SURVEY OF ENGLISH – AMERICAN LITERATURE
DEATH, NOT BE PROUD
By John Donne
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR
John Donne was an English poet who lived
from 1572-1631. During his lifetime he practiced
law, served in governmental positions as an elected
official, and became a religious leader after his
conversion to Anglicanism. Donne struggled with
his health throughout his life and sustained the loss
of his wife and several of his children, which were
all experiences that shaped him into an
introspective person.
He was praised as a writer and preacher.
Donne's legacy today is for his contributions to
writing as a prominent metaphysical poet. His
works "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" and
"Death Be Not Proud" are shining examples of his
abilities to question concepts of love, life, and death
through the written word. Donne succumbed to
complications of his illness on March 31, 1631 at
the age of 59.
He known as the founder of the
Metaphysical Poets, a term created by Samuel
Johnson, an English philosopher.
LITERARY WORKS
Famous works by John Donne include:
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning (1633)
Death be not proud (1633)
Go and catch a falling star (1633)
Holy Sonnet: 'Batter my heart, three-person'd
God (1609)
The Canonization (1633)
The Ecstasy (1633)
The Flea (1633)
The Good-Morrow (1633)
The Sun Rising (1633)
To His Mistress Going To Bed (1593)
DEATH, NOT BE PROUD
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must
flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate
men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
MODERN TRANSLATION:
DEATH , NOT BE PROUD
Death, don't be proud - even though some people
have said you are
Mighty and dreadful. You are not mighty and
dreadful.
Those people you think that you destroy
Don't die, and you can't really kill me either. Poor
Death!
Death is like rest and sleep, and from rest and sleep
we get
Much pleasure. So to be dead must be even more
pleasurable
And the sooner the best people in the world die the
better,
O Death who gives rest to their bones and delivers
their souls [to heaven].
You are a servant to fate, chance, kings, and
desperate men,
And your companions are poison, war, and sickness,
And, anyway, poppies or charms can make us sleep
even
Better than you can. Why do you swell with pride,
then?
After a short sleep, we will be awake forever [in
heaven]
And death will exist no longer. Death, it is you who
will die.
POET SUMMARY/ANALYSIS
"Death, be not proud" is one of John
Donne's Holy Sonnets (10) or Divine Poems,
written probably in 1609/10 and published two
years after his death in 1633. Donne underwent a
great transformation in his private and poetic life,
writing erotic and passionate love poems early on
in his career and later devoting himself to God—he
became the dean of St Paul's in London no less—the
Holy Sonnets being among his best religious poems.
"Death Be Not Proud" is a Petrarchan-style sonnet,
14 lines in total, the first eight lines concentrating
on the role that Death plays, the last six lines
detailing how Death is subject to other controls,
such as fate, chance, and governmental systems.
The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is typically
ABBAABBA, and the rhyme scheme of the second
stanza is CDDCEE.
BY LINE ANALYSIS
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me
- The speaker addresses Death, personifying it
as a human capable of pride. Death is
portrayed as a powerful and horrible entity,
 but the speaker denies this. Death may believe
he has overthrown his victims, but people
continue to pass away. The speaker mocks
Death, implying that he is unaware of this,
expressing pity for poor Death.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must
flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
- Who doesn’t enjoy the thought of a lengthy,
comfortable sleep following a demanding day
at work? Sleep and rest are joys. According to
the speaker, death is nothing more than a little
extra relaxation and sleep. Sleep is a natural
process, and after getting some sleep, we feel
better. Similar to Death, but more so. And
Death may take the best men, the good die
young, so to speak, but they get a double
bonus...they get to rest, plus they get to have
their soul delivered. That word—delivery—is
related to birth, so not only has Death given
pleasure, it has helped the birth of the soul;
Death is an integral part of the afterlife.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate
men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
- Death has no power or control and is a slave to
fate, chance, monarchs, and desperate men.
Death only exists as a result of random
accidents, governmental systems of law and
justice, poison and war, and illness. Opium is
made from flowers like the poppy, and charms
are made from magic; both are just as efficient
at lulling people to sleep as Death. Better still.
How humiliating. How ridiculous it is to swell
up with pride when undeserved when Death is
humbled to a weakling.
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
- The final couplet perfectly captures the
situation. Death for a person is merely a brief
sleep since they will awaken and continue
living eternally, free of Death. The greatest
insult: Death will consequently no longer exist.
From a Christian perspective, this last straw
shows that Death itself is alive and logically
subject to its own death. The speaker will
awaken as if from sleep and never again
experience the dying process.
 Sonnet: A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem in
which the same idea runs throughout the poem.
In this sonnet, John Donne has combined the
Shakespearian and Petrarchan style. The
division of the sonnet reflects the
Shakespearian structure, whereas the rhyme
scheme shows the structure of Petrarchan
sonnet.
 Rhyme Scheme: In first, second and third
quatrains the poem follows the ABBA rhyme
scheme, and in couplet the rhyme scheme is AA.
 Meter: Most of the verses of this poem are
written in iambic pentameter in which
unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed
syllable, as it is stated, “from rest,” “and ”
However, the meter fluctuates, as the poem
progresses
Literary Devices in “Death, be not Proud"
 Personification: Personification means to
attribute human features to non-human things.
Donne has personified death throughout the
poem, stating it should not be proud. Being
proud is a human quality. Hence, death is given
a human quality of having feelings and
emotions.
 Metaphor: There are three metaphors in this
poem. The first is used in the opening line
“Death, be not proud.” Here death is compared
to a proud man. The second is used in the ninth
line, “Thou art slave to fate.” In the last line in an
extended metaphor where death is compared to
the non-existent or unrealistic object.
 Alliteration is the repetition of the same
consonant sounds in the same lines of the
poetry such as the use of /th/ in “And better
than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then” and
/m/ sound in “Much pleasure; then from thee
much more must flow.”
 Metonymy is a type of metaphor in which an
object is used to describe something closely
related to it. In this poem, “poppy” and “charm”
are used to produce gentle sleep or death.
 Assonance is the repetition of the vowel
sounds in the same line of poetry such as the
sound of /a/ in “Thou art slave to fate, chance,
kings, and desperate men,” and the sound of /e/
in “And soonest our best men with thee do
go.”ppy”
 Irony means a statement that may mean
something different from, or the opposite of,
what is written. Irony often expresses
something other than their literal intention,
often in a humorous. For example: “Death, thou
shalt die.”
 Theme: The major theme in the poem is the
powerlessness of death. The poem comprises
the poet’s emotions, mocking the position of
death and arguing that death is unworthy of
fear or awe. According to him, death gives birth
to our souls. Therefore, it should not consider
 itself mighty, or superior as ‘death’ is not
invincible.
NEOCLASSICAL LITERATURE
• The age is known as classical age or age of
reaon.
• Neo classical literature is characterized by
order, accuracy and structure.
• It is a period of Enlightenment.
• Literature of the age is concerned with human
nature, supremacy of reason.
• Unity in the works of all writers.
• The age wished to understand not to imagine.
• Neo classical age was the period after the post
oration era of the death of Alexander Pope.
• Neo classical period ended in 1798 when
Wordsworth published the Romantic "Lyrical
Ballads".
THREE STAGES:
1. THE RESTORATION PERIOD (1660-1700)
- The Restoration of King Charles II to the
English throne in 1660 after a long period of
puritan domination in England brought a new
change in English literature. Previously closed
theaters were opened again. New group of
writers began to write plays.
- Restoration literature continued to appeal to
heroic ideals of love and honor, particularly on
stage, in heroic tragedy.
FAMOUS WRITERS:
 JOHN DRYDEN
 JOHN MILTON
 SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE
 JOHN LOCKE
 SAMUEL PEPYS
 JEAN RACINE
 JEAN BAPTISTE
2. THE AUGUSTAN PERIOD (1700-1750)
- It is called Augustan because people was think
Augusts Cesar.
- This period is marked by the imitation of Virgil
and Horace's literature in English letters.
FAMOUS WRITERS:
 ALEXANDER POPE
 VIRGIL
 PROPERTIUS
 HENRY FIELDING
 WILLIAM COLLINS
3. THE AGE OF JOHNSON (1750-1790)
- This period marks the transition toward the
upcoming Romanticism through the period is
still largely Neo classical.
- Musch was happening around the world
politically., such as both the American and
French Revolutions.
- This time marked a transition in English
literature from the structure and formality of
the Neo-classical writers to the emotional,
ungoverned writings of the Romantics.
FAMOUS WRITERS:
 SAMUEL JOHNSON
 EDWARD GIBBON
 GEORGE CRABBE
 WILLIAM COWPER
 THOMAS PAINE
 THOMAS JEFFERSON
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
FAMOUS WRITER:
ALEXANDER POPE
- Alexander Pope is one of the best-known and
most-quoted poets in the English Language.
- He was the central figure of Augustan Poetry.
- He is an exponent of Augustan Literature.
- His death marked the end of the Augustan age.
- He specialized in satirical writing, which
earned him some enemies but helped his witty
language endure for centuries.
- He is known for having perfected the rhymed
couplet form of his idol, John Dryden, and
turned it to satiric and philosophical purposes.
FAMOUS WORKS:
 The Rape of the Lock
 The Dunciad
 The New Dunciad
 Windsor-Forest
 Eloisa to Abelard
 An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot
 An Essay on Criticism
 An Essay on Man
 Epistle to the Right Honourable Richard
Earl
of Burlington
 Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus
FAMOUS LITERARY WORK:
THE RAPE OF THE LOCK (1712-1714) - A mock-
epic telling the story of a society woman who has a
lock of hair stolen by a suitor.
