American Lit. PDF

Introduction Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent—colonies from which a few...

Introduction Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent—colonies from which a few hardy souls tentatively ventured westward. After a successful rebellion against the motherland, America became the United States, a nation. By the end of the 19th century this nation extended southward to the Gulf of Mexico, northward to the 49th parallel, and westward to the Pacific. By the end of the 19th century, too, it had taken its place among the powers of the world—its fortunes so interrelated with those of other nations that inevitably it became involved in two world wars and, following these conflicts, with the problems of Europe and East Asia. Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as well as changes in ways of thinking and feeling, wrought many modifications in people’s lives. All these factors in the development of the United States molded the literature of the country. Over the past three decades, Americanist literary criticism has expanded from a border province into a center of humanist studies. The vitality of the field is reflected in the rising interest in American literature nationally and globally, in the scope of scholarly activity, and in the polemical intensity of debate. Significantly, American texts have come to provide a major focus for inter- and cross-disciplinary investigation. Gender studies, ethnic studies, and popular- culture studies, among others, have penetrated to all corners of the profession, but perhaps their single largest base is American literature. The same is true with regard to controversies over multiculturalism and canon formation: the issues are transhistorical and transcultural, but the debates themselves have often turned on American books. Why do we study American literature? Why study American literature? The question is not about literature but rather about the American aspect. Studying American literature encompasses understanding society. From this study, society can only improve by analyzing the writing in any culture. American literature has produced some of the most significant prose and poetry the world has seen. By analyzing the technical aspects of famous American poetry, essays, short stories, dramas, and novels, the reader can learn how to improve the future of American literature. American literature begins with British literature. The Puritans who came in 1607 to settle in the unknown and frightening new land brought with them hundreds of years of English literature. The writers who figuratively came with them included Shakespeare, Milton, Marlowe, Pope and many others. American literature began then as an extension of English literature. When American literature began, the earliest colonial writers were educated in England. What changed the early American literature from the English was the influence of the type of life that colonists faced. The early writers William Bradford to Anne Bradstreet wrote with conviction about their spirituality, puritanical lives, and the hardships they faced for which they were unprepared. In his last years, Bradford liked to read the Old Testament in Hebrew because he wanted to see “the ancient oracles of God in their native beauty.” He remained the simple man revealed in his writings. At his death, his holdings were modest: a house, an orchard and several pieces of land. Periods of American Literature The history of American literature stretches across more than 400 years. It can be divided into six major periods: 1. The Colonial Period (1492–1700) The character of early American literature is strongly influenced by several factors:  It was the era of colonising the continent. Since not only the English explored and claimed the territories, the beginnings of American literature are more or less connected also with French, Spanish or Dutch literatures as well.  The first writers brought mainly English ideas and ways of writing, which means early American literature is based on the literature of England.  Religion played an important part in the writers’ lives. Many writings of the period were sermons and theological books. The fact that the Pilgrims landed in the Massachusetts Bay in 1620 had an immense influence on the culture of the newly developing colonial system.  The topics common in the early periods were connected with the issues of living in a new land (agriculture, explorations, and relations with the native people) and travelling (travel logs, journals). 3. The Period of Romanticism and Transcendentalism (1800–1880) The period of romanticism represented a revolt against classicism and its values such as reason and form. The American variant of romanticism was different from the European one to a certain degree. There was a great interest in Indians and their culture. The writings were less political and religious, the topics were mostly American, and the writers stressed imagination, nature and individualism. 4. American Realism and Naturalism (1860–1930) Just as in Europe, the period of romanticism was followed by the period of realism. Writers left behind the styles and topics adopted by the previous generation and rather concentrated on describing life as it was with its negatives typical for the period. 5. American Modernism and the Literature of the First Half of the 20th Century Since the dawn of the 20th century, writers were looking for new ways of writing and new topics. Their writings expressed their feelings about living in the modern age, some of them wrote positively, some negatively. Their style became more complicated, experiments were quite common. Many movements appeared; together they might be called “modernism”. 6. American Literature in the 2nd Half of the 20th Century and Contemporary American Literature The authors of the 2nd half of the 20th century followed in the tradition developed by their predecessors. More movements appeared, ethnic writers (African- American, Asian, Native American, Jewish) became more involved and some of the authors may be called “post-modernist”. New topics became popular (the revolt against the system, ethnic and racial issues, the holocaust), new genres flourished (comic books, fantasy novels, sci-fi, horror stories). American drama was going through its best times. Chapter One The First Americans Native American Oral Tradition Though these indigenous groups vary linguistically, geographically, culturally, socially and politically from one another, one universal commonality they share is the presence of a rich oral tradition. The collective knowledge that has been passed down orally from generation to generation is an invaluable piece of preserving tribes’ history, culture, beliefs and sense of identity. Up until the late 20th century, Western scholars maintained that Native Americans did not possess any “literature” by academic standards. Regardless, European and other non-Native translators began writing down and recording American Indian eyewitness accounts, stories, poems, songs, speeches, and chants. Contemporary academics, historians, ethnologists and a growing number of other academic disciplines, however, have revisited this bias and more recently have grown to appreciate the content, complexity and overall research value in oral traditions. The Diversity of Oral Tradition The sources and forms of oral tradition are very diverse: Storytelling Storytelling is the most famous and most often studied form of Native oral tradition. Some stories are rooted in reality while others have a more spiritual, ethereal setting. Although tribes rarely make Western categorical distinctions, most of their stories do follow a pattern similar to the Western categories. For instance, some Native stories are viewed as sacred, true accounts of the ancient past, such as creation stories (similar to myths). A second type of stories are told for amusement, often in social settings, and considered to be fictional. A third type of story is legends, which have a more recent setting than sacred tales, “possess an aura of history” but whose truth cannot be confirmed. Eyewitness Account In addition to storytelling, another form of oral tradition is the eyewitness account, in which a person describes and passes on information about an event that occurred during the teller’s lifetime and about which the teller has firsthand knowledge. An example of this type of oral tradition is the oral accounts provided by Lakota, Cheyenne, and Crow warriors after the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Poems Poems usually include a musical component and may include choreography. Visions, Dreams and Hallucinations Similarly, visions, dreams and hallucinations are types of oral tradition that have contributed to the development of Native American rituals and ceremonies, in which individuals receive information in these forms and then share the knowledge orally. Visions have often served to inform the rituals and ceremonies of indigenous peoples because oral tradition that comes in this form is considered to be communication from the supernatural realm to the living. Speeches Lastly, speeches are a part of oral tradition.