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Thomas Paine
- Born in Norfolk, England, in 1737
- “There is something very absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island” – Common Sense (Thomas Paine)
- Flees to the United States in 1774 bearing letters of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin
Olive Branch Petition
- Written in July 1775 to sweet talk the King of Great Britain so they can have a greater participation and representation as the colonies in the New World (colonies want independence)
- “The American King is Law”, however some people want George Washington to be King
The Declaration Of Independence
- Written by Thomas Jefferson and critiqued by loyalists (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness)
- Common sense pamphlets are the start of the revolution, we won but what do we do now and how do we form a new government?
Washington’s Farewell Address
- Printed in the Philadelphia American Daily Advertiser on September 19th, 1796, and it is where the first President informs the American public that he will not seek another term in office
- This is because the more time you are in a institution the more you become that institution – Putin, potential with Washington, Castro
- Washington sets a precedent until FDR successfully wins a third term in office in 1932 (other attempts failed, Teddy Roosevelt and Ulysses Grant)
- Because of this the 22nd Amendment sets a rule that presidents can only serve two terms (8 years or 10 as Vice President)
- On President’s Day the Washington Address is read every year and the House originally read it but with lack of attendance the Senate began with a switch in parties each year
- Washington warns against political parties and foreign alliances, emphasizing unity and caution in international relations.
Enlightenment
- Enlightenment: Emphasis on reason over emotion (Over-emphasis shown in Brave New World)
- Enlightenment: Focus on rational order (U.S. Constitution)
- Enlightenment: Appreciation for human efficiency/achievements
- Enlightenment: Science can explain mysteries (Benjamin Franklin per example) - Music: Enlightened music is classical while romantic music is jazz - Art: Enlightened art is to illustrate historical or other senses not to convict emotion in others as romantic art does
Romanticism
- Romanticism: Emphasis on emotion over reason
- Romanticism: Focus on “irrational” freedom
- Romanticism: Appreciation for untamed nature
- Romanticism: Mystery is part of the human experience - Music: Enlightened music is classical while romantic music is jazz
- Art: Enlightened art is to illustrate historical or other senses not to convict emotion in others as romantic art does
Henry David Thoreau (Walden)
- Born on July 12th, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts
- Best known for Walden and “On Civil Disobedience
- Dies of tuberculosis on May 6, 1862, at the age of 45
- “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”
- Thoreau graduated from Harvard and was a teacher for a while until he quit because he wouldn’t beat his students and then he works at a pencil factory which job that he hates
- Thoreau’s question in Walden follow along with how much is enough in a capitalistic life and what does Thoreau really want out of life?
- “Work to live, not live to work”
- Quiet desperation = unknown despair
- Necessities of life = food, clothing, shelter, and fuel (food or otherwise)
- Thoreau argues that humans in the industrial era live lives of quiet desperation in chains we’ve forged ourselves (NOT people who love their jobs)
- Thoreau argues that we’d be much happier if we could learn to get by with less and not just be a cog in a machine
- Thoreau also experiments with his ideas and dreams; he believes that self sufficiency makes you happy
- Not giving is selfish by townspeople but Thoreau tries giving people what he has and they only want to be a cog in a machine
- Giving to people less off is good but one must have a good motive and it is greatly overrated by our selfishness to give and expect a reputation from that to be increased or conscience to be good (give with yourself and the well being for others, Jesus inspired, of course)
- Modern improvements can be made with technology when it comes to self sufficiency but they are always good since they are improved means but unimproved end as a cog in the machine to only make you a more efficient worker
Grammar And Style Time: PowerPoints
- Don’t clutter your slides with paragraphs, photos, emboldened or weird fonts (presenter can have cards to read to engage the audience and add information as well)
- PowerPoint Designer is your saving grace for beginners or quick power points but manipulate to your goal yourself
- Do large images for a high resolution in your power point
- Use animations and transitions with caution (frenemies)
- Background space is your friend
- Make the project engaging, professional, but not distracting
Emily Dickinson
- Born on December 10th, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts (died at 55)
- She wrote 1,800 poems but only 10 are published during her life (most famous poet after her generation, famous posthumously)
- Family is wealthy so she went to finishing school: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, MA (how to a good mother with decorum and manners as the lesson plan)
