American Literature Essay Topics

Reflection Paper On American Literature

This line from the Declaration of Independence has been quoted and restated many different ways, by a number of different people. The Declaration, along with the hundreds of years of American texts that came after it, have been very impactful, not only in the United States but all across the world. However, what qualifies as an American text? What is American literature? I believe that American literature is comprised of texts that are written by an American or are about a specifically American experience. My definition of an American is anyone who identifies as an American which includes citizens from birth, and immigrants with or without citizenship. An American experience is also very broad and includes anything that the author and/or reader believes is an American experience. In this course, students will focus on defining American literature and examining how impactful American literature has been around the world. This broad range of texts will help students create their own ideas of what American literature is and what should be included in American literature. Some of the texts that we read will be controversial, and students will be able to decide for themselves whether or not they should actually be in a class like this. Throughout this course, I will be focusing discussion on three main questions. First, what is American literature? In order to answer this broad question, the class will discuss when American literature came about, what should be included in

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The American Literary Canon Analysis

In the late sixteenth century, a religious reform arose among the church of England. The puritanism reform brought foundation to the religious, intellectual, and social structure in New England. Puritanism closely relates to the Amish which is a christian church that connects to the protestant reformation also in the sixteenth century Europe. The puritanism and Amish both are hundreds of years old as is the American Literary Canon. This canon consists of american literature from different authors at different times. The Judgement by Beverly Lewis should be a part of the literary canon because it opens deeper perceptions about the lives of the Amish women. It also provides insight for readers to the complex struggles Amish women faced withreligion, society, culture and the self.

Amish and Puritan cultures both are tested by experiences that cause them to rely on God's judgement. The Amish community are based on God. The families within the community have strict rules that which they must abide by. Hen's experience brings her closer to God than she was before. She states to her father '"And sometimes the prayers we pray help change us most of all"'(Lewis 264). Hen's experience with her husband shows the struggle she had with her religion. In resemblance, the Puritan book of Mary Rowlandson shows her journey and all of the challenges ...show more content...

Through Hen's journey She is challenged with thinking of her young daughter as well as herself. Hen struggles as she says '"I can't blame him –Mattie Sue's his daughter, too" (Lewis 18). Hen is not a selfish person but she does want the best for Mattie. She also has to think about what is best for her and her marriage. Hen and Rowlandson both struggle with the challenge of self. Rowlandson also has a child along with her through her experience. She thinks nothing of herself but of the child. "I sat much alone with a poor wounded child in my lap" (Rowlandson

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Nature in American Literature In American Literature many authors write about nature and how nature affects man's lives. In life, nature is an important part of people. Many people live, work, or partake in revelry in nature. Nature has received attention from authors spanning several centuries. Their attitudes vary over time and also reflect the different outlooks of the authors who chose to discuss this important historical movement. A further examination of this movement, reveals prevalence of nature's influence onman and how it affects their lives. An early work in American Literature, Thanatopsis, is also one of the most influential works of nature and how it affects man. This work portrays nature as ...show more content...

In this work, man is an object in the middle of living nature. Nature itself draws us from dependence upon the past and invites us to a richer state of being. Do not remember the past for "[t]he sun shines today...[t]here is more wool and flax in the fields...[t]here are new lands, new men, new thoughts"(215). Which suggests that because there is always a tomorrow. Man should not focus on the present and be more concentrated on what will be happening in the future. Emerson believed that nature was beautiful and nowhere else on earth could he find the majestic settings of the macrocosm. As Emerson declares "[in] wilderness, [he finds] something more dear and connate than in streets or villages"(216). He cannot find anything more loved and kindred than in towns and cities than what he finds in nature. Unlike Thanatopsis, Emerson focuses on the living and not the defunct. He tells us that "[in] the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature"(216). Man's nature is more beautiful than the outside of his exterior. Therefore, according to this attitude, man's life is just a mere dot in this world of blackness. In 1854 Thoreau wrote the short story "of Walden", eighteen years later from the publication "of Nature" and forty–three years later from the publication of "Thanatopsis. In this work Thoreau presents an

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Reflection In American Literature

