The Focus on Emotion over Reason in the Romantic Era
The changes beginning in the late 18th century and still augmenting today, shepherd the reaction that was the Romantic Era. What began as a reaction against the intellectualism of the Enlightenment Movement was largely expanded into a crusade against the previously rigid class structure and materialism demonstrated in the Industrialization of Europe. During this period of progress, modern science encouraged the dependence of scholars on factual information. However, the literature of the reactionary period portrays the complete opposite as repudiation of rules is often a foundation of the romantic philosophy. The superseding nature of imagination over reason, emotions over logic, and intuition
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When the focus is strictly on this fulfillment of desire, the importance of the present begins to supersede that of the future and distorts not only judgement, but also relationships. In the instance of this comical short story, Tom’s relationship with his wife is distorted by his emotion, a negative guide to life. Tom’s feelings are focused on gaining the treasure offered to him by the Devil which turns his attention towards the deal with the Devil and away from the well-being of his wife. When she decides out of avarice to bargain with the Devil herself and disappears, Tom is concerned about the articles she took with her stating “Let us get hold of the property […] and we will endeavor to do without the wife” (243). In this case, his desire is so strong that it clouds the love he feels for his wife. This is a prime example for the way emotion is able to distort relationships. Not only does it distort his relationship but Tom also suffers himself because of his decisions. “The black man whisked him like a child into the saddle, gave the horse the lash, and away he galloped, with Tom on his back, in the midst of the thunderstorm” even after he believed that he was safe (244). This plotline common to literature demonstrates a Faust myth where one knowingly or unknowingly sells their soul to the …show more content…
Ahab’s quest for the whale is not an honorable pursuit of God, but man’s vain endeavor in his hatred of God to destroy the all-powerful deity. The symbol of the whale as God makes sense as it is white a color that is associated not only with purity and honor but the deity of God himself. Because this whale caused him personal damage in an earlier encounter, Ahab views the whale as an “inscrutable thing”, making it his life’s quest to get revenge (335). Not only does he associate the whale with this damaging experience, he connects the deity of God with “the white whale that razeed me; made a poor pegging lubber for me forever and a day!” (334). His quest for vengeance distorts his ability to have a relationship of God as who can endure the pursuit of such a being if the pursuit is driven by enmity? Ahab’s pursuit of Moby Dick, “Be [he] agent, or be [he] principal” is driven strictly by hostility and a lack of righteousness (335). Only those who have experienced the sweetness of reconciling grace can look at the tremendous
To this day, there are a lot of people that sell their soul to the devil. It all started a long time ago, when people soul their soul for money, beauty, long life, fame, power etc. in Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker,” and the movie “Snow White and the Huntsman,” there are people that sell their soul to the devil, like Tom Walker and Queen Ravenna.
Analysis: Melville's Great American Novel draws on both Biblical and Shakespearean myths. Captain Ahab is "a grand, ungodly, god-like man … above the common" whose pursuit of the great white whale is a fable about obsession and over-reaching. Just as Macbeth and Lear subvert the natural order of things, Ahab takes on Nature in his
A Faustian legend is a story in which a character trades something of great personal value to the devil in order to receive personal gain. Since this type of literature originated in the Fourth Century it has spread throughout the world. Two relatively recent versions of this legend are “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Vincent Benét. These stories show many similarities as well as a few differences. While both Benét and Irving present similar themes in setting of the tales and motivation in the Faustian character, they do differ in the nature of that character and their visual presentation of the Devil.
One day Tom encountered with the devil, Old Scratch. Old Scratch is a tall black man who made a deal with a famous pirate named Kidd to watch over his bounty but Kidd never came back for it. As Tom and Old scratch were talking he tried to make a deal with Tom which was giving Tom Kidd's treasures for toms soul, but Tom turns down the deal spite his wife. His wife finds the devil and tries to bargain with all her valuables and the devil takes the valuables and leaves her heart and liver in her apron hanging in a tree for tom to find. After tom found her remains her accepted the deal with the devil which leads him to a downfall where he lives miserably.
Rather than using reasoning and knowledge for guidance, the people of the Romantic period focused largely on the idea of using feelings and intuition to make decisions. The main foundation of the Romantic era was a reaction against rationalism and reasoning. Upward mobility and success through intellect was a major concept of the Rationalist period. “In an important respect, however, the Dream of Upward Mobility, particularly in the South, was actually too successful…” (Cullen 61). Unfortunately, during the rationalist movement, large cities and higher standards of living led to problems for Americans. Morality declined as Americans strove for money, power, and overall success. Poverty along with death rates increased as the small population of wealthy became wealthier as the poor became poorer. “The...
Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker” includes great examples of Romanticism, such as symbols in nature having links to the supernatural, the importance of the inner nature, and the emphasis of the individual. In the story, Tom Walker is a selfish man who cares more about money than he does about anyone else, including his wife. One day, while he is walking through the woods, Tom Walker comes across the Devil, who makes a deal with him to exchange his soul for the treasure that is buried in those woods. Tom declines and returns back to his wife and tells her that he has passed on an opportunity that could bring them lots of money. Tom’s wife, outraged by his actions, decides to strike a deal of her own with the Devil and after several attempts, she never returns from the woods. The next time Tom goes to the woods he finds that his wife had been killed by the Devil. He finally agrees to make the deal with him, now that Tom doesn’t have to share anything with his wife. Tom ignores the Devil’s suggestion of becoming a slave-trader and becomes a moneylender instead. He gets wea...
Performing a pagan ritual before the groggy crew, Captain Ahab swears the men to join him in hunting down the white whale Moby Dick and killing him to satisfy Ahab's desire for revenge. Starbuck is horrified, while the crazy ranting of their captain wildly inspires members of the ship. This is an evil voyage. I fear the wrath of God. Service to mankind that pleases God is not revenge. "
In Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea we are introduced to two individuals who share different opinions on nature and the marvelous creatures that make up the world around them. In this paper, I will explore the differences between Captain Ahab and Santiago. In Moby Dick, we are introduced to Captain Ahab and his personal quest to avenge the personal loss he suffered at the jaws of what he considered to “evil” while Ishmael recounts “ Ahab did not fall down and worship it like them; but deliriously transferring its idea to the abhorred white whale, he pitted himself, all mutilated, against it. All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and throught; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified and made practically assailable in Moby Dick” (Melville pg 156.) In this, he describes how Ahab’s previous encounter with the whale has tainted his opinion on the traditional values of “white” representing purity and righteousness and replaced it with the notion of the color representing evil and cruelty as though Ahab believed Moby Dick had a personal vendetta against him instead of nature simply protecting itself against a great threat.
To Ahab, the whale represents the malevolence of nature. To Starbuck, it is a commodity. To
To understand how Romanticism changed the way society thought, you must first understand the meanings and reason behind the movement. The Romantic Movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was described as a movement in the history of culture, an aesthetic style, and an attitude of mind. (Fiero) Romanticism provided expression of their thoughts and ideas toward their own societies, which was in effect predominantly in Europe and in the United States. The movement was a reaction to the Enlightenment which provided strict ideology and rationalism. The Church had much to do with the Enlightenment seeing as if religion and the importance of God were incorporated into most aspects of their culture. Thus, Romanticism was a response to the Enlightenment Movement and their religious ideology.
In addition Ahab in "Moby Dick" is considered not only as an evil and sinful person but is selfish and greedy. The reason why he is sinful, evil, selfish, greedy, mainly is because he didn’t care what the other people on the ship wanted or that what he was going to do would or could bring dangers, and what he was doing was a waste of time, because instead of getting vengeance on "Moby Dick". He could be hunting whales for food and selling what’s left of them and make money.
He curses God and the universe for being intangible, and using such agents in nature to deliver the devious works. He says to Starbuck, “Talk not to me of blasphemy, man…not my master, man, is even that fair play” (1460). As the Pequod finally spots Moby Dick, Ahab seems to be at the peak of his madness as he progresses in thoughts about the wind. At first that the wind is foul and contaminated, then it is “heroic” and “unconquerable” before taking it back and deciding it is cowardly1475). He then proclaims his
Romanticism started in the 18th century and was said to be influenced by the French and Industrial Revolution.
The Enlightenment was a period in European culture and thought characterized as the “Age of Reason” and marked by very significant revolutions in the fields of philosophy, science, politics, and society (Bristow; The Age of Enlightenment). Roughly covering the mid 17th century throughout the 18th century, the period was actually fueled by an intellectual movement of the same name to which many thinkers subscribed to during the 1700s and 1800s. The Enlightenment's influences on Western society, as reflected in the arts, were in accordance with its major themes of rationalism, empiricism, natural rights and natural law or their implications of freedom and social justice. The Enlightenment began or could be said to have been propelled by the scientific revolution of the earlier centuries, particularly the Newtonian universe, as modernizing science gradually undermined the ancient Western geocentric idea of the universe as well as accompanying set of presuppositions that had been constraining and influencing philosophical inquiry (Bristow; Lewis; Mattey).
The changes in society and the social well-being of people underlie the primary purpose of the Romantic Movement. Romanticism originally was the reaction against the Enlightenment. According to the Scientific Journal Of Humanistic Studies, the Enlightenment’s purpose was “to reform society using reason, challenging ideas are grounded in tradition and faith, and advance knowledge through the scientific method. “It promoted scientific thought, skepticism, and intellectual interchange” (Bodrogean). With the historical and cultural context of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Romanticism in music took two distinctive paths. “One path in particular was taken in the path to find sources in the French Revolution of 1789 through 1793 and other revolutionary movements such as the July Revolution of 1830” (Fluck).Realism is found everywhere in literature and has enhanced the experiences of our lives, especially in the humanities. The ultimate influential arguments for realism is that it represents the life that people live. In response to the Romantic Era, the Realism Movement sought to depict real-life situations and people that not only affected literature, but also the American music written in the early eighteenth century through the twenty-first century.