Religious Revivals: The Great Awakenings

Religion suffered some major setbacks in the 18th and 19th centuries as Enlightenment thinkers challenged religious dogma by introducing the world to a new scientific method as a means to understand the workings of the universe. Religious "mysteries" were explained and dogma was questioned by scientists and intellectuals who introduced to the world the Enlightenment concepts of Rationalism, Relativism, and Individualism. The power and influence of the church was under siege by the rise of secularism, which is the belief that religion should hold no place in public life. In response to this, the church mounted a few religious revivals in the last two centuries to try to reclaim its position as the moral and spiritual leader of the world. The first of these revivals is known as the Great Awakening, which occurred between the years 1730 and 1760. This movement was lead by the Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards, whom we have studied in the previous marking period. His passionate and intense sermons attracted a tremendous following; his sermons were often terrifying pictures of hell and damnation, a hell that can only be avoided by the saving grace of accepting Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah, the Savior of Mankind. His most famous sermon was entitled "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"; the title itself suggests the terrifying repercussions of living a life without redemption. This revival settled down after 1760, only to be revived again between the years 1800 and 1830. This period is known as the Second Great Awakening. Once again, religious leaders achieved a large following by emphasizing a return to the roots of Christianity, focusing on the belief of Original Sin and seeking forgiveness from Jesus. It is the belief of Original Sin and this return to fundamental Christian beliefs that are the core of a new movement that began after 1840 known as Anti-Transcendentalism.

Emerson's Man-Thinker, from The American Scholar

In Ralph Waldo Emerson's speech, The American Scholar, he uses the term "man-thinking" to denote an independent thinker, or one who is free of constraining fetters of conformity and dogmatic beliefs. The mind of the independent thinker is engaged by the spectacles of nature and ponders his connection to "the inexplicable continuity of this web of God." The scholar sees his connection to nature and his soul's reflection therein; thus, to study and contemplate nature is to study and contemplate one's soul. The scholar also finds inspiration in books and knowledge; however, the true man-thinker uses this rich source of information to create ideas relevant and reflective of his day. He does not deify past thinkers nor apotheosize their works. Great minds think against themselves and accepted ideas in an attempt to arrive at their own personal truth; they are not afraid of contradiction and change. One of interesting comments Emerson makes about the universe is it is "without center, without circumference." (If you saw the movie "I (heart) Huckabees" this should sound familiar.) The size and scope of the universe is beyond our imagination and understanding. What thoughts do you have about the universe? What thoughts does the universe inspire you to think? Think for yourself and be a non-conformist.

Transcendentalism

We can think of the literary and social movement called Transcendentalism as the American child of Romanticism because the former stems from and was engendered by the latter. They both have many ideas and perspectives in common, but Transcendentalism takes these ideas a bit further. The basic precept, or rule, of Trans'ism is : The basic truths of the Universe lie beyond the knowledge we obtain through our senses. Through senses, we learn the facts and laws of the physical world, and we can create science and technology, but there is another realm of knowledge that exists beyond what we can hear, see, or learn from books. We must use the sense of Intuition to transcend the physical world if we want to know the existence of our souls and our realation to the meta-reality beyond the physical world. Because we cannot use our senses to understand this spiritual reality, we can only understand it through direct experience. What the Trans'ists were seeking is direct communion with the Over-Soul, which is an idea very similiar to Brahman, which is a shared universal soul that connects and includes all forms of Being- God, humanity, nature. Therefore, a Trans'ist feels ALL living beings are significant, from the smallest flea to the most important human. Everything is a significant part of this Universal Spirit the Over-Soul.

The Enlightenment: The Rise of New Governments

Kings, emperors, and czars have ruled over Europe for hundreds of years, and the general public accepted them as their rulers because they believed they were placed in this hierarchical position of supremacy by a divine deity. This hierarchical structure of society was never really questioned because most people simply could not conceive of another form of government or society; however, as Enlightenment thinkers questioned everything around them, they turned their attention to the political sphere and began to question the long-standing tradition of a monarchy. English political thinker John Locke believed a government should be subject to the people, not the people as subjects to the government, as under a monarchy. Locke suggested the idea that the governments sole purpose is to secure the rights of the governed- the protection of the life, liberty, and property of all- and if a government begins to abuse those rights or ceases to defend them effectively, the governed have a moral right to overthrow that government and replace it with one that does the job properly. If this idea sounds familiar it is because this is the exact same idea propounded in the American Declaration of Independence. The type of government suggested by Locke involves a type of social contract between the government and the governed in which the governed agree to give up a certain amount of individual freedom in exchange for the protection of their individual rights. One of the key concepts to arise from this time period is the idea of inalienable rights. These are certain rights each individual has that cannot be taken away. Intellectuals and revolutionaries sought a new form of government that would constitutionalize the rights of citizens and deprive the State of any right to set those human liberties aside. The culmination of these ideas is ultimately expressed in the Constitution of the United States of America.

