Literature 4232: American Renaissance
University of Houston-Clear Lake

[nearly complete essay from email midterm]

American Renaissance literature has contributed to the development of my expanded view of American equality, or lack thereof, and the American identity.  Specifically, I have enjoyed learning about our American heritage, and the cultures and varying life experiences that have come together to create a collage that represents America as we know it today.

            In The Last of the Mohicans we are introduced to Cora, a beautiful young girl who represents a potential mix of black, white, and red.  Cora attracts the attention of the Indians, but she is a mix between an Anglo Saxon father, and a West Indies slave for a mother (159).  Cora represents the beginning of what we will come to recognize as the emergence of an underrepresented voice in American literature.  Her voice is not that of a victim, but gives us a renewed understanding of what it is to be an American.

            Though during our 21^st century era we often pride ourselves on our American “melting pot,” in reality, the “melting pot” has been in existence since the settlement of America.  It is not a new creation, or ideal, but instead lends our minds to great mystery concerning how to develop a nation with such an emerging voice, but even more so, how do we appropriately ‘represent’ such people. . . .

            Because of these poignant autobiographies and Cooper’s and Stowe’s novels, we have been invited to peek into American history and evaluate, hopefully with sensitivity and wisdom, how our culture was first created, how it developed, and how we can work to create a culture that addresses these issues that are so sensitive in the future.

            In terms of New Historicism, through literature and the availability of history written down for our study, we are empowered, and have the ability to strive toward equality, and inclusion.  For our culture to progresses, we must recognize voices that have in the past been shut out.  However, we cannot rescue our past by simply reading and studying it.  We, as a nation, must be willing to recognize the need for change, and we must demand change.  That is not to say, however, that change must be done with force, as some might think, but it must be done with gentle assertion, and above all, knowledge and sensitivity. [JD]

[complete essay from email midterm]

The literature of the American Renaissance is striking in the display of breadth of the American experience during the first half 19th century. The representations of several different cultures and races, as well as all classes of citizens, can be found in the writings and narratives of this time.  From the most abject voices of slavery to the insistent writings of determined housewives to the transcendental thoughts of distinguished philosophers, the history and culture of America emerges as a tapestry of intertwined ideas and lives. It provokes pause to reflect that perhaps there is not truly a single quintessential American Renaissance definition but instead a multifaceted and complex description.

Growth in a society, both physically as populations and demands expand and philosophically as conflicting viewpoints and ideals collide, is often marked by friction. However, it is the friction and ensuing quest for harmony that shapes and molds the citizenry to be a reflection of the defining principles of a country. The literature of the American Renaissance produced distinctive voices that illuminated concepts or American ideals, such as freedom, and wove them into powerful proclamations for transformation and action in society, such as abolition.

Three distinctive voices that dealt with the issue of slavery are Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The compelling works of these authors are vastly different, but each contains an argument against slavery that is difficult to refute. In combination, they are an example of the broad range of style of American Renaissance literature that owes its existence to the very different backgrounds and characteristics of the authors.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the educated elite of his time, representing the height of the white man's hierarchy in American society. His classic writings in the school of Transcendental philosophy are lofty, cool and eloquent, appealing to man's intellectual capabilities and moral sensibilities. However, he invites citizens to resist conformity and rise above the inequities of the laws and government, adhering to a higher "Supreme Cause" and demanding change. In Self Reliance, he challenges the populace to "stun and astonish the intruding rabble of men and books and institutions by a simple declaration of the divine fact. Bid the invaders take the shoes from off their feet, for God is here within." Although Emerson speaks in general, sweeping terms, he preaches that every man has a moral duty to stand for what he knows is right in his heart, thereby sanctifying the Abolitionists cause.

Frederick Douglass writes in a personal narrative that touches the reader with his stunning, "in your face" reality that contains elements of romance and gothic descriptions. These serve to keep the reader engrossed and swept up in his story as he recounts the horrors of slavery. His humble and harsh early life reinforces his struggle and the great character displayed in order to rise above slavery. He is a man of epic proportions, an omniscient voice from the other side, a man on a mission in quest of the "Holy Grail" of Freedom. His representative narrative shows romantic elements in its descriptive long journey and his character, himself, is a worthy hero to the story. Description of "clotted blood", and the desolate last home of grandmother are characteristics of the gothic in American literature:

She gropes her way, in the darkness of age, for a drink of water. Instead of the voices of children, she hears by day the moans of the dove, and by night the screech of the hideous owl. All is gloom. The grave is the door.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is also a narrative, but is written in a popular style in order to reach a very broad audience. Her success at this genre catapulted her to acclaim and perhaps more than any other book furthered the Abolitionists cause. Her style also has elements of romance as her characters emerge with a compelling personal force, sweeping them in their quest for either freedom through the salvation of Christ, as in Tom's case, or freedom from the evils of slavery as in Eliza's flight with her child. Her background as a preacher's daughter, though not an elitists but as a hard working woman immersed in the drudge of domesticity, underscores the broad range of backgrounds and citizenry of America coming together for a single cause to change society and shape the course of our history.

