In Search of the
American Voice
An overview of the development of
American Literature
Source: photohome.com
Overview......................................................................................3
The Three Stages of Literature............................................................................4
From The Puritans to Today........................................................5
A Model of Christian Charity..............................................................................5
The Way to Wealth...............................................................................................5
Rip Van Winkle.....................................................................................................6
Self Reliance.........................................................................................................6
To Build a Fire......................................................................................................6
Conclusion............................................................................................................7
Overview
The roots of all literature begin with the dominant culture that preceded it. The mythology
and culture of the Greeks as recorded by Homer heavily influenced the development of the
Romans. It is no surprise that the Gods of the Romans have parallel personalities to the those of
the Greeks. As culture traveled westward with the spread of The Great Roman Empire, western
cultures absorbed the influence.
The development of literature follows specific stages. At first, work is merely translated from
the culture of origin. The English were well known for translated Italian Sonnets from Petrarch
even though the rhyme scheme was massacred by the english language. Then writers attempt to
copy a form or influence with their own ideas. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 mocked the perfection
of beauty in the Italian Sonnets with a realistic, imperfect view of beauty. Shakespeare’s work
was a departure from tradition and made his work uniquely English. The final stage is for the
writer’s of a culture to come up with their own forms and traditions that are unique to their
culture.
American Literature followed a similar path. In colonial times, we were not only subservient
to the King as colonists, but we also reflected the servitude in what we read. Most of what was
read and written in the colonies reflected British influence. The Puritans were mostly English in
what they read and what they wrote. However, as the colonies grew, and a desire for
Independence took root, colonists began to rebel against English ideas. Writers such as Benjamin
Franklin began writing about life in the colonies with a uniquely American perspective that he
quickly became a key figure in the American Revolution. Although his ideas were American, the
form of his Pennsylvania Gazette was still much in the English tradition of the periodical essay
made famous by English writer Samuel Johnson. In the period following the Revolutionary War,
Romanticism took root in the new nation and writers such as Washington Irving began
translating German folktales and rewriting them with uniquely American characters and settings
like you find in “Rip Van Winkle” set in New York’s Hudson River Valley. The growth of The
Transcendentalism and Realism movement marked the moment when American writers were
finally writing about the American experience in a uniquely American way. Essays, free verse
poetry, and realistic short stories about the relationship between man and nature like you find in
the short stories of Jack London signaled American Independence in politics as well as culture.
THE THREE STAGES OF LITERATURE
•
Translation
•
Emulation or copying the form or content from another culture
• Defining a new voice by writing about ideas, characters, and settings that can only be
considered American with no connection to British influence.
Chapter 1
From The Puritans to Today
When Governor John Winthrop delivered his sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” in
1630, the dye cast for the character of the American spirit. Although we celebrate the Pilgrims at
times and mock them at others, they brought with them a foundation of the American character.
They came to our shores in search of a better life, to forge a new society and we still embrace
that ideal. The same optimism and faith in God that carried them through that first hard winter
in Massachusetts is the same spirit and belief that carries all Americans through difficulty. As the
colonies grew, it was the same belief in God that led us to Revolution and ultimately
Independence. The cultural values of the Puritans can be found in the works of Romantic
writers like Washington Irving and Ralph Waldo Emerson attempted to explain how the spirit
God is reflected in man and nature in his inspiring Transcendental work “Self Reliance.”
A MODEL OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY
In one of the enduring pieces of American Literature, John Winthrop spoke at length about
moral behavior. It is rooted deeply in the corruption of the reign of England’s Charles I and his
immoral treatment of the Puritans in England. Winthrop and his followers left England for
religious freedom for sure, but their enduring message was to base society and its government on
a strong faith in god as well as rooting it firmly in moral behavior. Although the strict lifestyle was
impossible to live up to, the spirit of moral behavior still endures today.
THE WAY TO WEALTH
Like his English predecessor the great English moralist of the 18th century
Samuel Johnson, Ben Franklin philosophized on human behavior and
man’s propensity for idleness. Unlike Johnson, Franklin was a self made
man. He made the most of his time and his writings on hard work and
thrift that were a way of life to the Puritans became popular instruction
and inspiration for Americans in a young and aspiring nation. Through
aphorisms such as: “keep thy shop and thy shop shall keep thee” and “he
that lives upon hope will die fasting.” As a young man, Franklin came to
Philadelphia pennyless, but with determination, thrift, and common sense
he built an empire first in the printing business, later as an inventor, and
most famously as a statesman and diplomat that shaped the future of The
United States.
RIP VAN WINKLE
Although the British influence was clear in the work of Winthrop and
Franklin, Washington Irving and his fellow Romantic writers wanted to
forge a new literature that could be called American Literature. Irving
himself emulated the work of German folk tales, but attempted to make
them more American by rewriting them with uniquely American
characters and settings. The American archetypes of the henpecked
husband and the nagging wife shine in “Rip Van Winkle.” Taking place in
New York’s Hudson River Valley, Irving puts a new spin on the idleness
that Franklin took on in “The Way to Wealth.” Instead of using his
character to illustrate ideal behavior, Irving’s Winkle is everything we
aspire not to be. It is said that Rip “...would rather starve on a penny than
work for a pound.” The playfulness of Rip and the bearded men in the
woods capture the moral and serve a stark contrast to the hard work and
faith of the Puritans. Rip’s laziness caused him to sleep through the most
exciting chapter of American History. When he awoke, the colonies were
no more, and he felt utterly lost. The story brings to mind a quote from
Franklin, “But dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that’s the
stuff life is made of.” It is a message that rings as true then as it does
today.
SELF RELIANCE
As the nation continued to grow and The Industrial Revolution took root
in port cities such as Boston and New York, people began to feel
disconnected from are agricultural roots. A group of writers led by Ralph
Waldo Emerson turned to an exploration of nature to gain a deeper
understanding of man and nature. In his famous essay “Self Reliance,”
Emerson at once captured the independent spirt of America by penning
thoughts such as “Envy is Ignorance and Imitation is Suicide.” Where the
Puritans feared what lurked in the American wilderness, Emerson and the
Transcendentalists found God in nature and led a uniquely American
movement that gained a following around the world. His contemporary
and friend Henry David Throeau, penned Walden that combined the
Transcendentalist views of nature with the frugality of Ben Franklin.
Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience in protest of The Mexican Civil War
influenced such great Civil Rights leaders as Gandhi and Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.
TO BUILD A FIRE
Jack London explored the mighty power of nature and perhaps man’s
foolishness in short stories that featured the harsh realities of the natural
environment. London’s narrator describes the intense cold of an Alaska
winter: “Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty odd degrees of frost. Such
fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable and that was all. It
did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature,
and man’s frailty in general...” In direct contrast to man is nature. The
narrator’s dog is in tune with nature where the man is not. The animal
was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for
traveling. It’s instinct told a truer tale than was told to the man by the
man’s judgement.”London’s work was characteristic of The Realism
movement in American Literature that explored the harsh realities of life
in the natural world and man’s ignorance of it. It opened the door for
writers such as Mark Twain to tell things as they are with unique American
dialects and brutal honesty that inspired true change within our culture.
CONCLUSION
It does not matter what American writer captures your interest, the
characters, settings, and style of the writing and ideas can be traced back
to the values and risks taken by The Puritans, The Patriots of the
American Revolution, the genius of The Romantics and
Transcendentalists, along with the harsh and grim reality of the writers of
The Realism Movement. All the pieces come together to create a truly
unique American voice.