Literature is impacted by history. History, in turn, is impacted by people who are influenced by the conformities of society. Writers are affected by the environment around them. As a result, 3 totally different periods are formed: The Puritan Era, The Age of Reason, and The Romantic Period. The Puritan Era caused a psychological wave of oddness over the people. They believed that they should blame those unwilling to fit society’s requirements. It was created as a result of the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible about this period. In contrast, The Age of Reason was formal and political. The Age of Reason was created in response to Britain and their control on America. This inspired many writers such as Thomas Paine and J.
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This age was preceded by the Scientific Revolution. In this Age, many writers focused on the logic and reason. There were no witches. In addition, a war was in progress, so many works of literature were political based. Thomas Paine was a popular writer in this Age. He wrote The Crisis. The Crisis was meant to push people to support the war effort. Paine organized his paper to best reach out to his audience. He starts his essay instantly showing that he understands the emotions of the public. His first paragraph then goes on to talk about the present, saying that it is a good time. He then talks about the past. He shows the audience that there was nothing one could do in the past to change the present, and so there is no reason to worry about it. In the 3rd paragraph, he speaks of the future. Paine reassures that the future is secure because God is in heaven. Another writer of the Age of Reason, is J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur. He wrote Letters from an American Farmer, a series of letters that ranged from topics such as farming, social customs, religion, education, and slavery. The letters were written to show a new vision of masculinity. In the early modern era, where you stood depended on your masculinity. Masculinity was measured by the amount of land you had, your ancestors, and your wealth. Men traveling to the future United States of America had a chance to start over. They could easily gain property and their descendants would be …show more content…
It was focused on the supernatural. Stories during this time period were focused around murder, hell, and death. Such topics were macabre and new, but they are now renowned as some of the best pieces of literature. Edgar Allen Poe was a major role in the Romantic Period. He wrote many of his stories, such as The Cask of Amontillado, during this time. It was a mystery, but not classic. It was Poe’s personal mystery. The question was not ‘Who did it?’, but ‘Why he did it?’. It showcases a man on his deathbed reliving how he killed his enemy. The main character thinks of the murder as not a crime but a well-deserved punishment. The fact that the motive for killing Fourtunado is never revealed, pushes many to believe that Montresor was insane. In fact Levine states that, “The Cask has no passage to tell the reader that the narrator is mad; the entire story does that.” (80) At some points in the story it shows that Montresor did empathize with Fourtunado. In the story Montresor says, “My heart grew sick-on account of the dampness of the catacombs.” This ironic sentence can also be used to show that he felt no guilt. When Montresor begins to speak readers would assume that he feels guilt, but as Montresor continues on to say the rest of the sentence, it becomes clear to do reader that he feels nothing for Fourtunado. He says later on he says he feels no guilt for anything he has done. This is only done to show the reader there is a
This age was preceded by the Scientific Revolution. In this Age, many writers focused on the logic and reason. There were no witches. In addition, a war was in progress, so many works of literature were political based. Thomas Paine was a popular writer in this Age. He wrote The Crisis. The Crisis was meant to push people to support the war effort. Paine organized his paper to best reach out to his audience. He starts his essay instantly showing that he understands the emotions of the public. His first paragraph then goes on to talk about the present, saying that it is a good time. He then talks about the past. He shows the audience that there was nothing one could do in the past to change the present, and so there is no reason to worry about it. In the 3rd paragraph, he speaks of the future. Paine reassures that the future is secure because God is in heaven. Another writer of the Age of Reason, is J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur. He wrote Letters from an American Farmer, a series of letters that ranged from topics such as farming, social customs, religion, education, and slavery. The letters were written to show a new vision of masculinity. In the early modern era, where you stood depended on your masculinity. Masculinity was measured by the amount of land you had, your ancestors, and your wealth. Men traveling to the future United States of America had a chance to start over. They could easily gain property and their descendants would be …show more content…
It was focused on the supernatural. Stories during this time period were focused around murder, hell, and death. Such topics were macabre and new, but they are now renowned as some of the best pieces of literature. Edgar Allen Poe was a major role in the Romantic Period. He wrote many of his stories, such as The Cask of Amontillado, during this time. It was a mystery, but not classic. It was Poe’s personal mystery. The question was not ‘Who did it?’, but ‘Why he did it?’. It showcases a man on his deathbed reliving how he killed his enemy. The main character thinks of the murder as not a crime but a well-deserved punishment. The fact that the motive for killing Fourtunado is never revealed, pushes many to believe that Montresor was insane. In fact Levine states that, “The Cask has no passage to tell the reader that the narrator is mad; the entire story does that.” (80) At some points in the story it shows that Montresor did empathize with Fourtunado. In the story Montresor says, “My heart grew sick-on account of the dampness of the catacombs.” This ironic sentence can also be used to show that he felt no guilt. When Montresor begins to speak readers would assume that he feels guilt, but as Montresor continues on to say the rest of the sentence, it becomes clear to do reader that he feels nothing for Fourtunado. He says later on he says he feels no guilt for anything he has done. This is only done to show the reader there is a