Social Change

I feel that the most important aspect of American Literature is how it reflects the social changes in America since its discovery.  These changes include how religion, blacks, and women have been viewed throughout the years.  Many of these social changes came about due to political changes in the United States.

First, I will cover the ever-changing views on religion throughout American History. Most of the first Americans were the pilgrims.  Pilgrims came to this country to escape religious persecution. Shortly after their arrival in America, history shows that there was the Great Awakening.  This is when many changes in religion began.  Some of our earliest literature comes from preachers such as Johnathan Edwards.  Through his sermons, he tried to help people as he saw their wrongs. Samson Occom also included wrongs such as drinking and cursing in his sermons.  However, unlike Edwards, Occom did not use scripture in his sermons.

The Great Awakening also found many deists and Unitarians.  Benjamin Franklin must have fallen under the deist category because in his writing, I found that he felt that all religious observances should be represented in this new country.  Franklin was one of the few published people of his time that did not believe that religion was more important than the sciences.

During the Romantic Period of literature, people began to focus more on transcendentalism.  Many of the writers in this time, such as Longfellow, Thoreau, and Emerson, believed that you could not depend on God and government to help you. They believed that you had to help yourself.  They also believed that creativity did not come from God, but it came from an inner light.

Later, writers began using psychological realism. They believed that what truly motivated people was not God, but was the psyche. This is also when writers first heard of Darwinism, which is a belief that man evolved from ape and did not come from God. Between the wars writers such as Willa Cather believed that good old values were gone to some people. Because of the political unrest in the world, a lot of people quit believing in God and started trying to be God. As the years progressed, there were less sermons and pieces of literature that had to do with God.

Also as the years progressed, the world began to see more changes for Black Americans. When America was first discovered, slavery was prevalent throughout the world. Most slave trade accounts are based on Olauduah Equiano’s story. Around the same time that he was published, Phillis Wheatley, a black female poet, wrote religious and faith related poetry as well as political poetry. During the Romantic Period, Harriet Jacobs wrote one of the most detailed collections of narratives written by any slave. Another celebrated author of this period is Harriet Beecher Stowe. She wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Though it was badly written, it was successful in making a strong political statement against slavery. Because the book was published in twenty different languages, it brought light, throughout the world, how inhumanely slaves were treated during this time.

Also from the Romantic Period, Fredrick Douglass figured out as a child that what he was denied was what he needed the most, such as an education.  After obtaining this education, Douglass ran an abolitionist newspaper and pushed for black rights.

After the civil war, there was a great deal of talented authors that were published.  One of which is Charles W. Chestnutt, who wrote by using linguistic realism.  His stories often told of the psychological difficulties of people from interracial relationships. This can also be found in Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby.”

During the same time period, Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois had the most impact on Civil Rights after the Civil War. Washington believed that blacks should learn to work within the system.  He felt they should be non-violent, educated, and economically independent to get political power. However, Du Bois wanted to take down the system and supported the Black Zionists Movement. He felt that blacks should fight for what they should already have, Civil Rights.

Between the wars is when the Harlem Renaissance began. Claude McKay was accredited for beginning this literary movement of art, literature, music, and dance. In his poem “America” he states, “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!” In-other-words, McKay is saying that he loves America, but racial discrimination is ruining this country.

Zora Neale Hurston also wrote about discrimination in “How It Feels to be Colored Me.” Unfortunately, a lot of other black authors thought that Hurston was not fighting for black rights. One author of this time that was not accused of such a thing was Langston Hughes.  He wrote both prose and poetry about the oppression of blacks. “I Too” was Hughes’ answer to Whitman’s “I Sing America.” Hughes is basically stating, you may be American, but black men are too.

Unlike other Harlem Renaissance authors, Countee Cullen was a rarity of his time. He wanted to be a black person and be considered a poet without having to buy into any political movement. These positive social changes for blacks continued to develop throughout recent history and continue to develop today.

Along with the social changes for blacks due to the Civil Rights Movement, social changes for women have been an important aspect in American Literature. Ann Bradstreet was one of the first female American writers. She was more educated than most women of her time. Bradstreet was a poet that found comfort from the world around her, not from God.

Between the 1700 and 1820, Annis Boudinot Stockton was a key figure in changes that were to come for American women. She published most of her poetry under the names Mrs. A. S. or Mrs. S.  Stockton probably did so because it was not popular for a woman during this time to be educated. She had radical ideas for her time. In “A Sarcasm against the ladies in a newspaper; An impromptu answer” in layman’s terms she says, you may not understand women. You may want to change women, but you cannot. You need us the way we are, because you need us to fulfill your pleasures and needs. This was the general mindset for the purpose of women in Stockton’s time.  It was believed, though women may think, they are only able to do so in order to fulfill their husbands. Women are only put on this earth for men and procreation.

This reasoning began to change during the Romantic Period. This period shows a significant increase in female authors, which means a significant increase in educated women. This could perhaps also relate to the fact that the Romantic Era of Literature was known for emotion over reason and women tend to be more emotional. Many men did feel that women should be kept uneducated. However, they felt this way so that women would not be exposed to the type of literature written. Because a woman’s mind is so feeble, they will be more apt to be tempted by Satan if they read such things.

Fannie Fern was the most popular columnist of her time and chose very political subjects to write on. She was known for being a very sarcastic author. Another important female author is Margaret Fuller, who was thought to be well before her time. Fuller wanted and wrote about equal rights for women. Because of her radical ideas, most of her writings were suppressed up until recently.

Again, Kate Chopin can be accredited for aiding the Women’s Rights Movement. She wrote about the social inequalities of women compared to men, especially in the South. Chopin was raised by very strong women and wrote about very strong women. The women in her stories recognized that they had physical needs; therefore, she had a lot of sexual innuendo in these stories as well.

Like many female authors, Constance Fenimore Woolson had difficulty getting her readers to take her seriously.  Literature between the great wars was when a lot of changes came about for women. Because women were given the right to vote and allowed to work in factories while men were overseas, women pretty much ran the country during this time. Had it not been for them, the economy surely would have failed.

Edna S. Vincent Millay wrote many political speeches and became the national symbol of the modern woman. “Her poems are more founded in the failure of love than in the joy of sex” (2109). Like Millay, Katherine Anne Porter did not live her life in a traditional way. She was not a political writer and did not try to build any connections between herself and any political movements.

However, because of how she lived her life, Porter was an important figure in women’s rights as well. In Susan Glasspell’s stories, what it is like to be a woman in her time period can be found. The waves that all of these women caused still ripple throughout American society today.

These many pieces of American Literature reflect all of the social changes in America throughout the ages. Whether it is from women or blacks being able to climb the social ladder or from how Americans view God, these changes are the most important aspects found in American Literature.