The Enlightenment: The Decline of the Church

German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) declared the Enlightenment creed in 1784: Sapere aude! "Dare to Know!" The Enlightenment was a period of intense intellectual fervor and advancement that we can date from 1650 to 1800. During this period, philosophers, intellectuals, scientists, and laymen began to question and challenge the authority of the Church and State in a frenzied pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the world. The roots of the Enlightenment begin with the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, when scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton made discoveries that shook the very foundation of Church dogma, creating a bitter, antagonistic relationship between religion and science that continues to this day. The Age of Exploration introduced Europeans to new cultures, new religions, and new ideas that opened the doors to innovative and novel ways of thinking. Also, the explorers brought back with them new plants and animals that added fuel to the scientific curiosity sweeping across Europe. These two factors led to the declining influence of the Church and to the rise of either religious reform or the abandonment of religion altogether. The Enlightenment saw the rise of Deism as an alternative to organized religions, differing from the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) in that it viewed God as a sort of "cosmic watchmaker" who created the universe and set it in autonomous motion and never again tampered with it. They fulminated against the dogma and doctrines of organized religion and believed god's revelation to mankind existed in man's communion with nature, not through the hearsay of prophets and the Bible. Contrary to popular belief, the founding fathers of the United States were Deists, not Christians.

The Crucible, Essay Topic

Arthur Miller's play The Crucible is an allegory set in the theocratic Puritan settlement of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The author uses actual historic events as a backdrop for his condemnation of the paranoia and hysteria over the threat of Communism that consumed the United States during the Cold War. The town of Salem was consumed by its own fear of witchcraft, which led to 150 people arrested and imprisoned, 29 people convicted of the capital felony of witchcraft, and 19 executed by hanging. Five more people died in prison while they awaited trial. Although the play has been slightly altered for literary and symbolic purposes, we can use the characters, their actions and motives, and the themes of the play to gain a better understanding of the history, and we can apply this knowledge to understand our modern world and contemporary issues. Choose one of the following three topics to write an essay:
I. Discuss three instances in which a character's concern for Reputation affects the action and events of the play.
II. Discuss three characters who use the hysteria of the witch hunt to express or release repressed feelings of anger, lust, guilt, jealousy, or frustration.
III. Play the part of Devil's advocate and defend three of the following characters: Abigail, Tom, Ann, Parris, Mary, Danforth, and John (regarding his affair and sin). Provide extenuating circumstances that may soften the readers' judgment of them.
This is a five-paragraph essay, size 11 font, 4-5 pages. You must provide at least 2 quotations for each body paragraph. The introduction of the essay is very important. You must demonstrate a solid understanding of Puritanism in order to establish yourself as someone who is qualified to write about the subject.

Puritans in the New World

Puritanism is a form of Protestantism that developed in the 16th century. Protestantism, like Catholicism, is a form of Christianity, and it was the dominant religion in England since 1536 when King Henry VIII founded the Protestant Church of England. The early Puritans were discontented with the state of religious affairs in England and the direction in which the Church of England seemed to be headed. They strongly disapproved of London life, with all of its plays, theatre, art, and literature (remember the Renaissance was in full effect) because they believe all of these activities lead to spiritual corruption and moral decay. The Puritans believed their interpretation of the word of God is the absolute truth, and the pursuit of Grace and the worship of God is to be pursued each and every minute of every day, not just on Sundays. To them, the fact that England was ruled by a monarchy, or a king, was upsetting because a king, or any political leader in charge of the state, was too often influenced by politics, corruption, or state affairs instead of adhering strictly to the moral guidelines set out in the New Testament. Without a proper spiritual and moral authority, the people would retrogress into a natural state of sin and disorder in a sort of spiritual recidivism. A more suitable form of government for a Puritan would be a Theocracy, in which a Puritan authority would establish, rule, and enforce the laws. When exploration of the New World in North America commenced, the Puritans saw a way to separate from the Church of England and the English monarchy and establish themselves in a new land. Because of what they considered to be persecutions and tribulations, the Puritans quickly identified themselves with the Israelites, who were the chosen people of God in the Old Testament, and they began to look at the New World as the future center of Christianity where they would build a new "City on a Hill." The allusion is a Biblical reference to the reconstruction of Jerusalem by the Israelites from a wasteland into the spiritual center of the Benei Israel, the descendants of Israel; the Puritans felt a divine mission to reconstruct Christianity from its European "wasteland" in the New World.

