American Romanticism

The Literary movement and story I decided to choose was American Romanticism, and â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne. American Romanticism is a literary period in American Literature that lasted from sass to sass. The movement itself started off as an offshoot of the European Romanticism artistic movement, â€Å"It arose as a reaction to the formal orthodoxy and Neoclassicism of the preceding period. It is marked by a freedom from the authority, forms, and conventions typical in Neoclassical literature.It replaced the neoclassic emphasis on reason with its own emphasis on the imagination and emotions, and the neoclassic emphasis on authority with an emphasis on individuality, which places the individual at the center of all life†(Cooperate). The American Romanticism movement began after the Revolutionary war ended when America wanted to separate themselves from Britain and the European form of Romanticism. American authors wanted to separate themselves from Bri tain and Europe because they wanted to be their own country and not looked at like the â€Å"little brother† country.One quote that shows that America wanted independence from Britain and Europe is, â€Å"It emerged within the United States after the Revolutionary ar when it was connected with the aspiration to forge a distinctive cultural identity correlative with the revolutions unprecedented political and social achievements†(Pease). If it was not for the Romanticism movement in Europe, and Britain, and the Revolutionary war, America would not have had the important American Romanticism literary movement.Many of the early authors who started the American Romanticism movement had close ties to the European form of Romanticism. There was two generation of American Romanticism authors, the first generation of authors were William Bryant, Henry Headwords, Henry Longfellow, James Cooper, and Catherine Sedgwick. The movement itself is about expressing individuality, emoti ons, and creativity which caused Americans to write about the American wilderness, science, and other creative ideas that tapped into their heads.American Romanticism has many major themes, some are highly imaginative and subjective, Emotion intensity, Escapism, common man as the hero, and nature as a refuge or source of knowledge. The second generation of American Romanticism authors were had a few very well known authors that started the movement like Nathaniel Hawthorn, Edgar Allen Poe, Ralph Wald Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller and, and Herman Melville. The authors were to separate themselves from the European movement, â€Å"Their representation of the new nation as basically innocent and purged of old world vices†(Pease).The authors also wrote stories about the conflicts of exploring nature. The second generation of authors wrote short stories, and books about exploring nature, philosophy, and the conflicts of science which made them different than the fir st generation of authors. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 and died in 1864. The famous author as born in Salem Massachusetts into a family whose ancestors were among the earliest of settlers. Hawthorne was born into a Puritan family, which meaner he was raised in a very strict lifestyle.After Hawthorne father died in a boating accident, Hawthorne and his mother then moved to Maine to live and work on a farm, â€Å"Hawthorne was the son of a sea captain when Nathaniel was four years old†(The Columbia Encyclopedia). When Hawthorne was nine years old, he suffered a severe injury leaving him hurt and immobile for three years, and this is when it was made clear that Hawthorne loved to read and write. Since Hawthorne could not move because of his injury, he started to read and write major, and he decided to become an author.Hawthorne attended Bowdon College from 1821, to 1825, and after graduating from Bowdon College Hawthorne decided to follow his dreams to publish an d write short stories, and novels. His first story he published was â€Å"The Collection Twice-Todd Tales†, published in 1837, and was found to be liked by Hawthorne, and only Hawthorne. After failing miserably, and having no confidence, Hawthorne got a Job at the U. S. Custom center house in Boston. Hawthorne only spent two years working at the center house to save money to move to Broke Farm for six months.In 1842 Nathaniel Hawthorne married Sophie Peabody who was familiar with Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fullers writings. The married couple then moved to Concord where Hawthorne wrote â€Å"Mosses From the Old Manse,† then to Salem where he wrote his best known book, â€Å"The Scarlet Letter. † In these books Hawthorne started using his own themes and styles of writing, â€Å"Set in the 17th Century Puritan New England, the novel delves deeply in the human heart, presenting the problems of moral evil and guilt through allegory and symbolism.It is often con sidered the first American psychological novel. â€Å"(The Columbia Encyclopedia) What made Hawthorn's stories beautiful was every character had a different drive to find their destinies than any other stories published in the American Romanticism movement. Many of Hawthorne' short stories showed themes of