CHARACTERS:
 Belinda - is a young lady with beautiful hair.
She is the victim of a vile crime.
 The Baron - a young man who plots to steal a
lock of Belinda's hair.
 Umbriel - a gnome who wants to make Belinda
more upset.
 Betty - Belinda's maid. She believes she does a
very good job getting her ready, but the sylphs
do the heavy lifting.
 Thalestris - Belinda's friend. Her boyfriend is
Sir Plume.
 Sir Plume - Thalestris's boyfriend. He tries to
get the Baron to return the lock.
 Clarissa - conspires with the Baron to steal
Belinda's lock. In fact, she hands him the
scissors.
 Affectation - attends the Queen of Spleen. She
is a young girl who is something of a
hypochondriac.
 John Carryl - a friend of Alexander Pope's
appears in the poem as Caryl.
 Shock - is Belinda's dog. He licks her awake.
 The Queen of Spleen - in charge of all manner
of female conditions. She can make young
ladies more upset than they would normally be.
 Jove - the chief of the ancient Roman gods,
weighs the strengths of the men and women in
the final battle.
 Ariel - a sylph, an airy spirit. Ariel and the other
sylphs are in charge of protecting beauty from
harm.
 Zephyretta - is one of the sylphs. It is her job to
guard the fan.
 Momentilla - is one of the sylphs. It is her job
guard Belinda's watch.
 Crispissa - is one of the sylphs. It is her job to
guard the lock.
 Brillante - is one of the sylphs. It is her job to
guard the diamonds.
 The Muse - sees Belinda's lock of hair rise
upward into the heavens.
SUMMARY
Belinda arises to prepare for the day’s social
activities after sleeping late. Her guardian sylph,
Ariel, warned her in a dream that some disaster will
befall her, and promises to protect her to the best of
his abilities. Belinda takes little notice of this oracle,
however. After an elaborate ritual of dressing and
primping, she travels on the Thames River to
Hampton Court Palace, an ancient royal residence
outside of London, where a group of wealthy young
socialites are gathering for a party.
Among the group of socialites is the Baron,
who has already made up his mind to steal a lock of
Belinda’s hair. He has risen early to perform and
elaborate set of prayers and sacrifices to promote
success in this enterprise. When the partygoers
arrive at the palace, they enjoy a tense game of
cards, which Pope describes in mock-heroic terms
as a battle. This is followed by a round of coffee.
Then the Baron takes up a pair of scissors and
manages, on the third try, to cut off the coveted lock
of Belinda’s hair.
Belinda is furious. Umbriel, a mischievous
gnome, journeys down to the Cave of Spleen to
procure a sack of sighs and a flask of tears which he
then bestows on the heroine to fan the flames of
her ire. Clarissa, who had aided the Baron in his
crime, now urges Belinda to give up her anger in
favor of good humor and good sense, moral
qualities which will outlast her vanities. But
Clarissa’s moralizing falls on deaf ears, and Belinda
initiates a scuffle between the ladies and the
gentlemen, in which she attempts to recover the
severed curl.
The lock is lost in the confusion of this mock
battle. However, the poet consoles the bereft
Belinda with the suggestion that it has been taken
up into the heavens and immortalized as a
constellation.
THE MODERN LITERATURE
These events ushered in a new age in
American literature, Modernism, as writers began
to attempt to express modern life with their
writings. The Modernist era was an era of boldness
and fast-paced living. This was a time of flourishing
art and extravagant living that acted as a prequel to
the Great Depression. In literature, the era was
characterized by a break away from traditional
styles of poetry and other types of writing.
Although their works were very different, Modern
authors shared a common purpose, which was to
capture the essence of modern life. This purpose is
why most modernist literature was written in a
pessimistic way.
Two Major Themes of the era:
*Confusion
*Disillusionment
The major authors of the time period are:
-Fitzgerald
-Hemingway
-Faulkner
-Eliot
-Pound
became known as the Lost Generation.
SCOTT FRITZGERALD
-Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American
novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best
known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and
excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularized in his
short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age.
• Born: September 24, 1896
• Named after ancestor(Francis Scott Key)
• 1917- enlisted in army
• Fell in love with Zelda Sarye
• She agreed to marry him once he was a
successful man
- Famous novel The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American
writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on
Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts
first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions
with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's
obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy
Buchanan.
Publish: in 1925
Genres: Novel, Fiction, Tragedy
Main Character of the story:
Jay Gatsby - Self-made millionaire who always
throws grandiose parties. In love with Daisy
Buchanan.
Nick Carraway - is the narrator of The Great Gatsby
and the cousin of Daisy Buchanan.
Tom Buchanan - Husband of Daisy. Has an affair
with Myrtle.
Daisy Buchanan - She is Nick's cousin and the
object of Gatsby's love. As a young debutante in
Louisville, Daisy was extremely popular among the
military officers stationed near her home, including
Jay Gatsby.
Jordan Baker - is the close friend of Daisy
Buchanan, the focus of Jay Gatsby's infatuation.
Additionally, she acts as the casual love interest of
the narrator, Nick Carraway.
Myrtle Wilson - She is the wife of George Wilson,
who owns a car repair shop and sells cars, and she
is the mistress of Tom Buchanan.
George Wilson - husband of Myrtle Wilson and the
owner of a gas station and auto repair shop
Themes: greed, love, violence, and the “American
Dream”.
SUMMARY:
Nick Carraway, a young man from
Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of
1922 to learn about the bond business. He rents a
house in the West Egg district of Long Island, a
wealthy but unfashionable area populated by the
new rich, a group who have made their fortunes too
recently to have established social connections and
who are prone to garish displays of wealth. Nick’s
next-door neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious
man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic
Gothic mansion and throws extravagant parties
every Saturday night.
Nick is unlike the other inhabitants of West
Egg—he was educated at Yale and has social
connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long
Island home to the established upper class. Nick
drives out to East Egg one evening for dinner with
his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom,
an erstwhile classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Daisy and
Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful,
cynical young woman with whom Nick begins a
romantic relationship. Nick also learns a bit about
Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan tells him that
Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the
valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground
between West Egg and New York City. Not long
after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City
with Tom and Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in
the apartment that Tom keeps for the affair, Myrtle
begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom
responds by breaking her nose.
As the summer progresses, Nick eventually
garners an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary
parties. He encounters Jordan Baker at the party,
and they meet Gatsby himself, a surprisingly young
man who affects an English accent, has a
remarkable smile, and calls everyone “old sport.”
Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone, and, through
Jordan, Nick later learns more about his mysterious
neighbor. Gatsby tells Jordan that he knew Daisy in
Louisville in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. He
spends many nights staring at the green light at the
end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion.
Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are
simply an attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby now
wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself
and Daisy, but he is afraid that Daisy will refuse to
see him if she knows that he still loves her. Nick
invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without
telling her that Gatsby will also be there. After an
initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy
reestablish their connection. Their love rekindled,
they begin an affair.
After a short time, Tom grows increasingly
suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. At
a luncheon at the Buchanans’ house, Gatsby stares
at Daisy with such undisguised passion that Tom
realizes Gatsby is in love with her. Though Tom is
himself involved in an extramarital affair, he is
deeply outraged by the thought that his wife could
be unfaithful to him. He forces the group to drive
into New York City, where he confronts Gatsby in a
suite at the Plaza Hotel. Tom asserts that he and
Daisy have a history that Gatsby could never
understand, and he announces to his wife that
Gatsby is a criminal—his fortune comes from
bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities.
Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom, and
Tom contemptuously sends her back to East Egg
with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby
cannot hurt him.
When Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through
the valley of ashes, however, they discover that
Gatsby’s car has struck and killed Myrtle, Tom’s
lover. They rush back to Long Island, where Nick
learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car
when it struck Myrtle, but that Gatsby intends to
take the blame. The next day, Tom tells Myrtle’s
husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the
car. George, who has leapt to the conclusion that
the driver of the car that killed Myrtle must have
been her lover, finds Gatsby in the pool at his
mansion and shoots him dead. He then fatally
shoots himself.
Nick stages a small funeral for Gatsby, ends
his relationship with Jordan, and moves back to the
Midwest to escape the disgust he feels for the
people surrounding Gatsby’s life and for the
emptiness and moral decay of life among the
wealthy on the East Coast. Nick reflects that just as
Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was corrupted by money
and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness
and individualism has disintegrated into the mere
pursuit of wealth. Though Gatsby’s power to
transform his dreams into reality is what makes
him “great,” Nick reflects that the era of dreaming—
both Gatsby’s dream and the American dream—is
over.
SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5 by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
SUMMARY:
Slaughterhouse-Five is an account of Billy
Pilgrim's capture and incarceration by the Germans
during the last years of World War II, and scattered
throughout the narrative are episodes from Billy's
life both before and after the war, and from his
travels to the planet Tralfamadore (Trawl-fahm-uh-
door). Billy can move both forwards and backwards
through his lifetime in an arbitrary cycle of events.
Enduring the tedious life of a 1950s optometrist in
Ilium, New York, he is the lover of a former
pornographic movie star on the planet
Tralfamadore and simultaneously an American
prisoner of war (POW) in Nazi Germany.
