I really could be on Snapchat or even asleep right now but no I’m here writing about the Foundational Period, so if you’re still reading this good luck… The Foundational Period was the beginning of American Literature in which the Puritans and the Native Americans came into the literary picture, this period was the start of a new world. In which the oral tradition stories passed down by mouth transitions into written material. The Puritans were a group of people that grew apart from the Church of England and worked toward their moral and religious beliefs via societal reforms. They were really about themselves and wanted everyone to follow them. They believed that God’s true law was the Bible and it provided a plan for the living. So it was mainly a rule book everyone was forced to follow because if you didn’t you were driven out. In a way it’s what school is like now. As for the Native Americans, they were made up of thousands of diverse people and many other cultures. They created what we know as myths, songs, and chants. Their stories and poems were created to teach moral lessons and the focus on the natural world.    

    Some examples of the literature publish at that time are “The Night When Others Soundly Slept” and “Before the Birth of One of Her Children” both by Anne Bradstreet. When her work was published, it shined a new light on what poetry was. Because you know, the men always had the spotlight but now it was our time to shine. She really came to represent for the ladies in the back.  Women that wrote poetry really didn’t get the attention that they deserved. So, I guess you could say that Bradstreet was one of the lucky ones. Her style of writing was mainly about her personal experiences, religion, and her thoughts. To men that was probably all of the boring things us women talk about. Which is why it was so hard for women to have their work published. Because the men usually made the decisions back then and if they thought something wasn’t “worthy”, they would toss it aside. In other words her style of writing follows the culture of the Puritans.  Another example of literature published at that time would be the “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards. This was basically about telling people what they were doing wrong. And leave it to men to try to fix everything. This was the first official sermon published not only that but the subject was a message towards us sinners. In which he is trying to get our attention by letting us know how it looks in his eyes, and most importantly Gods.

Never have I ever thought that an era could be so beneficial but I guess maybe they thought the same thing. You never know when you might make history.

    We all know the cliché stories we were told as a kid about the prince always saving the princess from the tower and what not yada yada yada. We know how the stories go but there is a deeper meaning behind this period and I am here to sum it up a bit.  This period is where everyone’s imagination can run wild and free from anything. Whether that’s from fire breathing dragons to talking fish in the ocean. This genre, as we know, is called fantasy. It is where romanticism really belongs because it expands on the idea of unrealistic dreams that wouldn’t happen on a regular basis, for example, when I talk to my crush. Instead of stopping there, the writers began to push against the formalities of American Literature and began to put emotion into their writing. The creators at this time knew how to stay true to themselves and what they enjoyed to talk about.

        Everyone wanted in on the fun of writing in this period, so here are some emotional pieces of what some authors wrote.  To start off, there is a story called “Last of the Mohicans” by James Fennimore Cooper. This novel takes place during the French and Indian War. During this novel, two of the main characters fall in love but a female gets captured and of course the male comes to her rescue. You may be asking yourself “why can’t it be the other way around?” Well during this period, men were looked upon as a hero in a sense. They took it among themselves to be that cliché hero.  Another lovey dovey novel would be “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and I am pretty sure you were told of this novel because it is pretty well known but if not, it was how a monster was created by a scientist. The story writer herself had really let her imagination run wild with this piece or pieces *wink wink*. See what I did there… anyway she knew what she was she was going to write about and expressed it in the best way possible. Lastly a novel called “Grimm Fairy Tales” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm is about a story where there are mythological creatures, melodramatic plots, and more. You name it. The stories itself held some very grim plot schemes. (he he he I’m on fire!!).  But let’s not forget about the poems and short stories. Two examples of poetry at that time would be “Le Lac” by Alphonse de Lamartine, which is French for The Lake. This poem is about the author losing his wife and how he would go down to the lake to reminisce about her. And another poem from this period would be “Domain des l’aube”, by Victor Hugo and the title is French for yesterday at dawn. Within the poem it says that he had lost his eldest daughter and how he misses her so. Last but not least, there is a short story called, “The Ministers Black Vail” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story’s structure was based on how people would literally make anything up to force to truth to come out.

     Out of everything that I have talked about I hope that you made it to the end and learned something new because while writing this I just learned how funny I am. Wait… maybe I should become a romanticism writer or maybe it’ too late for that oh well.

Sources:

Lombardi, Esther. “Romantic Period Fiction – American Literature.” ThoughtCo, Oct. 22, 2018, thoughtco.com/romantic-period-fiction-american-literature-738527.   

10 Best Romanticism Books That Shook the World

   You ever had a moment where you exposed the truth of a situation? Well in Realism they did just that but better. They used technology to fix their problems. It may have not been very effective but it was only the beginning of a new perspective. Realists bring into the light that not everything has a ‘happy ending’ and that not everything goes as planned. Reality was always left in the dark from the lies formed by society. Starting in the year 1880 to 1914, the Civil War had left a major impact on those who were in the trenches. No one from the Civil War made it out unscathed but the most common wound was mental. Their mental health was extremely altered and not in a good way, PTSD had taken over. Troops came back from the wars and people thought something was wrong with them. So, with the development of new technology, things had a bit of a turning point. Since this era is something that exposed the hidden truth, people became tremendously pessimistic and had always anticipated the worst. Shout-out to the Capricorns.

