American Lit Midterm

Pass thru the syllabus - 1st pass: Author & title of everything we have read; 2nd: one sentence summary of texts; 3rd: be able to name term that relates to text and explain connection to the text; 4th: topic of convo in class, glance back at text and read key passages | know names of works and artist, plus the characters or significant events, plus the text's literary features and other relevant info

Iroquois Creation Story

(myth: Myth 1: a premodern, prescientific way to explain things that we now understand | PLS REJECT THIS!

Myth 2: a story that expresses not scientific facts but higher truths about 1. the nature of reality; 2. humanity's relationship to the divine or spiritual; 3. the meaning of existence & human flourishing)

Winnebago Trickster Cycle

Trickster: a wandering, bawdy, gluttonous, obscene figure who threatens order but can also establish order.

Of Plymouth Plantation, from Book I, Chapter I

William Bradford

(separatism)

A Model of Christian Charity

John Winthrop

(city on a hill)

The Prologue

Anne Bradstreet

(Book of God/Nature; stanza)

Contemplations

Anne Bradstreet

(Book of God/Nature; stanza)

Meditation 8

Edward Taylor

(lyric poetry; conceit) | the Bird as the soul

The Preface to God's Determinations

Edward Taylor

(lyric poetry; conceit) | a lot of rhetorical quesrions

Huswifery

Edward Taylor

(lyric poetry; conceit)

A Divine and Supernatural Light

Jonathan Edwards

(Enlightenment; empiricism; natural/supernatural)

The Autobiography

Benjamin Franklin

(self-made man; Enlightenment;)

Nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Transcendentalism; idealism) | the transparent eyeball, the poet sees nature REALLY, language [cunning fox = sly man])

Walden

Henry David Thoreau

(paradox) | applying Transcendentalism to daily life, everything u do = tryna stay warm, worldly success will destroy you.

The Raven

Edgar Allen Poe

(refrain; gothic; narrative POV)

The Cask of Amontillado

Edgar Allen Poe

(gothic; narrative POV)

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

(foreshadowing; foil)

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Harriet Jacobs

(abolitionism; pathos)

colonization

process by which one nation controls resources, people, & land of another nation

colonization connection

early European settlers of America defended colonization for religious reasons, practical & historical grounds, which created some problems: indigenous displacement, slavery, environmental harm, land conflicts, ethical conflict

vanishing Indian

colonists show up & they think that there's an unexplainable extinction. Norton editors avoid this bc they want to avoid the picture of Native Indians as just victims of decline.

The Native Indians are able to use European presence for their own purpose. Natives take weapons, political affiliations.

vanishing Indian connection

Beginnings to 1820 ???????

Enlightenment

intellectual movement started in the 17th & 18th century in Europe. stresses power of human reason over tradition, religion, & emotion.

Enlightenment connection

maybe just state emerson’s resistance to the Enlightenment and empiricim idk

myth

Myth 1: premodern, prescientific way to explain things that we now understand

Myth 2: story that expresses not scientific facts but higher truths about 1. the nature of reality; 2. humanity's relationship to the divine or spiritual; 3. the meaning of existence & human flourishing

myth connection

Iroquois Creation Story myth 2 | tension between chaos/rest. written as american government was kicking them off their land - chaos is back.

explains world’s origins, explores humanity's relationship to divine by involvement of spiritual beings like Sky Woman & Great Turtle. emphasizes balance, harmony, and the interconnectedness of all life in the natural world.

trickster

a wandering, bawdy, gluttonous, obscene figure who threatens order but can also establish order.

trickster connection

Winnebago Trickster Cycle | he doesn’t listen to plant - poops (chaos), listens to tree (peace)

separatism

those who believe that the Church of England is beyond purification or reform & therefore break away from it to start new churches

separatism connection

William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation from Book 1, Ch. 1 | pilgrims in plymouth contrasted with the puritans, who wanna organize their churches but not w/ priests/bishops, but with a pastor. sad irony: economic opportunity broke up the plymouth colony

city on a hill

an ideal Christian community of economic sharing, mutual care, & deep connection that exemplifies the New Testament ideal of the church as a body joined together in love

city on a hill connection

John Winthrop "A Model of Christian Charity" - everyone's watching us. ancient church. sharing, etc he’s coming to the new world so life will be very different so let’s share

Book of Nature

the idea that we can read nature as a system of signs and symbols that point back to God and show His character

Book of Nature connection

Anne Bradford "The Prologue" and "Contemplations" | Marvels about the grandeur of the sun which reflects God's majesty. Sun symbolizes glory, ability to sustain, light; all streams going into the ocean are christian lives

lyric poetry

poetry that deals with the inner thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of a speaker. Very personal. Can contrast it with narrative (story telling).

