Governor John Winthrop “A model of Christian charity”

This fragment belongs to John Winthrop’s ‘A model of Christian charity’, from 1630. It belongs
to Puritanism.

During this time, English people had run away from their country and religion, setting colonies
in North America. These people (named from now on Puritans) believed that life was a test; if
you succeeded, you would go to heaven, and otherwise, you would go to hell. Fate couldn’t be
avoided, and there will be temptations along the way. This idea of predestination was
connected to Capitalism; if you were born rich, you would probably die being rich too. The
same happens when we talk about poor people; they have to work hard in order to help rich
people, they have to save themselves from hell.

John Winthrop was selected as a governor and led a new community of Puritans which would
refer as “A city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us”. Winthrop suggests that they
will serve a shimming example for others to follow. However, if they fail, their failure will bring
disgrace to all people everywhere.

“A model of Christian charity” is a sermon of explanations and quotes from the bible, based in
Theocracy. In this work, American exceptionalism (superiority) is reflected since they believe
they are the chosen ones. There is an idea of Individualism too; you have to work hard in order
to save yourself, once you do that, you will be able to help others. Everyone was equal under
God’s eyes, and they had to work together as a community in order to please God.

Washington Irving “Rip Van Winkle”

This fragment belongs to “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving, published in “The sketch
book of Geoffrey Crayon” in 1819. This person didn’t exist, and it was just a collection of works.
This novel slept for twenty years, so the historical context is connected to The American
Revolution against Britain, which was a colonial power at that time. Nationalism was born after
the triumph of American independence. They thought they were destined for greatness,
always looking for the future taking into consideration the past. America, the land of promises.
This idea was connected to Puritanism too since they considered themselves the chosen ones.
However, it took 50 years to America to get its own cultural independence. During this time,
the first generation of American writers came up. Rip Van Winkle is considered the first tale of
America.

This story consists of an irony in contrast to reason, including some connections with
Romanticism such as escapism, the distrust on civilization, and the loner character. Nature is
always present during the story too. In Rip Van Winkle, Irving found a new figure of Folklore
(nostalgia for the past) by creating an American legend from a German legend. Besides, there
is a sense of unity (creation of the USA as a Nation), as well as the sense of the individual; the
character escapes from his family and finds happiness in nature (Individuality). Romantics used
to escape to natural settings when they needed to recover themselves from reality.

One of the symbols that we could find is how his wife was oppressing him, which could
represent how Great Britain oppressed American colonies.

Rip Van Winkle could be a metaphor; he witnesses the creation of the nation. The main
character here is nature instead of being him.
Edgar Allan Poe “The Fall of the house of Usher”

This fragment belongs to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”, published in 1839.
This is one of the most famous Poe’s short stories, and it belongs to Dark Romanticism since its
exaltation of the grotesque, the irrational and supernatural, its melancholic tone, and the
constant present of nature. Through terror, Dark romantics wanted the reader to discover
their inner fears. Edgar Allan Poe was the most important author of this movement. He was a
melancholy genius that had a conception of nightmares as something symbolic and unreal. Poe
was scared of reality; for him, staying conscious was the most terrifying thing. Besides, he was
characterized by the use of the uncanny, which provokes fear in the reader as he describes
normal things turning them into scarier ones. We can find this characteristic in this novel by
the description of the house. Finally, another characteristic to take into account when talking
about Poe is the use of alliteration in his works, including this one.

In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, there is a gloomy and supernatural mood from the
beginning. When the narrator goes inside the house, he feels strange, and he describes it as he
was entering a different world.

The house is, in reality, personified thanks to the importance that it has in the novel. The story
develops around it. It could be considered a symbol that represents the family that lives inside,
as well as its family tree that is ancient and rotten due to incest. That’s why the house is about
to collapse. There is a metaphor of their fate; they could be crumbling down as well.

Edgar Allan Poe gets this scary mood thanks to the use of first person narrator. By using this,
the reader can feel that he is experiencing that story and is inside it.

Nathaniel Hawthorne “My Kinsman Major Molineux”

This fragment belongs to “My Kinsman Major Molineux” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, from 1831.
During this time, America was having its independence to become a Nation. As a young nation,
they tried to find a new tradition. For that reason, Hawthorne was searching for a form of
narrative that could reveal a revolutionary absence of tradition (Creation of a New Identity).
Nathaniel Hawthorne was considered the founder of Romanticism. In this story, there are
many of the Romantic motifs such as the dream-like atmosphere, the loner character, the
supernatural figures… This is an initiation story, which means the main character (an 18-year-
old boy in his discovery journey) goes through the process of becoming a man. Robin, the
protagonist, is a metaphor of the transition of America becoming a new country.

