Liberty and Freedom Two Most Enduring Themes in American Literature - PowerPoint Presentation Example

New England beyond the Brahmins As the first half of eighteenth century came to a close, there was an intense surge of intellectual activity in New England and this activity was not limited to the genteel, European influenced, but perhaps a touch bland, output of Brahmins. The contemporary happenings in the society and the birth pangs of a new country were far too loud for the sensitive minds to ignore and a bold new crop of writers came to the fore to give shape and words to this noble sentiment of an infant nation. While they were not much known for their literary achievements during their life time, later generations have gradually come to realize the importance and individuality of these writers. These writers, while not as formally educated as the Brahmins, were taught by the twists and turns of real life experiences and drew their sustenance from the soil and the air of the country. The desire for freedom, both social and intellectual, seemed to be the most abiding passion for this intrepid tribe of realists. Philip Freneau (1752-1832) Though Philip Freneau had a fine education and was well versed in European romanticism, he willingly embraced democratic ideals and espoused liberal thoughts. He was against the imperialist designs of the British and fought against them in the Revolutionary War. He was captured in 1780 and almost died before being rescued by his family. As it is he was a bitter critic of the British and on top of it the torture he faced during imprisonment made him one of the most vociferous antagonists of the British Empire. His pen started spewing fire and brimstone and the fiery poem “The British Prison Ship” became his first condemnation of the British who were, he thought, out "to stain the world with gore." But this was just the beginning as "American Liberty", "A Political Litany" and "George the Thirds Soliloquy”, among several other such feisty outpourings, quickly cemented his place as the foremost poet of American Revolution and a diehard bearer of the flag of liberty and independence. (Elliot 1982) With the help of Thomas Jefferson he established “National Gazette” in 1791 and became America’s one of the first crusading newspaper editors – an ideal that later day stalwarts like William Cullen Bryant, William Lloyd Garrison, and H.L. Mencken would emulate. Freneau was equally fluent in colloquial as well as pedantic styles and could evoke refined neoclassical lyricism with consummate ease. His collection of poems "The Wild Honeysuckle" is still considered one of the finest examples of neoclassical subtleties which could only be equaled during the height of American Renaissance. Most students of Freneau admit that he would have been much more prolific as a poet and a man of letters had he not spent so much of his energy and time in the pursuit of political goals. (Vitzthum 1978) John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) He was born in Massachusetts, had a modest Quaker upbringing and opted for a career in journalism though he did not have much of a formal education. He started writing poetry after listening to a poem by Robert Frost and went on to become one of the most influential spokesperson of the fight against slavery. His poems and pamphlets exhorting freedom for the slaves and abolishing the system of slavery resonated with terse logic and persuasive language and converted many a fence sitter to become committed to the cause abolition. He faced public ire in 1836 when he was mobbed by those who supported the system of slavery but this did not deter him from publishing his first collection of poems in 1837. One poem named "Clerical Oppressors" from that early collection stood out from the rest in its clarity and forthrightness in the attack against all those who supported slavery. This poem did not spare the respected clergy of the Southern states and unflinchingly brought out their hypocrisy in supporting slavery which violated the basic tenets on which Christianity was based. (Pickard 1961) “Ichabod” was another of his anti-slavery poems which has stood the test of time and still rings in the sights and sounds of those days of intense turmoil interspersed with equal portions of hope and despair where people from diverse continents played out the sordid saga of slavery and freedom. (Pollard 1969) Other books, pamphlets and poems came in close succession and the most remarkable among those were “Leaves from Margaret Smiths Journal” published in 1849 and “Songs of Labor and Other Poems” which saw light in 1850. These writings retained the American free spirit and the simply earthy texture so common with Roberts Frost – the poet Whittier seemed to adore. The desire of freedom coupled with love to be rooted to the soil of the land made Whittier an incomparable ambassador of his times. While still indomitable in his fight for the emancipation of the slaves, Whittier’s body gradually started tiring and he retired from active life to rest at Amesbury. But the best was yet to come and it came with the publication of his masterpiece “Snow-Bound” a brilliant yet ever so soft healing touch to a nation savaged by the Civil War. This long poem brought the vigorous activist and the delicate nature lover – two most opposite yet most abiding traits of Whittier together. In this long poem, the poet recreates his childhood and brings back snug memories of being huddled with family members around a crackling hearth completely insulated from the virulent snowstorm which raged outside. This poem is intensely personal and with religion being interwoven in every stanza it serves as an epic to the indomitable courage and undying hope which lit every American heart as the blazing embers of Civil War gradually began to die. (Hudson 1917) Anti- Slavery literature and Slave Narratives