The American Dream

This week, in both American Literature and American Studies we talked about the “Roaring 20s” and the Great American Dream. We also discussed the disparity between the rich and the poor and how the rich got richer and the poor got poorer during this era. I think that the main reason that so many people immigrated the the United States during this era was because they had seen how successful America had become during the Industrial Revolution. They wanted to create a new future for themselves and have a fresh start. I also think that they thought of America as a place of freedom and great opportunity, where anyone could do anything, without any restrictions. Furthermore, they had heard of many “Rags to Riches” stories, such as that of Andrew Carnegie. The impression that they could make lots of money and become even more rich was further supported by the stories written by Horatio Alger. His stories would focus on a character who was genuinely good at heart and started from nothing, but eventually rose to the top. These immigrants desired to become a part of the “white picket fence” American dream and wanted to bring prosperity and happiness to their families. Of course there were other reasons that people came to America, such as oppression in their home countries and famine, but I think that money and the desire to succeed were the main reasons for the immigration boom in the Late 19^th to Early 20^th centuries.

Indian Schools and Values

“This rule is uncalled for, and today is not only robbing the Indian, but America of a rich heritage.” These were the words written by a Native American, Luther Standing Bear, during the time when Indian schools were created. Luther Standing Bear was forced to leave his home and everything that he had grown to know behind because of the Indian Schools. When he went to and Indian Boarding School, he was forced to give up certain customs of his such as his language, food, traditional clothing, and hair. He was forced to act like someone he wasn’t and behave like a completely different person because his values did not align with “American” values, as they were simply different. By making Indians give up their values, the Englishmen were creating a less diverse America and taking away the values of tolerance and open-mindedness, which is a value that many Americans value today. Forcing people to change who they are and what they believe creates a society where everyone is the same and gives rise to the persecution of those who are different, which has occurred in so many different nations around the world.  During the 19^th century, the lifestyles of Indians was considered a threat to “American” values simply because they were different and wanted to keep their own traditions and values, just like the English people in America did.

The Freedman's Bureau

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread” (Genesis 3:19) is a quote from the Bible that was used in a poster encouraging others that the Freedman’s Bureau was bad and should not be passed. I was kind of confused by the inclusion of this quote in the poster. The poster, as a whole, was trying to show the message that the Freedman’s Bureau would make blacks free and idle and the whites would have to struggle and work hard, and this act would thereby “reverse” the roles of blacks and whites in society. This image further went on to implicate that the passing of this act would create a huge burden on the shoulder’s of white people because not only would they actually have to work, but they would have to pay, through tax dollars, for the improvement of the lifestyle of blacks.  Through this image, it is quite clear that the author wanted to portray the blacks as savage lazy brutes and whites as people who shouldn’t have to work, but now have to because they can’t force other people to do the work for them anymore. This brings me to the quote; This quote is an extract from the Bible and is about Adam and Eve and how they now have to work for their own food because they broke a law and got kicked out of Eden. However, the inclusion of this quote in this picture, implies that the whites did something wrong to the blacks because they did something wrong to have to work for themselves, just as Adam and Eve had to provide for themselves because Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. Therefore, doesn’t this quote mean that slavery was a sin in this context? This is the way that I interpreted the quote, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the way the author felt because the author of this poster seems very anti-black and pro-white supremacy, and I therefore think that the inclusion of this quote in the author’s poster weakened his argument.

Women During the Era of Reconstruction

            “…he who keeps undisputed sway over the heart of a coquette is indeed a hero,” narrates Washington Irving, the author of Sleepy Hollow. In American Literature, we learned that Sleepy Hollow was written in the 1820s.  Through the above quote, it is quite clearly seen that people during the 1820s believed that women were just meant to be charmed and would help the men who charmed them gain a heroic position in society. Therefore, we can assume that it was believed that women were merely pawns in a man’s journey to success and were meant to do housework and other menial labor.

However, this week in American Studies, we learned that women began to demand rights in the late 1800s and there were big movements that swept the nation. The lead me to wonder why women started to demand rights. Women in all of the preceding generations seemed to be quite content with simply doing housework and slaving away under the control of men. What happened all of a sudden? I think that this all started with equality issues brought up by blacks and the “Am I not a brother?” movement. Women saw this movement and learned that they could be doing so much more if they weren’t always working around the house.  As we all know, it only takes a spark to create a fire, and out of this spark, the “Am I not a sister?” movement began to rage. Also, some women, such as Abigail Adams, had begun to question the patriarchy much earlier, and eventually, all women realized that they deserved their own liberties and rights as well.

Romanticism and The Changing of America

            “Listen to their marvelous tales of ghosts and goblins, and haunted fields, and haunted brooks, and haunted bridges, and haunted houses, and particularly of the headless horseman, or Galloping Hessian of the Hollow, as the sometimes called him”(Irving 4). This is an excerpt from Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. From what we have read in this literature so far, we can clearly see that it is different than the literature in the Enlightenment Period, or the era of documents such as “The Declaration of Independence.”  This new type of literature that came about in the 19^th century was known as Romanticism.  Romanticism was a shift from faith in reason to faith in the senses, feelings, and imagination. Many new tales had new ideals such as intuition, imagination, human rights, and individualism.

This leads one to wonder what brought upon this sudden change in literature. As we learned in American Studies, the 19^th century in America was much different from the previous century. America had gained independence from the British and was now much more interested in affairs within the country such as expansion and human rights (particularly in slavery). These ideals became incorporated within literature. People took a step back from writing about the obvious, to writing with imagination.  For example, due to the interest in expanding westward into “the Frontier,” writing began shift from and interest in urban society to the simple rural and natural world. I find it extremely interesting that the change in America brought on the period of Romanticism. We can see that what goes on in a society changes the ideals and values of the people living in that society, and therefore also changes what the people in that society write about.

The Oppression of Slave Women

We are all quite familiar that Puritan women in the colonies were oppressed by the men, but how were the slave women treated? Slave women were treated equally horribly, if not worse that Puritan women. This is shown through one of the texts we read in American Literature. In the “Middle Passage,” Robert Hayden narrates, “the crew and captain/ lusted with the comeliest/ of the savage girls kept naked in the cabins;/ that there was one they called The Guinea Rose/ and they cast lots and fought to lie with her”(50). Not only is this description disgusting, it is sickening. This woman was being violated by men who thought they were superior to her and could therefore do anything to her for their own benefit.  It is inhumane to treat a person like this, and I therefore think that this oppression towards the slave women was worse than the oppression that the Puritan women had to face.

In American Studies, we watched “Slavery and the Making of America” and learned the story of a black slave named Harriet Jacobs. Because she was pretty, her master, James Norcom would try to make sexual advances on her. Norcom put Harriet through torture because he thought he could do whatever he wanted to her, as she had no power.  This shows how black women were objectified and not seen as a person, but just a body that could be exploited. These slaves weren’t even seen as human, let alone women. The men in American society viewed them simply as objects they could play with and didn’t even give a second’s worth of thought before they tormented these women incessantly.