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Romantic Period: Between the years 1830-1865 the early national literature of America matured.

. At the beginning of this period Edgar Allan Poe published his first poems and began composing his original short stories. By the end Emily Dickinson was working on her letter to the world. The middle of the era saw the production of important works by five of Americas most famous writers: R.W. Emerson, H.D. Thoreau, N. Hawthorn, H. Melville, W. Whitman. Romanticism refers to a set of loosely connected ideas and attitudes forward nature and mankind. In arts it meant the creation of new themes such as celebration of the self, admiration at the natural landscapes careful examination of the artist personality and imagination. Romantic poetry rejected the strict styles and forms at the 18th centr. verse and sought freedom. The main philosophical trends were: idealism, irrationalism, spiritualism, intuitionalism, mysticism. Literature of this period is mainly dominated by romantic idealism. Romantic writers expressed their personal passions using imagination often escaping from day to day problem to the past. Romantic literature focused an talented deeply-emotional individuals who were often in the conflict with the rest of the society which resulted in the revolt of the individual. The most popular genres were: ballades, poetic novels, sonnets, letters, and romantic tragedies. Romanticism was originated in opposition to the materialistic views of the Enlightenment. The romantic period come relatively late to the American literature Emerson and Thoreau elaborated the philosophy of transcendentalism. Hawthorne and Melville shared the preference of the romantic for exotic and remote settings. Hawthornes tales explored Americans puritan past. Melville created symbolic universal worlds. Poe shared a romantic pre-occupation with unusual states of mind, such as madness, terror and dreams. What marks them all as romantic writers is their focus on individual and determination to explore the limits of unique personalities. WHAT REDBURN SAW IN LAUNCELOTTS HAY by Herman Melville 1) what is the attitude of Redburn towards the woman and her children? He feels sympathy, sadness. He is shocked with the conditions of their lives so he wants to help them. 2) What is the attitude of citizens of town toward Redburn? They dont understand why Redburn wants to help the woman and her children. They say that her problems are not their business and that he shouldnt help as it is not his problem. 3) What is the attitude of citizens toward the woman and her children? -ragged old woman- she says that she doesnt have time to help her. She claims that the woman deserves the poverty because she hasnt been married so the situation in which she is , is only her fault. -policeman- he sys that its not his district so her problems are not his business. -porter in warehouse he is afraid of the owners. If he accepts the woman and her children and owners will find it out, he will loose his job. -Handsome Mary she is not so selfish to the people Redburn talked before. She takes care of beggars but she cant help everyone. -the cook she refuses to help and she starts swearing at Redburn. He runs away but he was able to take some food. -old man he gave water to Redburn but he had to pay. Old man makes money on poverty. People from the town are aware of the situation of the woman but they do not help. 4) What is the attitude of Redburn towards the citizens of the town? Redburn is shocked because of citizens behaviour. He sees dark part of human nature. He is mad with the fact that people dont provide any help. Peoples guilt is their indifference. 5) What did Redburn wonder about at the end of the story? He thinks that death would be the best for the woman and her children. He believes that it will be better to kill them than bring food. There is a paradox the Government agree to pay for murders but do not take care about the poor in any way. 6) How does the allusion of Lazarus corresponds to the situation presented in the story ? Lazarus situation was similar to the situation of the woman, but finally there was somebody who helped him so maybe there will be somebody who will help the woman.

Redburn disagrees with the fact that people enjoy their lives knowing that there are people who live in such bad conditions. MOBY DICK by Melville. Its the sixth novel published by Melville and landmark of American Literature in which the author mixed a number of literary styles, including a fictional adventure story, historical detailed, and even a scientific discussion in and out of them while interrupting the narrative. It begins with the character directly addressing the reader Call me Ishmael explaining the reason of going to the sea on the 3 year voyage of whaling ship named Pequad ( ill omen, name of the Indian tribe). The ship is full of fascinating characters . The main character does not appear until the 28th chapter. Alone with the action there are long passages about the whale, the science and history of whaling and the whaling industry. Even though the plot seems to be simple on the other level the novel is philosophical and symbolic. Te ship represents humanity, the whale is a symbol of evil, but the colour suggests just the opposite. This way representing both the whale seems to be the symbol of nature. The main characters: Captain Ahab he leads the quest to defeat the legendary white whale, which took his leg in the previous encounter. He is depicted as an average human being, governed by his moods and conventions, entirely obsessed of Moby Dick; on the other hand he is a kind of machine unaffected by any recognizable emotions. And most importantly, he claims himself God over the Pequad, but instead he may be satanic figure fighting against the white whale. Ishmael - he is the narrator of the novel, a simple sailor who undertakes the journey because of his affection for the ocean; his primary task is to observe the conflict around him. He idealizes the whale and believes in his majesty. He is the only one having a significant relationship in the novel, he becomes a close friend of the Queequeg. Queequeg he is an Aborigine prince whom Ishmael cherishes and adores. Melville describes this relationship in terms of marriage. Major themes in the novel: 1) Ahab as a blasphemous(blunierczy) figure: The blasphemy takes two forms: a) Ahab thinks himself the equal of the God, this idea firs occurs even before Ahab is introduced, during father maples sermon, its used to warn against the blasphemous idea that a ship can carry a man into regions where God does not reign. What is more. A prophetic dream of one of the crew members makes Ahab conclude that Ahab is immortal. b) Rejection of God for an alliance with the devil. During the course of the novel Ahab collaborates with Fedellah a character rumoured to be the devil himself; when Ahab receives his harpoon he asked if it be baptised in the name of the devil not of the father. 2) The whale: a) As a symbol of unparallel greatness Melville through Ishmael describes the whale from the variety of standpoints whether biological or historical in order to prove superiority of the whale over all other creatures. Whaling is related to royal activity suitable only for the most civilised ones; presenting Moby Dick from this perspective served the purpose of stating Ahabs quest against the whale doomed to failure. b) As a identified figure The whale being the symbol of excellence is not compared to anything, its an indefinite figure for Melville; he defines his whiteness as the absence of colour and therefore finds the whale as having an absence of meaning lack of the definition of the whale leaves the figure abstract through multiplicity of various interpretations. c) As a part of Ahab

