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John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity"
Summary: "A Model of Christian Charity" was delivered by John Wintrhop to Puritan passengers on a ship. He speaks about how unity is necessary to creating a good society. The speech includes several references to God and how they must look up to him and pray to be succesful.
Key Line: "We shall be as a city upon a hill." This line tries to convince that they will be an example for everyone.
Era: This reflects Puritan Era because it uses religion to convince the passengers to be good Christians. -
William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation."
Summary: This short story is one of the first summary of events in the New World. Bradford speaks of meeting the natives and striking a deal with them, along with other experiences and hardships he endured through.
Key Line: "Being now come into the Low Countries, they saw many goodly and fortified cities." This quote describes the native's reactions the the European settlements.
Era: This reflects the Puritan Era because it is a direct reflection of the events that took place in the New World. -
Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
Summary: Edwards' sermon speaks of how God is angry with everyone,During his preaching about everyone's death and unforgivable sins, he claims that he has already been saved, which makes others believe that they should listen to him.
Key Lines: " To keep you out of hell, than a spiders web would have to stop a falling rock." This line is saying it is impossible to keep a sinner out of hell.
Era: This reflects the Puritan era because everyone was very religious and scared of going to hell. -
Ben Franklin's "The Autobiography"
Summary: This book was written by Ben Franklin during his travels through New England. He speaks about how he had nothing but then became successful through the kindness of other people.
Key Line: "It was about this time I conceiv'd the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection." This quote introduces the steps to moral perfection by Franklin.
Era: This reflects the age of reason because it includes logical steps to moral perfection that were proposed by Benjamin Franklin. -
Patrick Henry's "Speech to the Virginia Convention"
Summary: Patrick Henry urges the government to fight back against the oppressive Britain that has been lying and oppressed them for so long. He gives a very dramatic speech with a list of reasons as to why to fight back, which paves the way to the Revolutinoary War.
Key Line: "Give me liberty or give me death!" This powerful quote is famous because Henry demands freedom from the British.
Era: This reflects the Age of Reason because it involves a thought out way of gaining independence. -
William Bryant's "Thanatopsis"
Summary: This poem reveals the connection between humans and nature. It describes how important it is to go out into nature and be unified with it.
Key Lines: “Go forth under the open sky, and list To Nature's teachings.” This quote tells the reader to have a unity with nature, and when confused about life, to go out into nature.
Era: This reflects Transcendentalism because it is all about the goodness of nature and how it has the ability to heal human curiosity. -
Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker"
Summary: This story tells of Tom Walker, who made a deal with the Devil out of greed. Tom did not care about his wife's death, only wealth, which eventually destroyed him.
Key Lines: "I'll drive them to the devil". This is during the deal making process, when Tom's greed takes over.
Era: This is anti-transcendentalism because it shows the darkness in people and how they can ruin themselves and other based off material goods. -
Ralph Emerson's "Nature"
Summary: Emerson states that direct contact with Nature is better than just speaking of it, and believes that there is a connection between man and nature. Throughout the story he describes nature and how important it is.
Key Lines: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." Emerson criticizes people who just talk about nature and do not act on it.
Era: This is Transcendentalism because it speaks of solitude and nature. -
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil"
Summary: This story talks about how people change and judge off appearance, for the main character only phsyically changed, and never changed how he acted. Everyone else did.
Key Lines: " The people said it was his most powerful sermon to date." This is important because the minister did not change his sermon, the people changed b/c of the veil.
Era: This is Anti-Transcendentalism because it shows the darkness of the world and people. -
Henry David Thoreau's "Walden"
Summary: "Walden" is about Thoreau's experiences living secluded in the woods, even though he was often visited by people. He wanted to show that people could be self-sufficient and still lead good lives.
Key Lines:"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." This quote shows that living in society has weakened men's happiness, and one can only be truely happy in nature.
Era: This reflects Transcendentalism because it talks about nature and how one can only be happy without society. -
Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience"
Summary: Civil Disobedience was written by Thoreau to criticize to government, and to advice others to do the same to improve America. He talks about his experience in jail and what his opinions are about taxes etc..
Key Lines: "That government is best which governs least"This quote describes how individualism can work better than the Governments intrusion on privacy. -
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "A Cross of Snow"
Summary: Wadsworth writes this poem to reflect upon his wife who died in a freak accident, and describes the pain that follows it.
Key lines: "Such is the cross I wear upon my breast". This quote represents the coldness and depression he now has in his heart due to his wife's death.
Era: This reflects the Romantacism movement because it talks of sorrow and the destruction in nature. More specifically it represents Dark Romantacism. -
Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Summary: This story tells of how the narrorator was driven crazy by her husband/physician who thought he was doing the best for her. Because of his ignorance, her condition eventually got worse and drove her to the ground.
Key Lines: "My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing." This is an example of how males controlled women in the setting of this story.
Era: Realism is portrayed because it reflects events that actually happened to the author.