Vonnegut uses Billy's ability to travel in
time as a device to evoke a wide range of scenes
from Billy's life. The multidimensional panorama
points out the importance of cyclical time and
psychological experience during events that receive
equal emphasis in linear time. While some scenes
become so jumbled that they seem to have no cause
or effect, we must remember Vonnegut's comments
on the title page. He suggests that this narrative is
"schizophrenic," and he invites us to become
psychologists helping Billy make sense of his life.
Slaughterhouse-Five's central topic is the horror of
the Dresden bombing. As a witness to the
destruction, Billy confronts fundamental questions
about the meanings of life and death. Traumatized
by the events in Dresden, Billy can provide no
answers. As a soldier, he is dislocated in a system
where there is no reward, no punishment, and no
justice. Although his life as an optometrist, a
husband, and a father is materially fulfilling, he is
unable to find peace of mind because of the trauma
he suffered in Dresden.
Ultimately, Billy reconciles this trauma with
the acceptance of the Tralfamadorian doctrine that
there is no such thing as free will: Billy cannot
change the past, the present, or the future. In the
final analysis, Vonnegut suggests that life is like a
simple, meaningless limerick, a nonsensical verse
that never ends because it continuously repeats
itself. At the beginning of Slaughterhouse-Five, the
bird's song asks, "Poo-tee-weet?" at the end of the
novel, Billy hears the bird still asking the same
simple, meaningless question.
Slaughterhouse-Five is a novel that makes
numerous cultural, historical, geographical, and
philosophical allusions. It tells of the bombing of
Dresden in World War II, and refers to the Battle of
the Bulge, the Vietnam War, and the civil rights
protests in American cities during the 1960s. The
novel’s subtitle “The Children’s Crusade” refers to
the youthfulness of the soldiers who fought in
World War II. Although the slaughterhouse no. 5 in
Dresden, where Billy and his fellow POWs are
imprisoned, is a literal place, it also takes on a
symbolic connotation that goes beyond its physical
existence.
AMERICAL COLONIAL PERIOD
The American colonial period refers to the
time when the 13 British colonies were established
and governed in what is now the eastern United
States. The colonies grew both geographically and
numerically from the 17th to the 18th centuries, until
they rebelled against Britain in the American
Revolution.
The American colonial period is a
fascinating and rich topic for literary analysis. It
covers the time from the arrival of the first English
settlers in North America in 1607 until the
Declaration of Independence in 1776.
During this period, various genres of
writing emerged, reflecting the diverse experiences,
perspectives, and purposes of the colonists.
Some of the most common types of writings
in this period are:
• TRAVEL WRITING
- These are accounts of the explorers and
adventures who visited or settled in the new
continent. They describe the land, the native
peoples, the challenges, and the opportunities
they encountered.
- Examples of Travel Writers: Captain John
Smith, Willian Strachey, & John Winthrop
• RELIGIOUS WRITING
- These are works that express the religious
beliefs, experiences, and doctrines of the
colonists, especially the Puritans. They include
sermons, journals, commentaries, and poems.
- Examples of Religious Writers: Cotton Mather,
Anne Bradstreet, & Jonathan Edwards
• POETRY WRITING
- These are works that use rhyme, rhythm,
imagery, and figurative language to express
emotions, ideas, and experiences. They range
from simple verses to complex forms and
themes.
- Examples of Poets: Edward Taylor, Phillis
Wheatley, & Philip Freneau
• HISTORICAL WRITING
- These are narratives or essays that document
the events and developments of the colonial
history. They often have a political or religious
agenda, and sometimes embellish or omit facts
to suit their aims.
- Examples of Historians: William Bradford,
Robert Beveryly, and Colonel William Byrd
• PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
- These are works that explore the nature of
human existence, society, morality, and
knowledge.
- Examples of Philosophical Writers: Benjamin
Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson
• FICTION WRITING
- These are works that use imagination and
creativity to tell stories that may or may not be
based on reality. They include novels, short
stories, sketches, and humor.
- Examples of Fictional Writers: Washington
Irving, James Fenimore, and Edgar Allan Poe
Those are some of the most main types of writings
that emerged during American Colonial Period.
FAMOUS WRITERS:
ANNE BRADSTREET
EDGAR ALLAN POE
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
JONATHAN EDWARDS
FAMOUS LITERATURE:
COMMON SENSE
THE FEDERALIST PAPERS
THE TENTH MUSE LATELYSPRUNG UP IN AMERICA
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FRANKLIN
THE RAVEN
EDGAR ALLAN POE
• He was a Poet, short story writer, and critic who
is considered the father of American Gothic
Literature. He wrote stories and poems that
explore the themes of horror, mystery, madness,
and death.
• Some of his famous works are: “The Raven,”
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Fall of the House
of Usher”.
• THE RAVEN
• This is a poem that tells the story of a man who
is visited by a mysterious raven that repeats the
word “Nevermore”. It explores the Themes of
grief, madness, and loss in a dark and musical
language.
• The Raven is a BALLAD made up of eighteen six-
line stanzas. Throughout, the poet uses Trochaic
Octameter, a very distinctive metrical form. He
uses the first person point of view throughout
and a very consistent rhyme scheme of ABCBBB
THE CHARACTERS:
• The narrator: he is a scholar who is deeply
depressed and lonely after loosing his love,
Lenore. He tries to distract himself from his
sorrow by reading books, but he hopes to find
some comfort or relief from the raven, but he
only gets more despair and madness.
• Lenore: she is the narrator’s lost love, who died
young and beautiful. She is never seen in the
poem, but she is mentioned several times by the
narrator.
• Raven: It is a black bird that enters the
narrator’s chamber and perches on a bust of
pallas, the goddess of wisdom. It seems to
understand the narrator’s questions, but it only
answers with “Nevermore”.
SUMMARY:
The unnamed narrator is alone in his house on a
cold December evening, trying to read. As he is
about to fall asleep, he hears a quiet knock at his
door, but decides to ignore it. He says that he has
been reading in the hopes of relieving his sorrow
over Lenore, his beloved, who has passed away.
Though he tries to convince himself that nothing is
there, his curiosity and fear overwhelm him. He
eventually opens his door, speaking “Lenore?” into
the darkness. When he hears tapping at his
window, he opens that, too, and a Raven flies inside
his room, landing on a bust of Pallas. The narrator
jokingly asks the Raven’s name and is surprised to
hear it respond “Nevermore.” He mutters to himself
that the Raven will probably leave him just as his
friends and loved ones did, to which the Raven
responds once more “Nevermore.” The narrator
then seats himself directly in front of the bird,
trying to understand what it means by
“Nevermore.”
Suddenly, the narrator perceives that angels
sent by God have caused the air to become dense
and perfumed. Anxious, he asks the Raven if the
angels are a sign that heaven will relieve him of his
sorrows, to which the bird says, again,
“Nevermore.” With the same response, the bird
rejects his hope that he might see Lenore again in
heaven, as well as his impassioned request for the
bird to leave him alone. Finally, the narrator tells us
that the Raven has continued to sit atop his
chamber door above the bust of Pallas, and that he
will live forever in its shadow.
This Is Why the Raven Says “Nevermore”
- In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, the raven
symbolizes wisdom, a living omen that speaks
to the underlying truth of the matter at hand.
- When the raven says “nevermore,” it reminds
the protagonist of the deepest truth that his
lover is gone, never to be seen or heard from
again.
- At other points in the poem, the Raven also
says “evermore,” in which cases the raven
speaks to the everlasting grief caused by the
lover’s disappearance.
- In both cases, the raven is persistent and
continues to interrupt the protagonist’s
sense of peace.
- The raven’s persistence is key to the plot of the
poem.
- The speaker is trying to find solitude by
secluding himself and separating himself from
the truth of the situation.
- Still, he keeps being interrupted by the raven,
which makes him restless and sorrowful.
- This constant interruption symbolizes how
grief sticks with a person after a loss and
interrupts the normal flow of life.
Why Does Edgar Allen Poe Use a Raven as a
Symbol?
- Edgar Allen Poe uses a raven as a symbol
because he wanted a “non-reasoning” animal
capable of speaking, and he wanted one that
matched the tone of the poem.
- The raven’s dark color and association with
death made it the perfect choice.
- According to some sources, Poe also
considered an owl and a parrot before
settling on the raven.
- Unlike the owl or the parrot, the raven is
associated with the underworld, such as what
Poe references in the poem.
- He describes the raven as coming from
“Night’s Plutonian Shore,” directly referencing
their origins in the underworld.
Understanding Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven
Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven is a poem about grief,
with a protagonist that goes mad struggling with
the loss of his lover.
Throughout the poem, he goes through each of the
five stages of grief, listed below:
 Depression
 Denial
 Acceptance
 Bargaining
 Anger
Like in life, the main character moves in and out of
these phases seamlessly throughout the poem,
going back and forth rather than moving in a
straightforward trajectory.
The Age of Reason or the REVOLUTIONARY
PERIOD IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
The Revolutionary Period in American Literature -
was a time a long time ago, around 1775-1783,
when the British initially established and controlled
colonies in America, particularly along the eastern
coast.
These colonies were indeed under British
rule, and the British Empire exerted authority over
them.
However, the American Revolution in the
late 18th century changed the situation. The
American colonists fought for and ultimately gained
their independence from British rule. The United
States of America was established as an
independent nation, no longer under British
colonial control.
