Transcript Beginnings to 1800

Beginnings to 1800
The “Beginning” of the
Journey in American
literature
The First Migration
• When the first Europeans arrived in
the 15th century (1400s), American
Indians were living in diverse
societies spread across the
continent.
• The “New World” was the focus of
the dreams and desires of an entire
era.
The Puritan Legacy
• In several ways, the American
character has been shaped by the
moral, ethical, and religious
convictions of the Puritans.
• “Puritan”: several Protestant groups
who beginning around 1560 sought
to “purify” the Church of England,
which for many years had been
closely tied to the government.
Puritan Beliefs
• Religion was first and foremost a
personal, inner experience.
• Did NOT believe the clergy (church
leaders) or the government could or
should act as an intermediary
(middle man) between the individual
and God.
• They suffered religious persecution
in England, and many set sail for the
infamous “New World” in 1620.
Puritan Beliefs:
Sinners All?
• Believed in “Original Sin”: “In Adam’s
Fall/We sinned all.”
• BUT. . . They also believed in Christ’s
salvation & the New Testament.
• THE BIG ? for the Puritans was:
• How do you KNOW if you are “saved” or
“damned”?
• They believed those to be saved were
already predetermined, or chosen, or
known as the “elect”.
Puritan Beliefs,
Continued
• Saved by God’s grace
• FEEL the grace arrive
• Demonstrate this grace by
behavior
• “Reborn” after receiving grace
• Behave like a “saint”
Puritan Values
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Self-reliance
Industriousness
Temperance
Simplicity
Puritan Politics
• Covenant, or contract existed
between God and humanity.
• Mayflower Compact: prepared
the ground for American
constitutional democracy
Salem Witchcraft Trials:
1692
• The witchcraft hysteria in
Salem, Massachusetts in 1692
resulted in part from fear that
the community’s moral
foundation was threatened;
therefore, in Puritans’ beliefs,
their political cohesion was also
in danger.
Characteristics of
Puritan Writing
• Bible provided a model: Individual
life as a “journey” to salvation
• Used writing to explore inner and
outer lives as signs of God’s work
• Diaries and histories
• Favored a plain style: stressed
clarity and avoided complicated
figures of speech
Nathaniel Hawthorne
and The Scarlet Letter
• SO. . . Why read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel
Hawthorne during the “Beginnings to 1800” era of
American literature?
• Hawthorne (1804-1864), although he did not live
during this era, had ancestors who were Puritans.
• In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne writes
based on findings and primary sources of a story of
Puritan hypocrisy and closed-mindedness, as well as
the “hidden sins” of many.
• Hawthorne was highly critical of the Puritan religion
and behavior. He was concerned so much that he was
related to Puritans from his ancestry that he changed
his name!
• Originally “Hathorne”, he added the “w” to distinguish
himself from his Puritan ancestors.