- She leaves after a year because she doesn’t want to rise in the congregation and be a Christian – she will not be conformed
- She never marries and simply writes poems all her life
Dark Romantics
- Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe are in this sub category where emotion is over reason but fear, terror, depression are the emotions that are used not happiness and joy
- Showcases evil or perverse moral choices
Edgar Allan Poe
- Died of intoxication, phrenitis, or mysterious origins but in of itself is mysterious for his writing and reason
- Poe writes in dark enchantment in House of the Fall of Usher and also writes the hauntingly beautiful Annabel Lee
Manifest Destiny
- Lady Columbia is an American avatar of the 1870’s before Uncle Sam
- She is holding a school book to expand education and civilization through the West into Canada
- She has a star of the Empire on her forward leading the nation forward (U.S. as a empire, positive connotation back then)
- In the image, life is on the right/east because the sun rises as she does
- Native Americans are part of the landscape and Pacific Ocean is shown after Rocky mountains, states are condensed, to show expansion the manifest destiny of America
- Manifest destiny is clear and it is not creating something into existence, it is already there and it is fate by Divine Providence leading it on
- Manifest destiny is city on a hill (religious) but secularized for expansion Westward
Annexation Of Texas
- John O’ Sullivan, writer of O’ Sullivan “Manifest Destiny”, is a newspaper columnist born in 1813 and not politically affiliated or influenced but the ambassador of Portugal; romantic for the manifest destiny
- For context Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana in 1803 from the French (Napoleon) and the country shifted from the east across the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River now a westward facing nation
- The U.S. denies Mexico by annexing a breakaway province (Texas) but Mexico hasn’t invaded Republic of Texas yet (delicate political situation)
- Texas is more culturally American than anything so should be the United States and Texas fought a war of independence so Texas should be America’s even if Mexico doesn’t ratify it
- Sullivan makes a persuasive argument for Texas and for California that the U.S. will have a American population there soon and Mexico is too far away to inherit California (same with America so U.S. proposes a railroad for transportation)
- Sullivan also proposes Canada for annexation since Britain is too far away
- Knights Of The Golden Circle to annex Mexico because of Mason Dixon line (Sullivan supports)
Civil Disobedience
- Civil Disobedience is oriented around the fact that just because something is legal does not make it morally right
- Center around Thoreau being in jail for not paying a poll tax when voting (unconstitutional by Lockean standards, consent to be governed)
- Poll Tax can be weaponized to those who cannot vote and don’t have the money
- Thoreau hates Mexican-American war because he does not like slavery nor the annexing of Mexico
- The North does not hate the war because money is their substitute to slavery
- Justice is more fundamental to happiness (Thoreau vs. Paley)
Frederick Douglass
- His writing as a freed slave and abolitionist is accurate and not overly melodramatic like white abolitionists of that time; it’s not horror but truth
- Frederick’s identity is not a slave but a person, he is not a victim of his circumstance
- He writes his narrative at age 20 when he is freed and lives on until he is 70 and death in 1890
- When he is freed and goes to New Bedford, an abolitionist city where he is an orator and public speaker
- Douglass becomes a speaker for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in 1841
- After publishing his book Douglass flees to England else he is captured because he wrote the names of his slaveowners and he is eventually freed by his supporters money and himself
- Slaves are not human, but economic commodities and properties back then
- Humans are too corrupted by slavery.
- Learning makes one unfit to be a slave.
- Ignorance is bliss, burdened with knowledge.
- Slavery as a necessary evil; a the positive good.
- Frederick Douglass was the most photographed American of the 19th century
- More than a 160 photos between 1840-1890
- This is a controversial medium but also shows the power of the image not for vain uses but for an opportunity to show an oppressed black man not beaten down but dignified, democratic and not bestial
- "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
- First delivered to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in 1852.
- The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required the enforcement of free states to aid in the capture of escaped slaves. (If you don’t cooperate → pay $1,000 USD fine).
- Back then, hard to say. MLK was right/easy to say it now.
- "America was never great" (least liberty, more slavery).
- Today’s society calls themselves abolitionists for compliance, not for revolution.
Grammar Time: Colon & Semi-Colon
- Colon = shortest pause or intermission.
- Semi-colon = twice as long as a comma → both parts of the sentence still relate.
- Period = longest pause.
- Ex of Colon: "Then I came to a shocking realization: he did not remember me."