This time period produced several famous
authors including Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere,
Thomas Paine, etc.
Many of the writings of the time are written
from the battlefront or from a perspective of the
revolutionary.
Many less famous pieces were written from
English loyalists and are equally important to
understanding the literature of the time.
Unfortunately many of the writing of the
time are lost because they were written on the
battlefront and mail was unlikely to be delivered.
During this time many of the writings
especially at the beginning of the revolution are
call-to-arms are very stirring to the soul.
They feature a strong sense of patriotism
and of camaraderie among the colonists.
Many of these writings are almost pleading
for support and loyalty.

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WRITERS OF THIS
ERA:
Benjamin Franklin - Helped draft Declaration of
Independence, and the Constitution. Wrote his
Autobiography and tried to achieve moral
perfection. A statesman, inventor, and diplomat.
He is best known as the only Founding
Father who signed all three documents that freed
America from Britain.
Thomas Paine - Pamphlet Common Sense, helped
propel colonists to revolution. Uses persuasive
techniques and the art of language to convince
people to change their thinking.
Paine was an active patriot serving in
Washington's army. His writing was the most
influential thing he did. He wrote the Crisis Papers
which spoke out against loyalists and inspired the
colonists to continue fighting
Patrick Henry - Famous Speech in the Virginia
Convention which convinced leadership to prepare
for war with Britain. Known to use rhetorical
devices to help communicate ideas. Advocated the
right to bear arms. FYI: he had 26 children!
During the revolution Patrick Henry delivered one
of the most important lines of speech to the
American cause.
He said, "Give me liberty or give me death."
He said this while speaking to the Virginia
legislature while urging Virginians to arm
themselves.
Thomas Jefferson - Founding father who is noted
for the Declaration of Independence. He developed
the policy of separation of church and state. Was
the 3rd US. president.
MOST FAMOUS WORKS:
• The Declaration of Independence (1776)
byThomas Jefferson
• The Federalist Papers (1787-1788) by
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John
Jay
• Common Sense by Thomas Paine (1776)
• The Crisis by Thomas Paine
• Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector
St. John de Crèvecœur (1782)
• Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin (1791)
COMMON SENSE
Common Sense is a 47-page pamphlet
written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating
independence from Great Britain.
Thomas Paine begins by discussing the
distinction between government and society. He
argues that while society is a blessing, government
is a necessary evil that serves to restrain human
vices.
Paine believes that the most desirable form
of government is the simplest one that secures
freedom for society. Paine further critiques
monarchy and hereditary succession, asserting that
they are unchristian and prone to violence.
He argues that these systems impose rulers,
often corrupt ones, on future generations, leading
to arrogance and a disconnection from the needs of
the people.
Throughout the pamphlet, Paine
emphasizes the idea of human equality and the
importance of natural rights. He asserts that the
American colonies have suffered oppression at the
hands of the British monarchy and parliament,
justifying their exploration of independence.
"Common Sense" played a significant role in
influencing public opinion and inspiring rebel
leaders to declare American independence. Its
publication helped ignite a revolution that
ultimately led to the formation of the United States
of America.
AMERICAL LITERATURE IN 19TH CENTURY
AMERICAN LITERATURE DURING THE
LATE 19TH CENTURY HOLDS GREAT SIGNIFICANCE
AS IT REFLECTS THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND
POLITICAL CHANGES OF THE TIME. IT SHAPED
THE NATIONAL IDENTITY, EXPLORED NEW
LITERARY MOVEMENTS, AND ADDRESSED
IMPORTANT SOCIAL ISSUES. THIS LITERATURE
CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF AMERICAN LIFE AND
CONTINUES TO RESONATE WITH READERS TODAY.
TRANSFORMATIVE PERIOD MARKED BY
SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL EVENTS AND SOCIAL
CHANGES:
1. INDUSTRIALIZATION & URBANIZATION
- THE RISE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION LED TO THE
GROWTH OF FACTORIES, RAILROADS AND CITIES.
THIS SHIFT FROM AN AGRARIAN TO AN
INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY BROUGHT ABOUT
ECONOMIC EXPANSION AND URBANIZATION.
2. AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
- FOUGHT FROM 1861-1865, WAS A DEFINING
EVENT. IT WAS PRIMARILY FOUGHT OVER ISSUES
OF SLAVERY, STATES RIGHTS AND THE
PRESERVATION OF THE UNION. THE WAR
RESULTED IN THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY AND A
REDEFINING OF THE NATION.
3. WOMEN’S RIGHTS MOVEMENT
- THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHT GAINED
MOMENTUM DURING THIS CENTURY. LEADERS
LIKE ELIZABETH CADY STANTON & SUSAN B.
ANTHONY ADVOCATED FOR WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
AND EQUAL RIGHTS, PAVING THE WAY FOR
SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENTS IN THE 20TH
CENTURY
4. IMMIGRATION & CULTURAL DIVERSITY
-THE 19TH CENTURY WITNESSED A MASSIVE WAVE
OF IMMIGRATION, PARTICULARLY FROM EUROPE.
THIS INFLUX OF IMMIGRANTS CONTRIBUTED TO
CULTURAL DIVERSITY, THE GROWTH OF CITIES,
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ETHNIC
COMMUNITIES.
EARLY 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE IS
CHARACTERIZED BY:
1. NATIONAL IDENTITY
- WRITERS SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH A
DISTINCT AMERICAN IDENTITY BY DRAWING
INSPIRATION FROM HISTORY, FOLKLORE AND
LANDSCAPE.
2. ROMANTICISM
- THE DOMINANT LITERARY MOVEMENT
OF THE TIME EMPHASIZED INDIVIDUALISM,
IMAGINATION AND THE POWER OF NATURE.
3. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL THEMES:
- LITERATURE OFTEN ADDRESSED
HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL EVENTS,
REFLECTING A SENSE OF PATRIOTISM AND A
DESIRE TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL LITERARY
TRADITION.
4. REGIONALISM:
- WRITERS EXPLORED THE UNIQUE
CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT REGIONS IN
AMERICA, CONTRIBUTING TO A DIVERSE
LITERARY LADSCAPE.
5. MORAL AND DIDACTIC ELEMENTS:
- MANY WORKS CONTAINED MORAL
LESSONS AND AIMED TO ADDRESS SOCIAL ISSUES,
ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE.
6. USE OF AMERICAN VERNACULAR:
- AMERICAN VERNACULAR AND REGIONAL
DIALECTS WERE EMBRACED, CAPTURING THE
DISTINCT VOICES AND EXPERIENCES OF
DIFFERENT REGIONS AND SOCIAL CLASSES.
NOTABLE AUTHORS WHO MADE SIGNIFICANT
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LITERARY LADSCAPE:
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
- A LEADING FIGURE OF THE
TRANSCENDENTALIST MOVEMENT EMERSON’S
ESSAY AND LECTURES, SUCH AS “SELF-RELIANCE”
AND “NATURE,” EXPLORED THE INDIVIDUAL’S
RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE, SELF-RELIANCE,
AND THE IMPORTANCE OF INTUITION.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
- THOREAU’S MOST FAMOUS WORK, “WALDEN,” IS
A REFLECTION ON HIS EXPERIENCE LIVING IN
SOLITUDE IN NATURE. HE ALSO WROTE ESSAYS
LIKE “CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE,” WHICH ADVOCATED
FOR NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE AGAINST UNJUST
LAWS.
EDGAR ALLAN POE
- KNOWN FOR HIS DARK AND MACABRE TALES,
POE’S WORKS LIKE “THE RAVEN,” THE TELL-TALE
HEART,” AND “THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF
USHER” ESTABLISHED HIS AS A MASTER OF
GOTHIC FICTION AND A PIONEER OF THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER GENRE.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
- HAWTHORNE’S NOVEL “THE SCARLET LETTER”
EXPLORES THEMES OF SIN, GUILT, AND
REDEMPTION IN PURITAN NEW ENGLAND. HIS
OTHER NOTABLE WORKS INCLUDE “THE HOUSE
OF THE SEVEN GABLES” AND “YOUNG GOODMAN
BROWN.”
HERMAN MELVILLE
- MELVILLE’S MASTERPIECE, “MOBY-DICK,” IS AN
EPIC NOVEL THAT DELVES INTO THEMES OF
OBSESSION, FATE, AND THE HUMAN CONDITION.
HIS OTHER NOTABLE WORKS INCLUDE
“BARTLEBY, THE SCRIVENER” AND “BILLY BUDD,
SAILOR.”
MARL TWAIN (SAMUEL CLEMENS)
- TWAIN’S NOVELS, SUCH AS “THE ADVETURES OF
TOM SAWYER” AND “ADVENTURES OF
HUCKLEBERRY FINN,” CAPTURED THE SPIRIT OF
AMERICAN CHILDHOOD AND PROVIDED SOCIAL
COMMENTARY ON RACE, MORALITY, AND THE
HYPOCRISY OF SOCIETY.
EMILY DICKINSON
- THOUGH HER POETRY WAS MOSTLY
UNPUBLISHED DURING HER LIFETIME,
DICKINSON IS NOW RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF
AMERICA’S GREATEST POETS. HER POEMS,
KNOWN FOR THEIR UNCONVENTIONAL STYLE
AND EXPLORATION OF THEMES LIKE LOVE,
DEATH, AND NATURE, CONTINUE TO CAPTIVATE HERE ARE THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF
READERS. ROMANTICISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE.