The problem with New Historicism as a way of studying history and literature together is that it is incredibly time consuming. However, by reading and studying the vast wealth of literature of the past we begin to capture the true essence of the American Experience- what we are all about. Only by having a clearer picture of where we have been can we truly chart where we are going. [DD]

[complete essay from in-class midterm]

The central theme emerging through the texts reviewed thus far in the semester regard the evolution and growth of voice for underrepresented or marginalized groups. From the first readings of Washington Irving to the most current, a direct line can be drawn to show voices, once non-existent, begin to rise in volume and consequence.

In Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", the few references to 'negros" are at best patronizing. None of the black characters have names or faces or voices. They have no inner lives. They are merely flickering images added for local color. In addition, the central female figure, Katrina Van Tassel, was a voiceless object of the two paramours' obsession. In both cases, these groups, blacks and women, are not depicted or represented as fully developed human beings.

In the question from the spring 2002 midterm exam, there was a citation from the Declaration of Independence. It is the most famous assertion made in the Declaration: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." as one of the students responded, "the tradition of the country and representation of the people was that white men of property had the real power and voice; the weaker parties [that did] not fit in that category had to find their own voice and method of influence". The central issue about Jefferson's assertion in the Declaration surrounds the definition of the word "men".

As the student respondent accurately observed, the idea of "men" was a rather limited one. Clearly the "negros" and females of Irving's 1820's America did not fit the definition of "men". But as the texts move forward in time, the narrow confines of that early Jeffersonian defintion begin to expand and then explode.

In James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans", Cora, a mixed race female, asserts her influence. At a teeling scene (page 142, Cooper), Hawkeye cautions Cora about venturing into the woods to save herself [and Alice] from the impending doom brought on by the "Mingos". He questions whether these females are "equal to the work". Cora exclaims, "We are equal!" Cora, the heroine of Cooper's imagination, asserts her basic equality in the presence of an "uncrossed" white man. Clearly Katrina Van Tassel never made such an assertion. Nor did the "negros" of Irving's tale. The expansion of the definition of "men" begins with Cora's presence and assertion.

But Cora does not meet a happy end. She dies before her progeny, who would be of equal birth with white men, could be conceived. Still the definition is challenged agai. Sojourner Truth took up the issue in stark and memorable oratory in 1851.

Before a group of conventioneers considering the rights of blacks and women, Truth asserts her own equality and by extension, the equality of people like her. the crowd was hostile. Many of those who agreed with her sentiments were initially reluctant for her to speak. But Truth uses her voice and represents the voiceless "negroes" and females from Irving's 19th century America. As Truth says (page 2026), "Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed, and planted and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And a'n't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man-when I could get it-and bear the lash as well! And a'n't I a woman?" Truth bears witness to both the atrocities of slavery and the marginalization of women. She says what Katrina Van Tassel and the "negroes" cannot say. She is a fully developed human being. She changes the definition of "men" to include all of those not in the room at the Founding.

Frederick Douglass takes the concept full circle. On his speech on July 4, 1852 in Rochester, New York, he says he shares the belief of the Founders that "the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to" (page 1882). But on July 4, 1779, he and his people, among others, were not considered. In fact, Douglass says that "the cause of liberty may be stabbed by the men who glory in the deeds of your fathers" (page 1882). As the refrain reads, "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?" Douglass' assertion challenges the Jeffersonian definition to the point of rupture. Douglass' assertion universalizes the democratic axiom so familiar to Americans.

The texts thus far reinforce the basic assumptions of current American political thought. they bolster the assertion that the "men" of the current day include every class, every race and either gender. Though the Founders were unaware of it, those forgotten [while they were] in the room on July 4, 1776 have renewed, reformed and reiterated the greatest traditions of both the Declaration and America.

[complete essay from in-class midterm]

Before I began this course I never gave much consideration to the impact of the American Renaissance on present day life. Really, as embarrassing as this is to admit I would have said the changes came about pretty much as a natural conclusion of the Civil War. I never thought about the literary climate before the civil war, or that prose might have been the match that ignited the flame for freedom.

As I studied for this mid-term I rolled possible connections between books and authors around my mind. It took me a while to realize why Irving was the first author we read. His prose is similar in terms of gothic and sublime elements to say, Copper, but what does he share with Harriet Jacobs or William Apess?

I finally realized that it is the state of his characters, which makes him a part of the puzzle. The blacks are stereotypical caricatures with no voice, and Katrina Van Tassel is no better off. She is a prize for men to conquer because of her wealth. She has very little voice at all in this story. Irving is definitely a representative author and his story fits the category for American Renaissance and Romanticism. I looked at the texts we read as lying on a spectrum—and Irving feel on the far left with predominately white educated men having a voice.

The short time between Irving’s work and that of Apess and Jacobs is breathtaking. I chose Apess because he was born a slave and was of Indian heritage. Jacobs was also born a slave, was black, and a woman. The intriguing things about Apess and Jacobs are the way they approached their views through literature.

