1. The Story of the Times

2. “America is a land of wonders, in which everything is in constant motion and every change seems an improvement….

3. …. No natural boundary seems to be set to the efforts of man; and in his eyes what is not yet done is only what he has not yet attempted to do.”
Alexis de Tocqueville

4. Alexis de Tocqueville 1805-1859
French political thinker and historian ;
Known for Democracy in America, and
The Old Regime and the Revolution;
Analyzed the improved living standards and social conditions of individuals.

5. “Americans had, a lively faith in the perfectibility of man,”

6. …believing “what appears to them today to be good may be superseded by something better tomorrow.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1831)

7. During this unit, Americans will have experienced Industrialism, explosive population and economic growth, and a civil war.

8. How would this affect their philosophies and writing?

9. “America has produced very few writers of distinction…”
de Tocqueville, 1831

10. Literature of the Period
Before 1800, American writers were not widely read – not even in America.
The writers of this period would define the American voice – personal, idiosyncratic (pertaining to individuality) and bold.
Primary Theme: The quest of the individual to define him or herself.

11. By 1870, America had produced many distinguished writers: Irving, Poe, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Dickinson, and Whitman.

12. ROMANTICISM An artistic movement of the early 19th century;
Characterized by imagination, emotion, nature ,and exotica (things excitedly different or unusual);
Writers included: Washington Irving
Edgar Allan Poe

13. Washington Irving 1st American writer to achieve international fame;
Grew up in a large and wealthy family;
Lived abroad most of his life – and had to defend his lifestyle choice.

14. Washington Irving Works included: Rip Van Winkle
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Devil and Tom Walker

15. Washington Irving
Irving gained international fame during the age of ROMANTICISM for his literary interest in folklore. He also pioneered the short story and was known for incorporating humor into much of his writing.

16. FOLKLORE
The traditional beliefs, practices, customs, stories, jokes, songs (etc.) of a people, handed down orally or behaviorally from individual to individual.

17. The Devil and Tom Walker
A variation of the Faust legend
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar dissatisfied with his life makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.

18. The Devil and Tom Walker
Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic and musical works.

19. Faust, and the adjective faustian, are often used to describe an arrangement in which an ambitious person surrenders moral integrity in order to achieve power and success.

20. Third Person Omniscient
Omniscient : All-knowing
A narrator who stands outside the action and relates the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.
The narrator may even comment on the events of the story.