TRANCENDENTIALISM 1. EMPHASIS ON IMAGINATION & EMOTION:

- WAS A PHILOSOPHICAL AND LITERARY - ROMATIC WRITERS PRIORITIZED THE
MOVEMENT THAT EMERGED IN THE MID-19TH IMAGINATION AND THE EXPRESSION OF INTENSE
CENTURY IN AMERICA. IT EMPHASIZED THE EMOTIONS. THEY SOUGHT TO EVOKE
IMPORTANCE OF INTUATION, INDIVIDUALITY AND POWERFUL EMOTIONAL RESPONSES FROM
THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION BETWEEN HUMANS READERS THROUGH THEIR WORKS.
AND NATURE. HERE ARE THE KEY BELIEFS OF 2. CELEBRATION OF INDIVIDUALISM:
TRANSCENDENTALISM: - ROMANTICISM CELEBRATED THE
INDIVIDUAL AND THEIR UNIQUE EXPERIENCES,
1. INTUITION AND INDIVIDUALITY: BELIEFS AND EMOTIONS.WRITERS
- TRANSCENDENTALISTS BELIEVED IN THE EXPLORED THE INNER WORLD OF CHARACTERS
INHERENT GOODNESS AND WISDOM OF EACH AND EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF
INDIVIDUAL. THEY EMPHASIZED THE PERSONAL FREEDOM AND SELF-EXPRESSION.
IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING TO ONE’S INTUITION 3. LOVE OF NATURE:
AND INNER VOICE, RATHER THAN CONFORMING - ROMANTIC WRITERS HAD A DEEP
TO SOCIETAL NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS. APPRECIATION FOR THE BEAUTY AND POWER OF
2. NATURE AS A SOURCE OF TRUTH: NATURE. THEY OFTEN USED VIVID
- TRANSCENDENTALISTS SAW NATURE AS A DESCRIPTIONS OF NATURAL LADSCAPES AND
DIRECT MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE. THEY SETTINGS TO EVOKE EMTIONS AND REFLECT
BELIEVED THAT BY IMMERSING ONESELF IN THE SUBLIME.
NATURE, INDIVIDUALS COULD GAIN SPIRITUAL 4. FOCUS ON THE SUPERNATURAL & GOTHIC
INSIGHT AND CONNECT WITH THE UNIVERSAL ELEMENTS:
TRUTHS OF THE UNIVERSE. -ROMANTIC LITERATURE OFTEN
3. OVERSOUL AND UNITY: INCORPORATED ELEMENTS OF THE
- TRANSCENDENTALISTS BELIEVED IN THE SUPERNATURAL, MYSTERY, AND THE
EXISTENCE OF AN OVERSOUL, A DIVINE FORCE MACABRE. GOTHIC THEMESS, SUCH AS THE
THAT UNITES ALL LIVING BEINGS AND THE EXPLORATION OF THE DARK SIDE OF
NATURAL WORLD. THEY SAY THIS UNITY AS A HUMAN NATURE, WERE ALSO PREVALENT.
REFLECTION OF THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF 5. IDEALIZATION OF THE PAST:
ALL THINGS. - ROMANTIC WRITERS IDEALIZED THE
4. SELF- RELIANCE AND NONCONFORMITY: PAST, PARTICULARLY MEDIEVAL TIMES, AS A TIME
- TRANSCENDENTALISTS EMPHASIZED THE OF HEROISM, CHIVALRY, AND A SIMPLER
IMPORTANCE OF SELF- RELIANCE, ENCOURAGING WAY OF LIFE. THEY OFTEN DREW INSPIRATION
INDIVIDUALS TO TRUST THEIR OWN INSTINCTS FROM HISTORICAL EVENTS AND
AND BELIEFS. THEY ADVOCATED FOR SETTINGS.
NONCONFORMITY AND THE REJECTION OF
SOCIEATL PRESSURES THAT HINDERED INFLUENTIAL ROMANTIC WRITERS IN
PERSONAL GROWTH AND SEL-EXPRESSION. AMERICAN LITERATURE:
EDGAR ALLAN POE (“THE RAVEN”)
PROMINENT TRANSCENDENTIALIST WRITERS NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (WORKS: “THE
IN AMERICAN LITERATURE: SCARLET LETTER)
RALPH WALDO EMERSON (FROM “SELF-
RELIANCE” & FROM “NATURE”) REALISM
HENRY DAVID THOREAU (FROM “WALDEN” & - EMERGED AS A LITERARY MOVEMENT IN THE
FROM CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE”) LATE 19TH CENTURY AS A RESPONSE TO THE
ROMANTICISM AND SENTIMENTALITY OF
ROMANTICISM EARLIER PERIODS. IT AIMED TO DEPICT LIFE AS
- IN AMERICAN LITERATURE WAS A LITERARY IT TRULY WAS, FOCUSING ON ORDINARY PEOPLE
AND ARTISTIC MOVEMENT THAT EMERGED IN AND EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES. REALIST WRITERS
THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURY. IT SOUGHT TO PRESENT A FAIHFUL
EMPHASIZED IMAGINATION, EMOTION, REPRESENTATION OF REALITY, OFTEN
INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE POWER OF NATURE. ADDRESSING SOCIAL ISSUES AND PROVIDING
SOCIAL COMMENTARY. HERE ARE THE KEY REGIONS AND THEIR INHABITANTS,
ASPECTS OF REALISM: SHOWCASING THEIR CUSTOMS, DIALECTS, AND
WAYS OF LIFE.
1. FAITHFUL REPRESENTATION OF REALITY: 2. PRESERVATION OF LOCAL TRADITIONS:
- REALISM LITEARTURE AIMED TO - REGIONALISM AND LOCAL COLOR
PORTRAY LIFE AS IT ACTUALLY WAS, WITHOUT WRITING AIMED TO PRESERVED THE
IDEALIZATION OR EMBELISHMENT. IT TRADITIONS, FOLKLORE AND CUSTOMES OF
FOCUSED ON THE ORDINARY, MUNDANE ASPECTS SPECIFIC REGIONS THAT WERE AT RISK OF BEING
OF EVERYDAY LIFE AND THE STRUGGLES OF OVERSHADOWED BY THE HOMOGENIZING
ORDINARY PEOPLE. FORCES OF INDUSTRIALIZATION AND
2. SOCIAL CRITICISM: URBANIZATION.
- REALISM WRITERS OFTEN ADDRESSED 3. CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY:
SOCIAL ISSUES AND PROVIDED SOCIAL - THESE WRITERS CELEBRATED THE
COMMENTARY THROUGH THEIR WORKS. DIVERSITY OF AMERICA BY SHOWCASING THE
THEY EXPLORED TOPICS SUCH AS POVERTY, UNIQUE QUALITIES OF DIFFERENT
INEQUALITY, RACISM, AND THE IMPACT OF REGIONS. THEY HIGHLIGHTED THE BEAUTY AND
INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION ON RICHNESS OF LOCAL CULTURES, LANDSCAPES
SOCIETY. AND DIALECTS, CONTRIBUTING TO A MORE
3. CHARACTER-DRIVEN NARRATIVES: NUANCED UNDERSTANDING OF THE
- REALIST LITERATURE PLACED A STRONG NATIONS’ IDENTITY.
EMPHASIS ON WELL- DEVELOPED, BELIEVABLE 4. REGIONALISM AND LOCAL COLOR:
CHARACTERS. THESE CHARACTERS WERE - REALIST WRITERS OFTEN
OFTERN DRAWN FROM DIFFERENT SOCIAL INCORPORATED REGIONAL SETTINGS, DIALECTS,
CLASSES AND BACKGROUNDS, AND CUSTOMS INTO THEIR WORKS. THEY
REFLECTING THE DIVERSITY OF SOCIETY. SOUGHT TO CAPTURE THE UNIQUE
4. REGIONALISM AND LOCAL COLOR: CHARACTERISTICS AND ATMOSPHERE OF
- REALIST WRITERS OFTEN SPECIFIC REGIONS, PROVIDING A SENSE OF
INCORPORATED REGIONAL SETTINGS, DIALECTS, AUTHENTICITY AND LOCAL FLAVOR.
AND CUSTOMS INTO THEIR WORKS. THEY
SOUGHT TO CAPTURE THE UNIQUE PROMINENTAUTHORS WHO FOCUSED ON
CHARACTERISTICS AND ATMOSPHERE OF REGIONALISM AND LOCAL COLOR WRITING:
SPECIFIC REGIONS, PROVIDING A SENSE OF SARAH ORNE JEWETT (WORKS: “THE
AUTHENTICITY AND LOCAL FLAVOR. COUNTRYNOF THE POINTED FIRS” & “A WHITE
HERON”)
INFLUENTIAL REALIST AUTHORS IN AMERICAN BRET HARTE (WORK: “THE LUCK OF ROARING
LITERATURE: CAMP” & “THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT”)
MARL TWAIN (WORKS: “THE ADVENTURES OF
TOM SAWYER” & “ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY AMERICAN REALISM AND NATURALISM
FINN”) REALISM
KATE CHOPIN (WORK: “THE AWAKENING”)  A faithful representation of reality in literature,
also known as “verisimilitude” (the
REGIONALISM AND LOCAL COLOR appearance of truth, the quality of truth)
- WRITING IN 19TH CENTURY WAS A RESPONSE TO  Emphasis on development of believable
THE GROWING INTEREST IN CAPTURING THE characters.
