pocahontas, Donna Marina is mostly known with the betrayal of her own nation. From the Diaz’s narrative in his work, it is easily seen that to ingratiate herself with Cortes’s favour, Donna Marina betrays her own nation, help and tell the secrets of her civilization to Spaniards. In other words; native population did not have a unity or secrecy idea that they were so naïve. While Aztecs were physically massacred and slaughtered, like Donna Marina the civilization lost their identity and assimilated both physically and culturally that the motif of Cortes’s journey as a colonizer were successful in these perspective. All in all, masterpiece of Diaz, The Conquest of New Spain, as colonizer attitudes towards natives is full of references to the aim of the Cortes’s journey. C- Puritan Literary Journey and John Winthrop’s A Model of Christian Charity “The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us as His own people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than formerly we have been acquainted with. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, "the lord make it like that of NEW ENGLAND." For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world”(Winthrop 1630: 93,94). Thanks to the great contributions to American Literature, John Winthrop’s major work A Model of Christian Charity will be analysed in this passage that the journey of puritan colonialist from Europe to the New World in terms of religious motivation will be shown by referring with A Model of Christian Charity. John Winthrop was one of the successful leader in the puritan colonial life that in 1929 he founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While Winthrop was aboard the ship Arbella, he delivers the lay sermon A Model of Christian Charity. First of all, it is easily seen from Winthrop’s work, A Model of Christian Charity that their journey centred on the reason of religious motivation. Furthermore, because of the rising population, rising Catholicism and economic problems in Europe, Winthrop organized the great migration to the New World. In addition to that reason, with Congregational Puritans, puritans wanted to a free religious theocratic settlement and order of religious ideals in that new continent. Secondly, A Model of Christian Charity is a classic sermon in which Winthrop suggests to act as one body, one thought, rejoice, suffer and labour, together. In other words, to achieve to build an ideal theocratic settlement in the New World as the basic motif of journey, members of the Winthrop’s colony had to subordinate their individuality for the sake of their society. Lastly but most importantly, Winthrop in his work, A Model of Christian Charity, gives his ideas about the parallelism between “God of Israel” and “City upon a Hill”. While saying that “God of Israel is among us”, Winthrop tries to underline the fact that puritans are the chosen ones (Winthrop 1630, 94). Furthermore to that reason, Winthrop declares his ideals about the “City upon a Hill” with the aim of achieving that people of Massachusetts Bay Colony must reach God’s wishes, so that puritans could settle a city of everyone which is seen from everywhere with its own power. Consequently, as a puritan colonist, Winthrop underlines the prominent role of journey with religious idealist motivation in his major work, A Model of Christian Charity that the aim of founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony is for a theocratic, religious settlement in the New World. D- The Journey of a Slave; Phillis Wheatley and Analysis of “On Being Brought to 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, Negros, black as Cain, May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train (Wheatley 1773: 251). To understand one the major problem in the American History, especially in Revolutionary Period of Literature, Phillis Wheatley’s beautiful poem, “On Being Brought to Africa to America” will be analysed in this passage by referring the poem to the motif of slavery. Phillis Wheatley was the poet and first published African-American women writer who was brought to British-Ruled Boston on 1761 in a slave ship, The Phillis, from which she took her first name (Lewis 2007). She was raised by one of the wealthy family of Boston and thanks to her intelligence and manner, Phillis was raised more as a daughter of Wheatley family than as a slave. While her journey started as a common slave, it ends as a well-known poet in the history of American Literature. First of all, Wheatley in her poem, “On Being Brought to Africa to America” underlines one of the most important problem of Revolutionary Period’s America that she criticises slavery and inequality between black and white races. In the first two lines she says, it was grateful to know Christianity thanks to her enslavement but it was also “benighted”, because Wheatley knows the triangle trade. Moreover, in her poem Wheatley tries to prove that in eyes of the judgement of God, all of the races, especially black and white, are equal and in terms of individuality or intelligence, there is no pure race which has more capacity. Phillis Wheatley means that they are all equal On the other hand, in the last two lines, her tone is more revealed by using the word “Remember” that she underlines that Africans may not be perfect but neither so-called Christians, who enslave human beings because of their skin colour, are perfect. Phillis Wheatley as an African-American and as a previous slave knows the harsh conditions and difficulties of slaves’ lives that she criticises it cleverly in her poem. Thirdly, from the title it is easily understood that Wheatley refers her own experience