Malcolm X

When discussing African-American literature, poetry, and speeches, it is essential to study the writings and speeches of Malcolm X. He was an outspoken advocate of Black Nationalism and separatism as a meas of building up the self-esteem, confidence, righteousness, and self-respect of black men and women. Malcolm X never advocated violence, nor was he ever involved in any violent movements or protests; he did advocate self-defense as an intelligent and naturally human response to violence and oppression. Over the course of his life, his ideas were constantly changing as he grew as an individual, and he was never afraid of new ideas and new information as he sought to grow spiritually and intellectually. Early in his life he espoused the doctrines of the Nation of Islam, and he believed the Muslim faith was the answer to the problems facing the black community in North America.

Harlem Renaissance

During the same decade T. S Eliot's The Waste Land proclaimed the disintegration of Western culture, setting the despairing tone for modernist literature for the rest of the century, popular culture exploded in Hollywood and in Harlem. Although writers like Eliot viewed the 20th century breakdown of rules and beliefs as detrimental to Western culture, it allowed other forms of art and culture to establish themselves and find a place in the reconstruction of the modern world. Minority artists were able to find their voice and an audience, and they were able to be recognized for their talent and creativity in a modern world that was looking for "new" art. Harlem, the district in northern Manhattan, became a center of learning and expression for blacks following a great migration to the North to escape poverty and oppression in the rural South. Musicians explored new realms in musical experimentation and interpretation in Jazz, and writers and poets experimented with language and imagery to capture the essence of the black experience in America. People soon found in these many black artists and musicians an unexpected source of hope and inspiration in an otherwise desolate and chaotic modern world. The Harlem Renaissance can be likened to a flower that grows out of the 20th century "waste land."

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

J. Alfred Prufrock is a character who is overwhelmed by anxiety, indecisiveness, and fear. He is afraid to confront a woman and declare his love, afraid of rejection. We can argue Eliot uses this "love" situation to illustrate mankind's fear of rejection in its search for a universal and spiritual love. Just like Prufrock, mankind has a fear of rejection, meaningless, and insignificance. It is better to not ask the "overwhelming question" (is there meaning/am i significant) than to ask the question and receive a curt rejection, or even worse, no reply at all, an empty echo in the emptiness of space. As a result of his fear, Prufrock does nothing at all but sit and watch time go by, "measuring (his) life with coffee spoons; he is paralyzed "like a patient etherized upon a table," "formulated, sprawling on a pin...wriggling on the wall." He lives a life of meaningless indecision and triviality rather than boldly search for love and meaning. The poem reflects Eliot's perception of modern civilization as a spiritual void, empty of faith and meaningful love, and paralyzed by anxiety and fear.

20th Century: Modernism

How are we to react to this changing world of the 20th century? With the many social, scientific, and philosophical upheavals, many people viewed the world as being divested of meaning, purpose, and significance. If everything we do is completely and utterly insignificant, how can we attach meaning and purpose to our actions? T.S. Eliot perceived the modern world to be a shattered, fragmented version of the medieval world, where order and balance were achieved through religion, social structure, and faith in god and human significance. He believed the medieval world to be the high point of civilization, and our contemporary world has seen a breakdown of these ideal structures, resulting in a wasteland filled with anxiety and boredom. With an expanding universe and a fading, almost obsolete notion of god, humans felt a growing unease and sense of forlornness, or hopelessness in the face of our insignificance as transient beings in an infinite universe. The old microcosm of safety that was the medieval world is shattered and we are left to pick up the pieces and re-create our modern world; but on what are we to base this modern world? T.S. Eliot says we are "Hollow Men" who live in a "wasteland." Are we living in a delusion? Many writers and thinkers felt a growing sense of disillusionment, as if they were seeing the world for the first time. What they saw was a wasteland of illusion, forlornness, and obsolescent beliefs.