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS AND CULTURES OF  Written in natural vernacular, or dialect
SPECIFIC REGIONS IN AMERICA. THIS LITERARY (common words of a region).
MOVEMENT AIMED TO PROVIDE AUTHENTIC  Prominent from 1860-1890.
PORTRAYALS OF LOCAL CUSTOMS, DIALECTS,  Realism sought to portray life as faithfully and
LANDSCAPES AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS. accurately as possible, focusing on ordinary
people suffering the harsh realities of everyday
1. INTEREST IN REGIONAL IDENTITY: life. It depicts ordinary people coping with
- AS AMERICA EXPANDED WESTWARD AND everyday realities.
INDUSTRIALIZATION TOOK HOLD, THERE WAS  Authors included Mark Twain, Henry James,
A GROWING FASCINATION WITH THE Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and Dunbar
DISTINCT IDENTITIES AND CULTURES OF THESE The Literature
 Presented life objectively.
 Favored science and technology.
 Found meaning in the mundane
 Focused on socials ills and social conflict.
ELEMENTS OF REALISM
• Rejection of the idealized, larger-than-life hero
of Romantic Literature
• Detailed depiction of ordinary characters and
realistic events
• Emphasis on characters from cities and lower
classes
• Avoidance of the exotic, sensational, and overly
dramatic
• Use of everyday speech patterns to reveal class
distinctions
• Focus on the ethical struggles and social issues
of real-life situations
• Sought to explain why ordinary people behave
the way they do
REALIST WRITES
- MARK TWAIN
- WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS
- HENRY JAMES
- EDGAR LEE MASTERS
MARK TWAIN
 Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen
name Mark Twain, was an American writer,
humorist, essayist, entrepreneur, publisher, and
lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest
humorist the United States has produced", and
William Faulkner called him "the father of
American literature".
• His works: “The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn”, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”,
“The Innocents Abroad”, “Life on the
Mississippi”, and “The Prince and the
Pauper”.
WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS
 William Dean Howells was an American realist
novelist, literary critic, and playwright,
nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He
was particularly known for his tenure as editor
of The Atlantic Monthly, as well as for his own
prolific writings, including the Christmas story
"Christmas Every Day" and the novels The Rise
of Silas Lapham and A Traveler from Altruria.
 His works: “A Modern Instance”, “The Rise of
Silas Lapham”, “The Minister’s Charge”, and “The
Hazard of New Fortunes”.
HENRY JAMES
 Henry James was an American-British author.
He is regarded as a key transitional figure
between literary realism and literary
modernism, and is considered by many to be
among the greatest novelists in the English
language.
 His works: “The Turn of the Screw”, “The
Portrait of a Lady”, “Daisy Miller”, “The
Ambassadors”, and “” The Golden Bowl.”
EDGAR LEE MASTERS
 Edgar Lee Masters was an American attorney,
poet, biographer, and dramatist. He is the
author of “Spoon River Anthology”, “The New
Star Chamber and Other Essays”, “Songs and
Satires”, “The Great Valley”, “The Serpent in the
Wilderness”, “An Obscure Tale” and more.
WHY DID REALISM DEVELOP?
• The Civil War – horror / reality of war
• Personal accounts of horrors and injustices of
slavery (violation of American principle of
equality)
• The urbanization and industrialization of
America
• As a reaction to Romanticism
• Increasing rates of democracy and literacy
• The emerging middle class
• Upheaval and social change in the latter half of
the 19th century
FAMOUS WORK IN REALISM:
THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by
Mark Twain
Summary
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, novel by
Mark Twain, published in the United Kingdom in
1884 and in the United States in 1885. The book’s
narrator is Huckleberry Finn, a youngster whose
artless vernacular speech is admirably adapted to
detailed and poetic descriptions of scenes, vivid
representations of characters, and narrative
renditions that are both broadly comic and subtly
ironic.
Huck runs away from his abusive father and,
with his companion, the runaway slave Jim, makes a
long and frequently interrupted voyage down the
Mississippi River on a raft. During the journey Huck
encounters a variety of characters and types in
whom the book memorably portrays almost every
class living on or along the river. As a result of these
experiences, Huck overcomes conventional racial
prejudices and learns to respect and love Jim. The
book’s pages are dotted with idyllic descriptions of
the great river and the surrounding forests, and
Huck’s good nature and unconscious humor
permeate the whole.
But a thread that runs through adventure
after adventure is that of human cruelty, which
shows itself both in the acts of individuals and in
their unthinking acceptance of such institutions as
slavery. The natural goodness of Huck is continually
contrasted with the effects of a corrupt society.
Despite Huck’s friendship with Jim, the book was
felt to be racist by some who considered the
language offensive.
WHAT IS NATURLISM?
 Applied scientific principles of objectivity and
detachment to the study of human beings.
 Influenced by Darwinism (natural selection)
and psychology (Freud)
 Posited that individuals were governed by
heredity and environment.
 Often depict man in conflict with nature,
society, or himself.
 Prominent from 1880-1920 (ish)
Naturalism-Focuses on people’s helplessness in
the face of chance
 Sought to portray ordinary people’s lives, but
suggested that environment, heredity, and
chance, or forces they could neither
understand nor control, determined people’s
fate.
 Authors included Stephen Crane, Kate Chopin,
Theodore Dreiser, Jack London
 Man’s destiny was determined by heredity and
natural selection, society, psychological
impulses, and economic class
 Created the representative, not the actual
NATURALISM
 Influenced by emerging disciplines of
psychology and sociology
 Attempt to analyze human behavior
objectively, as a scientist would
 Belief that human behavior is determined by
heredity and environment
 Sense that human beings cannot control their
own destinies
 Sense of life as a losing battle against an
uncaring universe
NATURALIS WRITERS:
 STEPHEN CRANE
 AMBROSE BIERCE
 JACK LONDON
 EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON
 KATHERINE ANNE PORTER
 CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN
 EDITH WHARTON
STEPHEN CRANE
 Stephen Crane was an American poet, novelist,
and short story writer. Prolific throughout his
short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist
tradition as well as early examples of American
Naturalism and Impressionism. He is
recognized by modern critics as one of the most
innovative writers of his generation.
AMBROSE BIERCE
 Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American
short story writer, journalist, poet, and
American Civil War veteran. His book The
Devil's Dictionary was named one of "The 100
Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature"
by the American Revolution Bicentennial
Administration. His story "An Occurrence at Owl
Creek Bridge" has been described as "one of the
most famous and frequently anthologized
stories in American literature", and his book
Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (also published as
In the Midst of Life) was named by the Grolier
Club one of the 100 most influential American
books printed before 1900.
JACK LONDON
 John Griffith Chaney better known as Jack
London, was an American novelist, journalist
and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction
and American magazines, he was one of the first
American authors to become an international
celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing.
He was also an innovator in the genre that
would later become known as science fiction.
EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON
 Edwin Arlington Robinson was an American
poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer
Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was
nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four
times.
KATHERINE ANNE PORTER
 Katherine Anne Porter was an American
journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist,
poet and political activist. Her 1962 novel Ship
of Fools was the best-selling novel in America
that year, but her short stories received much
more critical acclaim.
 Her works: “Flowering Judas (1930)”, “Pale
Horse, Pale Rider (1939)”, “The Leaning Tower
and Other Stories (1944)”, “The Old Order:
Stories of the South (1955)”, “Ship of Fools
 (1962; her only novel)” and “The Days Before
(1952”).
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN
 Charlotte Perkins Gilman also known by her
first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson,
was an American humanist, novelist, writer,
lecturer, advocate for social reform, and
eugenicist. She was a utopian feminist and
served as a role model for future generations of
feminists because of her unorthodox concepts
and lifestyle. She has been inducted into the
National Women's Hall of Fame. Her best
remembered work today is her semi-
autobiographical short story "The Yellow
Wallpaper", which she wrote after a severe bout
of postpartum psychosis.
EDITH WHARTON
 Edith Wharton was an American writer and
designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's
knowledge of the upper-class New York
"aristocracy" to portray realistically the lives
and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she
became the first woman to win the Pulitzer
Prize in Fiction, for her novel The Age of
Innocence. She was inducted into the National
Women's Hall of Fame in 1996. Among her
other well known works are The House of
Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several
notable ghost stories.
WHY DID NATURALISM DEVELOP?
 The swell of immigrants in the latter half of the
19th century, which led to a larger lower class
and increased poverty in the cities
 The prominence of psychology and the
theories of Sigmund Freud
 Pessimism in the wake of the Civil War and
Reconstruction
 Publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the
Species
FAMOUS WORK IN NATURALISM:
MAGGIE: A GIRL OF THE STREETS by Stephen
Crane
Summary:
As the novel opens, Jimmie, a young boy, is
leading a street fight against a troop of youngsters
from another part of New York City's impoverished
Bowery neighborhood. Jimmie is rescued by Pete, a
teenager who seems to be a casual acquaintance of
his. They encounter Jimmie's offhandedly brutal
father, who brings Jimmie home, where we are
introduced to his timid older sister Maggie and
little brother Tommie, and to Mary, the family's
drunken, vicious matriarch. The evening that
follows seems typical: the father goes to bars to
drink himself into oblivion while the mother stays
home and rages until she, too, drops off into a
drunken stupor. The children huddle in a corner,
terrified.