First, consider Jacobs’s writing. She appealed to white women who read her because she spoke to them as mothers and women. Fearing for her children she eloquently expressed her concerns in a way that tugged at the maternal heartstrings> When writing her account of abuse at the hands of her owner, she instills in the reader anger at her unjust position. She crafts her story so that while intimate details are shown, sexual advances and intrigue are in elevated language. In this way she held the reader’s attention without alienating them on moral grounds. Her Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a powerful story that lent her the platform she needed to connect with society on a human level.

William Apess, on the other hand, appealed to a broader slice of society, with his biblically couched vernacular in An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man. Apess straddled a fence, so to speak, between the Indian world and the white worlds. When writing about his concerns he expressed anger at the hypocrisy of Christian beliefs and the reality that he saw. This touched a chord in a dogmatic society. Apess was clever in that he worked his way into the soft pale belly of white society and learned to write in ways that would appear familiar to his audience.

Literacy was a tool for both Apess and Jacobs. Each approached their writing with care and they crafted it with language intended to rouse interest without alienating the reader.

The point I’m trying to make is that the American Renaissance pushed our literature forward to give a voice to those we had previously strangled. Instead of letting rage fly writers like Stanton, Fuller, Apess, Stowe, Jacobs, etc. took the historical opportunity to write a new future.

I find it difficult to even discuss any downsides to New Historicism as a way of studying literature. The literature of my three authors was handing by an invisible thread in a void until I looked up the social climate of the pre Civil War times. The times in question were seeing the end of our manifest destiny craze. We had conquered pretty much all the land and “things” we were going to conquer. The new manifest destiny became society and ourselves. Literature became the next intellectual pursuit. Our writers turned to nature and themselves, the transcendentalists, to explore issues of humanity. I don’t know what exactly our Renaissance writers would have written about it we’d had a utopia at that point…perhaps they would have romanticized dystopia. We had our land and it stood for something—democratic ideals. Our authors all saw the golden opportunity provided by literary text to balance our reality with those ideals.

The industrialization and science of the times caused people to question religion, right and wrong. Presently, we face the same concerns about science…consider cloning, stem-cell research, etc. What we know, what we think is derived from literature of some form or another. Some day in the future people will sit in classrooms and judge our actions by our printed words. [LE]

[complete essay from in-class midterm]

Of the array of authors and orators active during the American Renaissance, the most moving in style and content are those who employed their art with driven passion towards the realization of some elevated purpose.  This can be counted true of a multitude of writers and activists of the early through mid-1800’s, but a select few stand out in power of eloquence and style. 

            Though of varying race, motive, and medium, Chief Seattle, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Sojourner Truth comprise a panel of red, white, and black; male and female; slave and free, that reflects the diversity and turmoil of America during this pivotal phase in history.  Obvious differences aside, each figure marked literature in such a way as to individually reveal the spirit of Romanticism as applicable to the realities of the American political and social landscape of the time.

            Chief Seattle in his speech regarding the Port Elliot Treaty uttered word to the oppressors’ skin crawl.  Upon his concession to the government to be confined to a reservation he warned the White Man that he would never be fully free of his tribe: “…these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your children’s children think themselves alone in the field…they will not be alone…the White Man will never be alone.”  And in an ominously gothic threat Seattle closed admonishing his oppressor, “…Be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless.  Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of worlds.”  Employing dark, ghostly imagery Chief Seattle, powerless to take any other action, faces the white men with his only remaining weapons: word of fear and warning.

            Likewise, Harriet Beecher Stowe, in line with the Romantic style marking the time, employed pathos and spiritual appeal to move her audience in regard to her social concerns.  She appealed largely to the Christian women in her society using the emotional leverage of maternal instinct and family.  As the frantic and sympathetic Eliza flees to save her son from cruel slave traders, Stowe demands of her audience ‘What would you do?’: “—if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had from twelve o’clock till morning to make your escape, how fast could you walk?”

            Stowe’s appeal to pathos and the construction of multiple sympathetic characters romantically drawn made her work and incredibly impactful force on the attitude towards American slavery.  A solitary white woman with a heart and sentiment to act moved a great mountain with the power of mere words.

            Yet another figure remains to be discussed who almost in and of herself seems able to stand as representative of the Romantic era.  Sojourner Truth, her name somewhat Romantically symbolic itself, was a lady of African heritage and slave’s experience who stood larger than life.  As an enormous and aged black woman, her imposing presence was described once by Stowe as one of “unconscious authority.” Aside from her mere physical qualifications, Sojourner evoked in her speeches a strong sense of the sublime.  Claiming that hers was a religious calling, she spoke of direct experience with God and brought to any forum a wisdom and insight that only years and excruciating experience could lend, she spoke of the present life as merely a fleeting thought and of her experiences with God as painfully ecstatic.  Her orations, sprinkled with the mystical and sublime, moved many audiences on subjects of both black and women’s rights.

            The Romantic era produced many memorable authors, speakers and activists. These three, however, are not only representative of the Romantic style, but also the spirit of the times.  They spoke to pertinent social problems and appealed to America’s hearts.  In pursuit of these ends they leave us with historically significant and stylistically rich literature.  [CL]