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American romantic culture
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American romantic culture
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Ever since its very creation, the United States of America has been symbolic of several ideas that were the base upon which the country was built. A period that was crucial in establishing those prominent American values was the American romantic period. American romanticism was the movement towards creating a distinct American cultural identity after a period of heavy reliance on European influence. In “Old Ironsides,” Oliver Holmes uses the Romantic characteristics of intense emotion, references to nature, and intuition over logic to portray not only the ship but also America as a proud and gallant country Holmes’s use of powerful emotions helps to convey his strong and patriotic attitude towards the ship Old Ironsides and America. His
Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi. America: A Narrative History. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1997.
... bonds to a past and to an American tradition erase all personal feelings of self-aggrandizement and intellectual pride, a place where the self encounters the struggle of America's past, a place where the soul grows deep like the rivers.
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
The literary rebellion, known as realism, established itself in American writing as a direct response to the age of American romanticism’s sentimental and sensationalist prose. As the dominance of New England’s literary culture waned “a host of new writers appeared, among them Bret Harte, William Dean Howells, and Mark Twain, whose background and training, unlike those of the older generation they displaced, were middle-class and journalistic rather than genteel or academic” (McMichael 6). These authors moved from tales of local color fiction to realistic and truthful depictions of the complete panorama of American experience. They wrote about uniquely American subjects in a humorous and everyday language, replete with their character’s misdeeds and shortcomings. Their success in creating this plain but descriptive language, the language of the common man, signaled the end of American reverence for British and European culture and for the more formal use of language associated with those traditions. In essence, these new authors “had what [the author] Henry James called “a powerful impulse to mirror the unmitigated realities of life,” in contrast to the romanticist’s insistence “on the author’s rights to avoid representations of “squalid misery” and to present instead an idealized and “poetic” portrait of life” (McMichael 6).
Tindall, George and David Emory Shi. America: A Narrative History Brief Ninth Edition-Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. Document.
In what might be considered a game-changer in how readers look at their society and their country, Andrew Schocket’s Fighting Over the Founders examines how Americans have interpreted the American Revolution and the past through politics, historical writing, and museums over the years. Despite their overt differences, these three fields share a common ground which is brought to light in Andrew Schocket’s work.
Occupying the centre of a vast array of paintings, postcards, books and plays, Niagara Falls has become a national icon. Since American independence, Niagara Falls has “assumed nationalistic meaning as the search for cultural/national symbols fixed on nature for America’s identity” (Irwin, xiv). Those select few who had the opportunity to view the falls in the eighteenth century pointed to its majestic beauty and transcendental nature as proof of America’s greatness. It was not until the construction of railroads in the middle of the nineteenth century however, that the majority of Americans were able to experience the falls first hand. At this time, the quest to find meaning in this natural wonder came to a climax. Niagara Falls became a battleground on which Americans sought to interpret the message they knew that Mother Nature had left for them to discover. As a result, Niagara Falls came to symbolize the importance of marriage, spirituality, and technological advancement in the construction of an American identity.
The early to mid-nineteenth century in America held promise for the young burgeoning nation. Dealing with the growing pains that every new country faces, America would expand its land territory, enter into another war with England, struggle with slavery, and move westward into California and the Northwest Territory. In 1800, America was just 25 years old, an infant in a world made up of mature governments and countries such as England, France, and Spain. Although the Capitol had just been moved from one city center of Philadelphia to another in Washington D.C., America was mostly rural and full of farm...
John Downe, an immigrant weaver from England, in his letter to his wife, creates a picturesque image of America. Downe’s purpose in doing so is to convince his wife to emigrate to the United States. He uses a dreamy tone in order to show his wife his extremely positive view of America.
“The Era of Good Feelings”, is marked by the beginning of James Monroe’s first term as president and is said coincide with his presidency. With the end of the War of 1812, the people of America began to feel optimistic and for the first time unified as a nation. With America’s continued to growth and development, we see an increase in nationalism among the people that defines this time as “The Era of Good Feelings”. These years can also be seen as a time of political cooperation and as Charles S. Sydnor describes it, “a single-party situation… when the Federalist organization disintegrated after the War of 1812”(439). However, this nationalism that unified the country, also blinded them from the problems and debates that were occurring during a time of what most believed to be a time of peace and harmony. The term “The Era of Good Feelings”, can therefor be misleading when looking at the actual events of this time period.
Throughout the Era of Good Feelings there was a moral high among Americans, although their was some animosity among political parties, the government took part in many acts that insured a healthy American spirit. For example, The American System, originally named ‘The American Way’, was an economic plan, introduced by Henry Clay, that involved a national bank to foster commerce,
Like stained glass images adorning Catholic Cathedrals across the world, Americans told the story of their nation with symbols of divinity. In early America, citizens represented themselves with in art and alluded to the values important to the young republic. Even in the architecture of the country’s capital there are references to their self assigned role as a classical Greco-Roman empire. A newly born nation in the late 18th century was discovering what the country was to represent. Over time, the early American’s developed their national identity through symbols of divine conception, classicism, and patriotic ideals of liberty.
For years, America has always been perceived as one of the top world powers due to its ability of achieving so much technological, economical, and social progress within a mere couple decades. Despite their great accomplishments, America is actually regressing psychologically, preventing the country from reaching its true potential as an “opportunity rich” country. In Anthony Burgess’ Is America Falling Apart? , the author unveils the circumstances in which America’s restricting society and selfish ideology cause the nation to develop into the type of society it tried to avoid becoming when it separated from the British Empire.
In “ A Description of New England ”, Smith starts by describing the pleasure and content that risking your life for getting your own piece of land brings to men. On the other hand, Bradford reminds us how harsh and difficult the trip to the New World was for the p...
The American dream or shared American experience can be found in many of the early American written text and transcribed texts. Immigrants and native people indigenous to North America founded this country. Both of these groups seem to have similar ideas, which appear to be the formation of the American dream. One of the most prominent traits is hope that takes many forms throughout the texts. Through careful examination of the early American literature we can find this and other commonalities amongst the early American literary canon.