Throughout the whole novel Melville creates a relationship between Ahab and Moby Dick, the most significant is the actual physical presence of the whale as a part of Ahabs body in the form of his leg. Its Ahabs constant reminder of the whales presence and more tragically the idea of Moby Dick perpetually haunts the captain. Its explains the depth of emotions behind the Ahabs quest. 3) The contrast between civilised and pagan societies The relationship between Ishmael and Queequeg generally illustrates the prevalent contrast between civilised specifically Christian societies and a civilised pagan societies Melville includes comparisons and contrasts between these two types of societies but its not down simple for a lesson for other countries; he compares non-Christian societies to diabolical behaviour, particularly when in reference to Ahab. 4) The sea as the place of transition The sea represents a transitional place between two district states, e.g. civilised and uncivilised societies, a line between life and death. 5) Harbingers and superstitions The appearance of harbingers, superstition and prophecies foreshadow a tragic end of the story. Symbols of Evil: - The name of the Inn keeper Tither Coffin - Elijah its a prophetic character who claims tragedy to affect Pequad. Melville creates the sense of tension through the stillness and quiet of chapter 21. The nearly silent the ship creates the mood of the crept; Melville achieves this through the shadows that Ishmael sees which contain the element of the ghost story. In addition the religion . To the novel continue as the crew arrive in pairs recalling the story of the Noah and the Ark. As if the crew were the last remnant of a world they are leaving behind. - Moby Dick - the whale is described not only as dangerous but nearly supernatural and ghostly. Melville explicitly states that Moby Dick represents for Ahab its the hatred and rage of humanity. Author defines the quest against the whale for Ahab comes to represent humanitys attempt to fight against its worse impulses. In the final unit the whale represents Satan with the strength of the all angles that fell from heaven. Moby Dick and Pequad both return to the abyss after the final battle. - Squid the life squid is an ill-omen a harbinger for shadowing doom for the Pequad. According to legend few whale ships that saw life squid returned safely to ports. - Fedallah a character of Arabic origin who is said to be the devil in disguise. Its indicated in the novel that Ahab sold his soul to Satan though a compact with Fedallah and through a mission against Moby Dick. - Ahab a mad man consumed with his own decision. - The Hawk ill-omen, when the hawk grabs Ahabs hat and does not return it because he gets caught in the flag and goes down in the ship. THE SCARLET LETTER by Nathaniel Hawthorne By providing readers with the story of discovering the manuscript Hawthorne gave it the appearance of truth and also identified him with his heroine. He suggested that imagination of the writer works primarily to express inner life of an individual who is often forced by public duty to repress deep feelings and dangerous thoughts. By depicting the Puritans and the symbolism in the Scarlet Letter the author intended to avoid the realism of conventional novels and facilitated exploration of deep states of thoughts and feelings. Hawthorne managed to achieve it through 3rd person narrative and calling the novel a ROMANCE. It enabled him to create a neutral territory between the real world and fairyland. The distinction was meaningful at the time he was writing as the novels were supposed to deal with realistic representations of human experiences or external truths. Romances on the other hand were concerned with internal truth and favoured imagination. This genre also allowed the author to present

