American RomanticismAnd the WildernessExperience

Frontier Life in America

• New subject material – different from Europe

• American novel now coincided with:

1. westward expansion

2. growth of a nationalist spirit and;

3. rapid spread of cities

James Fenimore Cooper

• In time, his novels focused on:

1. Frontier communities

2. American Indians

3. Backwoodsmen

4. Wilderness of western NY and PA

First American Romantic Hero• Natty Bumppo – a.k.a.

Hawkeye, Deerslayer and Leatherstocking

• Qualities:- heroic and virtuous- skillful frontiersman- simple morals- love of nature- distrust of town life- “superhuman”

resourcefulness

The New American Novel• Included:

• Triumph of American innocence

• Characters known as popular twenty and twenty-first century Romantic heroes

• Naturalistic settings

Other New American Novelists

• Herman Melville - (ex-sailor) wrote Moby Dick

• Nathaniel Hawthorne - wrote The Scarlet Letter

• More a “coming of age” not a renaissance

The American Hero breaks away from the European Version

1. A Romantic hero is usually innocent and carefree, separate from the masses, and is almost always on some type of journey.

2. This hero is idealistic, non-conforming, and rarely lives in the “here and now,” but, is well rounded, skilled in some fashion, and able to communicate with all walks of life.

3. Romantic heroes are found in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fennimore Cooper, Herman Melville, and Mark Twain.

What would the typical literary American Hero look like?

• Young or possess youthful qualities• Loves Nature and avoids towns• Has a sense of honor based not on societies

rules but a higher principle• Has a knowledge of life and people based on a

deep intuitive understanding, not formal education

• Quests for a higher truth in the natural world• Is innocent and pure of purpose• Faces some kind of self-discovery• Is self-reliant

Who are some typical American Romantic Heroes?

In Literature: • Hawkeye – Last of the Mohicans• Hester Pryne – The Scarlet Letter• Huck Finn –Huckleberry Finn, (Mark Twain)

In the movies:• Blade• John Wayne• Luke Skywalker• Superman and Spiderman

Music:• Elvis Presley• Tupac• Johnny Cash