A year ago today I was finishing up my sophomore year in American Literature. I was a good student in that class and tried to do as much as I could to prepare myself for one of the most challenging years of my high school career. Some of the tasks I had to complete for these classes were comprehensive essays from the collective amount of books we read in and out of class; such as Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, The Odyssey, etc. In American Literature and the year before in English 9, mywriting styles included experimenting with various and sophisticated forms of vocabulary along with comprehensive details and opinionated commentary. I don't know where the strong use of vocabulary came from, but it's worked out for me in the end. My commentary is very detailed and the use of my vocabulary only strengthened my details. Those were my strengths that I could bring to the table, but there were plenty of weaknesses that lead me to taking this class that I hoped to improve on. My problem was organizing my information to get the best message across to the reader. You can have the most important and influential information, but if you can't put into the right context to pull in the reader, it does no good. I had all the right information and quality content, but when I struggled to put that information in the right ways, it made an unlikely perceptive path straight to the reader. Which is why sometimes my content can be hard to understand and fully get a grasp on it. I also

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Themes of Early American Literature

Early American literature does a tremendous job of revealing the exact conditions and challenges that were faced by the explorers and later by the colonists of the New World. From early shipwrecks to the later years of small colonies barely surviving through dreadful winters, the literary works of the time period focus on some very recognizable themes. The theme of any given work – being simply the unifying subject or idea – is a very important element of any piece of writing. As one reviews some of this early literature, it becomes obvious that several themes appear repeatedly, and it is these subjects that were clearly very common among people from all over the New World. While a number of themes...show more content...

The explorer narratives, however, were not the only ones which described a dark and forbidding quality of the New World. The colonists at Jamestown and all along the eastern coast suffered through harsh winters with minimal supplies, causing many deaths and making life in the New World extremely challenging. For example, in William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation he remarks that 50 of the 102 Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth had died within the first year (Perkins and Perkins 50). The reasons for the high number of deaths in the colonies vary, but disease and harsh winters certainly claimed their share. In addition, the colonies struggled to establish crops and solid dwellings for months or years after they first landed, and supply ships proved to be unreliable at best. John Smith of the Jamestown Colony is responsible for writing The General History of Virginia,New England, and the Summer Isles in which he depicted the grievous condition of the colonists only days after the ships departed and left them to the mercy of the land (Reuben 6). He wrote, "Being thus left to our fortunes, it fortuned that within ten days scarce ten amongst us could either go, or well stand, such extreme weakness and sickness oppressed us." (Perkins and Perkins 36). In the same piece of literature, Smith also noted another very ominous threat to the well–being of the

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The Importance Of American Literature

The term literature can be defined as creative and artistic writings that can be found in books, poetry, novels, and other works that contain value and recognition. English colonists and voyagers are the key foundation of American writing in the colonial period. For example, voyagers such as Captain John Smith would keep a journal to record daily events of his surroundings and discoveries. Also, literature became a second scripture to the colonist to form a layout to direct them to become an ideal model of themselves. American writing bloomed during this period and allowed writers to reveal their perspective of religion, national destiny, and other concerns.

Puritan writers such as Roger Williams, Thomas Hooker, Anne Bradstreet, Edward Johnson, Edward Taylor, and Michael Wigglesworth are highly significant. Puritans were neglected for their religion in New England that caused their diaspora to the New World. "The first work published in the Puritan colonies was the Bay Psalm Book (1640) (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. "American Literature" Pg. 1)." Many Puritan poetry is written to promote the services of God. Famous poetry within the Puritan colonies include Day of Doom, Magnalia Christi Americana, and The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America.

"The approach of the American Revolution and the achievement of the actual independence of the United States was a time of intellectual activity as well as social and economic change. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

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The Beginning Of American Literature Essay

The beginning of American literature started in the 17th century when pirated, adventurers, and explorers started to write about the new continent. These people became permanent colonists. The writing during this time varied in terms of quality and subjects. This early literature was made up of creation myths, travel journals, history writing, poetry, religious writing, and personal narratives.Creation myths are some one of the six genres we see in the beginning of American literature. They are a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. Many of the Native American creation myths show a strong resemblance to Genesis. Percy Bullchild, a Blackfeet Indian from Browning, Montana, describes the beginning of his people as stated: "This story is about a lone spirit that lived in this spiritual place before there was a world of any kind of life ... He has been alive from ever and will continue to live forever ... Life is given to all of us humans and to all the creations of the earth ..." (Bullchild). This tribe describes the Creator God as the Creator Sun. The first beings were snakes that rebelled against their creator and were punished. Then describes the Creator Sun making people in his image. This is an example of part of a creation story. The majority of stories indicate that a creation where people are given, along at the time of creation, awareness that they were created. Similar to Genesis, the stories follow how we will be judged at

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As the new world struggled to gain impendence from its mother country, Britain, native authors also try to develop their own style of writings. It quickly became evident that the search for a native literature became a national obsession. Then with the triumph of American independence, many at the time saw this as a divine sign that America and her people were destined for greatness. Greatness came with a strong nation and thousands of poems and stories that still shape our nation. The recent revolution greatly expressed the heart of the American people. However, it would take another fifty years of development throughout American before it produced the first great generation of American writers such as, Washington Irving, Ralph...show more content...