the relationship between humans and nature. The Scarlet Letter is considered a masterpiece of American romantic literature because its said in the remote past and mainly because it deals with the interior sociology of individual characters. Its a classic inquiry into the nature of American Puritanism and the new England conscience of the 17th century. Its a story of crime, sin and punishment which fully explores the cruelties paradoxes of a strict moral code in a society whose founding members had themselves escaped from the rigid authority in England. 3main themes: alienation, appearance vs. reality, breaking society rules. 2main conflicts on which the novel is built: 1 between province conscience and public duty 2 between individualism and moral and social law Edgar Alan Poe Shares with Melville a darkly metaphysical vision mixed with elements of realism and parody. He refined the short story genre and invented the detective fiction. Many of his stories prefigure the genres of science fiction, horror and fantasy. Poe believed that strangeness was an essential ingredient of beauty and his writing is often exotic. His stories and poems are populated with doomed aristocrats, these gloomy characters never seem to work or socialise, instead they bury themselves in dark castles symbolic decorated with rugs, curtains hiding the real word. Themes of the death in life, especially being buried alive or returning like a bonfire from the grave appear in many of his works. Gothic settings are not just decorative as they reflect deathly interior of his characters disturb psyche. They are symbolic expressions of the unconscious. Poes stories are often referred to as the tales of horror. All of them reveal Poes fascination with the mind and scientific knowledge. In every genre Poe explores the psyche . To explore the exotic and strange aspect of psychological process he takes up such topics as madness and extreme emotion. The lighten the sense of the horrible by making the events seem vivid and plausible. Poe is not an America despite his aristocratic disguise with democracy, preference for the exotic and themes of dehumanization. On the contrary, Poe accurately described the under side of the American dream of the self-made man and showed the price of materialistic and excessive competition loneliness, alienation, images of death in life. His first book of poems was published in his teens, - Tomerlane and other poems the book of short stories, - Tales of the grotesque and arabesque, - Ligea - detective story The Murders in the Rue Morgue - The most famous poem The Raven Grotesque is characterised by horrible, old, decaying castles, chains, ghosts and other supernatural elements, it emphasises physical suffering. In contrast, arabesque deals with the terror of the soul where Poe analyses mental, emotional and spiritual nature of the person. It emphasizes spiritual agony. The Gothic style characterised by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action and the mood at decoy, degradation and decadence. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHERS by Edgar Allan Poe. 1) why does the narrator visit the house of Ushers ? The narrator receives a letter from Roderick Usher asking for a visit. Roderick wrote that he was physically and emotionally ill. Roderick was honest and open in the letter; in despair. A solitary man, having nobody to ask for help. 2) Describe the house and its surroundings The house is gloomy and mysterious; surrounded decoying trees, murky pounds, dark lakes (water is motionless) 3) What is the main problem of the family?

The Usher family has never flourished. Only one member of the Usher family has survided from generation to generation. Genetic mental disease (perhaps catalepsy) Family was considered kind, helping other people, solitary; living within their own family. Roderick was oversensitive (light) senses; he couldnt stand the noise, light Madeline catatonic; she looks like she is dead; symptoms that she is still alive bashing cheeks. After they have buried Madeline. 4) Characterize the relationship between the main charactes Roderick and Madeline were twins. Roderick felt dead when she was dead. 5) In the work we have 2 meanings of the house. Describe them -Building itself; symbolizes personality of family members (no positive future) Roderick is left alone with his problems its doomed to death -House as mind 6) What minor fault in the building assumes great significance by the end? Lake; the house collapsed and fall down into the lake. Lake refers to the nothingness; house disappears as if it never exists. 7) what are the fundamental reason for burring Madeline temporary in the vault? He wants to keep her body in the house because he fears that doctors might dig up her body for scientific examination. By having her nearby he felt she is still alive. 8) When Usher hears the noises what is the horrible thought that occurs to him? He believes that they have buried Madeline alive and that she is trying to escape. 9) What elements of gothic tradition can you enumerate? Gloomy surroundings , mystery, suffering, ghosts, supernatural elements, death, life in death; elements of the decorations; the lack of burring Madeline alive; noises SONG OF MYSELF by Walt Whitman Whitman published his first edition of Leaves of Grass n 1855. Since that time he published it 10 all together. Each poem represented a leaf of grass, he compared falling away and renaissance to leaves of grass which rebirth and become again beautiful and lively. In this title we see the major subject of his poetry its the birth growth and death cycle which its the basis on which he organizes leaves of grass. Poems focused on the beginnings of human life than on adult experiences next aiming into an old age and finally approaching death. Grass is a manifestation of the power of nature a valid symbol of ever present vitality of the poet and poetry undergoing the cycle of death and birth. The first impression is that leaves of grass collection is chaotic but is has leading idea which is love and respect of everyone. Whitman wanted to include and exam everyone and everything in his poems. He wanted to focus on all aspects of human experiences. Nothing was outside his poetic vision. Whitman produced a new poetry in form. He deeply believed that America didnt need to imitate older European poetic forms. This is why he made his poetry free from many of the poetic limits by doing away with prosodic device. He opened up space by doing away with rhyme which he believed was restricting a free floe of poetic expression. He introduced free verse and was very found of slang, Americanism and musical effects. He used catalogue and applied a divice called a free association, he also repeated metaphors, lines and verses which stood for the leaves of grass he explained its purpose. One may find there his opinion on poets who were suppose to enclose the old and the new and were considered important judges, individuals but also common men who shouldnt waste their time an unnecessary work but should focus on creating. Poetry in his opinion is beginning and motivation for further thinking. A good poem isnt trivial , finds inspiration in real objects its simple and is able to attract anyone at every generation. Whitman believed that America and its nation its the greatest poem. Its genius was in common people, their variety , freedom and democracy. Emily Dickinson- is the opposite of Witman. She had little knowledge of what was happening in the world around her because she remained practically isolated through out her life. She withdraw from public life in her mid-twenties and its referred to as Epitome of isolato as she put herself against society in terms of isolation. She didnt feel like a publishing her poetry and during her lifetime only 7 poems appeared in print. The rest remained in manuscript which was found in the 30s of the 20th century. 1775 poems which were published in 3 volumes in 1955. As they have no titles theyre known by their initial lines or by chronological number. Dickinsons poetry is considered to be the

