10 Things I Didn’t Know About You, America.
American History
1. Puritanism has a very long lasting influence in America.
2. America is built on the idea that there is no past, only an ever-growing future.
3. There is a constant push and pull between the covenant of grace and the covenant of works, i.e. an independent spirit and an obligation to the community.
4. America is a world filled with natural depravity and a natural innocence.
5. America, the land of the free, is built upon the subjugation of non-white-males (e.g. slavery and women even in the North).
Literature
6. American literature is very paradoxical, often contradicting itself as a result of the beliefs it was founded upon which began with Puritanism.
7. Amercian literature can be very dark, filled with an aura of gloom and mystery.
8. Wilderness and nature are two important themes found in many American works, but they take on very different ideas.
9. American authors are often hypocrites. Thank you, Franklin and Emerson, etc.
10. Alcott is awesome.
This course has changed my view on American literature. I didn’t really know or read any American literature before this class, other than several years ago in high school and I really didn't care for it then. I now understand the paradoxes that contribute to the development of the country and literature and have a new appreciation for what contributed to American lit. The influence of Puritanism is still present today, which is something that I didn't really thing still existed. However, many American works attempt to deny the past of the nation, and yet contain the same themes found in the works before them. All in all, America is one confusing place.
American History
1. Puritanism has a very long lasting influence in America.
2. America is built on the idea that there is no past, only an ever-growing future.
3. There is a constant push and pull between the covenant of grace and the covenant of works, i.e. an independent spirit and an obligation to the community.
4. America is a world filled with natural depravity and a natural innocence.
5. America, the land of the free, is built upon the subjugation of non-white-males (e.g. slavery and women even in the North).
Literature
6. American literature is very paradoxical, often contradicting itself as a result of the beliefs it was founded upon which began with Puritanism.
7. Amercian literature can be very dark, filled with an aura of gloom and mystery.
8. Wilderness and nature are two important themes found in many American works, but they take on very different ideas.
9. American authors are often hypocrites. Thank you, Franklin and Emerson, etc.
10. Alcott is awesome.
This course has changed my view on American literature. I didn’t really know or read any American literature before this class, other than several years ago in high school and I really didn't care for it then. I now understand the paradoxes that contribute to the development of the country and literature and have a new appreciation for what contributed to American lit. The influence of Puritanism is still present today, which is something that I didn't really thing still existed. However, many American works attempt to deny the past of the nation, and yet contain the same themes found in the works before them. All in all, America is one confusing place.
Very nice blog. You have really captured some of the most important paradoxes of our country and our literature.
ReplyDelete