After gaining independence, the United States of America searched desperately for its own distinctly American identity. The pioneers of this new identity and spokespersons to the world emerged from a class of Romantic writers who examined the current mood of the American people and urged them to pave a new way of existence. The country, however, seemed to be growing further apart rather than coming together as a unified whole. This complicated American landscape created a dire need to define what it meant to be an American. Despite conflicting perspectives on the innate qualities of humanity, both Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics struggled to overcome the contradiction of a coherent American identity with the ideal of individualism.
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Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” demonstrates limits of individuality in society. Bartleby exemplifies the ability to live completely independently from the will and wishes of society by simply expressing his preference. At first, the behavior perplexes the narrator, but ultimately instead of confronting Bartleby or attempting to change his decision, the narrator submits and moves his office. His reaction shows how rare individualism is in society because it confuses him and evokes his curiosity. His unwillingness to act against Bartleby’s actions depicts how far society will adapt to new “backwards” practices and behaviors. Although the lawyer changed his ways, society protested and ultimately threw Bartleby in jail for his behavior proving individuality is only esteemed when it conforms to the greater needs and wants of society. In Herman Melville’s other work “Hawthorne and his Moses” he asserts, “imitation is often the first charge brought against real originality”(Melville 1433) demonstrating the desire to define a completely American identity that stems from individual ideals. This model proves unattainable as demonstrated by Bartleby who imitated none, but was suppressed by society because his lifestyle could never fully work in harmony with traditional ways of life. Melville …show more content…
How could the nation define itself as that of freemen while allowing for such a practice to persist? Thoreau highlights the hypocritical policy of America arguing, “when a sixth of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves” that it becomes perfectly reasonable for honest men to revolt. The slave narrative of the Romantic Era was characterized by the frank accounts of slave treatment that opposed the fantasy of kind slave holders that the anti-abolitionist movement promoted. Frederick Douglas clearly paints the brutality he witnessed, “I have seen Mary contending with the pigs for the offal thrown into the street. So much was Mary kicked and cut to pieces, that she was oftener called “pecked “ than by her name”(Douglas 1198). The loss of her name signifies the loss of her individualism and equates her entire being to that of her captivity. Slaves during this time period were not allowed to have an identity which laid at the base of what writers deemed to be American. In the ideal American identity, the concept of equality remained achievable, but in reality slaves were treated as less than human and were certainly not equal to whites. To combat this treatment, African Americans such as Douglas attempted to use the concepts of self-reliance and freedom found throughout the
Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” demonstrates limits of individuality in society. Bartleby exemplifies the ability to live completely independently from the will and wishes of society by simply expressing his preference. At first, the behavior perplexes the narrator, but ultimately instead of confronting Bartleby or attempting to change his decision, the narrator submits and moves his office. His reaction shows how rare individualism is in society because it confuses him and evokes his curiosity. His unwillingness to act against Bartleby’s actions depicts how far society will adapt to new “backwards” practices and behaviors. Although the lawyer changed his ways, society protested and ultimately threw Bartleby in jail for his behavior proving individuality is only esteemed when it conforms to the greater needs and wants of society. In Herman Melville’s other work “Hawthorne and his Moses” he asserts, “imitation is often the first charge brought against real originality”(Melville 1433) demonstrating the desire to define a completely American identity that stems from individual ideals. This model proves unattainable as demonstrated by Bartleby who imitated none, but was suppressed by society because his lifestyle could never fully work in harmony with traditional ways of life. Melville …show more content…
How could the nation define itself as that of freemen while allowing for such a practice to persist? Thoreau highlights the hypocritical policy of America arguing, “when a sixth of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves” that it becomes perfectly reasonable for honest men to revolt. The slave narrative of the Romantic Era was characterized by the frank accounts of slave treatment that opposed the fantasy of kind slave holders that the anti-abolitionist movement promoted. Frederick Douglas clearly paints the brutality he witnessed, “I have seen Mary contending with the pigs for the offal thrown into the street. So much was Mary kicked and cut to pieces, that she was oftener called “pecked “ than by her name”(Douglas 1198). The loss of her name signifies the loss of her individualism and equates her entire being to that of her captivity. Slaves during this time period were not allowed to have an identity which laid at the base of what writers deemed to be American. In the ideal American identity, the concept of equality remained achievable, but in reality slaves were treated as less than human and were certainly not equal to whites. To combat this treatment, African Americans such as Douglas attempted to use the concepts of self-reliance and freedom found throughout the