most representative of the Renaissance. Reading her works recquires total concentration because theyre highly condensed in form and verbal structure. They are short, have regular stanzas, are rich in illusions, metaphors and symbols and for that reason subtle in meaning. Her works remind of Baroque poetry in Europe. The poems often remind of puzzles which require solution. Her poetry leaves grand for interpretation and subjective reading. She didnt create new vocabulary or wase of lit. expression but she was successful in compressing all she wanted to say in one poem. She took many topic ex. Love for which she craved both platonic and erotic even at the cost of spiritual salvation. Many of her poems deal with nature, considered a friend and a threat, source of joy but also fear. Much of her best poetry is painful. She writes about despair, suffering, fear or death. She deals with these topics with great emotional courage strength and without self-pity IM NOBODY -it is positive to be nobody, you have to prove that youre somebody all the time, admiring bog => people She I proud of being nobody THIS IS MY LETTER TO THE WORLD Seasons of the year: life is coming, nature is part of God, God is everywhere She admires God because he can carry a lot of meanings HER nature of the poet She is searching for acceptance of other people. MUCH MADNESS She treats madness as a kind of Gods gift => divines sense. All sensible people are much more mad than the rest of the society. Youre supposed to live like the rest of the society. TO MAKE A PRAIRIE Imagination is enough to create prairie in your mind, you dont have to see it. IF YOU WERE COMING IN THE FALL Seasons are passing in the 1st stanza , than years, centuries, eternal time is growing. She is waiting for love to come, shes patient willing to wait; in the 4th stanza she loses patience, doesnt want to wait. I FELT A FUNERAL She uses the sense of hearing to show how it is to be a dead person, madness is supposed to help her to imagine what is to be eternal. BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH We live in constant hurry and dont have to think about death; Death shows as a gentleman. TRANSCENDENTALISM: it was a philosophy that became influential during the late 1700s and 1800 and it was based on the believe that knowledge is not limited to experience and observation. It dare for opposed the philosophy of empiricism which claimed that knowledge comes from experience. Transcendentalists believe that solution to human problems lies in the free development of individual emotion. It was a radically humanistic philosophy individualistic system of thoughts celebrating the individuals power to create their own universe. According to transcendentalism reality exists only in the world of the spirits. What the person observes in the physical world is only a reflection of the world of this period. People learn from physical world through their senses and understanding but they learn about the world of the spirits through another power called reason. The transcendentalists defined reason as the independent and intuitive capacity to know what is absolutely true. The cheap source of transcendent ideas was The critic of the pure reason by E. Kant. In America transcendentalism become both a philosophy and literary, religious and social movement. Ralf Waldo Emmerson and Henry David Thoreau were the leading American transcendentalists.

