english 11 exam review
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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. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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