As an initiation story, the innocence that characterizes Robin when he is looking for his
Kinsman develops until he reaches adulthood. This could be America as a young and innocent
country that still has a long way to go. While Robin is looking for his relative (which represents
the past), America uses the past in order to find their identity.

It has an optimistic ending. Robin understands that he has to work hard for his future and
focus on what he is doing now, he is lucky to choose his future. This refers to what America
does as well; they should stop thinking about the past and start working together for their
country’s future.
Most of the scenes happen during night time. His state of consciousness is closer to the
nightmare.

Herman Heville “Bartleby the Scrivener”

This fragment belongs to Herman Heville’s short story “Bartleby the Scrivener”, from 1853.
This means that it belongs to Romanticism. Herman Melville was a descendant of a wealthy
family that became poor after the death of his father. Melville frequently comments on mental
processes, and their novels used to be tragic and philosophical. The story reflects his
pessimism.

In this tale, Heville uses 1º person narrator, however, just like in “The Fall of the House of
Usher”, he is not the protagonist, he is just a lawyer that meets Bartleby. Bartleby is a symbol
of freedom, civil disobedience, and insubordination. Wall Street is connected with Capitalism,
as well as the nameless boss. This tale is about defending your own ideas but also dealing with
them. We find this when Bartleby ends up in prison but he stays true to his ideals. Bartleby is a
Romantic hero since he is true to himself and free. Bartleby is a machine, which represents the
industrialization of society. Bartleby is metaphorically dead and emotionless. Turkey and
Nippers represent the UK.
Turkey: working in the mornings, English man Nippers: working in the afternoons, ambitious
and young, also English

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”

This fragment is from Samuel Clemens’ (later known as Mark Twain) work “The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn”, published in 1884. This is a tale that took part between Realism REALISM AS
AWAY OF SPEAKING TRUTH AND EXPLODING WORN-OUT-CONVENTIONS. CLEMEN’S HUMOR:
It makes the novel feel fresher and appealing in spite of its hardship (+LOCAL COLORS
“regionalism”): Uses exaggeration, tall tales, boasts, and comic workingmen heroes.

Honest coming of age (ROUND CHARACTER) – thanks to empathy and growth. The adventures
of Huck and Jim turn to be a battle against nature/world that is hypocrite, cruel, vicious and
wild. By the end of the novel, he is a different character -> Jim and his adventures in a cruel
world are the process of change and adulthood. By liberating Jim, he experiences freedom.

Huck runs away from his abusive father and, with his partner, the slave Jim, makes a long
journey down the Mississippi River on a raft. During this time, they meet many people and
learn about society. As a result of these experiences, Huck learns to respect and love Jim,
realizing the racism and cruelty present in society. This story shows the human cruelty
between the adventures they both experience, such as racism and poverty.

In this fragment, narrated by Huck, he expresses that the widow who takes care of him has
prohibited him to smoke, hence he has to smoke when she is not in the house. After hearing
voices outside his place, he leaves the house, as his friend Tom Sawyer was waiting for him
(this “me-yow! Me-yow!” was their code, as outcasts, so they would know the other was
waiting for him). The whole story is a satire criticizing slavery and the catholic beliefs and its
hypocrisy (e.g., the widow tells Huck he can not smoke but she does). Huck is against the
widow because he thinks being “a good catholic” means to be against slavery and racism, that
is why he does not want to be “sivilised”, as the widow says, and tries to help Jim when they
meet.

This fragment is an introduction of Huck as a rebel against the catholic beliefs, mostly
influenced by his partner, Tom Sawyer.

Kate Chopin “Story of an hour”

This is a fragment from “Story of an hour”, published by Kate Chopin in 1894, so this means
that it belongs to Realism. Realistic authors wanted to portray reality in their works as it was a
photograph. Realism is, basically, a reaction against Romanticism, and it is characterized by the
depression after the Civil War that happened in America. American Realism goes with
Regionalism and Local Colourism. Many authors started to talk about situations that happened
in their lives. Sometimes, they talked about conflictive topics in order to protest against them
(for example, slavery or women’s inferiority). Kate Chopin was known because of her short
stories, published in Journals. She was a Local Colourist writer, but “Story of an Hour” is
considered Realism.

Here, Chopin narrates the conflict of a married woman. She finds out that her husband just
died and she does not understand why she feels relief instead of sad. The narrator describes
the feelings of the woman as they happen, as well as her physic.

The Local Colorist author, is demanding a change in this whole scene. She is portraying
marriage as something that is damaging for both, the woman and the man inside the couple
(in this fragment, only the part of the woman). The protagonist has an “awakening”, in which
she realizes that she felt trapped during her marriage. Thanks to this description of her
feelings, Chopin gets the reader to emphasize with her situation. At the end of story, she does
not even have to opportunity to live her new life.