Emmerson and his followers were concerned with how human beings should live, democracy, equality, individualism, self-reliance, integrity, an optimism, were among the key values. They believed that society is a necessary evil. They argued that to learn what is right a person must ignore customs and social codes. In their opinion the doctrines, and organized Churches interfered with the personal relationship between a person and God. They didnt reject God, God was referred as over soul SELF-RELIANCE by Emmerson In this essay Emmerson rebels against establishing ideas and customs e.g. doctrines of the church, certain terms classifying peoples, actions as good or bad or patterns of behaviour approved or disapproved by the society, charity, giving money to the poor because it makes them lazy. In his opinion it stops mankind from making progress. Emmerson claims that a wise man feels like home everywhere he goes because his wisdom and knowledge allows him to do so. He also believed that travelling to escape from problems doesnt make any sense. In his opinion mans interests in collecting property is done at the expense of their freedom. Besidess it leads to measuring somebodys importance by the amount of goods. Emmerson emphasises self-reliance giving an example of a man who stands on his feet and contrasting him with a man who stands on his need. THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR by Emmerson In this essay Emmerson claims that America should give up following European examples because the land is capable of creating its own that is why Americans Scholar should be a thinker not a parrot of their mans thinking. The AS is influenced by many things. First of all nature from which he should gather his knowledge because getting to know yourself is possible only through studying nature. AS should expand his knowledge through books which are to be his resource and inspiration but he should also be a writer because each period reads books based on its own principles. He should also have an active free soul which would let him make progress look forward and be creative. He needs to have a heroic mind not to be afraid to express his ideas which can be totally opposite to expectations. Emmerson believed that character is more important then the intellect. ON THE DUTY OF CIVIL DISOBIDIENCE by Henry David Thoreau Its an essay in which the author argues that people shouldnt let government make them agents of injustice. Civil from the title relates to citizens and their inter-relations with one another or with the state. The best government according to the author is the one that governs least. Thoreau believes that government is usually harmful man-made disaster. Its the primary agent of corruption and justice. Democracy as a system doesnt help because the ruling majority isnt just or wise only because its in multitude. An individuals opinion is not inferior to the decisions of political body. The author claims that you serve your country purely. If you dont oppose the injustice you notice. When a government is supporting immoral actions (e.g. slavery) a citizen is obliged to take action e.g. by refusing to pay taxes. The unjust law does not deserve respect. REALISM AND NATURALISM: Period started in 1865 and lasted up to 1914. In the period between the end of the Civil War and the outbreak of the 1st World War. United States underwent for reaching changes creating new direction for literature which were on immediate reaction against romanticism. The nation set its boundaries, immigrants kept coming from all over the world. America turned into an industrial giant and become a leader in world affairs. All of these social and political changes found their reflection in literature Realism was a reaction against romanticism and therefore the romantic idealism failed being faced with the corruption and poverty. Nevertheless Americans still kept held to the hard work, an honesty would ensure their economic success, national harmony and individual well-being. The realistic writers of the 1870s and 1880s wrote about and individual facing hardship and moral dilemmas. They were less concerned in their own subjective responses and more interested in the outside world. To present reality closely they hey emphasised on comprehensive details focusing on character rather than the action or plot. They used language people actually spoke described place in great details and were interested in portrayal and analyzing ordinary people. Romantic writers expressed their personal

passions using imagination, often escaping from day-to-day problems into the past. Realists, in contrast, were less concerned with their own less concerned with their own subjective responses and more interested in portraying facts and outside world. Typical realistic novel: -it presents reality closely and in comprehensive detail. -character is more important than the action and the plot. -characters appear in a real complexity, they are in explicable relation to nature, social class and their own past. Humans control their destiny. Objectivity becomes increasingly important. -the novels avoid the sensational and dramatic elements. -the use of symbolism its controlled and limited -the purpose of writing is to instruct and entertain. NATURALISM: Naturalism is often referred to as a realism carried to an extreme. It implies a philosophical position and human beings are depicted as human beasts. (Emil Zola) People like everything in the universe are subject to natural laws. Naturalism concentrates on the physical world to the exclusion to the supernatural. Naturalists are more pessimistic that realists. Naturalists believed that everything people do is determined by their heredity and environment, whereas realists believed people were capable of making moral choices. In naturalism knowledge is acquired through senses. The function of the writer is to report accurately what he/she observes: at the same time the writer tries to be as objective as a laboratory scientists. The writer uses great masses of detail in depicting human experience. Typical naturalistic novel: -most common themes 1) survival, determinism, violence and taboo. 2) the beast within each individual, comprised or strong emotions such as passion, greed, lost. 3) nature is depicted as an indifferent force acting on the tights of human beings. 4) attempts of human being to exercise human will Typical naturalistic characters: - ill-educated or lower class characters whose lives are governed by the forces of heredity, instincts and passion. - Their language is often course and their view of life helpless and depressing. - Setting is mostly urban - The reader receives clinical panoramic slice of life which is often a chronicle of despair. Writers: Stephen Crane Red badge of courage / Jack London The sea wolf / Theodor Dreser An American tragedy / Henry James Daisy Miller THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain 1) Why does Twain use a 13-year-old child as a centre of consciousness in his book? To show how he matures, how his believes and morality was shaped by the society; he behave according to the rules he was taught; Jim has logical morality (he doesnt have any barriers, prejudices); Jim and Huck escape from people, because they depend on the South people. 2) What effect does the usage of dialects have on the reader? The novel seems more realistic; differences in language used by characters (imply the civil status, the background education) 3) Discuss the us of the river as a symbol in the novel. River is a symbol of the freedom, there they have any restrictions/ any limits/ they may do whatever they want; then its not so peaceful (shipwrecks, dead bodies ); they have to fight for the freedom, to come over the obstacles. They come back to the starting point