- Explains, introduces reasoning, emphasis.
- Uses for colons: Separate #s (time, ratios), chapter, verses (i.e., 13:37), hours separated from minutes.
- Ex of Semi-Colon: "I saw a magnificent albatross; it was eating a mouse."
- Connects two independent clauses (joined by conjunctions like and, but, etc.).
- Basically a super comma of two sentences.
Grammar Time: Dashes
3 Types of Dashes:
Hyphen (short).
En-dash (medium—length of "N").
Em-dash (long—length of "M").
Rule: Hyphens link two words together to create a compound word
Ex: Twenty-one, well-known, ex-girlfriend, sister-in-law.
Difference Between Hyphens:
- "I saw a man-eating alligator."
- "I saw a man eating an alligator."
- Em-dashes are versatile to replace commas, parentheses, or colons.
- Used to emphasize phrases bracketed by dashes.
- Can be overused if abused!
Rule: En-dashes are used to replace the word “to”
Ex: "We (date) 1929–1933.
Ambrose Bierce (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge)
- Born in 1842 (19 when the Civil War began) in Ohio.
- Union soldier in big battles (20 of them).
- Died in 1914.
- Shot in the head → skull lodged in his ear but survived.
- Though had fainting spells and mood swings.
- Known for short stories, writer, and journalist.
- Ambrose Bierce wrote the satirical Devil’s Dictionary.
- Goes to Mexico → never heard of again but writes lots of letters during his time and consequently doesn’t record death.
- "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has a twist → Peyton’s death.
Walt Whitman
- Born in 1819 in Long Island and dies in 1892 at the age of 72.
- Publishes his most famous volume of poetry, Leaves of Grass, in 1855.
- In 1862, Whitman visits his wounded brother and is horrified by all the carnage he sees, so he becomes an Army nurse.
- In 1865, Whitman publishes Drum-Taps, an anthology of his Civil War poetry.
- Whitman traumatized by war → Poems became Dark Romantic.
Willa Cather (O’ Pioneers)
- Willa Cather is born in 1873 and moved out to Nebraska Territory (given free land to people who simply had to populate the land and survive the prairie land) when she was 10 years old but moved 18 months later after a failed farming attempt to Red Cloud, Nebraska
- Cather graduated from University of Nebraska and moved to New York City, she is the author of twelve novels but works for gossip magazine McClure’s Magazine
- She publishes O’ Pioneers in 1932 and this is her second book which is a success compared to her first book which was everything about New York though her experience is slim
- “Prairie Spring” poem by Willa Cather (epigraph of Land vs. Youth)
- Poem illustrates that the murder of Emil and Marie is inevitable and Emil’s and Marie’s love was “insupportable sweetness”
- Roses foreshadow Emil’s and Marie’s love and death (Wild roses during live and ashes-of-roses (Cotton) at death, “wild roses opened their pink hearts to die”)
- Frank has a victim complex throughout the story and blames Marie for the circumstance of his life, he creates his own unhappiness (He wants Marie to be an extension of himself, he is unhappy thus she needs to be unhappy too)
- Carl and Alexandra reunite in the end, a perfect happily ever after
The Realists Literary Style (Willa Cather)
- A focus on the ordinary (no dungeons or magic)
- Events tend to be plausible (no lightning or dragons)
- Appreciation of detail (daily life)
- Focus on character development
Iambs
- A metrical foot consisting of one unstresses syllable followed by a stressed syllable
- Ex) To be | or not | to be
Anapests
- A metrical foot with two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable
- Ex) In the midst | of the night | he arose
Common Meter (Dickinson)
A poetic meter alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter (8 syllables, 6 syllables)
Often used in hymns and ballads.
Example (from Amazing Grace) Amaz|ing grace! | how sweet | the sound (tetrameter)
That saved | a wretch | like me! (trimeter)
Tetrameter
A line of verse with four metrical feet (can be iambic, anapestic, etc.).
Example (iambic tetrameter) I walked | into | the woods | alone
Trimeter
A line of verse with four metrical feet (can be iambic, anapestic, etc.).