lyric poetry connection

Edward Taylor, "Meditation 8," The Preface to God's Determinations, and "Huswifery" | taylor's yearning for God and spiritual transformation

conceit

elaborate, often shocking/surprising metaphor w/ many layers

conceit connection

"Huswifery" by Edward Taylor | In "Huswifery," Edward Taylor uses the conceit of a spinning wheel to represent his life, which will produce holy actions just as a spinning wheel produces thread. Every part of the wheel has a corresponding spiritual meaning. The distaff, for instance, is the Word of God, and his soul is the spool.

empiricism

idea by Locke. All knowledge comes from our physical senses. The material world makes impressions on our senses & those impressions are imprinted on our thoughts like a seal on wax.

empiricism connection

Jonathan Edwards, "A Divine and Supernatural Light" | the sense of the HEART. emphasizes direct encounter w/ God

natural/supernatural

distinction between what we have simply as creatures of God 1. reason (natural) and what God alone can give 2. grace & immediate spiritual sensation (supernatural)

natural/supernatural connection

Jonathan Edwards, "A Divine and Supernatural Light" | words cannot communicate what divine light is - only experience can!!

self-made man

american ideal of an individual who through hard work & self-improvement rises beyond his initial social standing

self-made man connection

ben franklin - the autobiography; american archetype pg 230 underdog

American Renaissance

period from 1830-Civil War where America gained literary maturity.

American Renaissance connection

only white guys like Emerson, Whitman, etc (who also were against slavery) - want literature unique from Europe

reform

effort to make political or social improvements by addressing injustice & inequality & by recalling an institution's founding ideals.

reform connection

example: "declaration of sentiments" - echoes declaration of independence; appeals to liberty; AND WOMEN.

Transcendentalism

movement centered in New England around Emerson rejecting Enlightenment Rationalism (human reason over emotion/religion) and empiricism (our senses). They celebrate the power of feeling, intuition, and imagination.

Transcendentalism connection

Nature - Ralph Waldo Emerson; the transparent eye becoming One with nature

idealism

notion that reality & knowledge depend primarily on thought.

idealism connection

Emerson's Nature. (Reason = imaginative power to see spirutal, moral, and ideal realities in Nature). He says idealists are the most real, but in empiricist culture, idealists have a negative connotation.

paradox

seeming contradictions that reveal deeper truths

paradox connection

Thoreau - Walden. In an unjust society, the only place for a just man is in prison. - a paradox: bc prison is for criminals. If the whole society is corrupt, then a just man would be resisting this. | e opposes GETTING AHEAD IN YOUR CAREER, ACCUMULATING STUFF, TRYING TO BE UPWARDLY MOBILE (be more important). This is shallow and foolish to him. - another paradox: have a successful life without worldly success, worldly success will destroy you. | ironic because he became famous for this

refrain

line or part of line that repeats exactly or w/ slight change, usually at end of stanzas

refrain connection

Edgar Allen Poe - The Raven "Nevermore!"

gothic

genre of literature dealing w/ darker themes (irrational, illicit, violent) & supernatural/sensational experiences. Gothic settings often include: subterranean/secret passages, dungeons, castles, ruins, & Catholic countries

gothic connection

Edgar Allen Poe - The Cask of Amontillado | setting: carnival w/ masks, catacombs, going below surface

narrative POV

perspective from which a story is told: 1st person - I, or 3rd person - outside objective perspective

narrative POV connection

Edgar Allen Poe - "The Cask of Amontillado" | Poe wants to go down to the unconscious with an unreliable narrator in 1st person. The interest of this story is that this guy is CRAZY INSIDE

foreshadowing

technique where earlier events & elements of a narrative point ahead to later events

foreshadowing connection

Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter | Dimmesdale clutching his chest (where Hester's A is) | foreshadows revelation of secret guilt & his own scarlet letter. His physical pain symbolizes hidden sin & inner torment, hinting that he shares Hester’s shame. This recurring gesture builds suspense & prepares reader for eventual confession & mark on his chest.

foil

character who sets off features of protagonist by contrast

foil connection

Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter | Chillingworth, vengeance and bitterness, contrasts Hester's strength and growth; while he deteriorates morally, she becomes more independent and compassionate. Dimmesdale, guilt and hypocrisy, foils Hester's resilience and honesty—she openly bears her shame while he suffers in secret.

setting

place or time in which a work of literature happens

setting connection

Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter | the forest - a place to escape Puritan judgement (no laws), hiding from their sin

abolitionism

18th (1700s) or 19th (1800s) century reform movement to end slavery

abolitionism connection

Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl | she is trying to ask white Northern women to help

pathos

an appeal to emotions of audience, especially sympathy & pity

pathos connection

Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl | incidents: mom weaned at 3 months old for white kid to nurse; being stuck in the shed for months

1861-1865

Civil War

1861-1865 connection

Writers saw Civil War as a holy war against slavery