George Washington overthrew the British, but slavery was the next big hurdle which America had to overcome before it could really call itself a democratic nation. The irony of exclusion of slaves in American democracy became really stark while Andrew Jackson (1829–1837) was President of USA. He loved to project himself as a common man who represented the common people and being a wealthy slave owner himself ensured that the interests of the powerful slave owners remained intact. Just to keep the perspectives clear it must be mentioned that there were quite a few pro-slavery writings also which were pretty popular during that time. A very well known example is “Cotton Is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments” which was written by E. N. Elliott and published in 1860. This infamous piece of writing and many similar ones portrayed slaves as innocent, docile creatures who were content with their fate and looked upon their masters as paternal figures who provided them with all their material needs. The system of slavery was considered by many writers to be a harmless requirement for the wheels of commerce and trade to turn without any hindrance. Some writers thought slavery was an area of uncertainty and found slave owners a difficult breed to tackle in literature which they had conveniently divided into two distinct categories – good and evil. People who were otherwise very progressive and liberal suddenly turned rather animal like, devoid of any human emotions, when they became slave owners. So, it was best to leave the topic of slavery and slave owners out of the domain of pristine literature – that was what a lot many American writers of the time thought. And this lack of sympathy with slaves and remaining non-committal about slavery was not prevalent only in South; it had echoes in the North too. Some modern day academics however blame this apathy not on the sensitivities of the writers of North but on their lack of direct experience of the evils of slavery which never found any strong roots in the North. (Kolchin 1993) But all Americans were not silent and Lydia Maria Child published in 1833 “An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans” to rattle not only the devilish Southerners who refused to abolish the system of slavery but also those smug Northerners who in spite of abolishing slavery refused to grant full civil rights to their black brethren. This Appeal was a very strong indictment of not only the inhumanity of those who were in the South but also the hypocrisy of those who stayed in the North and tried to adopt a high moral ground. (Franklin and Moss Jr 1988) Slave narratives were not the sole hunting ground of male authors; female writers also played a prominent role in nourishing and enriching this genre and “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” an autobiographical account written by Harriet Jacobs and published in 1861 still remains one of the brightest jewels of so called slave narratives. A desperate yearning for the blacks to attain equality with whites was depicted in a convoluted way in this narrative. After a lot of twists and turns at the end of the tale we find Jacobs as an unmarried mother of two children who were however fathered by her white lover of impeccable ancestry. So, a connection with whites was all that was desired, it really did not matter whether it was through wedlock or through wild abandon of lust. Some modern day critics feel this story is the best possible depiction of how great was the desire of the blacks to join the mainstream and be treated as equals with the whites. (Braxton 1989) Conclusion This sense of liberty and freedom which pervaded the African-American literature also served as a conduit through which dialogue between the whites and the blacks continued in America. In the larger context, even after slavery was abolished, the freedom and liberty which the blacks longed for took a considerable time to actually seep through the impenetrable layers of dogma and condescension. Thus, any thought that slave narratives ended with abolition of slavery was absolutely misplaced, on the contrary, they really began to serve their purpose once the abominable practice was legally done away with. Harriet Beecher Stowes “Uncle Toms Cabin” and Mark Twains “Huckleberry Finn” continued to be read and re-read with cathartic effect while a nation tried its best to wash away the sins it had committed against some of its fellow citizens. (Gomez 1998) The effect of slavery and how a nation came to terms with itself while trying to accommodate a huge mass of humanity that did not have a name of its own till the other day, has become the main inspiration of many creations, not only during those uncertain years but in twentieth century too as in William Styrons “The Confessions of Nat Turner” (1967) or Toni Morrisons “Beloved” (1987). References Braxton, Joanne M. Black Women Writing Autobiography: A Tradition within a Tradition. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989. Elliot, Emory. Revolutionary Writers: Literature and Authority in the New Republic. Oxford University Press, 1982. Franklin, John Hope, and Alfred A Moss Jr. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988. Gomez, Michael A. Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial Antebellum South. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. Hudson, William H. Whittier & his poetry. London: G. G. Harrap, 1917. Kolchin, Peter. American Slavery 1619-1877. New York: Hill and Wang, 1993. Pickard, John B. John Greenleaf Whittier, an introduction and interpretation. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1961. Pollard, John A. John Greenleaf Whittier, friend of man. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1969. Vitzthum, Richard C. The Lyric Poetry of Philip Freneau. University of Minnesota Press, 1978. Read More