As America continued to grow and developed so did its writers. A major changed came with writers such asRalph Waldo Emersonand Henry David Thoreau. Emerson was an American philosopher, poet and the leader of the Transcendentalist movement. This movement started as a protest against the current state of the society and culture; and was based on a fundamental belief in the unity of the world and God. "Emerson declared literary independence in the United States and urged Americans to create a writing style all their own and free from Europe" (Ralph). This type of methodology is easily portrayed in his two stories, The American Scholar, and Self Reliance. Thoreau was a nonconformist and attempted to live his life at all times according to his rigorous principles, which became the subject of many of his writings. In "Walden", Thoreau not only tests the theories of Transcendentalism, he re–enacts the collective American experience of the 19th century, living on the frontier. The overall story of "Walden" is in fact a view on Thoreau's radical and controversial perspective of society. Many of Thoreau's repeated, irrelevant details can be traced to his description of what is wrong with the American society. He believed that the society is extremely overwhelmed with material things and they often seem to think that is what matters

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American Literature started in the seventeenth century, beginning with the arrival of English speaking Europeans in what would become the United States. Authors throughout history have shaped the way we look at literature in the present time. Authors have created works of art that inspired social change in the American States. Literature was being made based on what was happening in the country at the time. Authors wanted people to read their stories, poems and magazines and then look at life from a different perspective. Authors expressed their beliefs through their work. Authors have used works of literature to inspire social change in America with pieces including The Fall of the House of Usher as well as I Hear America Singing and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. The Fall of the House of Usher was a storied created by a highly respected author, Edgar Allen Poe. The story came out in the 1830's. Poe was known for his dark, eerie and gloomy writings. He inspired Americans to notice the darkness in the world, and not take life for grandit. In his writing of The Fall of the House of Usher he wrote, "and in her violent and now final death agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terror he had anticipated (Allan Poe 326)." Poe put fear of death in the hearts of many americans, but he also put the fear of darkness in their hearts too. In another section of the story, it reads, "of the dark and tattooed drapes, which, tortured into motion by the breath of

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Early American Literature (1620–1820)

In the first half of the 17th century the New World found two groups of people colonizing. The first group, the Puritans, had left England after years of exile due to their lack of faith in the Church of England. With the reading and understanding of the Bible almost completely laid in the hands of the preacher, the congregation was forced to believe all the words that the preacher said. This all came to an end with John Calvin.

His ideas were that God likes certain people better than others and those "chosen" ones would get more land and more money. This idea took off with the Puritans as they

seeked religious freedom, a chance to start new churches...show more content...

All education was basedon religion and through that there was no questioning of God.

Along with this, their faith was based of that of the super natural world. They could not see God, but saw him through thingslike a prosperous harvest or a winter blizzard,

both of these in reaction to actions taken by the Puritans.

With this lack of deductive reasoning the Puritans would find themselves thinking about things done wrong if there was a life threatening winter blizzard or reflect the things that were done right in the event of a bountiful harvest. In my eyes the Putians were did not just leave England in search of religious freedom, they were casually asked to leave the country and were used to colonize land that England was interested in. Much like religious cults of today, they were against major religious beliefs of the church and looked upon as radicals in their beliefs. "Then, coming out, beheld a space the flame consume my dwelling place. And when I could no longer look, I blest His name that gave and took." A quote of this nature in modern day society would be followed by the thought of radical nature in the person saying it. Things may have changed as far as social acceptance goes, but I see the Puritans as outcasts of the society in England.