As time passes, both the father and Tommie
die. Jimmie hardens into a sneering, aggressive,
cynical youth. He gets a job as a teamster. Maggie,
by contrast, seems somehow immune to the
corrupting influence of abject poverty; underneath
the grime, she is physically beautiful and, even
more surprising, both hopeful and naïve. When
Pete--now a bartender--makes his return to the
scene, he entrances Maggie with his bravado and
show of bourgeois trappings. Pete senses easy prey,
and they begin dating; she is taken--and taken in--
by his relative worldliness and his ostentatious
displays of confidence. She sees in him the promise
of wealth and culture, an escape from the misery of
her childhood.
There comes a night when the drunk and
combative Mary accuses Maggie of going "to deh
devil" and disgracing the family; Maggie runs into
Pete's arms, and we are given to understand that
the two are, indeed, sleeping together. Jimmie is
furious that Pete has "ruined" his sister, and he gets
very drunk with a friend and gets into a brawl with
Pete. After this, Maggie leaves home and goes to live
with Pete. Jimmie and Mary affect sorrow and
bewilderment at Maggie's fall from grace, and her
behavior becomes a neighborhood scandal. A scant
few weeks after Maggie leaves home, she is in a bar
with Pete when they meet Nellie, a scheming
woman with a veneer of sophistication who has no
trouble convincing Pete to leave Maggie.
Abandoned, Maggie tries to return home, but her
family rejects her.
The linear narrative now ceases, and we are given a
series of scenes, arranged in chronological order
but separated by passages of time. There is an
interlude in which we see that Jimmie, who acts
horrified at Maggie's actions, has in fact himself
seduced and then abandoned at least one girl. In
another brief scene, Maggie visits Pete at work, and
he, too, refuses to acknowledge her legitimate
claims on him. Months later, we are shown a
prostitute--presumably Maggie, but unnamed--
walking the streets of New York, pathetic and
rejected, bound for trouble. There is a scene with
Pete in a bar, badly drunk and surrounded by
women; he collapses on the floor and, in his turn, is
abandoned by the scornful and manipulative Nellie.
Finally, the novel ends with Jimmie giving Mary the
news that Maggie's dead body has been found.
Mary stages a scene of melodramatic mourning for
her ruined child, which ends with her deeply
hypocritical and bitterly ironic concession: "I'll
fergive her!"

POINTS TO REMEMBER…
 Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism are
intertwined and connected.
 Their influence has dominated most literature
created since 1920, though the movement itself
is dated to roughly that point.
 They are truly American modes of writing.
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest
Hemingway
SUMMARY:
The Old Man and the Sea is the story of an
epic struggle between an old, seasoned fisherman
and the greatest catch of his life. For eighty-four
days, Santiago, an aged Cuban fisherman, has set
out to sea and returned empty-handed. So
conspicuously unlucky is he that the parents of his
young, devoted apprentice and friend, Manolin,
have forced the boy to leave the old man to fish in a
more prosperous boat. Nevertheless, the boy
continues to care for the old man upon his return
each night. He helps the old man tote his gear to his
ramshackle hut, secures food for him, and discusses
the latest developments in American baseball,
especially the trials of the old man’s hero, Joe
DiMaggio. Santiago is confident that his
unproductive streak will soon come to an end, and
he resolves to sail out farther than usual the
following day.
On the eighty-fifth day of his unlucky streak,
Santiago does as promise, sailing his skiff far
beyond the island’s shallow coastal waters and
venturing into the Gulf Stream. He prepares his
lines and drops them. At noon, a big fish, which he
knows is a marlin, takes the bait that Santiago has
placed one hundred fathoms deep in the waters.
The old man expertly hooks the fish, but he cannot
pull it in. Instead, the fish begins to pull the boat.
Unable to tie the line fast to the boat for fear
the fish would snap a taut line, the old man bears
the strain of the line with his shoulders, back, and
hands, ready to give slack should the marlin make a
run. The fish pulls the boat all through the day,
through the night, through another day, and
through another night. It swims steadily northwest
until at last it tires and swims east with the current.
The entire time, Santiago endures constant pain
from the fishing line. Whenever the fish lunges,
leaps, or makes a dash for freedom, the cord cuts
Santiago badly. Although wounded and weary, the
old man feels a deep empathy and admiration for
the marlin, his brother in suffering, strength, and
resolve.
On the third day the fish tires, and Santiago,
sleep-deprived, aching, and nearly delirious,
manages to pull the marlin in close enough to kill it
with a harpoon thrust. Dead beside the skiff, the
marlin is the largest Santiago has ever seen. He
lashes it to his boat, raises the small mast, and sets
sail for home. While Santiago is excited by the price
that the marlin will bring at market, he is more
concerned that the people who will eat the fish are
unworthy of its greatness.
As Santiago sails on with the fish, the
marlin’s blood leaves a trail in the water and
attracts sharks. The first to attack is a great mako
shark, which Santiago manages to slay with the
harpoon. In the struggle, the old man loses the
harpoon and lengths of valuable rope, which leaves
him vulnerable to other shark attacks. The old man
fights off the successive vicious predators as best he
can, stabbing at them with a crude spear he makes
by lashing a knife to an oar, and even clubbing them
with the boat’s tiller. Although he kills several
sharks, more and more appear, and by the time
night falls, Santiago’s continued fight against the
scavengers is useless. They devour the marlin’s
precious meat, leaving only skeleton, head, and tail.
Santiago chastises himself for going “out too far,”
and for sacrificing his great and worthy opponent.
He arrives home before daybreak, stumbles back to
his shack, and sleeps very deeply.
The next morning, a crowd of amazed
fishermen gathers around the skeletal carcass of
the fish, which is still lashed to the boat. Knowing
nothing of the old man’s struggle, tourists at a
nearby café observe the remains of the giant marlin
and mistake it for a shark. Manolin, who has been
worried sick over the old man’s absence, is moved
to tears when he finds Santiago safe in his bed. The
boy fetches the old man some coffee and the daily
papers with the baseball scores and watches him
sleep. When the old man wakes, the two agree to
fish as partners once more. The old man returns to
sleep and dreams his usual dream of lions at play
on the beaches of Africa.
CATCH -22 by Joseph Heller
SUMMARY:
During the second half of World War II, a
soldier named Yossarian is stationed with his Air
Force squadron on the island of Pianosa, near the
Italian coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Yossarian
and his friends endure a nightmarish, absurd
existence defined by bureaucracy and violence:
they are inhuman resources in the eyes of their
blindly ambitious superior officers. The squadron is
thrown thoughtlessly into brutal combat situations
and bombing runs in which it is more important for
the squadron members to capture good aerial
photographs of explosions than to destroy their
targets. Their colonels continually raise the number
of missions that they are required to fly before
being sent home, so that no one is ever sent home.
Still, no one but Yossarian seems to realize that
there is a war going on; everyone thinks he is crazy
when he insists that millions of people are trying to
kill him.
Yossarian’s story forms the core of the
novel, so most events are refracted through his
point of view. Yossarian takes the whole war
personally: unswayed by national ideals or abstract
principles, Yossarian is furious that his life is in
constant danger through no fault of his own. He has
a strong desire to live and is determined to be
immortal or die trying. As a result, he spends a
great deal of his time in the hospital, faking various
illnesses in order to avoid the war. As the novel
progresses through its loosely connected series of
recurring stories and anecdotes, Yossarian is
continually troubled by his memory of Snowden, a
soldier who died in his arms on a mission when
Yossarian lost all desire to participate in the war.
Yossarian is placed in ridiculous, absurd, desperate,
and tragic circumstances—he sees friends die and
disappear, his squadron get bombed by its own
mess officer, and colonels and generals volunteer
their men for the most perilous battle in order to
enhance their own reputations.
Catch-22 is a law defined in various ways
throughout the novel. First, Yossarian discovers
that it is possible to be discharged from military
service because of insanity. Always looking for a
way out, Yossarian claims that he is insane, only to
find out that by claiming that he is insane he has
proved that he is obviously sane—since any sane
person would claim that he or she is insane in order
to avoid flying bombing missions. Elsewhere, Catch-
22 is defined as a law that is illegal to read.
Ironically, the place where it is written that it is
illegal is in Catch-22 itself. It is yet again defined as
the law that the enemy is allowed to do anything
that one can’t keep him from doing. In short, then,
Catch-22 is any paradoxical, circular reasoning that
catches its victim in its illogic and serves those who
have made the law. Catch-22 can be found in the
novel not only where it is explicitly defined but also
throughout the characters’ stories, which are full of
catches and instances of circular reasoning that
trap unwitting bystanders in their snares—for
instance, the ability of the powerful officer Milo
Minderbinder to make great sums of money by
trading among the companies that he himself owns.
As Yossarian struggles to stay alive, a
number of secondary stories unfold around him.
His friend Nately falls in love with a whore from
Rome and woos her constantly, despite her
continued indifference and the fact that her kid
sister constantly interferes with their romantic
rendezvous. Finally, she falls in love with Nately,
but he is killed on his very next mission. When
Yossarian brings her the bad news, she blames him
for Nately’s death and tries to stab him every time
she sees him thereafter. Another subplot follows
the rise of the black-market empire of Milo
Minderbinder, the squadron’s mess hall officer.
Milo runs a syndicate in which he borrows military
planes and pilots to transport food between various
points in Europe, making a massive profit from his
sales. Although he claims that “everyone has a
share” in the syndicate, this promise is later proven
false. Milo’s enterprise flourishes nonetheless, and
he is revered almost religiously by communities all
over Europe.
