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Survey of American Literature I (Subject) / America Stories (Lesson)

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• I have made the sun! I have made the sun! Hurling it high In the four directions To the east I threw it To run its appointed course. I have made the moon! I have made the moon! Hurling it high In the four directions To the east I threw it To run its appointed course. 1] “Song of Creation” Pima Indians
• Within my bowl there lies Shining dizziness, Bubbling drunkenness. There are great whirlwinds Standing upside down above us. They lie within my bowl. A great bear heart, A great eagle heart, A great hawk heart, A great twisting wind— All these have gathered here And lie within my bowl. Now you will drink it. 2]Song of Encouragement” (Papago)
• My grandfathers are rising, getting to their feet. They are getting up. My grandfathers are rising. I shall go to them, when they have risen, when the bulls have risen. I shall go to them, when they have risen, when the cows have risen to their feet. I shall go to them, when they have risen, when the calf has risen to its feet. I shall go to them, when they have risen, and come into the light of day. 3]“Buffalo Song” (Wa-xo’-be)
• It was the wind that gave them life. It is the wind that comes out of our mouths now that gives us life. When this ceases to blow we die. In the skin at the tips of our fingers we see the trail of the wind; it shows us where the wind blew when our ancestors were created. 4]It Was the Wind” (Navajo)
• "This island even exceeds the others in beauty and fertility. Groves of lofty and flourishing trees are abundant, as also large lakes, surrounded and overhung by the foliage, in a most enchanting manner.” 5] From Letters to Luis des Santangel Regarding the First Voyage; subjective, Eurocentric reception of the “New World”
• "[...] they would, upon being directed, make the sign of the cross, and repeat the Ave Maria with their hands extended towards heaven.“  From Letters to Luis des Santangel Regarding the First Voyage; promise of economic, political and religious advantages for Spain
• "They are an inoffensive, unwarlike people, naked, except that the women wear a very slight covering at the loins; their manners are very decent, and their complexion not very dark, but lighter that that of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands. [...] it would be an easy matter to convert them all to Christianity, and I hope in our Lord that your Highness will devote yourselves with much diligence to this object, and bring into the church so many multitudes, inasmuch as you have exterminated those who refused to confess the Father, Son and Holy Ghost […]" From Letters to Luis des Santangel Regarding the First Voyage; Noble Savage, depiction of Native Americans
• "They further informed him that at a distance there were men with one eye only, and others with faces like dogs, who were man-eaters, and accustomed upon taking a prisoner, to cut his throat, drink his blood, and dismember him.“ From Letters to Luis des Santangel Regarding the First Voyage; Brutal Savage, depiction of N.A. 
• "They further informed him that there came large ships hither from the Great Khan.” From Letters to Luis des Santangel Regarding the First Voyage; Cross-cultural communication
• "They go naked, are large of body, and appear at a distance like giants. They are of admirable proportions, very spare and of great activity and strength. The bows they use are as thick as the arm, of eleven or twelve palms in length, which they will discharge at two hundred paces with so great precision that they miss nothing.”  From The Relation of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca; Depiction of Native Americans
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• "[...] they related how the Christians, at other times had come through the land destroying and burning the towns, carrying away half the men, and all the women and the boys [...]. We found them so alarmed they dared not remain anywhere. They would not, nor could they till the earth, but preferred to die rather than live in dread of such cruel usage as they received.“ From The Relation of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca; Cabeza de Vaca as “anthropologist”
• "Thence it may at once be seen, that to bring all these people to be Christians and to the obedience of the Imperial Majesty, they must be won by kindness, which is a way certain, and no other is [...]” From The Relation of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca; impact of the report a)political/religious- from conquest to „pacification”- new explorations b)literary
• "In the time of most distress, there was but six or seven sound persons who to their great commendation, be it spoken, spared no pains night nor day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them. In a word, did all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly and cheerfully, without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren; a rare example and worthy to be remembered."  William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
• "And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number, for that end, only for present use […] and ranged all boys and youth under some family. This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means […].” William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation; writing history
• "God Almightie in his most holy and wise providence hath soe disposed of the Condicion of mankinde, as in all times some must be rich some poore, some highe and eminent in power and dignitie; others meane and in subjection." John Winthrop, "A Modell of Christian Charity"