Example (iambic tetrameter I walked | into | the woods | alone
Slant Rhymes (Dickinson)
Near or imperfect rhymes where the ending consonant sounds match but not the vowel sounds
Example) “hope” and “step” or “worm” and “swarm”
Free Verse (Whitman)
- Free verse has no rhyme or meter but uses:
- Personification
- Alliteration (repeated first sound)
- Onomatopoeia
- Repetition
- Hebrew poetry (Psalms) is free verse
Remember John Gast’s 1872 painting “American Progress”? It might be a good idea to think about how that painting illustrates the theme of Manifest Destiny.
- Lady Columbia is an American avatar of the 1870’s before Uncle Sam
- She is holding a school book to expand education and civilization through the West into Canada
- She has a star of the Empire on her forward leading the nation forward (U.S. as a empire, positive connotation back then)
- In the image, life is on the right/east because the sun rises as she does
- Native Americans are part of the landscape and Pacific Ocean is shown after Rocky mountains, states are condensed, to show expansion the manifest destiny of America
- Manifest destiny is clear and it is not creating something into existence, it is already there and it is fate by Divine Providence leading it on
- Manifest destiny is city on a hill (religious) but secularized for expansion Westward
Thoreau’s quite the minimalist, isn’t he? What’s his problem with modern life, and how does he suggest you solve it? I bet I’ll be asking for specific details, btw.
- Henry David Thoreau, in Walden (1854), critiques modern life for being overly materialistic, overly complex, and spiritually deadening. He argues that people are enslaved by their possessions and jobs, living lives of “quiet desperation” instead of truly experiencing the world.
- His solutions for modern life are:
- Simplicity: “Simplify, simplify.” Thoreau believes reducing one's possessions and obligations allows for deeper thought and appreciation of life.
- Self-Sufficiency: Living close to nature fosters independence and a more authentic existence.
- Deliberate Living: Instead of rushing through life, people should reflect on their actions and values.
- Rejection of Social Conventions: He critiques institutions like government and industrial capitalism, believing they corrupt individual integrity.
- Specific Example:
- He famously isolates himself at Walden Pond (1845-1847) to strip life down to its essentials and understand it firsthand.
Douglass sure has some problems with the American church in both his Narrative and “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Specific examples of why he’s so disillusioned with it might be nice.
- Douglass sees the American church as deeply hypocritical because it claims to uphold Christian virtues while supporting slavery.
- Specific Examples from His Works:
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845):
o He exposes how slaveholders use religion to justify slavery. His master, Thomas Auld, becomes “more cruel and hateful” after a religious conversion.
o Reverend Rigby Hopkins is a particularly vile example, whipping slaves while quoting scripture.
o Douglass contrasts true Christianity with “the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.”
- “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852):
o Douglass attacks Christian ministers for preaching obedience to master’s rather than liberation.
o He points out the contradiction of celebrating freedom while enslaving millions.
o Quote: “Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference.”
- Essentially, Douglass calls for authentic Christianity that aligns with Christ’s teachings of justice and love rather than propping up oppression.
A lot of our authors this trimester are part of the literary movement known as Romanticism. But what is Romanticism, and how does it differ from a) the Enlightenment and b) Literary Realism?
- Romanticism vs. The Enlightenment & Literary Realism
- Romanticism (late 18th–mid-19th century) was a reaction against the Enlightenment’s focus on reason and Literary Realism’s focus on everyday life.
- Key Traits of Romanticism:
- Emotion & Imagination over reason.
- Nature as a source of inspiration and spiritual renewal.
- The individual & the heroic figure (often rebellious or passionate).
- The supernatural & the mysterious (e.g., Poe’s Gothic tales).
- Glorification of the past (especially medievalism).
- Romanticism vs. The Enlightenment
- Romanticism | - Enlightenment |
- Emotion & intuition | - Logic & reason |
- Nature & the sublime | - Science & progress |
- Individual experience | - Universal truths |
- Mystery & the supernatural | - Rationality & order |
- Example: Rousseau’s The Social Contract (Enlightenment) vs. Wordsworth’s Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey (Romanticism).
- Romanticism vs. Literary Realism
- Romanticism | - Realism |
- Idealized, heroic characters | - Everyday, relatable people |
- Heightened emotions & drama | - Ordinary life, no exaggeration |
- Nature as mystical | - Nature as just scenery |
- Emphasis on beauty & adventure | - Focus on social issues & reality |
- Example: Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher (Romantic) vs. Cather’s O’ Pioneers (Realist).
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