ironic consequences, and how the desire for perfection can turn out very badly. Hawthorne would start the story of by showing the readers the characters doing something good, but the characters would always end up in bad situations.A short story that shows irony, and how Hawthorn's characters end up in bad situations is called â€Å"The Birthmark. † â€Å"The Birthmark† is about a scientist named Laymen who decided to leave science for spiritual reasons. â€Å"It was not unusual for the love of science to rival the love of a women†(Hawthorne 215). Laymen persuades a beautiful woman, who all the guys chase, to marry him. While he was married to Georgian, Layme n found the most slightest imperfection on her face, a birthmark annoying and ugly. Georgian was perfect except for the birthmark on her face that resembled a hand.The birthmark on Georgians face made Laymen think that she was not perfect, while the est. of the guys thought she was perfect besides the fact she had a birthmark that resembled a hand on her cheek. Laymen wanted to change Georgians imperfection through science because he wanted to â€Å"perfect† his wife. No matter the consequences Laymen wanted to challenge nature with science, and also change the culture. Laymen makes a potion that Georgian drink that makes the birthmark on her face start to disappear, but as the birthmark starts to disappear Georgian passes away.Georgian passes away because the birthmark on her face was the only thing that made her human, and peeping her in the human world because perfection cannot be obtained in a human, and without the birthmark on the cheek she was not human anymore. In Ala meda addiction for perfection, he lost his beautiful wife, and before he could think twice about what he did, Georgian was dead. This was very ironic because Laymen wanted to do something good by taking away the birthmark on her face, but ends up killing her on accident In American Romanticism some themes included culture of some form, nature, science, or the nature of perfecting something.Hawthorn's story â€Å"The Birthmark† wows how a man tries to perfect nature, but does not realize the consequences there was to trying to perfect something that cannot be perfected. Throughout the story Laymen was obsessing over Georgians birthmark, while other men of the story were saying how perfect she was with the birthmark, â€Å"If she were my wife, old never part with that birthmark† (Hawthorne 219). I believe that Hawthorne is trying to say that nothing is made to be perfect, so one should not try to perfect things that should not be perfected.I feel as though Hawthorne fath er dying is the reason behind some of the important deaths in his stories. Hawthorne writes about nature because it is something he has been interested in, and was a theme of American Romanticism. Hawthorne showed some other themes in â€Å"The Birthmark† like nature, science, the pursuit of perfection. Laymen was a scientist that wanted to perfect nature, even when more than half of his experiments have failed, he still tried to take the birthmark off of his beautiful wife's cheek.Laymen strives to get the birthmark off of Georgians cheek so much that he started to have dreams about ripping out her heart because he was obsessing over trying to perfect nature. Throughout the story it wows that Georgian Just wanted to please Laymen even though she thought that her birthmark resembled her, and all the guys loved it. Since Laymen started obsessing over the birthmark and hating it, this made Georgian start to hate the birthmark herself too, even though she knows that other men in the world find her birthmark beautiful.Since Laymen was being selfish and Just thinking about himself and perfecting nature he lost love, and his wife Georgian. In â€Å"The Birthmark† there is a spot in the story where Laymen obsesses over the birthmark on Georgians cheek so much, that he had a dream where he ripped out ere heart, â€Å"Laymen now remembered his dream. He had fancied himself with Indaba, attempting an operation for the removal of the birthmark.But deeper went the knife, the deeper sank the hand, until at length its tiny grasps appeared to have caught a hold of Georgians heart; whence however, her husband was inexorably resolved to cut it or wrench it away'(Hawthorne 217). I feel like this shows that no matter what Laymen did, he needed to take the birthmark off of Georgians face, even if that did mean he would have to take out her heart to do so. What Hawthorne is trying to say in his story is that not one man in the world could perfect tauter, and one sho uld not try because no one knows the consequences of doing so.Nathaniel Hawthorn's story â€Å"The Birthmark† showed themes of American Romanticism by showing how culture and nature are different. Hawthorne shows that Laymen wanted to perfect nature, even when nature did not want to be perfected. â€Å"The Birthmark shows how no one can control, and perfect nature without having dire consequences that could end up killing people. You can see how events in Hawthorn's life effected his writing, and how it influenced his publication in the American Romanticism movement. American Romanticism The American writers tried to figure out what ‘American’ could mean—they were out to find a