III. Lit of the New Republic ( ) Lit of the New Republic –Characteristics of era –Noah Webster –Washington Irving –James Fenimore Cooper

Lit. Of Colonial America - Review Emphasis on Northern colonies (New England) Development of 1st native genre (Captivity Narrative) Shift from religious writing to the secular Political writing toward close of era

III. Lit. of the New Republic ( ) Why these dates? When is independence realized? political? cultural?

Political independence War of 1812 Causes -British kidnap sailors -Desire to annex Canada War of 1812 Results -embargo leads to economic development -military stalemate -British leave US alone

Cultural Independence Harder to achieve. Europe remains role model. "In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? Or goes to an American play? Or looks at an American picture or statue?"

1780s-1790s Initial mood is more radical to Europe Attempts at language change Attempts at language reform

Noah Webster Early radical Lawyer, Teacher & Bookseller Wrote –Speller –Grammar –Dictionary

Noah Webster Standardized A.E. Reformed spelling Influenced pronounciation of A.E. Dictionary a bestseller Sense of national identity Limit to influence

Pronounce these words… Secretary Waistcoat

Reforms Spelling labour → labor centre → center plough → plow musick → music wimmen tung Pronounciation Secretary Waistcoat

Characteristics of era Political independence Europe as a cultural/literary role model

Why cultural inferiority complex?

Belief that literature stems from social institutions Lack of history Solution…?

Characteristics of era Import European ideas Place in an American context Mythologize the landscape Invent a history

Washington Irving Rip Van Winkle The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Diedrich Knickerbocker (pseudonym)

Legend of Sleepy Hollow Ichabod Crane Headless Horseman Pre-revolutionary Dutch background Mysterious landscape

Legend of Sleepy Hollow

James Fenimore Cooper Born 1789 in New Jersey Started writing 1820 Lived in New York & Europe Died 1851

James Fenimore Cooper Famous for… 1st major American novelist Conservative Cooperstown, New York (wealthy landowner Leatherstocking tales Also wrote spy novels, sea novels, works on democracy

Leatherstocking Tales Collection of five novels The Pioneers (1823) The Last of the Mohicans (1826) The Prairie (1827) The Pathfinder (1840) The Deerslayer (1841)

Leatherstocking tales Invention of frontiersman/hero Natty Bumppo Leatherstocking Hawkeye La lounge carabine Motif of ”riding into sunset” Common man as hero

The Last of the Mohicans - characters Leatherstocking Chingachgook Uncas Magua Major Heyward Cora (dark-haired) Alice (blonde) Col. Munro

The Last of the Mohicans – character groupings Heyward + Alice (blonde) Uncas → Cora ← Magua Leatherstocking Chingachgook

Implications of groupings Cultural Relativism Leatherstocking = man between cultures Values Indian & European cultures in their own contexts No mixing of cultures

Implications Miscegenation -No interracial marriages -Death is result -Leatherstocking as symbol of infertility -Indian doomed – hence Uncas is the last

Modern version Reverses role of females Drops Cora’s past Sexualizes frontiersman Prevents intermarriage by killing characters

Original Leatherstocking Daniel Boone ( ) Opened Cumberland Gap Settled Kentucky Published own story 1784 Moved to Missouri National hero at death

Frontiersman Image survives from Daniel Boone to Leatherstocking to Hollywood Western

Lone Rider Loner Rarely talks Never marries Individualist Frontier as borderland

Lone Frontiersman: Interpretations Macho Boy’s hero Individualist Existentialist Sterility Racist

Next week: Edgar Allan Poe Nathaniel Hawthorne Herman Melville