     When they were discovering the truth some felt they should make their opinions and experiences known by writing. So here are some of those most informational pieces. Starting with “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, it was one of the most alarming books that had brought the truth to life. Just to sum it up the meat processing industry around 1906 was the most gruesome thing to come about. For example, if you lost your hand in a meat grinder it would have just been packaged up and sent out for the people to “enjoy”. No wonder vegetarians are a thing now. The next piece would be “The House of Mirth” by Edith Wharton. She brought to the light that everyone is as perfect as they seem, that not everyone is going to be without struggles.  Also that not many people want to see how life truly is. And lastly the book “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. This story talked about the hard times of life and that not everything is meant to be sunshine and rainbows. It reveals that you shouldn’t take your life for granted and to enjoy the good times and things that you have. But novels weren’t the only thing shared at that time there were poems and short stories so to only name a few here are some of those informational pieces. Starting with “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar which tell us that we all wear some sort of mask and that only we know what is truly behind them. (I recommend reading). Another poem would be “Because I Could not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson. Within the poem she is meant to be a speaker from beyond the grave and how she talks about her journey of death simply waiting for her. There were also some writers that published short stories. That would probably be me because I couldn’t stay on one topic/ plot scheme long enough, you should hear how I tell stories. An example is “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, in the story the protagonist has a heart condition that could kill her if she gets overly startled. They have to tell her that her husband died in an accident without killing her in the process.

      Never expecting for things to not work out, it was easier for the Realists to do so within this era. Because if you always expect the worst you are already prepared for when situations to go south. Ending on one last note, would you consider yourself more of a Romantic or a Realist? I would consider myself to be a Realist in most situations, if not all. But if you do consider yourself a Realist congrats because some don’t want to learn or hear the truth. So keep that in mind and be willing to fight for what you want to know.

   Look around and see if there is anything in your life that you are willing to change. If yes then you are now thinking like a Modernist. They wanted to change plenty of things like American literature, traditions, and societal reforms. This era chose to rebel against anything that wasn’t their way and they were going to fight for what they wanted. It’s just like the toddlers you see in the grocery store throwing a tantrum when they don’t get what they want. This is also the era where women’s voices were heard, maybe not all but just enough to get their opinions and thoughts across. Power to the women!   They knew what they wanted and they were going to get it one way or another for example the flappers. Flappers wanted to show how women weren’t just housewives but also and always will be independent.    

  Most writers thought this was the perfect time to state what they thought was wrong and they did it through writing. Like the “Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This book is known for its youthfulness, being rebellious toward society and its approach to American Literature make people want to question the reason of the American Dream.  Then we have “Their Eyes were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. This book spreads life messages of love and hate to those who are willing to listen. Also this book pushed the boundaries of women stereotypes and giving women their voice and encouraging them to use it. Another writer from this time would be Ernest Hemingway and his work called “A Farewell to Arms”, the meaning behind this work is that our society has a hard time telling the difference from love and violence. No one really know how to truly avoid violence; it’s just something that runs in American history. The Great Depression showed that not everyone belongs in the American Dream but that people can’t predict what is going to happen in the future= and they can plan to stop it because that not their part its Gods’.  Not only did more writers come to light but also poets for example “The Road Not Taken”, by Robert Frost. The poem is basically shouting to do what you want and to not let others decisions to influence you own. Even if plenty of people have used or followed one another you have stay true to what you want no matter how many people look at you differently. Another poem would be “Another Time”, by W.H. Auden, this poem is spreading the message that violence isn’t the answer to everything and that we need to learn that before people start to lose their lives. If you were thinking that these are the only ways writers knew how to bring to light the changes you are wrong. The short story “The Dead”, by James Joyce, the significance of this story is to show that you can’t keep holding grudges against someone because it’s no physically or mentally healthy for you or the other person.

   I’m not going to end this essay with a boring conclusion or even a conclusion at all, just to stay in the mindsets of a Modernist. So, feel free to make one up as you please.

   Present time, right this moment, right this very second you are living in the Contemporary Era. Everything that is going on around you right now is considered to be the Contemporary Era. So, in a way you are making history without even knowing it or trying in fact.  But before the present people of color had to work for equality and to end discrimination.  They made sure that the future generation was not to be effect by this. And speaking of the future generation’s electronics went to the roof. At first only the rich could afford them but if you are like me you waited until they went on sale. This era covers unknown territory if you will, we want to explore what is right in front of us, what previous generation’s couldn’t see. We want to correct the mistakes of our ancestors and to make sure they aren’t made again.

  Everyone had to get in on all the fun some even wrote about it. Like “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, this book talked about the hard times of being a slave in the south. And also that not everything is what meets the eye. Then we have “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. This book is to show that not everything is made for success because sometimes if you alter what God has gifted you with it doesn’t work out in the long-run. Then we have “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath. This book is overall about trying to get out of your own head and not being able to stop things from spinning out of control. Some people wrote poems like Dr. Seuss “I Love My Job”. And other children poems but most of his poems contain a deeper meaning you just need to know how deep you are willing to search.  Within this poem he talks about how he “loves” his job but in a sarcastic tone letting the reading know that he truly despises it. Another poem by Dr. Seuss would be “Oh, Places You’ll Go” this poem sends out a message that children don’t need to go down the wrong path otherwise they will be stuck there. Even short stories were written like “Skeleton Crew”, by Steven King. This book contains short stories about all sorts of creatures, fantasies, and even illusions. Take it from me and read some of these you’ll be surprised of how much you enjoy them.

   Don’t live in the past but also don’t look to deep into the future, take pride in what you are doing in the present, within (wait for it) …the Contemporary Era.