The novel draws to a close as Yossarian,
troubled by Nately’s death, refuses to fly any more
missions. He wanders the streets of Rome,
encountering every kind of human horror—rape,
disease, murder. He is eventually arrested for being
in Rome without a pass, and his superior officers,
Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn, offer him a
choice. He can either face a court-martial or be
released and sent home with an honorable
discharge. There is only one condition: in order to
be released, he must approve of Cathcart and Korn
and state his support for their policy, which
requires all the men in the squadron to fly eighty
missions. Although he is tempted by the offer,
Yossarian realizes that to comply would be to
endanger the lives of other innocent men. He
chooses another way out, deciding to desert the
army and flee to neutral Sweden. In doing so, he
turns his back on the dehumanizing machinery of
the military, rejects the rule of Catch-22, and strives
to gain control of his own life.
AMERICAN LITERATURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
American literature in the 21st century is a
diverse and vibrant body of written works
produced in the English language in the United
States. It reflects the social, cultural, and political
landscape of the country during this time period.
In the 21st century, American literature has
been influenced by various factors such as
globalization, technological advancements, and
changing demographics. There has been a growing
acceptance and appreciation of literature written by
and about diverse communities beyond African
Americans and Jewish Americans.
The 21st century also witnessed the
emergence of postmodern and contemporary
literary movements. Postmodernism, characterized
by its skepticism towards grand narratives and
emphasis on fragmented narratives and
intertextuality, has had a significant impact on
American literature during this time. Many
contemporary writers explore themes of identity,
memory, and the complexities of modern life.
Several trends and themes have emerged in
21st century American literature. One significant
trend is the increased diversity of voices, with more
works by authors from various racial, ethnic, and
cultural backgrounds. This has led to a richer, more
inclusive body of literature that explores a wide
range of experiences and perspectives.
The 21st century has seen a wide range of
literary genres and styles, including novels, short
stories, poetry, and creative nonfiction. There is a
fusion of genres, mixing elements of science fiction,
fantasy, and realism to create innovative and unique
narratives. American authors have tackled various
topics and themes, ranging from social issues and
political commentary to personal narratives and
experimental forms of storytelling.
The main theme of the American literature in
the 21st century:
 Social Justice and Inequality
 Technology and modernity
 Globalization and cultural exchange
 Social and political commentary
 Post 9-11 literature
NOTABLE AUTHORS AND WRITERS
JUNOT DIAZ
- Known for A Dominican American writer,
Díaz's novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar
Wao" won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in
2008. His work often explores the immigrant
experience.’
JONATHAN FRANKEN
- Born in 1959, Franken is an American novelist
and essayist. His 2001 novel, "The
Corrections", a sprawling family drama, earned
him a National Book Award and was a finalist
for the Pulitzer Prize. His other works,
including "Freedom" and "Purity", have also
been critically acclaimed. Franken's work often
explores complex family dynamics, societal
expectations, and modern life, contributing to
American literature with his intricate
narratives and deep character studies.
MARILLYNNE SUMMERS ROBINSON
- (Born November 26, 1943) is an American
novelist and essayist. Across her writing
career, Robinson has received numerous
awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012,
and the 2016 Library of Congress Prize for
American Fiction. In 2016, Robinson was
named in Time magazine's list of 100 most
influential people.[2] Robinson began teaching
at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1991[3] and
retired in the spring of 2016.
The second half of the 21st Century American
Literature
Reflects a dynamic and diverse landscape,
capturing the complexities of contemporary society.
Authors delves into themes such as identity,
technology, and social justice, offering them a
nuance exploration of the American experience.
With Kaleidoscope of voices, this literary
period embraces various perspective, pushing
boundries and challenging traditional narratives.
From poignant novels to innovative poetry, the
literature of the latter half of the 21 st century
showcases the evolving nature of American
storytelling in the face of rapidly changing times.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Though born in
Nigeria, Adichie has made significant contributions
to American literature with works like
"Americanah" and "Half of a Yellow Sun."
Colson Whitehead: Known for his novels "The
Underground Railroad" and "The Nickel Boys,"
Whitehead has received critical acclaim for his
exploration of historical and social themes.
Jennifer Egan: Her novel "A Visit from the Goon
Squad" won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2011,
showcasing her innovative narrative style.
Ta-Nehisi Coates: An influential writer and
journalist, Coates gained widespread recognition
for his books such as "Between the World and Me"
and his work in bringing attention to issues of race
and culture.
“Nothing can dim the light that shines from
within.”
- MAYA ANGELOU
MAYA ANGELOU
Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Annie Johnson on
April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, was an
American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist.
Her life was marked by a series of remarkable
achievements and contributions to literature,
activism, and culture.
Angelou was involved in the civil rights
movement. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. and Malcolm X and served as the Northern
Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference. Maya Angelou received numerous
awards and honors, including the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 2011. She was also the second
poet in history to recite a poem at a U.S. presidential
inauguration, delivering "On the Pulse of Morning"
at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993.
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
SUMMARY:
In I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings, Maya Angelou describes her coming of
age as a precocious but insecure Black girl in
the American South during the 1930s and
subsequently in California during the 1940s.
Maya’s parents’ divorce when she is only three
years old and ship Maya and her older brother,
Bailey, to live with their paternal grandmother,
Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas.
Annie, whom they call Momma, runs the only
store in the Black section of Stamps and
becomes the central moral figure in Maya’s
childhood.
As young children, Maya and Bailey
struggle with the pain of having been rejected
and abandoned by their parents. Maya also
finds herself tormented by the belief that she is
an ugly child who will never measure up to
genteel, white girls. She does not feel equal to
other Black children. One Easter Sunday, Maya
is unable to finish reciting a poem in church,
and self-consciously feeling ridiculed and a
failure, Maya races from the church crying,
laughing, and wetting herself. Bailey sticks up
for Maya when people make fun of her to her
face, wielding his charisma to put others in
their place.
Growing up in Stamps, Maya faces a
deep-seated southern racism manifested in
wearying daily indignities and terrifying lynch
mobs. She spends time at Momma’s store,
observing the cotton-pickers as they journey to
and from work in the fields. When Maya is
eight, her father, of whom she has no memory,
arrives in Stamps unexpectedly and takes her
and Bailey to live with their mother, Vivian, in
St. Louis, Missouri. Beautiful and alluring,
Vivian lives a wildlife working in gambling
parlors. One morning Vivian’s live-in boyfriend,
Mr. Freeman, sexually molests Maya, and he
later rapes her. They go to court and afterward
Mr. Freeman is violently murdered, probably
by some the underground criminal associates
of Maya’s family.
In the aftermath of these events, Maya
endures the guilt and shame of having been
sexually abused. She also believes that she
bears responsibility for Mr. Freeman’s death
because she denied in court that he had
molested her prior to the rape. Believing that
she has become a mouthpiece for the devil,
Maya stops speaking to everyone except Bailey.
Her mother’s family accepts her silence at first
as temporary post-rape trauma, but they later
become frustrated and angry at what they
perceive to be disrespectful behavior.
To Maya’s relief, but Bailey’s regret,
Maya and Bailey return to Stamps to live with
Momma. Momma manages to break through
Maya’s silence by introducing her to Mrs.
Bertha Flowers, a kind, educated woman who
tells Maya to read works of literature out loud,
giving her books of poetry that help her to
regain her voice.
During these years in Stamps, Maya
becomes aware of both the fragility and the
strength of her community. She attends a
church revival during which a priest preaches
implicitly against white hypocrisy through his
sermon on charity. The spiritual strength
gained during the sermon soon dissipates as
the revival crowd walks home past the honky-
tonk party. Maya also observes the entire
community listening to the Joe Louis
heavyweight championship boxing match,
desperately longing for him to defend his title
against his white opponent.
Maya endures several appalling
incidents that teach her about the insidious
nature of racism. At age ten, Maya takes a job
for a white woman who calls Maya “Mary” for
her own convenience. Maya becomes enraged
and retaliates by breaking the woman’s fine
China. At Maya’s eighth grade graduation, a
white speaker devastates the proud
community by explaining that Black students
are expected to become only athletes or
servants. When Maya gets a rotten tooth,
Momma takes her to the only dentist in Stamps,
a white man who insults her, saying he’d rather
place his hand in a dog’s mouth than in hers.
The last straw comes when Bailey encounters a
dead, rotting Black man and witnesses a white
man’s satisfaction at seeing the body. Momma
begins to fear for the children’s well-being and
saves money to bring them to Vivian, who now
lives in California.
When Maya was thirteen, the family
moves to live with Vivian in Los Angeles and
then in Oakland, California. When Vivian
marries Daddy Clidell, a positive father figure,
they move with him to San Francisco, the first
city where Maya feels at home. She spends one
summer with her father, Big Bailey, in Los
Angeles and must put up with his cruel
indifference and his hostile girlfriend, Dolores.
After Dolores cuts her in a fight, Maya runs
away and lives for a month with a group of
homeless teenagers in a junkyard. She returns
to San Francisco strong and self-assured. She
defies racist hiring policies in wartime San
Francisco to become the first Black streetcar
conductor at age fifteen. At sixteen, she hides
her pregnancy from her mother and stepfather
for eight months and graduates from high
school. The account ends as Maya begins to feel
confident as a mother to her newborn son.