Stoic philosophy has roots in Athens in the third century AD. According to The Heritage America (2005), the philosophy holds that one should restrain his or her emotions so as to obtain wisdom and happiness. In this case, they don’t show either sorrow or joy. In American literature, it is believed that holders of stoicism do not experience the negative emotions of sorrow, fear and envy. Calvinism in relation to American literature refers to the philosophy that was campaigned for mainly by the protestant churches in America between the years of 1776 to 1970. Basing on limited government and civil liberty, Presbyterians held that Calvinism was the only way to test the stability of America as a republic.

Empiricism refers to the holding of, and belief in the spirit of imperialism. In relation to American literature, it refers to the groups of Americans that concurred with the imperialists that imperialism was the only way out to bring economic balance to the world. Romanticism is a theme in the American literature that expresses the scenes of love. It has roots from Rome. Agrarianism is a theme revolving in the American literature that purports that independence farming of practice of agriculture is better and of more economic value than being employed.

American realism was a philosophy that evolved in the 1830s to reject the philosophy held of romanticism. This reali0sm emphasized imagination and emotion on an individual. Pessimism is the holding of a belief that things will go wrong all the time. In American literature, this theme was used to express the hopeless characters that showed no hope. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that took rots in America and it emphasizes giving attention to all the arts including painting and music. Modernism is a theme in American literature that emphasizes focusing on the newly discovered ways of doing things rather than the traditional monotonous methods.

Naturalism looks at things the way nature put them to be. This in relation to American literature focused on the conservatives who resisted changing the natural societal order. Politicism in relation to American literature refers to the belief held by proponents of a political systems’ existence in the society. They propose that politics is the backbone of the society. Utilitarianism describes the belief that all motives that drive a person are geared to making them happy and enjoy life. It used to represent protagonists in American literature.

Slavery is a wide theme in American literature. It dates back to the days of slave trade. African Americans come in here as the victims of slavery, which is the act of being forced to work in the poorest of conditions without pay or with poor pay. The slave masters are the ones that implemented the draconian slave policies. Immigration is the act of movement of people in a country, people who are not citizens of that country.In relation to American literature, for example, African Americans are as a result of Africans migrating into the US. Economics refers to the aspect of the society that provides the means of living to the society. Slavery in America, for example, had been for many years the economic means of getting cheap laborers into the plantations.

States’ right in the Americas refers to the powers that a state in the federal government can exercise. Native Americans refer to the original inhabitants of the United States. Most of the native population composes of the whites.

Reference

The American Heritage. (2005). New dictionary of cultural literacy (3^rd ed). New York. Haughton Mifflin Company.

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RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT

American Literature Research Paper:

Teaching Foreign Dignitaries

American Literature II is a study of representative fiction and poetry from 1865 to the present that reflects significant trends in literary techniques and themes as well as shifts in cultural values.

Your task is to select 6 works (poems, stories, and/ or novels) that we have read this semester and explain how they represent significant trends in literary techniques and themes and how they relate to cultural values. You need to include at least one Realist, one Naturalist, and one Modernist work. You should also include a Harlem Renaissance work as well as one from the more contemporary readings. Your audience is a group of foreign dignitaries interested in learning about American culture. Since English is not their first language, your writing must be clear, focused, well-organized, logical, and engaging.

Consider producing a double-spaced paper, a PowerPoint document, or some combination of the two. Page length: at least six pages not including Works Cited or Bibliography pages. You must include research from at least four sources, integrating quotes and/or paraphrases that are properly documented in MLA format. Your research should be used to support your ideas, not to replace them. You will list the bibliographic information for those four sources, along with the bib info for the six works that you choose in your Works Cited page. You also need to list the bibliographic information for 5 relevant internet links and/or articles in a Bibliography at the end of the paper. Each citation in the bibliography needs to include one or two sentences explaining how it is relevant to your discussion.

Your research paper is worth 100 points, which is 25% of your grade. You will need to submit an annotated bibliography (bibliographical citation and a 1-2 sentence summary of the article, worth 10 points) for your four research sources and an introductory paragraph (10 points). You can also submit a draft if you get it done at least five days before the final due date for the paper. The due dates for these assignments will be listed in your syllabus.

Novels read:

Realism and Twain: Huck Finn Part 1
32 23 11
Realism: Huck Finn continued
28 20 10
Realism: Chopin and Washington

Naturalism: Twain, Gilman, Crane, and London
23 23 8
Modernism: Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Faulkner
34 21 11
Modernism and The Great Gatsby
34 17 10
The Harlem Renaissance: Hughes, Cullen, and Hurston
2 1 2
A Study of Two Authors: Frost and Carver
0 0 0
Contemporary Voices in Short Fiction: Silko, Walker, and Cisneros
0 0 0
The Contemporary American Novel: Middlesex