American Literary History Exam Review Sheet
In literary studies, as in all subjects, experts must 1) choose what is and is not important enough to be included in the given subject or history and 2) decide how to put the things they’ve chosen into order.
Acanon is a core group of texts that experts in a given area consider essential. The Western Canon is, therefore, the core group of texts with which one must be acquainted to be considered an educated member of Western civilization, which is the term we use to describe Western Europe and its colonies. When a writer is included in the Western canon, he or she is not just a writer; he or she is a “great” writer…… But how do we put the “important” texts of these “great” writers into any sort of order?
This is where the concept of periodizationbecomes essential. Periodization isthe act of breaking history down into historical periods based on common traits and common influences. Literary historians construct periods by figuring out how writers are similar (common traits) and why they are similar (common influences). To do this, they look for periods of time when writers seem to be talking about similar things in similar ways and for similar reasons. The similar things they talk about are the themesor contentthey address, and the similar ways they talk are the styleor form their writings take. When literary historians find these similarities, they look for cultural or historical events that might have influenced writers to produce the works they have produced.
American literary history began with two major events: when John Smith founded the Jamestown Colony in 1606, and when the pilgrims founded the Massachussets Bay Colonyin 1620. These are the first major examples of the New World’s colonization, so it makes sense that this is (aside from the rich, Native American oral tradition) the beginning of American literature and of what we call the Colonial Period, the period when the New World was explored and colonized (mostly by the English) and when the United States were called colonies of the English throne. The Colonial Period ends when the colonies began to revolt against the English throne. We celebrate Independence Day on July 4, because on that day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Revolution had begun. Thus, the Colonial Period took place roughly between 1606 and 1776.
One important aspect of the Colonial Period that deserves its own paragraph is the fact that the Massachussets Bay Colony was founded by people who practiced a form of Christianity called Puritanism, which had a tremendous influence on American literature and culture. William Bradford’s history and Ann Bradstreet’s poetry are direct products of Puritanism, and Jonathan Edward’s sermons and Nathanial Hawthorne’s fiction were indirect byproducts of Puritanism. (Hawthorne is a member of Romantic Period, but his writings have Puritan roots.) The Puritans had a number of distinctive beliefs, such as predestination (the belief that God marked each person for either salvation or damnation before the world began), grace (the feeling or sense of confidence of some Puritans that they were predestined for salvation), and the Puritan ethic (the belief that when a Puritan’s hard work made him or her wealthy and successful, it was proof of predestined salvation). The Puritan ethic continues today in the shame that people often feel for being unproductive (and thus, in some sense, unworthy of God’s love) in a capitalist society. The Puritans are equally famous for the rigid moral strictures and superstitious judgments that led to the Salem Witch Trials in 1691-92. Puritan values were revived by the powerful rhetoric of sermonizers such as Edwards during a period of renewed religious belief that is now called the Great Awakening, which began in 1735.
Our next period, the Revolutionary Period, began in 1776. Based on the same logic as we employed in discussing the Colonial Period, we must determine when the Revolutionary Period ends. It ends when the revolution is over and when the American government has finally settled in and replaced the British colonial government. The Revolutionary Period ended in 1800when WashingtonD.C. was named capital of the United States. Thus, the Revolutionary Period took place roughlybetween 1776 and 1800.
During the Revolutionary Period, Thomas Jefferson had written that “all men are created equal”; he had written that “whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends [of freedom and equality], it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish [that government]…” After the American Revolution, Americans began to feel a great sense of freedom, idealism and endless possibility. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Revolutionary Period led American literature into what we call the Romantic Period (or Romanticism). Romantics focus on the way the world ought to be. Romantics who thought about government and society dreamed of autopia, a perfect world or society. Romantics like Emerson (also called Transcendentalists) who thought about individualism and the arts, dreamed of transcendence, of overcoming obstacles and reaching the greatest heights of human achievement. Finally, Romantics like Irving and Hawthorne (also called Anti-Transcendentalists), while agreeing that the future offers endless possibilities, urged Emerson and the Transcendentalists to remember that not all of these possibilities were good. They wanted the Transcendentalists to remember that some choices lead to evil. Yet these concerns with transcendence and the supernatural began to seem irrelevant with the advent of the American Civil War in 1861. The Romantic Period took place between 1800 and 1861.
Our next period, the Realist Period (or Realism), began with the advent of the Civil War in 1861 and it continued into the 20th century. Realists focus on the way the world is. John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, is a good example of Realist writing, because it portrays the difficulties of life during the Great Depression, the racist treatment that African-Americans like Crooks endured, and the ignorance and cruelty that was pervasive in working-class America. An earlier Realist novel that we will soon read is Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which portrays the cruelties of the institution of slavery as it was practiced in the American South around the time of the Civil War. The Realist Period took place between 1861 and 1914, when World War I began, ushering in the Modern Period.
There are also a number of important oppositions that you should keep in mind as you study: First, there is the opposition between a Puritan mindset, which wishes to conform to moral norms and obey authorities, and an opposingRevolutionary mindset, which wishes to question authorities and prefers non-conformism if rules run counter to one’s conscience or one’s sense of justice. Second, there is aTranscendentalist mindset, which believes that humans should aspire toward the divine and seek transcendence even at the risk of evil, and an opposing Anti-Transcendentalist mindset, which seeks union with God only through goodness and the avoidance of evil. Finally, there is a Romantic mindset, which is generally idealistic and optimistic, which is concerned with transcendence, utopias and the supernatural, and which views life and art as realms of endless possibility, and an opposingRealist mindset, which is generally cynical and pessimistic, which is concerned with mortality and corruption, and which views art as a way to reveal the cruelties and injustices of nature and of society. How do the 20th century novels we’ve read by Salinger, Kesey and Palahniuk embody these essential American conflicts?
In addition to all the boldface terms and dates listed aboveand the following 30 literary devices on the “70 Key Literary Terms” listed on our course’s webpage (know numbers 1 through 10; 13; 14; 24; 27; 28; 29; 32; 33; 34; and 59 through 69), you should also be sure that you know the authors that we have read this year; the titles of the works we have read; the genre of each work we have read; and the literary period (and in some cases, also the movement) to which that work belongs. Here is a list of the authors and genres you should know: Smith (history); Bradford (history); Bradstreet (poetry); Edwards (sermon); Jefferson (declaration); Henry (speech); Franklin (autobiography); Emerson (essay); Hawthorne (excerpt from novel and short story); Irving (short story); Salinger (novel); Kesey (novel); and Palahniuk (novel).