4) How is the issue of the slavery presented in the novel? Through sarcasm; by giving examples from Jims life family, daughter We get to know his real himself; at the end of the novel he has to make a choice, what is better (go to hell) or sacrifice himself (being faithful to his friend) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a much more complex children book under the surface of which lies more serious criticism of human nature then some readers suspect. It combines the authors raw humour with extremely mature material to crate a novel that directly attack many of the traditions close to the American South. Huck is the main character and is through his eyes that the South is revealed and judged. Huck is among the most ironic characters ever created and frequently expresses his irony through sarcasm. The comic technique used by the author is a device called the irony of statement. Hack the son of the town drunkard escapes his father down the Mississippi on a raft with Jim. a runaway slave. Because of the friendship that grows between that two Hack is thorn between remaining loyal to the teaching of the slave owning society in which he was brought up and helping Jim become free. When he decides to do so he rejects everything that civilisation has thought him. Mark Twain uses a child as the centre of consciousness of his book to imply a comparison between the powerlessness of a child of a black man in pre-civil war America. Each of them is abused , faces the threat of loosing his freedom and is constantly at a mercy of adult white man. It is done to dramatise the conflict between Hucks revealed morality and Jims morality based on intuition and experience. The river is at the beginning a symbol of freedom and change. The raft represents a peaceful alternative space when Huck and Jim can freely enjoy each others company. As the novel continuous the real world intrudes on the calm protected space of the river. Huck and Jim came across wrecks, thievs and comartists After missing the mouth of the Ohio river, Mississippi doesnt carry them toward freedom anymore. Instead it takes them toward the deep south which represents threat to Jim dead end for Huck. It means that escape from the evils inherent society is never truly possible. Slavery forms one of the main themes in the novel. Twain uses Jim as a slave who is one of the main characters as a way of showing the human side of a slave. Everything about Jim is presented through emotions. E.g. Jim runs away because Miss Watson was going to sell him South and separate him from his family. That is why Jim is trying to become free so he can buy his family freedom. Jim takes care of Huck and protects him in a very maternalistic manner. Twain purpose is to make reader feel sympathy for Jim and anger against the society that would harm him. However at the same time that Twain is attacking slavery he also pushes the issue into the background for most of the novel therefore slavery is never debated openly, only at the very end does Twain create the central conflict concerning slavery shoot Huck, free Jim and be condemned to go to hell. This moment is life altering for Huck because it forces him to reject everything the South civilization has thought him. Finally he makes the decision based on his own experiences not on the Southern teaching. THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE by Stephen Crane In his work Crane began a new course of realism. Many of the book descriptive elements such as its concentration on nature and characters actions are in the realist style. However, Cranes style differs from other realists eg the narrator doesnt name their personality through dialogues and descriptions. To enforce the effect of the combat Crane uses colour metaphors. Its a way of telling certain characteristics to amply meanings without direction of the narrator. The red badge may stand for an award for heroism or a wound from a battle. Yellow refers to cowardice red eyes of the enemy are violent and harmful. Black coronal on a horse stands for the fear of the unknown is a figure of authority and a symbol of death. Grey- colour of thuniforms of the rebels, it may symbolize the unknown of the battle or describes smog and fog. Blue stands for optimism and peacefulness. The fact that this colour metaphors appear so rapidly one after another is most significant as they reflect Henrys ambivalent emotions. The battle is described in great detail. Smoke and noise from guns raise around the soldiers and bullets whistles towards them. Henry imagines that they are beaten by a monster and makes a decision to get a view of this creature. His regiment fights feverishly, the smoke chokes them and makes they eyes red. Soldiers need to overcome their fear, they are thinking little, only feeling anger. The crisis in the novel takes place when Henry fights in the first bottle and runs. This situation is followed by the exploration of his guilt and shame about desertion. The climax of the

novel appears when Henry receives a wound. He returns to his regiment conquers his fear goes back into the bottle and encourages fellow soldiers. In the end he accepts himself as a human being. Through the course of the novel Henry matures but doesnt abandon his youthful weakness. His still self-obsessed at the end of the novel. Although he gained some perspective and confronted high truths he wants to be free of illusions which the book portrays as survival mechanism of the human consciousness. Cranes novel is praised of its realism unheroic hero and the smell of battle smoke. Crane managed to strip away the glamour of combat and replace it with a simple story of one young and confused soldier who is trying to be brave but is actually severely frightened during the battle. The terms in which the battle is described depicts the horrors of war but also psychological factors which turn a man into a hero. The main elements creating a sense of realism are vivid imaginery , individualized accounts, nature as an indifferent force and lack of identification. DAISY MILLER by Henry James The main theme explored in this novel concerns the contrast between American and European society in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Symbolically these societies represent an innocent natural and spontaneous way of life as compared to a ritualised formal and artificial manner present in Europe. James created characters defining their behaviour and attitudes to make the reader able to predict how they would react in any situation. In his book James focuses on the exploration of Daisy as an American innocence. Each chapter gives the reader another opportunity to explore her personality and decide whether shes innocent and natural or artificial. The reader observes Daisy from the subjective point of view of the main narrative voice. We judge the main character based on the perception of her actions by other people. We are affected by other characters approvals and disapprovals of her actions. Names of the characters give us the first insight into their personalities. E.g. Daisy is a typical flower known for its simple beauty and lack of pretence. Her surname Miller symbolises how her father made his fortune. Vevey is a perfect place for the encounter for the two cultures because its located in the middle of Europe and visited by large number of Americans. It allows the reader to experience the cultural clash. In the course of the novel we may notice increasing prejudice against Daisy because of the established rules of the society which are perfectly depicted in the other location Rome. Daisy is a metaphor of what the whole Europe lacks. She is innocent incautious and acting for impulse. She has no knowledge of the rules which connect the society. She is ignorant of history proving her lack of refinement. Being limited in her experience she refuses to change her natural behaviour to please the culture to which she doesnt belong. The society is incapable of recognizing the reality and reduce her innocence to vulgarity. By not inviting Daisy to their homes Americans hope to show the Europeans that Daisys behaviour is not representative. Other differences concern the language which in case of the Millers is considerate rude and unrefined. Another difference is maternity. Daisys mother lacks control of her children and doesnt set clear moral restrictions. The lasting message of the book is Daisys innocence and the societies cruelty which condemned her to death.