by referring the racial tension in America during the 18th Century, Revolutionary Period. For example, by using the phrases like “diabolic die” and “sable race” in her poem, she addresses the problem of inequality among races and suggests Christianity to solve that conflict, in her point of view, Christianity is a proof that all people are equal regardless of their skin colour and thanks to her journey to Africa to America, Wheatley says metaphorically “I see it”. (Clinton 2005: 5, 6) Finally, Phillis Wheatley’s beautiful poem, “On Being Brought to Africa to America” underlines the major problem of slavery in 18th Century America that, Wheatley demonstrate her journey between the lines of her masterpiece. E- Age of Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature” and Spiritual Journey in 19th Century “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson will be analysed in this passage with the philosophy of transcendentalism that spiritual journey of Emerson will be shown in terms of the context of nature, commodity and language. Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centred on Ralph Waldo Emerson (Goodman 2013). Just like Romanticism in 19th century, in transcendentalism there is objection of rationalism and mind, so Transcendentalists mostly focus on the spirituality. Literal meaning of transcendentalism as Professor Kıranoğlu says so, is beyond limit and the material world. First of all, in “Nature”, Emerson identify the term nature as an experience of solitude. As for most of the Transcendentalist and Emerson, nature was the reflection of Oversoul and God that he says; “If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown!” which means that Nature is inherently good because it is symbolic of the spirit (Emerson 1836: 488). Secondly, commodity means in his work “Nature” that there is divine connection between nature and human and he says; “All the parts incessantly work into each other's hands for the profit of man. The wind sows the seed; the sun evaporates the sea;…and thus the endless circulations of the divine charity nourish man" (490). In other words; Emerson thinks that nature is alive surrounds and serves to humanity. Language, on the other hand; Emerson shows the relationship between nature and letters which means words represent objects in nature and those individual things connotes spiritual truths, then nature symbolizes spirituality. "Language is a third use which Nature subserves to man". First, he notes that words are signs of natural facts. For instance, "Right means straight; wrong means twisted. Spirit primarily means wind; transgression, the crossing of a line" (Leude 2008). Therefore; in terms of connection between nature and humanity, the term such as nature, commodity and language in Emerson’s nature should be understood clearly to understand Age of Transcendentalism. Conclusion; “Life is a journey, not a destination”(Emerson) In summary; as it is easily seen from the major works of the major authors between the years 1492 to 1860 in American Literature, the prominent role of journey differs in each periods and each authors. Columbus’s journey was about exploration, Cortes’s journey as a colonizer, Winthrop’s as puritan for religious freedom, Wheatley’s as a slave and black women and Emerson’s journey was as a transcendentalist spiritually. While their journeys differs from each other, their contributions to American Literature is considerable much. Works Cited Clinton, Porter Jacqueline. “Rhymes and Rhythms of Black History”. 2005. DAI 5, 6 (2005). Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Nature”. American Literature Coursepack. Gülbin Evren Kıranoğlu. American Literature ELL401. Kocaeli University, Kocaeli. Fall, 2013-14. 488-490. “Emerson, Ralph Waldo Quotes”. Goodreads. 11 Feb. 2008. <https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/12080.Ralph_Waldo_Emerson >. Goodman, Russell, "Transcendentalism", The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. (Fall 2013 Edition) Ed. Edward N. Zalta. <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/transcendentalism/>. Kıranoğlu, Gülbin Evren. American Literature ELL401 Course Notes. University of Kocaeli. Fall 2013. Lecture Notes. Leude, Bénédicte. “Transcendentalism at the Core of American Identity.” Online Posting. 9 Nov. 2008. World Religion Watch. <http://www.world-religion-watch.org/178-nature-by-ralph-waldo-emerson-transcendentalism-at-the-core-of-american-identity>. Lewis, John Johnson. “Slave Poet of Colonial America: A story of Her Life.” Online Posting. Womenshistory. 17 June 2007. <http://womenshistory.about.com/od/aframerwriters/a/philliswheatley.htm>. ‘’Literature’’ Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 6th ed. 2000. McKinney, Brennan. “The Age of Exploration: Causes and Results of European Exploitation of the Americas”. Online Posting. Yahoo Contributor Network. Dec 8, 2008. <http://voices.yahoo.com/the-age-exploration-causes-results-european-2279438.html>. Raab, Josef. A Survey of American Literature. Diss. U of Duisburg-Essen, 27 Oct 2006. 2-11. Wilford, John Noble. The Mysterious History of Columbus: An exploration of the man, the myth, the legacy. New York: Vintage, 1992. 252. Winthrop, John. A Model of Christian Charity. American Literature Coursepack. Gülbin Evren Kıranoğlu. American Literature ELL401. Kocaeli University, Kocaeli. Fall, 2013-14. 93-94. Wheatley, Phillis. “On Being Brought to Africa to America”. American Literature Coursepack. Gülbin Evren Kıranoğlu. American Literature ELL401. Kocaeli University, Kocaeli. Fall, 2013-14. 251. Zamora, Margarita. Reading Columbus. Berkeley: California UP, 1993. 7. Kutlu 11 Kutlu