The other group of

Freedom, perhaps the most reoccurring theme throughout the history of America. For this theme is what prompted the earliest American literature, freedom is the reason colonists first set foot in the new world, the reason for fighting against British rule, and so on. From then to following the civil war and on to today, literature has played a significant role in the shaping of the nation. Through the writings of many influential American authors, literature has dominated the ever–changing American culture. Through using various literary devices in their works such as dialect, symbolism, and conflict, they were able to demonstrate race, gender and culture to express the constant development of the America we know today. "The Goophered Grapevine" by Charles Chesnutt was first published in Atlantic Monthly in 1887 (Baym 1642). The renowned short story became best known for its use of southern dialect, reflecting the style of language spoken by everyday African Americans in the south. With the majority of the story narrated from Julius's point of view, a black individual speaking with a regional dialect, he seeks to share aspects of the background of blacks to the white congregation in hopes to bond together the divide highlighted by the contrasting dialects between the two races. Throughout much of the story one is able to find examples of this regional dialect reflecting race in the south. For example, when Julius stated "w'en de darkies see dat Yankee runnin' 'roun de

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Colonial American Literature

When a teacher asks a student to think about the Colonial Period, most students think of PIlgrims coming to America on the Mayflower. In reality, the Mayflower is really only a small piece of the puzzle. The colonial time period starts in 1492 and goes through 1763. In the two hundred and seventy–one years, Europeans came to America, Native Americans began to focus on the fur trade, and by the end of the time period the "population of the thirteen colonies was over two million people." (Colonial Time Period NP) All of those events helped shape the American Literature that is still read in High Schools to this day. American Literature from the colonial period was influenced by many historical events. It shares common characteristics and its...show more content...

For example, the interaction with "David Cusick, from the Oneida Reservation in Madison County, New York, provides the "Iroquois Creation Story," (Snyder, Nancy NP). Historical events played an important part in early American Literature. There are many similar characteristics in the novels that were written in the Colonization period. One common characteristic that can be found in many novels during this time is the narrative focus. Most narratives tell a first–hand story of an event or a trip the author has experienced. Example of literary works in this genre include memoirs, journals, letters, and biographies. Another common characteristic is the topic of religion. Writings about religion were very prominent in Puritan writings. Since book publication was expensive, religious writings and most often the bible was the most common literature for a household to own. Puritan writers had a very strong influence on colonial society. Religion was not a topic only for the Puritans as seen by the writings of non–puritan authors. Non–Puritan writers used religion "to help show the religious tension between the colonial settlers and Native Americans." (Knight, Vanessa NP) A characteristic that was common in early Native American literature was the topic of "changing the political and social status of their people." (Early Native American Literature NP) Literature that was written in the colonial period has

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Common Themes in American Literature Common Themes throughout American Literature

Many authors contributed to American literature between 1865 and 1914. Although these authors came from all over the country and lived different life styles, they still managed to include similar themes in their works. A theme is considered to be the main idea of the work, or a meaning behind the story. Within this period of American literature, three themes continued to emerge: the concept of true beauty, protection of nature, and perception versus reality. The first theme, the concept of true beauty is evident in "The White Heron" and "The Real Thing". "The White Heron" presents a little girl torn between material items (money) or saving a...show more content...

While the couple can only allow themselves to stand and look "pretty". Each of the characters eventually comes to terms with the true meaning of beauty and it changes them both. "The White Heron" also advocates the second theme, protection of nature. The little girl becomes aware of the heron's view and she is protecting nature by deciding to give in to the hunter and turn the bird in. Cochise writes in "I am alone" about the Spanish arriving and pushing them off their land. Although the Mimbreno Apache did not do anything themselves to destroy their land, the Spanish did reek havoc on it. Protection of nature is still a theme that is ever present in today's society and well as during the Reconstruction period. The final theme, perception versus reality is presented through "The Yellow Wall–paper" and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". The woman in "The Yellow Wall–paper" is placed inside a room by her husband in order for her to get over her illness. While in the room she notices the wallpaper is tearing at the bottom and there seems to be a woman stuck behind it, so she begins to peel away at the paper. The woman's perception and reality are confused, the woman behind the paper and the woman peeling eventually become one in the woman's mind, but the woman peeling never realizes that she was the woman stuck behind the paper the whole time. In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" a man, Peyton Farquahar, is set to be hung. Get more content

Literary Characteristics Of American Literature

What qualifies an author's written work as American Literature? Throughout the American Literature class, this past semester, I have learned that in order to classify a book as American Literature there are more requirements necessary than the book simply being written in America. According to the article "What Defines American Literature?" by Maddi Burns, "American Literature, as a whole, depicts the diverse and revolutionary forthcoming of a nation to what it is today". After reading numerous books that are classified as American Literature, I have come to the realization that American Literature does indeed encompass key events, important viewpoints, and writing styles that helped to shape America into what we know it to be today; however, American Literature means so much more. American Literature is the essentially the essence of America. It is evident through many written works, that American Literature captures the characteristics of America and the nature of the American people, through written work that contains important events, definitive opinions, as well as distinctive forms of writing, all of which, helped to shape America into the nation it is today. Throughout the history of theUnited States, achievements as well as sufferings have been documented in American Literature. Important events that pertain to such accomplishments, obstacles, and discoveries are a key part of American Literature because it is the actions of the American people that make up

