The American Tradition in Literature Review Puritanism 1. What were four basic Puritan beliefs? Define what each means. d. 2. What were three things that people who settled in North America sought? b 3. The Puritan way of life was based upon what three beliefs? 4. As a pervasisve way of life, how long did American Puritanism last? 5. What were two primary purposes of Puritan writing? 6. When and where did Puritanism begin? 7. What church did the Puritans want to purify?
8. What did the Puritans recognize as the sole source of religious authority? 9. Why were the Puritans persecuted in England? 10. Did the government the Puritans envisioned in America provide religious freedom for everyone? (Yes or No) 11. How would one characterize Puritan preachers? 12. How might one characterize the Puritan faith? 13. To what three concepts is the Puritan vision of America as a divinely appointed land linked? The Revolutionary Period 14. With what three subjects were the writers of this period most concerned? 15. What two concepts were emphasized during the Age of Reason? 16. What were the names of three American painters who achieved success and fame in Europe?
Romanticism and Transcendentalism 17. Between 1789 and 1837, what three things did the United States experience? 18. During the same period, what three things led to American growth in nationalism? 19. During this period, through what did America grow most spectacularly? 20. What three things helped to bind the country together physically, politically, and economically? 21. What occurred in European literature about the year 1800? 22. What three things did Classicism emphasize?
23. How did most American writers of the 18th and 19th centuries acquire their writing styles? 24. What three American writers were interested in developing a national literature? 25. What American writer was an exception? He was not interested in writing uniqely American literature. 26. What did Romanticism in America of emphasize? 27. What were two things upon which Romanticism placed central importance? 28. Which early writer is considered America s most completely Romantic? 29. Which writer used legends and dolklore to illustrate American character types and the dramatic possibilities of the American scene?
30. Who was the American poet who became our spokesman for a new religion of nature? 31. Who was America s first famous novelist? He turned to the frontier for the setting of his most popular novels? 32. What two things hindered the cherished American belief in individualism and self-development? 33. During this time, what invention helped bind America together? 34. As the chief intellectual movement of this period, of what three things did Transcendentalism contain elements? 35. What is a key word and concept of Transcendentalism? 36. How did transcendentalists view evil? 37. What American writer was disturbed by the evils of mass production technology? He said the weaver becomes the web, the machinist the machine. 38. Who were the Brahmins, or Antitranscendentalists?
39. What were three ugly things created by manufacturing and industry in America? 40. As a result of reform efforts at this time, what did some Americans try to create? 41. Name three utopian communities. 42. By the end of this period, what had America established in every state? 43. What institution helped spread American culture during this period? 44. During this period, what did the Women s Rights Movement succeed in obtaining for women? 45. What three Americas were active in the antislavery movement?
46. What piece of writing began the burst of energy known as the American Renaissance? 47. Which two American writers refused to accept the transcendentalist view that humanity is both godlike and perfectible? Division and Discovery 48. What three things did Americans witness between 1860 and 1890? 49. List three statements about the Civil War that are correct. 50. What was one positive result of the Civil War? 51. During this period, what were three important achievements or developments?
52. During this period, what was the main reason why cities grew hugely and the population doubled? 53. What Mark Twin novel referred metaphorically to the dishonesty and greedy materialism of this period? 54. Following the Civil War, what three things did every section of America experience? 55. What was the major literary contribution of this period? 56. What did the local-color movement of this period provide? 57. What three things did the realistic writing of this period aim to do? 58. In its treatment of human emotion and motivation, what was local-color writing often like?
American Realism 59. By the end of the 19th century, the United States was 60. With what three things were realistic writers concerned? 61. Who was the most influential literary figure of this period? 62. For what three reasons was realistic literature attacked? 63. What was a major intellectual influence that contributed to the development of Naturalism? 64. What four writers were considered Naturalistic?
d. 65. How did the Naturalistic writers see people? 66. What did realistic and naturalistic writers believe, above all else, about themselves?