MODERN LITERATURE MODERNISM 1914 1945 In the 3 decades between the outbreak of the First World War and the end of the Second World War American writers worked on interpretation of the new theories developing around the world. They tried to comprehend the theories and teachings of Darwin, Marks, Freud and Einstein. They were reflecting the issues having immediate consequence on American social, political and economic realities such as the Great Depression and the two World Wars. With the 20s came the Jazz Age, new freedoms, the fiasco of prohibition and an increase in organized crime. The 40s brought Atomic Age. The main themes taken up by the writers were collectivism vs the authority of the individual, Jazz Age and the 18th Amendment. Writers of fiction and drama abandoned many of the old conventions they considered limiting, searching for new psychological debts in their works. A new technique inspired by the new theories of psychoanalysis was that of stream of consciousness, which basically is the revelation of the characters random thoughts. American drama became increasingly serious and respected art form:

Tenesse Williams A streetcar named desire Arthur Miller Death of the salesman Representatives of the period were: William Faulkner Light in August / Absalom, Absalom Ernest Hemingway A Farewell to Arms John Steinbeck The Grapes of wrath F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby Sinclair Lewis Babitt The Roaring Twenties- the jazz age. The decade of the 1920s is often characterised as a period of American prosperity and optimism. Its often seen as the time of great advance as the country became urban and commercial. But its also a period of rising intolerance and isolation retreating into provointionalism, restrictive immigration lows and prohibition. Therefore its a decade of great contradictions. Its generally a decade of serious cultural conflict. GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Its the most profoundly American word of its times. Its a highly specific portrait of American society during the Roaring Twenties. Basically, its a story of a man who manages to get from rags to riches only to find out that his wealth cant afford him the privileges enjoyed by those born into the upper class. The book and its characters are obsessed by class and privileges. They live in the valley of Ushers, observed by the eyes of doctor Eckleburg giving at this waisland from the billboard. These eyes just like the valley are unnatural and decanc . They seem to be a monstrous parody of the eyes of God. They watch but do not want to see. This image seems to tell us what remains of the idea of God in the past industrial age. The book explores a world that has collapsed into decadence. Fitzgerald gives great attemption to the details of contemporary society. Gatsbys parties are both a description and parody of Jazz Age decadence. They exemplify the spirit of conspicuous consumption and a strange mix of rudeness and respectable. The guests are drunk, rude and boisterous, regardless of their aristocratic origin. Fitzgeralds Jazz Age is clearly in the gutter but struggling to act very sophisticated. Its important to notice the novels symbolic representative of the criminal element. Walfsheim is obviously Jewish. During the 1920 anti-Semitism in America was developing and Jews were held responsible for the corruption of the nation. The main character Gatsby, w wealthy New Yorker of in determined occupation is known for lavish parties thrown every weekend in his gothic mansion in West Egg. Hes suspected of being involved in bootlegging and other underworld activities. Hes the novels representative of the American dream and the story of his youth is based on one of that dreams oldest myths. Hes the self-made man. He attempts to remake himself on his own terms wishing to be reborn as the aristocrat he feels himself to be but Fitzgerald emphasised the hostility of the American twenties toward the figure of the self0made man. Gatsby is treated with contempt because he is not of the long standing American upper class. Despite being fabulously wealthy hes still regarded as social inferior by the narrow minded aristocracy. Even hes beloved daisy would never sacrifice her own class status in order to be with him. Her love for him is nothing in comparison to her love to privilege. According to the author America was founded on the ideals of progress and equality so it was a land for people like Gatsby. Instead, America reheated the European aristocracy in the new world. Now, the original ideals of the American dream have deteriorated into the pursuit of wealth. Hester Prynne A proud rebellious woman who challenges moral and social authority by giving voice to radical freedom and womens rights. However her individualism is tempered by social and moral compromises. Humiliation she receives destroys hr will power and causes her to accept her faith and remained in Boston. Living in an isolated cottage she becomes an outcast laugh at even by the children but she does not give up her love easily. Her love for Arthur and whish to remain near him forces her to accept public humiliation. It proves that she s not only passionate but also capable of love. Understanding her tragedy puts her at peace with the world besides she feels the need to socialize her

