LITR 4232 American Renaissance 2010 final exam—Answers to Question B3

Jeff Derrickson

A Nexus of Literary and Historical Depth

          It can be said that literature puts a recognizable face on the history of a certain era, and this holds true for the American Renaissance. Simply described as the period of time between the American Revolution and the Civil War, these years saw the country grow on an exponential scale, and that growth was mirrored by an artistic and literary boom. New possibilities and concepts were explored even as Americans explored new lands. Ideas such as transcendentalism, civil disobedience, and gender and race equality emerged, which would inspire readers to envision a world greater than that which they inhabited; a world in which they could become part of something larger than life itself.

Considering the historical significance of the American Renaissance, I did not expect to see the issue of civil disobedience emerge. I am familiar with the concept, as it was exhibited by Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr., but I had not considered examples prior to the 20^th century. Civil disobedience is a rich tradition that has existed since ancient Greece and China, and it was interesting to see it utilized during the American Renaissance by Henry David Thoreau. In Resistance to Civil Government, Thoreau proclaims that “under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.” Such a mindset had a significant impact on King and Gandhi, and challenged readers to reject injustice by giving up their worldly possessions and live according to a higher power.

This transcendental idea becomes something of a refuge to the downtrodden. Those who are privy to untold suffering can hold on to the hope that a better life is possible. This possibility may hinge on a few changes in social or governmental structure, or simply reside outside the mortal coil. Margaret Fuller explains in The Great Lawsuit that “the lover, the poet, the artist, are likely to view [women] nobly. The father and the philosopher have some chance of liberality; the man of the world, the legislator for expediency, none.” She of course refers to the fact that during this time period, women are regarded similarly to slaves as far as their civil rights are concerned. Fuller criticized the prevailing thought that an educated woman is inferior in her superiority, and that man and woman are inexorably equal, as one cannot exist without the other. Fuller believed that a shared equality between the sexes would open the pathways to not only better civil conditions for women, but a higher plane of existence as well.

A challenging aspect of equality, the transcendental, and civil disobedience was weaving the terms with history and literature. The titular character of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, can be a sort of funnel for these concepts. Tom is the portrait of nonviolent resistance, but his motivation to resist is in no way rooted to a need to improve his lot in life. His focus is purely on the afterlife, and the salvation that awaits him in Heaven. Under extreme threat of violence and death from Simon Legree, Tom responds, “Mas'r,…I know ye can do dreadful things; but…after ye've killed the body, there an't no more ye can do. And O, there's all ETERNITY to come, after that!” Tom’s indelible belief is civil disobedience, since he is certainly prepared to suffer for what he believes is right, and also transcendentalist, because his motivation is purely based upon a higher power.

  A similar example can be found in Rebecca Harding Davis’ Life in the Iron Mills. Hugh Wolfe might be viewed as a slave in his own right, perhaps more to class than by law. As one of the countless of faceless workers of the Wheeling iron mills, Wolfe wishes for nothing more than to break free of the chains that bind him to his meaningless life. When Clarke, Kirby, and May visit the mill, he studies them closely, attempting to discern what separates them from himself. The two classes converge over Wolfe’s sculpture, which exudes a hunger for life, which might be congruent with transcendentalism. The upper classmen ultimately wring their hands of the talented Morlock, and Wolfe is left to his fate. Working as an iron puddler has reduced Wolfe’s manly stature to the point that he is feminized. This characterization hearkens back to Fuller’s idea of the sexes as a unified and balanced entity. Wolfe’s suicide could be interpreted as a form of social disobedience, as he flatly refused to participate in a society that does not provide him the spiritual sustenance he desperately craves. Having visited a church before his jail sentence, perhaps Wolfe, like Tom, found solace outside the physical plane of existence.

The overlapping of the concepts of transcendentalism, civil disobedience, and civil rights in the literature of the American Renaissance is captivating. Works that seem to be unrelated outside of the closeness of their publishing dates can become a nexus of prevailing thoughts and attitudes of the era. The result is a portrait of a tangible universe which provides a depth not reached by the individual texts. Historical figures become humanized, characters become more real, and texts breathe and exhale in unison with history.