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(2015
midterm assignment) Model Student Midterm answers 2015 #1: Long Essays (Index) |
LITR 4328 |
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Elizabeth Myers
I.
Long Essay:
An
Americanized look at Romanticism
On January 26, 2015, I walked into
Dr. White’s classroom clueless to what the American Renaissance Literature
movement entailed. However, during that first class period, I was pleased to
discover that I was already familiar with many of the attributes of this
literary period. I had previously taken Dr. Marcoline’s Romantic Movement in
English Literature class, and the American Renaissance period, which occurred
during the 1820’s to the 1860’s is considered to be America’s own “Romantic
Period” in literature. Although I was already familiar with some of the aspects
of Romanticism, like the gothic settings, the celebration of nature, and the
sublime, I am grateful that this class has allowed me to learn how these terms
were applied and/or transformed in American Renaissance writers’ literary works.
It is interesting to note how American
Renaissance writers transformed European Romanticism’s gothic setting to more
closely align with the American landscape. Instead of predominately using old,
decaying, depressing, secluded, and castle-like gothic buildings like is seen in
Edgar Allan Poe’s abbey in his short story, “Ligeia,” some American Renaissance
writers, like James Fenimore Cooper, started utilizing a wilderness gothic
setting that resonated with American readers due to its familiarity. As Dr.
White noted in class, traditional gothic buildings are not frequently found in
America, but the untouched wilderness gothic can be just as terrifying to
readers due to its ability to transform nature into something inherently dark
and foreboding. James Fenimore Cooper utilizes the wilderness gothic in his
novel The Last of the Mohicans.
Cooper’s forest is large, dark, mysterious, and the tall trees create an
atmosphere that is reminiscent of a gothic castle. The forest’s environment and
its location, as being the site of previous battles, have significant
psychological effects on the characters within the novel. For example, in
chapter five, Heyward becomes terrified after he imagines that he sees enemy
Native American warriors in the gloom of the forest. Moreover, Cooper’s use of
the wilderness gothic in his work also serves to remind readers of America’s
tragic past involving the Native Americans. The colonists in chapter one believe
that they hear Native American screams emanating from the “. . . wind that
issued from the interminable forests of the west” (Cooper 1.8). After reading
this aforementioned quotation, it is easy for readers to relate to the pain,
suffering, and death that the Native Americans endured due to the colonists’ and
early Americans’ desire for the Indians’ native land.
Dr. White’s class is the
first time that I have heard about the wilderness gothic, and reading Cooper’s
The Last of the Mohicans has allowed
me to see how American Renaissance writers “Americanized” Romanticism’s
different themes and viewpoints, like the typical gothic castle in their works.
Furthermore, it is important for readers to realize even now that Cooper’s use
of the wilderness gothic is still relevant today because it forces readers to
acknowledge aspects of our early history that should never be forgotten or
pushed aside. By remembering America’s past actions involving Native Americans,
individuals can prevent this from occurring again in the future.
Besides Cooper’s treatment of nature as
a gothic setting, this class has allowed me to see how the transcendentalism
movement influenced American Renaissance works, such as their discussion about
nature. Before this class, I had not read or studied any transcendentalist works
before, and I am glad that I have gained a greater clarity of what
transcendentalism entails. Dr. White’s notes and lectures helpfully clarified
that transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement originating in
America during the 1830’s to the 1850’s. Transcendentalists believed that
individuals could free themselves from the things that bound them, like the past
or culture, by looking at and questioning the world around them. The
“individual” is an important aspect of transcendentalism in that he has the
power and ability to discover inherent spiritual truths about himself and the
world without relying on a teacher. Furthermore, transcendentalists strived
toward creating their own personal relationship with the universe and their own
unique literary works through their personal observations and revelations. In
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, “Nature,” he not only upholds some of Romanticism’s
thoughts about nature, like how most adults have lost that intrinsic child-like
connection with nature, but he also integrates some transcendentalist views
about nature as well. Emerson states in his essay that nature is not simply
something beautiful, but a means for an individual to answer all of the
questions that they might pose regarding divine creation. Individuals can find
answers through nature because it is perfect, and its appearance contains the
secret of its purpose.
After reading Emerson’s “Nature,” I
wholeheartedly believe that it is still significant to readers today because
individuals are still trying to discover the secrets of the universe. In fact,
as I read Emerson’s words, the slogan for the television series,
The X-Files “The Truth Is Out There,”
echoed in my mind. As a future English teacher, I would definitely use this
piece of literature when teaching about transcendentalism because Emerson’s
“Nature” does an amazing job defining transcendentalist’s beliefs, and it still
has the power to inspire readers today. “Nature” can teach students to think for
themselves and to go out and discover the answers to their own questions, like
the transcendentalists did during the American Renaissance.
In addition to gaining a deeper
understanding over how the American Renaissance writers utilized nature within
their works, I have also gained a clearer vision of Romanticism’s use of the
sublime. Before taking this class, I knew that the sublime in Romanticism is a
term used to describe something that is beyond description, so awe inspiring
that it frequently inspires feelings of great emotion, like terror. However,
before reading the texts in this class, I could never successfully relate to
authors use of the sublime because the language used to describe it was too
lofty, like in Anne Radcliffe’s landscape descriptions in her novel,
The Mysteries of Udolpho. I found
Washington Irving’s use of the sublime in his short story, “Rip Van Winkle,” to
be more understandable because he uses a direct form of language that lends well
to the reader’s ability to imagine the amazing landscapes in his story. For
example, Irving’s descriptions of the Kaatskill mountains where Rip Van Winkle
traverses up the steep mountain, through a “. . . deep ravine . . .,” and
finally arrives at the isolated “. . .
hollow . . .” with his mysterious companion reminded me of watching
episodes of the outdoor activity television show,
Motion. The host of
Motion, Greg Aiello, frequently hikes
through remote portions of America’s scenic National Parks that like Irving’s
descriptions of the Kaatskill mountains, are sublime because they instigate not
only feelings of incomprehensible wonder at the natural beauty, but also fear
due to its overwhelming wild nature. Furthermore, I believe that Irving and
other American Renaissance writers used the sublime as a means to illustrate to
readers the greatness that exists in the world around us and due to this, the
sublime causes individuals to have enlightening life changing experiences.
All of the texts that I have read in
this class have opened my eyes to how amazing and unique the American
Renaissance literary movement was, and I agree with Dr. White’s notes that “the
American Renaissance's rich mix of literary style and cultural history makes it
widely regarded as the greatest era in American literature.”
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