unruly child. Her hard work makes her life valuable to other human begins and eventually the community comes to respect her. Arthur Dimmesdala Hes a very proud and ambitious man of high reputation of society but not equal to Hester in her private rebellion. He chooses the security of puritan doctrine which proves his nature to be far more corrupted than Hesters. Hypocracy characterizes him as he enjoys all the privileges while Hester has to suffer. He also suffers but internally and a mysterious sth appears on his chest. Being unable to cope with his sin he undergoes the process of the redemption witch finally makes him confess his sin publicly. Roger Leech Chillingworth Is a complex character difficult to see through. On one hand hes a perversion of goodness and diabolical and vindictive person however capable of love. Hes an educated man, skillful at medicine, literature who stays in Boston either to take revenge for failing to become a father or for the challenge to solving the mystery. He commits an unpardonable sin trying to master control over Arthurs soul. Hes referred to as leech living of Arthurs soul who will suck the life out of him. Having noticed his evil nature Pearl calls him the black man Pearl Shes an embodiment of Hesters life and being an unusual child she seems to be extremely mature as for her age. Shes a child of wild nature not afraid of wild animals and often called an elf child because of this. She has no social skills, throws stones at children and screams at the. Hester in her pride and ability to adopt in difficult situations but shes not willing to make any compromise. Pearl breaks every moral law the Puritans have created, enjoys wearing red cloths, playing with her mums A letter which makes her a living symbol highlighted by her magnificent clothing. Pearl is a punishment for her mothers sin and her only reason for existence is to discover the secret of her birth and to cause her mother suffering. She acts like that because she needs a mother and a father to be a complete child. Her new role in the story is revealed in the 12th chapter she will eventually make Arthur admit his crime and she embodies the morality of the story. Symbols Prison- a symbol for the Puritanical severe law, it represents strict enforcement of law and inability to break free of it. Rosebush-a symbol of passion linked to the wilderness of surroundings of Boston. Its full blossom indicates that Hester is at the peak of her passion and as she has given birth to her child Pearl is compared to the blooming rose. Letter A- at first it means ADULTRY which through its beauty offends many observers because its suppose to represent the hidden shame of the community. However through her work and service for the society it changer into ANGEL or ABLE. Arthurs gesture-by placing his hand over the heart he shows his distress in failing Hester. Indian-standing at the edge of the crowd he shows the division between the puritanical world and the wilderness around. He represents the sewerage and wild nature outside Boston. Hesters place of living- forest represents love or the wilderness where strict morals of purit. community cannot apply. By living there Hester puts herself in a place between the moral and immoral universes. It shows that the strict puritan moral code but rather tries to live in both worlds at the same time. Pearl-She embodies the shame of Hesters adultery her appearances are deriving since despite her name shes anything but a beautiful person. The moral shes meant to teach is that Hester and Arthur cannot let their passion over round them without any consequences. Meteor-symbolizes a divine intervention Black Flower-the evil growing in Chillingworth THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway

This book is a documentation of what Gertrude Stein called the lost generation. The generation felt itself different from their predecessors, largely because of traumatic experience of the first World War. After the war many young American intellectuals left their native country bitter of over the war and seeking adventure. With their dreams and innocence, smashed by the great war. The Sun also rises is a picture of Paris in the 1920s as well as of the new lifestyle and the new post war morality. Disillusioned representatives of the lost generation lead lives restless lives and their only principle is to accept life without complaint and drive as much enjoyment of it is possible. They drifted irresponsibly through the prosperous era, drinking and partying away their frustrations. Hemingway explores and criticizes the superficiality of his characters indulgent lifestyles. Jake Barnes- the narrator epitomizes the last generation physically and emotionally wounded from the war. He disillusioned and cares little about the conventional sources of hope such as family, friends, religion, work. Instead he drinks excessively. Hemingway prefaces the novel with 2 quotes. One by Gertrude Stein, the other comes from the Bible and makes up an optimistic antidote to Steins pessimism. Although Hemingway generation may be lost , soon mankind will find himself again. The novel presents the essence of the lost generation aimlessness, disillusioned and unsure of their values, people who are in a constant state of retreat rather than pursuit. The conventional offerings of life do not satisfy them. Work is shown as unimportant and seems to care much about family life. All they do is drink to blind themselves to reality. Having no ideals to rely on the lost generation lived an immoral existence, deprived of true emotions and characterized by casual interpersonal cruelty. Jakes sickness, his impotence stands for the wars symbolic castration of the lost generation especially men. They felt as if they had lost their manhood in their return to the peacetime world. Hemingway also explores in greater depth the new sexual relations which appeared after the 1st /world War. Hes interested in the war power of women over the emasculated man. In the authors view a liberated woman is a corrupting and dangerous force for man. He criticizes shallow relationships based around money. The lost generation is irresponsible they realize the world is imperfect and they claim theres nothing they can do about it.

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