unique personality, a separate identity to the American literature, and the way of life, that was distinctly American and not British. This struggle fired them and took them to the portals of creativity. Their vision was to outgrow the concepts of guilt, evil, salvation, providential aspects of Puritanism, and search about the fiery rhetoric of equality and freedom. In the glorious years of 1850-1855, emerged writers like Emerson. The materialistic approach unavoidable in the circumstances then prevailing cost America the mind and the spirit.To blend 150 communities into a Nation was not an ordinary job. Writers like Emerson, moved away from the influences of stern dogmas and looked out for new spiritual roots. Materialistic theories for education were resisted. Truth is a matter of intuition and individual experience, and it transcends the borders of reason. Human beings n eed to follow the dynamic spirit, without destructive approach. Good literature must not go by the rules and it should appeal to the heart. To such writers Christ in the heart was more important than the cross on the neck!The ideas of Cultural Revolution became popular, even though many did not understand its exact definition and implications. The ‘clash’ of writes of the time continued; they influenced each other, though each denied such influence to assert their right as romantic individualists. Poe (who died in 1849) wrote about Emerson in his works, Emerson bought his writings to a creative boil etc. The hero of American Romanticism was Emerson, the literary giant, who kindled the creative fires in his time. He touched all the sensitive parts of the American psyche. The sentiments of an individual on the same topic vary from time to time.An authentic quality about thinkers and genuine writers is that they are willing to think; give room to accommodate; willing to ac cept, when necessary and reject outright, when required to do so. Emerson’s ‘Moral Sentiment’ and Poe’s ‘Poetic Sentiment’ often clash. Emerson viewed Poe as a man of dissipation. This is just short of telling that he is an evil-incarnation. He also considered Poe as a man of stern reasons, without heart. Poe was the genius of imaginative literature, but he lacked humanity, so essential for the standard of living and standard of life of the society.The evil influences of Satan in the writings of Poe were seen by many contemporary writers, including Emerson. Soon other writers began to narrow down the margin of difference between the writings of Emerson and Poe. The gap between Poe’s â€Å"poetic sentiment† and Emerson’s â€Å"moral sentiment† was much narrower. Critics created such a controversy and erected artificial barriers without going into the merits of the case. The spirit of the age to which the poets and wr iters live counts a lot and it has profound influence on their writings. The ‘generation gap.’ in the wide sense does the trick. Also, their ideas on relationship between art and morality, were actually of little consequence, once the influence of time-element is deleted from their views and writings. Viewed impartially, Emerson’s â€Å"Moral Sentiment' and Poe's â€Å"Poetic Sentiment† are the alternative beats of the same heart. Both wish to transcend the borders of reason, as they are aware that the bliss of truth is available for experiencing only when the last hurdle of the mind is crossed. Experience divinity through moral sentiment or poetic sentiment—it is one and the same!It is reasonable to assume that once they reach the ‘beyond the mind’ state, the poetic sentiments and the moral sentiments merge, because in essence, they are one and the same. The mind level critics can not understand Emerson or Poe! Their position is like the Surgeon in the allegory! He once questioned a Realized Soul, â€Å"Revered Master, I am a surgeon of international reputation. In the course of my professional duties, I have cut each and every part of the human body. But I haven’t seen your God anywhere! † â€Å"Is it so? † asked the Realized Soul, â€Å"Then you must have at least come across human emotions like love, anger, greed, etc.when you performed those operations! †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The perplexed Surgeon said, â€Å"These are mind-level emotions. How can one see them? † Now it was the turn of the Realized Soul to deliver the clincher. He said, â€Å"You are unable to see the emotions, which belong to the domain of mind. How can you see God, for experiencing whom, you need to transcend the borders of mind and enter the realm of divinity? † In fact, both Poe and Emerson wrote from the level of progression of their minds, and the time-element played an important role, as they tried to give the verbatim report of their intuitive experiences.Even the narrowest differences at the highest level become wide disagreements. It is not correct to conclude that Poe and Emerson always thought on identical lines. Apart from the above two sentiments, there are wide, irreconcilable differences between the two. Art takes the secondary position as far as Emerson is concerned. His main concern is Over-Soul. Art is just means to an end. For Poe, it is the end in itself. While asserting thus, he touches the portals of spiritual realm, but refuses to cross the