American Literature

American Literature - Lesson 1
The History of
American Literature
(Part 1)
Introduction
Content:
Part 1: An overview of the history of American Literature

Part 2: Introductions to some representative writers and analyses of their typical
works
Recommended book:
An outline of American Literature (1986) by Peter B. High, Longman

Literary Elements
Setting
Plot (conflict and climax)
Character
Point of view and tone
Theme and Symbolism
Style (imagery and figurative language)
Stages and Trends
Historical context
Genre
Style
Content
Effect
Representative
Stages and Trends in the History of American Literature

Colonialism and Revolutionary Period (Beginnings to 1800)
Romanticism and Transcendentalism (1800- 1860)

Realism and Regionalism (1860-1910)
American Modernism (1910-1945)
Postwar Literature (1945-1970)
Contemporary Literature /Postmodernism (1970 to present)

Colonialism and Revolutionary Period
(From Beginnings to 1800)
Puritan Times (to 1750)
Historical context
Movement of Puritans from England to America for religious freedom.

Colonization of other people from Europe
Other immigrations
Genre
Sermons
Diaries
Personal narratives
Captivity narratives
Style: plain
Puritan Times (to 1750)
Content
Christian utopia
Relationship with God
Histories (especially of New England)
Puritan beliefs: community, original sin, and hard work
Effect
Being instructive
Reinforcing authority of Bible and Church
Representatives
John Winthrop (The History of New England)
Edward Johnson (The Wonder-working Providence of Sions Saviour in New England)
The Mathers (Remarkable Providences, Death Made Easy and Happy)

Rationalism/ Age of Enlightenment (1750-1800)
Historical context
Growing dissatisfaction with England and taxation without representation

Rebellion against England
Revolutionary War
Genre
Political pamphlets
Travel writing
Style: highly ornate

Rationalism/ Age of Enlightenment (1750-1800)
Content
national mission and American character

democratic utopia
use of reason
Effect
Pride and patriotism grow.

Print culture becomes a vehicle for the new nations democratic identity and
principles .
Proliferation of newspapers and magazines
Representatives
Benjamin Franklin (Dogood papers, The Way to Wealth)
Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence)

Romanticism and Transcendentalism
(From 1800 1860)
Romanticism (1800-1860)
Historical context
Expansion to 25 states by 1836

Technological developments (telegraph and the steam engine)
Voting rights to all free men in many states a shift in emphasis to common people.
Genre
poetry, short stories, novels

slave narratives
political writings
essays
Romanticism and Transcendentalism

(From 1800 1860)
Romanticism (1800-1860)
Content
imagination over reason
reverence for nature
supernatural/ mysterious writing
a focus on individuals feelings
Effect
fueling abolitionist movement
founding a developmental base for detective fiction
Sub-genre
Transcendentalism
Gothicism
Representatives
Washington Irving (Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hallow)
Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter)
Ralph Waldo Emerson (Nature)
Edgar Ellen Poe (The Pit and the Pendulum, The Black Cat)
Emily Dickinson (Hope is the thing with feathers, Poems of nature)

Romanticism
a trend in which people admire wild (not man-made) beauty and feelings (not thought)
Promotion of individualism
Celebration of natures beauty and its ability to enhance human spirituality
Interest in imagination
Interest in emotions
Transcendentalism
a movement of feelings and beliefs
intuition, imagination, and vision as the ways of understanding the world

nature as both a field of study and an inspiration to self-development
God seen everywhere, in man and in nature
interest in individualism and feelings

Gothicism
a focus on mystery
an emphasis on the supernatural forces
an emphasis on terror
an emphasis on ambiguity
depiction of physical and mental abnormality
lack of realism
Realism (1860-1900)
Historical context
Slavery
Civil War
Continuing Westward expansion
Genre
spirituals
slave narratives
political writing
poetry, short stories and novels
Sub-genre
Naturalism
Regionalism
Realism (1860-1900)
Content
abolition of slavery
common characters not idealized
local colour (Regionalism)
mans lack of control over his fate
more literature centred around the Midwest and the Far West
Effect
Social realism changing social problems
realistic fiction remaining popular today
Representatives
Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyers and Huckleberry Fin)
Jack London (Call of the Wild, White Fang, Sea Wolf)
O. Henry (The Last Leaf, The Gift of the Magi, One Thousand Dollars)
Realism
Definition: a literary technique considered as the faithful representation
of reality
Characteristics:
Depiction of reality in comprehensive detail
An emphasis on truth
More important role of characters
The subject of complex ethical choices
Plausible events
Separation from the sensational, dramatic elements
Comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact tone
Objectivity in presentation
Naturalism
Definition: a trend that attempts to apply scientific principles of
objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings
characters can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings.
there are the laws behind the forces that govern human lives.
Forces: instincts, passions, heredity, environment
Regionalism
Definition: fiction or poetry that focuses on specific features including
characters, dialects, customs, history, and topography of a particular
region/ area
Features:
stereotypical characters
stories revolving around the community
thematic conflict between urban ways and old-fashioned rural values
Modernism (1910-1945)
Historical context
World War I and World War II
Technological changes
Jazz Age conflicts developed between older, conservative generation

and young alienated generation
Great Depression
Expanded role of women in society
Genre
continuation of the same genres as in the past
Sub-genre: Harlem Renaissance

