A Growing Nation 1820-1865

1. A Growing Nation 1820-1865 • Before 1800 American writers were not widely read. • \ • This began to change as American writers began to define the American voice. • As America grew as a nation, people called for a national literature. • The primary theme of American writing was the quest of the individual to define himself/herself. • The characteristic journey of the 19th century is the journey away from the town or city to the world of nature.

2. Romantic Literature • Romanticism was an artistic movement that dominated Europe and America in the 19th century. • Romanticism valued imagination and intuition over reason and fact. Focus on superstition, the past, the mysteries of nature. • In ROMANTIC literature, the city was associated with moral ambiguity, corruption, and death. • The countryside (and nature) became associated with independence, moral certainty, and health. • The idea of the American frontier took on great significance in American literature as it set it apart from European topics.

3. Washington Irving 1783-1859 • America’s first truly popular professional writer. • He was one of the first American Romantics. • He is considered one of the “inventors” of the modern short story. • Born in New York City • Named after George Washington (met him in a shop in NYC) when he was a child. • Showed a genius for creating comic, fictional narrators.

4. Irving cont. • 1809--Wrote A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. • This work was a hoax narrated by an unreliable narrator named DiederichKnickerbocker. The work’s success established him as a satirist. DiederichKnickerbocker

5. At 21 visited Europe—wrote accounts re: his travels. Loved the “Old World.” • While in Europe (1815-1832) he read German Romantics. • Wrote stories based on German folk tales. • Wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker,” based on a German folk tale. • “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” were both based on German folktales but were distinctly American--set in rural New York—Hudson Valley

6. “Rip” and “Legend” were published in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (Crayon was another comic voice.) • The Sketch Book brought him international success. • Irving borrowed from Europe but established a new voice for the new nation. • Irving spent the final years of his life at “Sunnyside,” his farmhouse in Tarrytown, NY. • As schoolboys, Hawthorne and Longfellow were inspired by the success of The Sketch Book.

7. “The Devil and Tom Walker” • The story is based on the legend of Faust or Faustus, a scholar who sells his soul to the Devil. The legend is based on an actual magician who lived in the area of northern Germany in the fifteenth century. • Faust • Faustian characters/themes appear in many works of literature. Can you think of one?

8. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” • Set in Tarrytown, NY. • A Yankee school teacher meets “the Headless Horseman.” “Rip Van Winkle” -Set in a rural town in New York. -Rip escapes his abusive wife, and on his journey into the countryside, he falls asleep for 20 years. -He awakens after the Revolutionary War, a “free” man in more ways than one. -His awakening parallels America’s awakening as a new nation. -He is a comic “counterhero,”anunambitious do-nothing who makes success out of failure.

9. William Cullen Bryant 1794-1878 • Born in western Mass. • Wrote “Thanatopsis” as a teenager. • Published Poems in 1821 (27 years old) • Made him famous • Moved to NYC—became magazine and newspaper editor/owner • Helped form Republican Party; supported Lincoln • Campaigned to create Central Park • Translated The Iliad and The Odyssey in his 70s

10. Bryant’s Legacy • Mourned as a great poet and editor. • First American poet to receive worldwide critical acclaim. • Led the Romantic Movement in America. • Discerned moral lessons and a divine presence in the American landscape. • Used his role as journalist to advocate for human rights and personal freedoms– advocated for women’s rights; fierce foe of slavery.

11. James Fenimore Cooper 1789-1851 • America’s first great novelist (wrote 32 novels plus many other books) • He developed the American adventure tale as a new literary mode. • Frontier was a uniquely American setting. • Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye) from the Leatherstocking series is one the most memorable and imitated heroes in American fiction. • Heroic elements: Brave, fautless hero, loyal Indian companion, encounters physical danger as a test of his prowess, hair-breadth rescues

12. Cooper’s Legacy • Created a uniquely American form of literature. • Created the American Romantic hero upon which future heroes were based. • Depicted close friendship between a white man and an Indian. • Lamented the suffering of the Mohicans, a tribe described as highly moral and ethical. • While Mark Twain criticized Cooper’s writing, the Leatherstocking novels are thought to have had the most influence on Huckleberry Finn.

13. The LeatherstockingSeries Consists of 5 novels. They tell story of frontiersman Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye) and his Indian friend Chingachgook. Common plot elements: guiding women through wilderness, threat of Indian attack, Chingachgook and Natty’s prowess, treacherous characters, etc. • The Pioneers (1823)—written first—fourth chronologically in terms of plot—takes place 1793—NY frontier—Natty middle-aged, Chingachgook dies • The Last of the Mohicans (1826) (Takes place 1757—second novel in plot--during French Indian War in NY—Natty and his friends rescue two sisters and escort them to their lt. colonel father at Fort William Henry. • The Prairie (1827) (Takes place 1804 after Louisiana Purchase—setting—last novel in plot—Natty= The Tapper,” an old man, moves farther west to avoid the sound of trees begin cut down; helps pioneer family, dies.) • The Pathfinder (1840) (Takes place 1750s—NY, Canada, third novel in series) • The Deerslayer(1841) (Takes place 1740-1745—NY—introduces young Natty. He is contrasted against white mean who want to take scalps. He considers this act unnatural for white men.)

14. Last of the Mohicans • FILM • Hawkeye and Cora fall in love. • Hawkeye is portrayed as Chingachgook’s white son. • Uncas has feelings for Alice. • Duncan proposed to Cora. She refuses him. • Hawkeye and Duncan are enemies. • Alice dies, Cora lives, Col. Munro, and Duncan die. • Uncas dies. • Chingachgook kills Magua. BOOK • Hawkeye is not a love interest. • Hawkeye is a friend and contemporary to Chingachgook, not his adopted son. • Uncas is protective of Cora. • Duncan loves Alice. • Hawkeye and Duncan respect each other. • Magua tries to make Cora marry him to exact revenge on Munro. • Cora is of mixed race. • Cora dies, Col. Munro and Duncan live. • Uncas dies. • Hawkeye kills Magua.