Stephen Crane “The Red Badge of courage”

This fragment belongs to “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane, from 1895. This story
is connected to Naturalism. Naturalism is an extreme version of Realism. Stephen Crane had
roots going back to Revolutionary war soldiers.

In this story, the protagonist, Henry, starts with romanticized ideas about courage from the
classical tradition, ideas that can be found in Homer’s Iliad. As I said before, “The red Barge of
courage” belongs to Naturalism. Nature is personified as a mute witness that doesn’t
understand suffering. Through nature, the protagonist tries to justify his cowardice until he can
mature. When he reaches adulthood, he finally accepts that he has been a coward. He joined
war being inexperienced, showing that innocence, and after he founds courage and starts
thinking about himself, he experiences the process of becoming a man.

Cuando ve al hombre muerto en el bosque se da cuenta de que es un destino inevitable –

 Facing death = building up thei own identity, by facing fear they either become heroic
or cowards.
 Destiny= no choice of running away from death = determinism.
 Image of a bird flying free (nature) vs Henry facing death = determinism.

Red Badge uses the language of machines, labor, and industry to describe war. Henry,
meanwhile, idealizes the idea of war by including that heroic side. This side also shows the
process of Henry becoming a man.

Sherwood Anderson “I want to know why”

This fragment belongs to Sherwood Anderson’s “I want to know why”, from 1921. This means
that it is connected to Naturalism. Naturalistic writers think that people are governed by their
instincts and passions. Anderson was a pessimistic and self-made man, he focuses on
portraying real life & social issues. For Anderson, events are just events; things that just
happen, with no other meaning. In addition, he considered that disappointments happen
because of existential questions about life.

THIS WORK IS MODERNIST WITH NATURALISM POINTS (Most important thing is that it has the
shape of almost a diary, in charts) – NO tiene un estilo concreto (typical modernist). Real life as
extremely brutal.

No hay embellishment bc it is written from his stream of consciousness -> It is not lineal +
intrusive thoughts

As the title says, the protagonist in this story wants to know what the meaning of life is. There
is a process from innocence into maturity, so we find an Initiation story. The protagonist pasts
through a confusing process until he realizes that he has reached adulthood at the end of the
story. There are many other themes such as passion and connection (the excitement in
Beckersville about horses).

One important symbolism of this tale is the apparition of horses, which could represent the
stability of the protagonist, for him everything good could be represented by them. In contrast,
the incident in the brothel may symbolize for the narrator everything that is wrong, so it is the
opposite of what he sees on horses. There is a metaphor in them of the limited meaning we
can catch from reality. Besides, they are a metaphor of beauty and freedom. This story has
traces of Local Colourism too.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald “Winter Dreams”

Here we have a fragment from “Winter Dreams” by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. It was published in
1922. It is influenced by Modernism, and that’s why it doesn’t have a lineal structure.
Modernist authors didn’t have a fixed style, and they embraced the non-tradition. Another
characteristic of Modernism present in this story is the description of an upsetting reality after
the effects of World Wars in the country.

In this fragment, we can see the description of a portraying picture of the American Dream in
20s: it was based on Individualism and Capitalism, and that’s why the protagonist loves Judy
Jones so much, because she is the real image of the American dream (everything that
everyone wants, like luxury and fancy things). He feels better with her. Besides, there is an
image of the woman that doesn`t know clearly what she wants in life. This theme is very
typical in these novels, as well as the theme of love and disillusion because of it. At the end of
the story, she only wants to be loved.

Fitzgerald criticizes the American dream, in some way. For him, it doesn’t exist because it is too
idyllic, and that anything that anyone wants shouldn’t be able to reach. This thought comes
from his Individualism, related to the industrialism of that time as well as the rough times.
William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily”

Fragment from William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily”. Mississippi native William
Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily was first published in 1930. This means that it belongs to
Modernism. The description of an upsetting reality; this was produced by the effect of World
Wars in the country. Faulkner’s short stories were popular, he viewed them as a means of
quick income between novels such as The Sound and the Fury. His disturbing short story A
Rose for Emily epitomizes the Southern Gothic. The story evokes a deeply creepy and darkly
amusing view of romance and its discontents.

Emily was born during the Civil war. She wanted to preserve the ways of the “Old South”,
which meant protecting families’ legacies.

Gray hair: passing of time, the narrator notices her after a long time no see. The hair resting
over the pillow next to Homer’s dead body means that she has been sleeping with the corpse.

The Grierson house: a physical representation of the madness of Emily and the family status.

Women as fragile objects. Victorian society was entirely run by men.

Pleasure in Misfortune: Miss Emily’s fall makes the citizens of Jefferson feel like they are her
equals or superiors.

Men’s toilet set: This was a status symbol that indicated membership in the aristocracy. Miss
Emily believes that marrying Homer will save her family’s name and position in society.

Tradition vs. progress, patriarchy, the post-Civil War south.