• "If one member suffers, all suffer with it; if one be in honour, all rejoyce with it. […] This sensiblenes and Sympathy of each others Condicions will necessarily infuse into each parte a native desire and endeavour, to strengthen, defend, preserve, and comfort the other." John Winthrop, "A Modell of Christian Charity"
• "that men shall say of succeeding plantations, 'the Lord make it likely that of New England.' For wee must consider that wee shall be as a citty upon a hill. The eies of all people are uppon us. Soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our God in this worke wee haue undertaken, and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a by-word through the world." John Winthrop, "A Modell of Christian Charity"
• "I shall endeavour to manifest in a plain style, with singular regard unto the simple truth in all things; at least as near as my slender judgment can attain the same." William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation (emph. added); “plain style”
• Farewell dear babe, my heart's too much content, Farewell sweet babe, the pleasure of mine eye, Farewell fair flower that for a space was lent, Then ta'en away unto eternity. Blest babe, why should I once bewail thy fate, Or sigh thy days so soon were terminate, Sith thou art settled in an everlasting state. By nature trees do rot when they are grown, And plums and apples thoroughly ripe do fall, And corn and grass are in their season mown, And time brings down what is both strong and tall. But plants new set to be eradicate, And buds new blown to have so short a date, Is by His hand alone that guides nature and fate.  "In Memory Of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being A Year And Half Old"
• 1. Temperance 2. Silence 3. Order 4. Resolution 5. Frugality 6. Industry 7. Sincerity 8. Justice 9. Moderation 10. Cleanliness 11. Tranquillity 12. Chastity Franklin's Autobiography
• “These are the times that try men’s souls” Thomas Paine, “The Crisis”
• YE Alps audacious, through the heavens that rise, To cramp the day and hide me from the skies; Ye Gallic flags, that o’er their heights unfurled, Bear death to kings, and freedom to the world, I sing not you. A softer theme I choose, A virgin theme, unconscious of the Muse, But fruitful, rich, well suited to inspire The purest frenzy of poetic fire. Joel Barlow,The Hasty Pudding
• "[…] where is that station which can confer a more substantial system of felicity than that of an American farmer possessing freedom of action, freedom of thoughts, ruled by a mode of government which requires little from us?" Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer
• "What, then, is the American, this new man? […] He is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. [...] Here individuals of all races are melted into a new race of man, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world. […] The Americans were once scattered all over Europe; here they are incorporated into one of the finest systems of population which has ever appeared, [...]. The American ought therefore to love this country much better than that wherein either he or his forefathers were born." Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer
• 'TWAS mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. Some view our sable race with scornful eye, "Their colour is a diabolic die." Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train. Phillis Wheatley, “On Being Brought from Africa to America”
• To the YOUNG LADIES of United Columbia, these VOLUMES, intended to represent the specious causes and to expose the fatal consequences of SEDUCTION; to inspire the female mind with a principle of self complacency, and to promote the economy of human life, are inscribed, with esteem and sincerity, by their friend and humble servant, the author. William Hill Brown, The Power of Sympathy
• “Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the Catskill Mountains. They are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river, swelling up to a noble height, and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day, produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains, and they are regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as perfect barometers. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory.” Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle”
• ”I have observed that he was a simple good-natured man; he was, moreover, a kind neighbor, and an obedient hen-pecked husband.” Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle”; Rip
• “he was now a free citizen of the United States. Rip, in fact, was no politician; the changes of states and empires made but little impression on him; but there was one species of despotism under which he had long groaned, and that was—petticoat government; happily, that was at an end; he had got his neck out of the yoke of matrimony, and could go in and out whenever he pleased, without dreading the tyranny of Dame Van Winkle.“ Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle”
• “there are no annals for the historian, no follies for the satirist, no manners for the dramatist, no obscure fictions for the writer of romance, no gross offenses against decorum for the moralist, nor any of the rich auxiliaries of poetry.” James Fenimore Cooper • the poverty of American materials
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• "Every time a Cooper person is in peril, and absolute silence is worth four dollars a minute, he is sure to step on a dry twig . . . in fact, the Leather Stocking Series ought to have been called the broken twig series." (James Fenimore Cooper) • Twain on Cooper (!!!)
• Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies: Yet, COLE! thy heart shall bear to Europe's strand A living image of thy native land, Such as on thy own glorious canvass lies. Lone lakes--savannas where the bison roves-- Rocks rich with summer garlands--solemn streams-- Skies, where the desert eagle wheels and screams-- Spring bloom and autumn blaze of boundless groves. Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest--fair, But different--everywhere the trace of men, Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen To where life shrinks from the fierce Alpine air. Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight, But keep that earlier, wilder image bright. William Cullen Bryant, “To Cole, the Painter, Departing for Europe”
• “The authority of government, even such as I am willing to submit to; -- for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I, and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so well,-- is still an impure one: to be strictly just, it must have the sanction and consent of the governed. It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it. The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress toward a true respect for the individual. Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man? There will never be a really free and enlightened State, until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived and treats him accordingly.” Henry David Thoreau
• “Moonlight, in a familiar room, falling so white upon the carpet, and showing all its figures so distinctly,—making every object so minutely visible, yet so unlike a morning or noontide visibility,—is a medium the most suitable for a romance-writer to get acquainted with his illusive guests. . . . all these details, so completely seen, are so spiritualized by the unusual light, that they seem to lose their actual substance, and become things of intellect. . . . [They are] now invested with a quality of strangeness and remoteness, though still almost as vividly present as by daylight. Thus, therefore, the floor of our familiar room has become a neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land, where the Actual and the Imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other. Ghosts might enter here, without affrighting us.” Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Custom House” (preface to The Scarlet Letter); • aims at rendering the “truth of the human heart” visible 35] Herman Melville, “Moby Dick”
• “Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.” Herman Melville, “Moby Dick”
• “The elusive quality it is, which causes the thought of whiteness, when divorced from some kindly associations, and coupled with any object terrible in itself, to heighten that terror to the furthest bounds. Witness the white bear of the poles, and the white shark of the tropics; what but their smooth, flaky whiteness makes them the transcendent horrors they are? That ghastly whiteness it is which imparts such an abhorrent mildness, even more loathsome than terrific, to the dumb gloating of their aspect.” Herman Melville, “Moby Dick”
• But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing farther then he uttered-not a feather then he flutteredTill I scarcely more than muttered, “Other friends have flown beforeOn the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.” Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.” Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”
• “I would prefer not to.” Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener. A Story of Wall-Street”
• “Aside from higher considerations, charity often operates as a vastly wise and prudent principle—a great safeguard to its possessor. Men have committed murder for jealousy’s sake, and anger’s sake, and hatred’s sake, and selfishness’ sake, and spiritual pride’s sake; but no man that ever I heard of, ever committed a diabolical murder for sweet charity’s sake. Mere self-interest, then, if no better motive can be enlisted, should, especially with high-tempered men, prompt all beings to charity and philanthropy.” Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener. A Story of Wall-Street” • Bartleby > art’ll be • Melville’s de-romanticizing view of the Romantic author
• This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning- point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. It recalled the departed selfconfidence, and inspired me again with a determination to be free. The gratification afforded by the triumph was a full compensation for whatever else might follow, even death itself. He only can understand the deep satisfaction which I experienced, who had himself repelled by force the bloody arm of slavery. I felt as I never felt before. It was a glorious resurrection from the tomb of slavery to the heaven of freedom. My longcrushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and now I resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me. Frederick Douglass, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself”
• “America is the greatest of all poems, America is the land of democracy, America is the culmination of Western civilization, America is where people are free and equal, and where people can feel a bond uniting them into the greatest nation of all.” Walt Whitman, Whitman in the preface to “Leaves of Grass”
• “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journeywork of the stars” Walt Whitman; grass
• “I am the poet of the body, / And I am the poet of the soul” Walt Whitman; body
• The loving day, the mounting sun, the friend I am happy with, The arm of my friend hanging idly over my shoulder, The hillside whiten'd with blossoms of the mountain ash, The same late in autumn, the hues of red, yellow, drab, purple, and light and dark green, The rich coverlet of the grass, animals and birds, the private untrimm'd bank, the primitive apples, the pebble-stones, Beautiful dripping fragments, the negligent list of one after another as I happen to call them to me or think of them, The real poems, (what we call poems being merely pictures,) The poems of the privacy of the night, and of men like me, This poem drooping shy and unseen that I always carry, and that all men carry, … Walt Whitman, “Spontaneous Me, Nature”
• This was a Poet — It is That Distills amazing sense From ordinary Meanings — And Attar so immense From the familiar species That perished by the Door — We wonder it was not Ourselves Arrested it — before — Of Pictures, the Discloser — The Poet — it is He — Entitles Us — by Contrast — To ceaseless Poverty — Of portion — so unconscious — The Robbing — could not harm — Himself — to Him — a Fortune — Exterior — to Time — Emily Dickinson, # 448: “This was a Poet—”

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