last barrier of the mind.Perhaps it is this search for eternal truth that kindles the curiosity of Poe to create romantic hero like Auguste Dupin Poe is the undisputed ancestor of a detective genre of stories. The search in a fiction and real search in individual lives invite comparison. The reason for crime-perpetration (evil) is the age-old investigative querry of humanity. His detective story â€Å"The Murder in the Rue Morgueà ¢â‚¬  (1841) is the case in point. In this story Poe describes about the same pairs of opposites that govern and dominate human life, good and evil, which are important biblical subjects.Even today Dupin is the most admired and popular detective character. The most important asset of Dupin is his capacity for observation and ability to draw correct conclusions. His analytical mind was his natural gift which he used intelligently to arrive at decisions. Poe created this unique character when the detective genre of literature did not exist. One can observe similarities between the traits of seeker of truth and the detective Dupin who wishes to get at the truth of complicated issues. The time-element and the historical background have the dominant influence on the writings of an author.Viewed from this angle Emerson belonged to the volatile time of the American History, when the American society was going through convulsions. Such situations fire the mind of a creative author. Emerson has been hailed as the greatest prose writer of this century. There are solid grounds why Emerson’s essays are all-time greats. Such writing is possible for a brilliant mind, one who has the warm-heart and above all, one who has touched, and at times crossed the borders of reason-transcended the mind-barrier to enter the portals of divinity. He has definitely experienced the flashes of divinity within him!The sum and substance of his essays is– life is to be lived in its trials and tribulations its duty and beauty with total respect and surrender for the Over-Soul that looks after the smallest and biggest actions and aspirations of an individual. Don’t seek concession, but make relentless efforts for Self-Realization, argues Emerson. The important themes depicted in Emerson’s ‘Circles’, are too profound for the ordinary mind to comprehend. Theme number one is, there are no fixed points and the second one, that the key to every man is his tho ughts.The import of the first point can be understood not by intellectuals but by the spiritually-oriented. The concept is equivalent to that of Maya (a Sanskrit word, roughly translated-illusion) of the Advaita (Non-dualism) Philosophy of the East, more specifically India! By arguments and counter-arguments, this point can not be proved, and therefore the rationalistic mind would not accept this. For example, when Bertrand Russell said, â€Å"Mental fear creates God,† it actually doesn’t make any difference to God! Russell is speaking from his mental level.Emerson, talking about the essential and real nature of things can be explained through an example: Howsoever powerful and big may be the waves in an ocean, their essential nature is mere water! Mind is nothing but the bundle of thoughts. When the thought process is changed, the action process is also changed. When the thoughts are changed, the mind is changed, when the mind is changed; the man is changed; when the man is changed, the society is changed. There are inconsistencies in our perception and in our capacities for articulating ideas—this is bound to happen.Everyone speaks from the level of his progression, as cited in the example of Bertrand Russell, above. Such capacity is inborn as well as acquired. When Poe posits the figure of Auguste Dupin, whose perspective appears to supersede all partial perceptions, one needs to understand that he is thinking from the level of his perceptions about life. That can’t be and need not be truth. Poe’s conception of final intelligence is comparable with Emerson’s assertion that such finality is unattainable through the process and methods of intelligence and reason.That is the transcendental experience to be experienced, and no words can describe it for understanding by the masses. It is the level of unspeakable truth. It is the sweetest sound —the silence within! Auguste Dupin is an analytical genius. How come he became the genius? What is the secret behind his extraordinary abilities? Dupin lives in isolation, he is a completely detached individual, and this detachment gives him the extra power of close observation and he comes to correct conclusions. Police are in the middle of everything and are habituated to work in noise pollution (of the mind?) But Dupin works in ‘silence. ’ By depicting this style for working, Poe castigates the various social institutions, which are incapable of providing proper facilities and full justice to the people. Dupin is not attached to anybody and he is working without the motivated desires. =============== References Cited: Emerson, Ralph Waldo: Essays & Poems Emerson (Everyman's Library) Publisher: Orion Publishing Group, Ltd. (March 15, 1995) Poe, Edgar Allan: Thompson G. R. (Editor): The Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe (Norton Critical Editions) Publisher: W. W. Norton; 1st edition (April 2004)