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John Winthrop: "A Model of Christian Charity"
John Winthrop preaches a sermon aboard the Arbella, using pathos. He preaches that the only way to survive is to follow God's will and be a model community for other communities in the New World.
He uses pathos and puts pressure on the people in order to get them to follow God's will.
"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us..." -
William Bradford: Of Plymouth Plantation
William Bradford wrote about the Pilgrim's journey to the New World. Many die of disease and starvation. The survivors make relations with the Indians.
William Bradford wrote this as a plain style narrative in order to document their history because he believed that they were the "chosen people."
"In a word, did all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly...a rare example and worthy to be remembered." -
Jonathan Edwards: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
Jonathan Edwards preached during the Great Awakening in order to inspire conversion through fear, using feared things such as fires, floods, and Indians. He states that God in in control of everything; especially your fate.
He uses plain style, which is a type of writing or speaking directed to the audience.
"..if God should withdraw His hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling, than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it." -
Ben Franklin: The Autobiography
Ben Franklin writes that he arrived in Philadelphia poor. He sought to get rid of his bad habits and attain new ones by creating 13 virtues.
This reflects the era because it is an autobiography, meant to teach people about their lives, which was a common form of writing in that era.
"...the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct." -
Patrick Henry: Speech to the Virginia Convention
The Speech to the Virginia Convention is a persuasive speech given by Patrick Henry, addressed to the President of the Virginia Convention. The purpose is to persuade the President to go to war in order to receive freedom.
This reflects the era because it is right before the Revolutionary War, and the Virginia Convention has to decide whether to go to war or not.
"..give me liberty, or give me death!" -
William Cullen Bryant: "Thanatopsis"
If ever you feel alone or need comforting, go out into nature and listen. You are never alone in nature. Everyone dies. Everyone ends up back in nature. Live your life to its fullest, so that when death approaches, you can take it peacefully and willingly.
This reflects the era because it is nature's view of death, and you can find comfort and truth in nature.
"Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature's teachings.."
"So live..." -
Washington Irving: "The Devil and Tom Walker"
Tom cut through a swamp and reached an old fort. He met the devil, who offered him treasure if Tom carried out his will. Tom went home to ask his wife. His wife, wanting the treasure, went into the forest to try to find the devil. Tom never found her. He found the devil and decided to do his will by driving people to bancrupcy. The devil took him away and burned the treasure.
This relates to the era because it illustrates the idea of evil and sin.
"..the devil would have his due." -
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Nature"
To be completely alone, one must go out into nature. The stars are a reminder of God and are unattainable. People don't appreciate nature fully; those who do see it with their heart. Nature reflects one's mood.
This relates to the era because it states the ideas of wisdom of the child, the oversoul, and the cycles of nature in life.
"I become a transparent eye-ball. I am nothing; I see all."
"The sun illuminates only the eye of a man, but shines into the eye and heart of a child.": -
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "The Minister's Black Veil"
The minister comes out wearing a black veil, never to be removed. He gives a sermon on secret sin. A funeral starts, and the corpse sees his face hidden beneath the veil. The minister shows up at a wedding and performs the ceremony. His fiance leaves him. He dies, sill wearing the black veil.
This relates to the era because it illustrates the idea of the secret sin that everyone has.
"Why do you tremble me alone?...I look around me, and, lo! On every visage a Black Veil." -
Henry David Thoreau: "Civil Disobedience"
Thoreau gets thrown in jail because of his failure to support slavery and the Mexican war by paying poll taxes. Someone bails him out. He sees everything from a different perspective. He thinks that if you have a problem, you should speak up. They should keep trying to make a perfect government.
This relates to the era because there is a negative view of society. Society is corrupt, but it does not exist anymore when you're in nature.
"..and then the State was nowhere to be seen." -
Henry David Thoreau: Walden
Thoreau goes out in nature to get away from society. Not completely away, for he has people visit him often. He plants and grows his own food, and he observes things of nature, such as ants. He lives a simple life.
Walden relates to this era because they believed in simplicity and finding truth in nature.
"Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity!"
"I have no doubt that it was a principle they fought for, as much as our ancestors.." -
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "A Cross of Snow"
Longfellow is looking at a picture on the wall of his wife who had passed away. He then looks out the window and see's a cross in the snow, which is always there over time. He compares this to his sorrow for his wife.
This reflects the Romantic movement because he explains his sorrow through comparison to nature. Nature is and inspiration and the source of truth.
"Such is the cross I wear upon my breast." -
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls"
A traveler goes into town; the tide continues to rise and fall. The waves erase the traveler's footprints; the tide continues to rise and fall. The traveler dies, never returing to the shore; the tide continues to rise and fall.
This relates to the Romantic movement because it illustrates the cycles of nature reflecting the cycles of human life.
"The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveler to the shore
And the tide rises, the tide falls." -
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Her husband put her in a room to try to help cure her mental illnes. She hated the yellow wallpaper. She began to see women in the wallpaper, who she later saw outside the window. She started to peel the wallpaper off. She tied herself with a rope because she thought she came out of the wallpaper. Then, she started creeping like the woman she saw outside.
This relates to the era because it represents the idea of the common man.
"I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did?"