The History of American Literature

The history of American Literature starts well before this land was even called America. It has been a great evolution to come from tribal symbols and drawings to today's Stephen King and Danielle Steele. Literature has gone through many phases and was impacted by great events and ideas in American history. The earliest form of literature in what would one day be known as America were far from what modern day people would consider "Literature". The Natives who inhabited this land first had unwritten ways of passing on experiences, beliefs, and stories. Natives relied heavily on the verbal telling of these stories to younger generations. The same stories, fables, or belief structures were told repeatedly, each time identical to the last,...show more content...

Mather's rewarding career included writings on science and medicine as well as theology and history. His Sentiments on the Small Pox Inoculated (1721) was instrumental in introducing the smallpox vaccine to New England. A new genre for American writers, the travel narrative, would become especially influential late in the 1700s. Travel narratives include Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America (1778) by Jonathan Carver and Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, etc (1791) by William Bartram . Travel stories often blended observations on nature and landscape with tales of personal courage and achievement. The first American newspaper, the Boston News–Letter, was founded in 1704, and joined by the Boston Gazette in 1719. At a time when newspaper journalism was concerned primarily with reporting political events, the New–England Courant, started by James Franklin in 1721, became the first newspaper to include literary entertainment. Franklin's younger brother Benjamin Franklin published humorous social commentary in the Courant under the pen name of Silence Dogwood . Magazines also appeared for the first time in the colonies during the mid–1700s. Before 1800 magazines were concerned primarily with measuring America's developing culture against the British model. During the 1700s Boston and Philadelphia became centers of publishing in addition to being political and commercial centers.

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The Colonial Period Of American Literature

The Colonial Period in American Literature Blake Quickel The Colonial Period of American Literature was vital not only to the timeline of literature in our country, but it shaped the values and tradition that we identify America with. Literature from this period gives us a look into the beginnings of our country from different views such as Poems and stories from Native culture, Puritans, and the founding fathers. These writings give us an honest view of the way of life during this time. The Puritan writings we read in this class were very interesting in how they showed the early stages of America's religion. Although religion in our government and our country's values has become less and less extreme over time, it is amazing knowing how much control it had over society in our country's beginnings; and many of the morals exorcised in the Puritan culture are still values relevant to our society today. In a reading from the "Introduction: Puritan Voices" assignment (a), the writer refers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a "man's world", describing the limited roles of women in society and how men were portrayed in the church as superior. Puritan ministers often preached that the soul had two parts, the immortal masculine half, and the mortal feminine half. Gender inequality is an enormous part of American Literature throughout all periods, and here you can see where these values originated in our country. Puritan society exists as a valid demonstration for why the first

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American Literature from its beginnings is shaped by a demand towards reforming society by bringing awareness towards towards social issues and a need to question societal norms.American literature from its beginnings has focused around establishing the American identity , and has also served as a means to address social issues that have plagues American society. The three authors that are representative of these ideals are the following; Hector De St John Crevecoeur Benjamin Franklin, and Hannah Foster. These authors represent different perspectives on American issues, ranging from revolutionary era america, women's rights, and also establishing a set of values that represent the American Identity. At a time where the new world...show more content...

The position that Crevoucuer demonstrates towards the social order in America is that it is corrupt, and that the idea of revolution has turned quickly into disorder throughout the colonies. Although Letters does provide praise towards the New world, it also demonstrated the issues associated with forming a new world. These issues are that of the vast disparities of wealth, institution of slavery, and that the New World consists of colonies that are made up of contradictions. Ultimately, Letters provides a pessimistis forecast for Ameria's future and puts into question the nature of humanity in the forming of America. A work of literature that contrasts the ideas stated in Letters is Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack. One of the main purposes of this almanac was to actually help the average citizen in achieving prosperity. Franklin like Crevecouer, uses a persona in his writings. The persona that is used by Franklin is that of a poor farmer (Poor Richard), which helped to connect with Franklin's target audience, which was the common American citizen. This style of writing contrasts with Crevocuer because instead of making observations about the corruption of America, Poor Richards Almanac tries to help Americans out by using rational logic towards the problems of taxation, accumulating debt, and promoting the concept of sociability. This almanac largely consisted of maxims of these ideals. An example of