20th Century: An Age of Uncertainty and Chaos

In the 20th century, more than in any other period in its history, art has been a mirror of science. A scientific counterrevolution exploded certainties inherited from the 17th and 18th centuries. Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity directly questioned our long standing belief in the certainty and reliability of Time as a constant in the universe, something by which we could measure ourselves and our progress as a species. Henry Bergson proposed the idea of time being completely subjective, or something that is not a series of successive moments but a construct that arises in our own mind and which we project onto events. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution reaches mainstream thinking and gains credibility among scholars and laymen. The increasing discovery of dinosaur fossils fuels the public imagination of a lost past in earth's history, one that was not mentioned in ancient scriptures and historical texts. The discovery of radium and radioactive decay leads to very accurate methods of dating organic material, leading to the accurate discovery of the age of the earth being 4.5 billion years old. Niels Bohr and others explore the world of quantum physics and reveal a world of uncertainty and chaos as it is revealed sub-atomic particles, the building blocks of the universe, behave in inexplicable and chaotic ways. New and increasingly more powerful telescopes allow us to view deeper into the universe, leading scientists to learn more about our infinitesimal position in an infinite and, as Edwin Hubble discovered, an expanding universe. The age of the universe is calculated to be 15 billion years old. Our notion of the earth as existing for 6,000 years is shattered, and people begin to realize the earth has had a very long past, one that excludes humanity and minimizes our significance in the universe. We realize our brief history on the planet is insignificant and we, like many other species before us, are a small link in an infinite chain of events, and we, too, will be a mere historical reference of a long-forgotten past. New ideas had subverted or exploded the certainties of the past, and the universe seems chaotic and bewildering. And, oh yeah, we cannot forget about the unspeakable horrors and destruction of World War I and II.

Realism and Naturalism

In the later half of the 19th century, writers were interested in representing life as it truly is, or as William Dean Howells stated, realism is "nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material." Beginning with the "local color" movement, writers attempted to accurately observe human behavior and experience and portray life in writing; however, local color did not satisfy many emerging writers because of the sentimentality, humor, or moralistic qualities of the local color stories. In other words, local color was not keepin' it real enough for the writers of the Realism movement. Life is not always fair, good things happen to bad people, bad things happen to good people, and not all characters and subject matter are "literary" but that does not mean the writer should neglect or avoid addressing them. Realism sought to represent these aspects of life realistically and without censure. Naturalism grew out of Realism, but naturalist writers believed realistic writers to fall short of the ultimate goal of writing; realism was little more than a call to accurate observation, and it did not penetrate the surface of life- or of human character - to see the principles operating within. Highly influenced by the scientific explorations of the time, naturalist writers approached human character and society in the same spirit of scientific investigation the chemist and physicist bring to their study of the physical world. For these writers, the laws of individual and social development are as fixed as those of science. Determinism governs everything, and free-will is an illusion. The two principle forces in this determinism are heredity and environment. Human fate is controlled by these two forces and humans must exist in a universe that is completely indifferent to struggle and attachment.

Walt Whitman's Rebel "Yawp"

Walt Whitman is the bridge connecting the romantic idealism of the early 19th century and the realism and changed realities of the post-war period. He greatly impacted American literature with the publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855, and he is often referred to as the father of modern poetry. He believed poetry should embrace every aspect of life, and in his poems he wrote without apology on subjects that had previously been excluded as ugly or shameful. He embodied the modern democratic man who would speak of all things without hindrance. His poetry celebrates the "divine condition" of being alive with an intensity that unites all forms of life without discrimination. He was the voice of all people and all things.

Emily Dickinson's "Letter to the World"

Emily Dickinson describes her standards for judging poetry in the following quotation: "If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any way?" Her intense poems celebrate nature, describe love, and personify death. She addresses the great mystery of the universe and of life, and she wrote these passionate verses from the solitary viewpoint of her house and garden. She, herself, is a mystery because she lived a life of solitude and self-exile, closed off from the world and from interaction with other people. It is as if she lived outside of life in order to observe her surroundings and have a unique, unclouded view of life she might not have otherwise had. What emotions does her poetry produce in you? Do you find her poetry to be dark and moody, or light and optimistic? Does knowledge of her personal life elucidate the ideas in her poetry? Can we see evidence of Romanticism or Transcendentalism, or perhaps Puritanism and Anti-Transcendentalism in her poetry?

Romanticism to Realism

By 1865, there was a general change in our perception of human potential versus experience; writers and thinkers concerned themselves less with aspirations and more with actual existence in America. The New England Renaissance was waning, and the ideas of Romanticism and Transcendentalism were diminishing in influence. Romantic writers had examined human nature apart from society, isolated and absorbed by the imagination and inner reflection, concerned with ultimate questions about the universe. After the conclusion of the American War between the States in 1865, a age that is referred to as the Post-War Period, writers tended to treat everyday human problems in complex social settings. These writers were not concerned with metaphysical questions; they focused their attention and interest in human experiences. This movement is known as Realism.

