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LITR 4232: American Renaissance  |
Final Exam Essays 2013 Sample answers for
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Anahi Montemayor
The Romantics
The Romantic Movement started in the 1700’s and rolled to the
1800’s. Writers during this period were discovering the world around them and
that is what they used to form beautiful stories and poetry. Realism which was a
movement that started in the 1800’s bloomed into the 1900’s because of writers
wanted to write about real situations and what was really happening around them.
Both of these movements had great writers and within these writing they had
their obvious differences and some similarities.
“The Last of the Mohicans” by James Fenimore Cooper written
in 1826 takes place around 1750’s which is when the French and the Indian War
takes place. During this war, the French depended on its Native American allies
to help fight the more numerous British colonists in the Northeast frontier
areas. “The Last of the Mohicans” takes place in 1757 during the French and
Indian War and recounts the story of an unarmed massacre, the kidnapping of two
sisters, and their rescue by Hawk-eye and his two Mohican friends Uncas and
Chingachook.
Throughout
the novel romance seems to pop up. For example, “Although his alarming
communication was not received without much secret terror by the listeners, his
earnest and impressive manner, aided perhaps by the nature of the danger,
succeeded in bracing their nerves to undergo some unlooked-for and unusual
trial” [5.18]. This sentence talks about how they are scared to get some kind of
punishment from the above. This is a very typical romantic touch because of that
fear of what that higher law can do to them if they do wrong. Gothic which is
another term under romanticism also comes up in “The Last of the Mohicans”. When
gothic comes up it is always that fear that keeps us wanting more when watching
movies or reading a book. It’s the castle on top of a mountain which looks dark
and gloomy. Or those long narrow passages that seem to never end. All of these
are part of what gothic is. This novel also shows this when it says, “But their
way was becoming intricate, in those dark and gloomy passages, and the glimpses
of the retiring warriors less distinct and frequent; and for a moment the trace
was believed to be lost, when a white robe was seen fluttering in the further
extremity of a passage that seemed to lead up the mountain” [32.54]. This being
a dark scene gives you that gothic feel because of how it flows. Everything
seems so dark, yet we want to keep on reading and see what is going to happen
next.
“The Wound-Dresser” by Walt Whitman was written in 1865. This
poem talks about a man who is a nurse who helps wounded soldiers. His poem goes
on to describe the way the hospital is set up and what it looks like. He also
talk about his patients and even when he does not know them he feels for them
and wishes he could take their place. The war made everything so real for him so
he would write in a manner that it was so real and personal to him.
This poem by Walt Whitman shows what Realism is and how it
works. In his poem, for example, he writes, “Bearing the bandages, water and
sponge,/ Straight and swift to my wounded I go,/ Where they lie on the ground
after the battle brought in,/Where their priceless blood reddens the grass the
ground” [2.13-2.16]. The person cleaning the soldier’s wounds was having issues
having to deal with people who were not physically hurt but also emotionally.
Realism is about realty, what is happening at that moment and not being able to
sugar coat it. This experience is horrible and it can’t be put into pretty
terms. This was a period were writing about what was really happening in their
world. Another example of realism in this poem is, “From the stump of the arm,
the amputated hand,/ I undo the clotted lint, remove the slough, wash off the
matter and blood,/ Back on his pillow the soldier bends with curv'd neck and
side falling head,/ His eyes are closed, his face is pale, he dares not look on
the bloody stump,/ And has not yet look'd on it” [3.7-3.11]. This image of a
soldier being amputated at war is just horrible and the description again makes
it that much worse. This poem is talking about a real and very tragic even which
makes it that much intense. Realism takes poetry to another level because it
lets you connect to events that you would be able to if you wouldn’t have read
it.
Because Romanticism and Realism merge in the 1800’s it is
impossible for them not to merge in poetry and novels as well. Both of these
writing can have a combination of the two but it has more of the period that
they are writing from that you see more of. Cooper and Whitman are both great
writers and it is the style of writing that they have which makes them unique
from each other.
1865 flag of the USA