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The Evolution of American Literature

The Evolution of American Literature

Early American literature may be said to begin with the Colonial period. John Smith and John Winthrop are two examples of the types of writing at this period: the former kept a romantic journal of his adventures in the New World; the latter kept a journal (or history) of life in New England, where religious matters were of utmost importance. The Puritans had come seeking a life free from religious persecution (which, they ironically brought with them however, as their descendentNathaniel Hawthorne would show in The Scarlet Letter). Religious topics continued to dominate early American literature in the 18th century, for example, in the works of Jonathan Edwards and Cotton Mather. Their strict Calvinistic, Puritanical views gave their writings a "fire–and–brimstone" type of style a inflammatory rhetoric meant to rouse religious fervor (Baym 103). Both Hawthorne and Herman Melville (another later generation New Englander) would focus some of their most important works of literature on their Calvinist roots. In contrast to these fiery preachers, however, were the mid–17th century poems of Anne Bradstreet, the first published female New England poet. Her poems are dominated by a steady calm and loving confidence in Providence and are much sweeter in tone.

The Romantic period developed in America in the 19th century, with the Gothic/Romantic stories of Edgar Allan Poe and the quasi–religious, transcendentalist poetry of Ralph Waldo

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Introduction

American literature, to my eyes, like American history, although short, however, still full of glories and shining masterpieces and writers. Those American writers, while conquering this wild America, also had conquered the great field of American literature. From its first imitative activities to innovative attempts nowadays, American literature gradually gains its unique style, theme and form, and IВЎВЇm always excited to see their works are more and more America in its true sense. American literature is part of worldВЎВЇs literature, however, it always has its unique flavor that cannot be easily ignored.

Most critics hold that the history of American literature can be divided into six parts, orderly, colonial period,...show more content...

2. Development

Romanticism developed from its early stage to its high stage with changes both in style and theme.

Early romanticism was more or less imitative of British literature of Romanticism. They were experimental and conformist. At that time, the new United States of America was in a period of development, growth, experimentation and search. Above all, it was a time of extension of the American nation and the American identity. During this period, some American writers did begin to attract notice abroad and their books drew attention of important foreign figures. Although English literary models were still admired, the American writers soon turned to the American civilization and found their materials in the culture and history of their native land.

American Romanticism reached its peak with some literary giants in Romantics ©в‚¬ Poe, Whitman, Dickinson, Hawthorn and Melville. They created for themselves a new personality. High Romantists lived in a period of vast commercial expansion when Americans had more opportunities, more freedom and believed that United States was the greatest nation on earth. However, romantic writers, otherwise, tended to depict the darkness of the country, and therefore, their works endure deeper power.

3.Characteristics

The characteristic of romanticism can be summed up Get more content

When I think of America, I think of freedom. We live in a country where we can do what we choose. We can express our opinions and live our own lives. Individuals can form their own individual beliefs and they can do what they want and pursue what they wish. They can play basketball, go to school, get a job, have a family, buy a house, or go to church. We are free. We have opportunity to be whatever we want to make ourselves. When you ask, what is an American? I find it no different to ask, what is freedom? America and freedom are intertwined and this relationship is evident in American literature. The notion of freedom and everything relating to freedom unites all of the American literature we have read. In Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Huck ...show more content...

In Self Reliance, Emerson explains that our freedom to choose and our ability to think what we want to think define what America is. I believe it is characteristic of Americans to strive for what they think is right. In Poe's the House of Usher, Usher decided to bury his sister alive. I think this story can relate to us today. Many people would say that America is known for persevering through rough times. I'd say the last few years have been a rough time for America, from 9/11 to now the war in Iraq. Sometimes situations may seem unbeatable, like being trapped in a coffin, but if you fight hard enough, like we are against the terrorists and in Iraq, you can overcome anything. American's can overcome anything. Usher's sister was buried alive and finally broke from the coffin after a week of struggle. Also, many of the authors we have studied describe nature in riveting detail. To them and to me, our beautiful nature represents something more then just what you see with your eye–it represents America's freedom. In Emerson's Nature, Thorpe's The Big Bear of Arkansas, Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Bryant's Thanatopsis, and Edwards' Shadows of Divine Things, we see an apparent love and lust of nature by the authors. The great aspects of nature represent the great aspects of America–freedom. The mountains and trees scatter in nature in pure harmony just like the American people live freely in America. The authors had a fascination Get more content