Anti-Transcendentalism

Not everyone was enamoured of the Transcendental philosophy expounded by Emerson and Thoreau. To some of their contemporaries, Emerson and Thoreau were out of touch with reality and failed to account for human weaknesses, such as evil, greed, and selfishness. We can classify this wave of thinking as Anti-Transcendentalist because it directly opposed Transcendentalism. The most notable names are Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil," and Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick. Unlike their more optimistic contemporaries, Hawthorne and Melville felt human nature to be contradictory, full of good and evil. They also believed rules to be a necessity to control the vices and impulses of our dissolute human society. The reader can discern elements of Puritanism because many of their characters seem to have in innate "sinful" nature, much like original sin, that affects their decisions and leads them astray; therefore, it would be unwise to suggest to the world to follow our instincts and intuition because our natural inclination is to follow selfish or evil urges and desires. What elements of Anti-Transcendentalism can you identify in the writing of Hawthorne and Melville? How do the characters of Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Reverend Hooper, or Captain Ahab represent these ideas?

Emerson's Man-Thinker, The American Scholar

In Ralph Waldo Emerson's speech, The American Scholar, he use the term "man-thinking" to denote an independent thinker, or one who is free of constraining fetters of conformity and dogmatic beliefs. The mind of the independent thinker is engaged by the spectacles of nature and ponders his connection to "the inexplicable continuity of this web of God." The scholar sees his connection to nature and his soul's reflection therein; thus, to study and contemplate nature is to study and contemplate one's soul. The scholar also finds inspiration in books and knowledge; however, the true man-thinker uses this rich source of information to create ideas relevant and reflective of his day. He does not deify past thinkers nor apotheosize their works. Great minds think against themselves and accepted ideas in an attempt to arrive at their own personal truth; they are not afraid of contradiction and change.
One of interesting comments Emerson makes about the universe is it is "without center, without circumference." (If you saw the movie "I (heart) Huckabees" this should sound familiar.) The size and scope of the universe is beyond our imagination and understanding. What thoughts do you have about the universe? What thoughts does the universe inspire you to think? Think for yourself and be a non-conformist.

Goals in Life?

Transcendentalists had a view of life and existence that is very different from many of our modern views. They lived lives that many of us would find strange, boring, pointless, and bizarre; however, there was a reason for which they led the lives they did. Transcendentalists were not concerned with making money, achieving popularity or fame, or seeking material and superficial pursuits and pleasures. Their main objective was to experience a communion with the Over-Soul and live a live of inspiration, enlightenment, and peace. Some of their goals are : *the realization of one's union with the Universal Spirit, *the realization of the unity of all existence, *liberation from ignorance, *knowledge of the Self, or Soul, *the direct experience of Divinity. These goals led them to live lives of seclusion, meditation, and study; lives many of today's youth would abhor. My question to you, before we begin exploring further the lives of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, is : What brings meaning to your life? What are you striving to accomplish? What will bring you peace and happiness and why?

Transcendentalism

We can think of the literary and social movement called Transcendentalism as the American child of Romanticism because the former stems from and was engendered by the latter. They both have many ideas and perspectives in common, but Transcendentalism takes these ideas a bit further. The basic precept, or rule, of Trans'ism is : The basic truths of the Universe lie beyond the knowledge we obtain through our senses. Through senses, we learn the facts and laws of the physical world, and we can create science and technology, but there is another realm of knowledge that exists beyond what we can hear, see, or learn from books. We must use the sense of Intuition to transcend the physical world if we want to know the existence of our souls and our realation to the meta-reality beyond the physical world.
Because we cannot use our senses to understand this spiritual reality, we can only understand it through direct experience. What the Trans'ists were seeking is direct communion with the Over-Soul, which is an idea very similiar to Brahman, which is a shared universal soul that connects and includes all forms of Being- God, humanity, nature. Therefore, a Trans'ist feels ALL living beings are significant, from the smallest flea to the most important human. Everything is a significant part of this Universal Spirit the Over-Soul.

The Masque of the Red Death by E. A. Poe

This story is a great example of Poe's vivid yet dark imagination. The "Red Death" is an imaginary plague that ravaged an imaginary principality; however, though this plague is fictional, there have been many instances of plagues that have decimated European nations throughout the centuries. Despite the horror and death of his subjects, the Prince Prospero isolates himself and a thousand of his friends in a secluded castle. They ignore their fellow men and party while they wait out the plague. Their hope is the plague will run its course, and when all the people have died, the plague will perish. Post answers to the following questions:
1. What do you think is the theme of the story?
2. Can you identify the elements of the story that make it Romantic?
3. What is the Climax of the story?
4. Who is the Protagonist? Antagonist?