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American Literature

American Literature. Early 17 th Century. The New Eden. Columbus and many other European explorers and settlers believed that the biblical Eden was to be found in the Americas. Settlers in America thus did not find new culture but nature; not a new future, but a return to an imagined past.

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American Literature

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  1. American Literature Early 17th Century

  2. The New Eden • Columbus and many other European explorers and settlers believed that the biblical Eden was to be found in the Americas. • Settlers in America thus did not find new culture but nature; not a new future, but a return to an imagined past

  3. The American Dream The Idea that America is a land of opportunity for all regardless of birth and social status While codified in the Declaration of Independence this sentiment has it’s genesis in the early 17th century when European settlers came to the Americas for a better life.

  4. Basic Puritan Beliefs T.U.L.I.P. • Total Depravity • Unconditional Election • Limited Atonement • Irresistible Grace • Perseverance of the "saints"

  5. Additional Beliefs • Typology: The belief that God's intentions are present in human action and in natural phenomenon. • Manifest Destiny: The belief that Puritan settlements would be a an example to the rest of the world this was thought Obvious and Inevitable. • Backsliding: The belief that "saved" believers, those with visible signs of grace, can fall into temptation and become sinners.

  6. The Function of Puritan Writers • To transform a mysterious God • To make him more relevant to the universe. • To glorify God.

  7. The Style of Puritan Writing • Protestant • Purposiveness • Puritan writing reflected the character and scope of the reading public.

  8. Common Themes in Early Puritan Writing • Idealism • Pragmatism

  9. Forces that Undermine Puritanism and Signal its Decay • A person's natural desire to do good. • Resentment of the power of the few over many. • Change in economic conditions • Presence of the leaders of dissent • The presence of the frontier • Change in political conditions • Theocracy suffered from a lack of flexibility. • Growth of rationality • Cosmopolitanism of the new immigrants. • Manifestations of pride • Presence of "heretics” • Violations of the Sabbath and swearing and sleeping during sermons. • Decay in family government. • People full of contention • Sins of sex and alcohol on the increase. • Decay in business morality • No disposition to reform. • Lacking in social behavior.

  10. Aspects of the Puritan Legacy • The need for moral justification for private, public, and governmental acts. • The Questing for Freedom • The Puritan work ethic. • Elegiac verse • The city upon the hill

  11. Works Cited PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide An Ongoing Project http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/home.htm

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