1. Anti-Transcendentalism
19th century (approx ) literary movement that focused on the dark side of humanity and the evilness and guilt of sin

2. Reasons / Causes
Opposed the optimism and naïve idealism of the transcendentalists
Dwelt on guilt and remorse over past sins
Discontented with current circumstances in America (poverty/unjust and cruel treatment of factory workers, poor educational system, lack of women’s rights, slavery…) so they focused on moral dilemmas and society’s ills

3. Prose (short stories and novels)
Literary Works
Prose (short stories and novels)
allegory

4. Allegory Parable A story with both a literal and symbolic meaning
Simple, usually short, story that teaches a moral lesson
Fable = animals
Parable = human beings

5. Key ideas / Philosophies
Belief in the potential destructiveness of the human spirit
Belief in individual truths and the truths of existence are deceitful and disturbing
Human nature is inherently sinful (original sin) and evil is an active force in the universe
Focus on the man’s uncertainty and limitations in the universe

6. View of Nature
Nature is vast and incomprehensible, a reflection of the struggle between good and evil
Nature is the creation and possession of God and it cannot be understood by human beings

7. Major differences between the Transcendentalists and Anti-Transcendentalists
Saw divine goodness and beauty beneath everyday reality
Embraced the mystical and idealistic elements of Puritan thought
Anti-Transcendentalists:
Believed spiritual truths may be ugly or frightening
Reintroduced the dark side of Puritan beliefs: the idea of Original Sin and the human potential for evil

8. Major Similarities between Transcendentalists and Anti- Transcendentalists
Both believed that…
True reality is spiritual.
Intuition is superior to logic or reason.
Human events contain signs and symbols of spiritual truths.

9. Writing Style Man vs. Nature conflicts bring out the evil in humanity
Raw and morbid diction
Focus on the protagonist’s inner struggles
Typical protagonists are haunted outsiders who are alienated from society
Prevalent use of symbolism

10. Herman Melville
“All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life.” --Moby Dick

11. Herman Melville
Born in New York to bankrupt family which fell apart and so he dropped out of school
Began various voyages at sea
Became friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne
Wrote several different novels about experiences on the open ocean
Eventually “sold out” to write popular fiction, even though he hated it, in order to make enough money to live on
Moby Dick and other novels not successful at time of publishing, but became widely acclaimed after his death

12. Herman Melville, c. 1870

13. Melville harshly criticizes capitalism, slavery, war and imperialism,
but he shows passionate empathy for “classes of men who bear the same relation to society at large that the wheels do to a coach.”

14. A final quote from Melville
“If, at my death, my executors, or more properly my creditors, find any precious manuscripts in my desk, then here I prospectively ascribe all the honor and glory to whaling; for the whale ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.”