a timeline of american literature changing times – changing voices “let america be america...
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A Timeline of American Literature
Changing Times – Changing Voices
“Let America be America again.”
Langston Hughes
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Native American Culture (from 40,000 BC)
Tribal, agricultural societies
Oral literature Epic narratives Creation myths Used stories to teach moral lessons and
convey practical information Deep respect for nature and animals Cyclical world view Figurative language & parallelism
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Examples of Native American
The Earth on Turtle’s Back - Onondaga When Grizzlies Walked Upright - Modoc The Navajo Origin Legend - Navajo The Iroquois Constitution - Iroquois
“Before there were people on earth, the Chief of the Sky Spirits grew tired of his home in the Above World.”
When Grizzlies Walked Upright
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Puritanism (1600-1800)Great Awakening; Salem Witch Trials
Sought to “purify” the Church of England by simplifying forms of worship and church organization
Believed in “original sin” and that only the “elect” would be saved
Wrote mostly diaries and histories that expressed the connection between God and everyday life
Used the plain style of writing
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Examples of Puritan Writings
To My Dear and Loving Husband – Anne Bradstreet
Huswifery – Edward Taylor Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God –
Jonathan Edwards
“The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more and rise higher and higher.”
Jonathan Edwards - Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
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Rationalism / The Age of Reason (1750 – 1800)
Revolutionary War; U.S. Constitution; Founding Fathers
Philosophers; scientists; politicians Believed that humans can arrive at the
truth by deductive reasoning rather than relying on past authority
Wrote speeches, pamphlets, editorials, documents
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Examples of Rationalism
Poor Richard’s Almanac – Benjamin Franklin
The Declaration of Independence – Thomas Jefferson
Common Sense – Thomas Paine Speech in the Virginia Convention –
Patrick Henry“I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.
Patrick Henry - Speech in the Virginia Convention
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Explorers/Farmers/Slaves(1500-1800)
Recorded experiences in journals, diaries, autobiographies and memoirs
First-hand accounts of history Authors: Olaudah Equiano (slave), William
Bradford (settler and farmer), Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (explorer)
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Romanticism (1800-1860)Industrialization; War of 1812; California Gold
Rush
Valued intuition Placed faith in inner experience Shunned civilization and sought out
nature as the path to spirituality Championed individual freedoms Saw poetry as the highest expression of
imagination Dark (gothic) romances contained
supernatural elements
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Examples of Romanticism
The Devil and Tom Walker – Washington Irving
Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne Moby-Dick – Herman Melville
“Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, in there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.”
The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe
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Transcendentalism (1840-1860)“The American Renaissance”; Abolitionist;
Women’s Rights Movements
Utopian outlook Everything in the world, including humans,
is a reflection of the “Divine Soul” People can use intuition to behold God’s
spirit as revealed in nature and their own souls
Emphasized self-reliance and individualism Shunned external authority and
traditional conformity
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Examples of Transcendentalism
Self-Reliance – Ralph Waldo Emerson Walden – Henry David Thoreau Little Women – Louisa May Alcott Song of Myself – Walt Whitman
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”
Song of Myself – Walt Whitman
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Realism (1850-1900)The Civil War; Reconstruction; the Gold Rush
Feelings of disillusionment following war Sought to explain behavior
(psychological / social) Common subjects: city slums; factories
replacing farmland; poor factory workers; corrupt politicians
Regionalism – Local Color
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Examples of Realism
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
To Build a Fire – Jack London The Red Badge of Courage – Stephen
Crane House of Mirth – Edith Wharton“Well, thish-yer Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow that didn’t have no tail, only just a short stump like a bannanner.”
Mark Twain – The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
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Modernism (1900-1950)World War I; the Roaring ’20s; Prohibition; the Great Depression; World War II
Sense of disillusionment and loss of faith in the American Dream
Emphasis on experimenting with writing style
Interest in the inner workings of the mind (stream of consciousness)
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Examples of Modernism
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck A Rose for Emily – William Faulkner The poetry of Robert Frost and T. S. Eliot Death of a Salesman; The Crucible – Arthur
Miller“I’ve been everywhere and seen everything and done everything…Sophisticated — God, I’m sophisticated!"
F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
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Harlem Renaissance (1920-1940)Black cultural movement in Harlem, New York
Birthplace of African American black heritage and pride
Street-talk diction Poetry rhymes based on cadence of jazz,
blues, and spirituals Extended metaphors used to express
feeling of black Americans
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Examples of Harlem Renaissance
Dust Tracks in the Road – Zora Neale Hurston
The Weary Blues – Langston Hughes The Tropics in New York – Claude McKay A Black Man Talks of Reaping – Arna
Bontemps Native Son – James Baldwin“Sure, call me any ugly name you choose – The steel of freedom does not stain.”
Langston Hughes – Let America be America Again
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Contemporary – Postmodernism (1950-present)
Korean War; Cold War; Vietnam War; Civil Rights Movement; Women’s Movement
Writing influenced by advances in electronic media – radio, tv, film, internet
Sense that little is unique; questioning meaning of life
Experimentation with written form Exploration of personal, ethnic, and
racial identity
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Examples of Postmodernism
In Cold Blood – Truman Capote The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien The Color Purple – Alice Walker
“The grenade made a popping noise – not soft but not loud either . . . The young man seemed to jerk upward as if pulled by invisible wires.”
Tim O’Brien – The Things They Carried
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21st Century - What Next?9/11/2001; E-Commerce; War on Terrorism
Relevance to global events Regional literature (remember local
color?) Graphic novels Self publishing Confessional memoirs Experimental drama
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What is Your Story?
Who are you? What do you see? Where do you come from? What obstacles have you overcome in
life? What do you feel strongly about? What will your voice say about your
American experience?