English 11 Exam Review

This PowerPoint will help you review the five major periods of American literature that we have studied:-- Puritanism (and the Colonial Period)-- Rationalism (and the Age of Reason)-- Romanticism-- Realism (and the Civil War)-- Modernism

Let’s take a look at the main concepts related to our first

two literary periods:

-- Puritanism-- Rationalism

Puritanism vs Rationalism:

Attitude toward Man

Men are naturally evil.

We are all born sinners because of Adam and Eve’s original sin.

Men are basically good and perfectible.

Humans are born as a “clean slate,” onto which parents and society “write.”

Puritanism Rationalism

Attitude toward Nature, Civilization, and the City

Nature is dangerous, savage, and evil.

The devil (the “Black Man”) lives in nature.

The city is a place of security (safety in numbers).

Nature is wild and uncivilized.

The city is a place of opportunity, advancement, and progress.

Puritanism Rationalism

Attitude toward Native Americans

Native Americans were savages because they were not Christian (not chosen by God for heaven).

Native Americans were savages because they were uneducated and uncivilized (Thomas Jefferson said so).

Puritanism Rationalism

Man’s Relationship with God

God intervenes in the lives of humans through providence.

God (and the devil) are active in human lives.

God does not reveal himself or get involved in human affairs.

•There are natural laws available to man through reason.

•The universe operates like clockwork; God starts the clock and just lets it run.

Puritanism Rationalism

How is your destiny (heaven or hell) determined after death?

Predestination determines destiny after death, and nothing humans do can change it.

God decided before we were born who would go to heaven and who would not.

God rewards good works and punishes crimes.

Puritanism Rationalism

Attitude toward Learning and Knowledge

Learning to read and write was essential so people could study the Bible.

The New England primer taught Puritans the alphabet and also Bible lessons.

Self-knowledge was an important part of being educated (Ben Franklin’s Plan for Moral Perfection).

Man could use logic and science to make discoveries about the world.

Puritanism Rationalism

How should you live? Most important values?

•One should live with simplicity, temperance and industriousness.

•One should live by example as if they are a member of the elect (chosen by God).

One should live by doing good works, trying to improve oneself, and seeking happiness.

Puritanism Rationalism

Rationalism: A Few Highlights

The belief that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason, rather than by relying on the authority of the past, on religious faith, or on intuition.

Puritanism vs. Rationalism

“God is actively and mysteriously involved in the workings of the universe.”

Sir Isaac Newton said God is a “clockmaker”.

God’s special gift to humanity was reason – “the ability to think in an orderly, logical manner.”

Puritanism Rationalism

Rationalism: The Watchmaker Theory

Sir Isaac Newton compared God to a watchmaker.

Having created the perfect mechanism of this universe, God then left his creation to run on its own, like a clock.

Rationalism: People are Basically Good

Believed:1. “that the universe was

orderly and good”2. “in the perfectibility of

every individual thought with the use of reason”

3. “that God’s objective was the happiness of his creatures”

4. “the best form of worship was to do good for others”

Rationalism & Revolution

The American struggle for independence was justified by rationalist principles.

The Declaration of Independence bases its arguments on rationalist assumptions about relations between people, God, and natural law.

The Rationalist Worldview – Recap (1)

People arrive at truth by using reason rather than relying on the authority of the past, on religion, or on non-rational mental processes, such as intuition.

God created the universe, but does not interfere in its workings.

The Rationalist Worldview – Recap (2)

The world operates according to God’s rules, and through the use of reason, people can discover those rules.

People are basically good and perfectible.

The Rationalist Worldview – Recap (3)

Since God wants people to be happy, they worship God best by helping other people.

Human history is marked by progress toward a more perfect existence.

Moving from the Revolutionary Period & Rationalism to ….