Style
free verse and stream-of-consciousness prose new styles
use of allusions
highly experimental (rejection of the artistic convention of the past)
irony as a signature technique
Modernism (1910-1945)
Content
reality not absolute but depending upon the point of view of the
observer
impersonal, alienating attitude
people not able to communicate effectively
grief over loss of the past (pre-war world)
Effect
American literature on the leading edge of worlds artistic achievement
Representatives
Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)
Earnest Hemingway (A Farewell to Arms)
William Faulkner (Soldiers Pay, The Sound and the Fury)
Gertrude Stein (Three Lives, The Making of Americans)
Contemporary Literature (From 1945-Present)
Historical context
Civil Rights Movement
JFKs assassination
Vietnam War
Growing media influence
Technological advances
Rethinking of our past at the beginning of 21 st century
Genre
continuation of the same genre as in the past
new styles: found poems, concrete poems
confessional poetry
performance poetry
Style
blurring of lines between fact and fiction
Defying classification
Contemporary Literature (From 1945-Present)

Content
life observed as the media present it
popular/mass culture
peoples identity shaped by cultural and gender attitudes
communication as a way to cope with problems
ethnicity and women
Effect
more multicultural literature included in anthologies
Representatives
Flannery OConnor (A Good Man is Hard to Find)
Mary McCarthy (The Company She Keeps)
John Updike (Bech: A Book)
TOM SAWYER
Characteristics
childish:
hate doing chore, especially at weekends
Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden.

easily be distracted
He began to think of the fun he had planned for this day, and his sorrow
multiplied.
be afraid of being teased by other boys
and they would make a world of fun of him for having to work -- the very
thought of it burnt him like fire.
consider thrown-away things as treasures
Tom was literally rolling in wealth.
mature
figure out the nature of human being
get things done in a strategic way

be a great actor
The Story of an Hour

The character of Mrs. Mallard
emotional and demonstrative
young but experienced
rebellious in inner thoughts
Symbols
Heart trouble: the problems of emotions
Her private room: a constraint life after marriage
Springtime: the beauty and the happiness of (marriage) life
The open window: the hope for freedom
Patches of blue sky: the new life with hope and opportunities
The name Mallard: freedom
The Last Leaf

The picture of the last leaf
Why is the picture of the ivy leaf considered the masterpiece of Behrman?
It is created wholeheartedly.
It gives hope to save one life.
It takes away another life.
It cannot be ruined.
What is it symbolized?
sacrifice
compassion
artistic desire
true value of art
Call of the Wild
Lessons
In the new hostile environment Buck has to change the way he

sleeps
eats
relates to humans
interacts with other dogs
works
He learns the law of club and fang, and the theory of the survival of the fittest.
Transformation
physical conditions:
hard muscles
tough and stout tissues
keen sight and scent, acute hearing
mental conditions
more alert
more cunning
farther away from his moral nature
Curlys death
It is:
Violent and cruel
Unfair and merciless
Symbolically it represents the defeat of the unfit.
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THEME: HEROISM
triumph over adversity
continuous labor
dignity and grace
optimism
In what way is Santiago heroic?

THE CHARACTER OF SANTIAGO
A tragic hero
Skilful and experienced
Determined
Strong-willed
Humble but proud
Capable of endurance
Hopeful and optimistic
HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHER

THE THEME OF HOPE
HOPE enables you to fly, suggesting a new beginning
HOPE is always in us
HOPE is eternal
HOPE is everywhere
HOPE helps people get over difficulties
Destroying HOPE causes pain
HOPE is a free gift for anyone who needs it

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American Literature - Lesson 1

Part 1: An overview of the history of American Literature

An outline of American Literature (1986) by Peter B. High, Longman

Stages and Trends

Stages and Trends in the History of American Literature

Romanticism and Transcendentalism (1800- 1860)

Contemporary Literature /Postmodernism (1970 to present)

Movement of Puritans from England to America for religious freedom.

Colonialism and Revolutionary Period

Growing dissatisfaction with England and taxation without representation

Style: highly ornate

national mission and American character

Pride and patriotism grow.

Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence)

Expansion to 25 states by 1836

poetry, short stories, novels

Romanticism and Transcendentalism

Emily Dickinson (Hope is the thing with feathers, Poems of nature)

a movement of feelings and beliefs

intuition, imagination, and vision as the ways of understanding the world

interest in individualism and feelings

Continuing Westward expansion

poetry, short stories and novels

common characters not idealized

local colour (Regionalism)

mans lack of control over his fate

Social realism changing social problems

realistic fiction remaining popular today

Depiction of reality in comprehensive detail

More important role of characters

The subject of complex ethical choices

Separation from the sensational, dramatic elements

Comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact tone

Forces: instincts, passions, heredity, environment

stories revolving around the community

thematic conflict between urban ways and old-fashioned rural values

World War I and World War II

Jazz Age conflicts developed between older, conservative generation

Expanded role of women in society

continuation of the same genres as in the past

Sub-genre: Harlem Renaissance

free verse and stream-of-consciousness prose new styles

highly experimental (rejection of the artistic convention of the past)

irony as a signature technique

impersonal, alienating attitude

people not able to communicate effectively

grief over loss of the past (pre-war world)

Civil Rights Movement

Growing media influence

Rethinking of our past at the beginning of 21 st century

continuation of the same genre as in the past

new styles: found poems, concrete poems

blurring of lines between fact and fiction

Contemporary Literature (From 1945-Present)

life observed as the media present it

peoples identity shaped by cultural and gender attitudes

communication as a way to cope with problems

ethnicity and women

more multicultural literature included in anthologies