Romanticism

Characteristics of American Romanticism

Values feeling over reason

Places faith in the imagination

Prefers innocence to sophistication

Fights for the individual’s freedom and worth

Characteristics of American Romanticism

Shuns civilization and seeks nature

Trusts past wisdom, not progress

Reflects on nature to gain spiritual wisdom

Finds beauty & truth in supernatural or imaginative realms

A New Kind of HeroBenjamin Franklin -

Rationalism

Represents the rationalist hero

He is worldly, educated, & civilized

He looks to the city to better himself and make a brighter future

General Romantic Hero

The typical Romantic hero is youthful & innocent.

He relies on common sense rather than book learning & is close to nature.

Because women represented marriage & civilization (to many male writers), Romantic heroes are often uncomfortable around them.

Characteristics of the American Romantic Hero

1. Is youthful & innocent2. Has a strong sense of

honor3. Has a knowledge that

comes from experience, not formal learning

4. Loves nature & avoids town life

5. Seeks truth in the natural world

Romantics: Attitude toward the City and Civilization

RationalistsRationalists saw

the city as a place of civilization and opportunity.

Ben Franklin’s Autobiography is about the city as a place of opportunity.

RomanticsRomantics see the

city as a place of immorality & death.

The Romantic journey often leads to the countryside & away from the city (civilization).

The Romantic Journey

To the Romantics, nature was a place of independence, morality, & healthful living.

Sometimes the journey may be into the imagination, such as works by Edgar Allan Poe.

The Romantic journey is both a flight away from something & a flight to something.

The Civil War and the Rise of Realism

Civil War Literature Writings from the Civil War were

autobiographical in nature; thus, they were descriptive and realistic.

War confirmed the idea that the world is indifferent, often hostile.

Literary forms of the day (Romanticism) were inappropriate for capturing the horror of war.

No real “literature” emerged from the Civil War.

Realism

Attempts to depict the minute detail of everyday life

Examines human behavior closely Discerns “truth” by examining ordinary

people/life Began in Europe and developed in the U.S.

after the Civil War Fueled by new sciences (psychology, biology,

sociology) that sought to explain human behavior and the human condition

Regionalism

First form of realism in the U.S. Local color fiction: attempted to recreate

the speech and manners of people from a particular region

Realistic in speech and manner, but plots tended to be romantic

Reached its height of popularity in the 1880’s

Naturalism

Shaped by the horrors of the Civil War and the teachings of Charles Darwin

Believed behavior was determined by forces beyond an individual’s control (biology and environment)

Characters often have limited choices Humans are like animals, subject to the laws of

nature Much more emphasis on indifference of the

natural world

AMERICAN LITERATURE

CLASS SCHOOLENGLISH 11 TARBORO HIGH

The Moderns1914 - 1939

The American Dream: Pursuit of a Promise

Three beliefs are at the center of what has become known as the American Dream.

America as a New EdenA Belief in ProgressTriumph of the Individual

America as a New Eden

The first of these beliefs is a vision of America as a paradise, like the biblical Garden of Eden.The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores America’s promise and its disappointments. The character’s dreams are far greater than the country’s opportunities.

Optimism: A Belief in Progress

The second belief is optimism! As a young country, the United States offered what seemed like unlimited opportunity and wealth.Americans thought that life would keep getting better and that a perfect world could be made.

Triumph of the Individual

Nothing is out of reach for an independent, confident person. If a person trusts the universe and trusts himself, “the huge world will come round to him.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Crack in the World:

Breakdown of Beliefs & Traditions

World War I and the Great Depression hurt the belief in the American Dream. The three basic ideas no longer seemed as true.

Elements of Modernism:Recap

Emphasis on bold experimentation in style and form, reflecting the fragmentation of society.Rejection of traditional themes, subjects, and forms.

Elements of Modernism:Recap

SENSE OF DISILLUSIONMENT and LOSS OF FAITH in the American dream

Rejection of the ideal hero as infallible in favor of a hero who is flawed and disillusioned, but shows “grace under pressure”

Elements of Modernism:Recap

Interest in the inner workings of the human mind, sometimes expressed through new narrative techniques such as stream of consciousnessRevolt against the spiritual debasement of the modern world