Edgar Allan Poe and Romanticism

http://webpages.csus.edu/~nsweet/page14/page14.html

Poe may be one of the most well known authors of the Romantic time period. He used superstition in his story, giving other Romantic authors another perspective to write from. He was known for his horrific story that had mystery, supernatural elements, and gruesome details. Other Romantic authors wrote mainly about nature and their thoughts on it. Poe did this as well, he was just able to express it in a new way. On the other hand, Romanticism was just what Poe needed. It shaped his writing by giving him the freedom to write his feelings, show his superstitions, and give a new meaning to situations.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a clear representation of Romanticism and how Poe used it to the full extent. " It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details o f the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression...," when Poe writes this it expresses Romanticism by saying that the way things appear can always be changed, you just have to look at them with a different perspective. He also shows Romanticism when Madeline, after being in a coffin for seven or eight days and being practically dead, breaks out of her coffin. The details he uses to describe her body put an image in your head that express the basic idea of using imagination in stories. The picture hanging on the wall in the House of Usher has a deeper meaning than just a decoration; the picture represents Roderick's insanity. In Romantic stories, everything represents a bigger part of the story. "...a far more than ordinary wanness had overspread the emaciated fingers through which trickled many passionate tears," uses emotion and gets the readers involved with the story and characters feelings. Like the picture, Poe also puts a song in the story to represent the state of Roderick's mind.

Edgar Allan Poe's style of writing is exactly what Romanticism is all about. He uses supernatural elements, puts emotion into his stories, and uses nature as a theme setter.


This picture represents the mind of Roderick and Madeline Usher. They are insane, and their thoughts are a jumbled mess in their head.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/confusion-keenya-woods.html

James Fenimore Cooper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Fenimore_Cooper 

James Cooper was born September 15, 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey.  Out of twelve children, he was the eleventh.  He was sent to be educated at Yale but was kicked out of school for pulling a prank.  After being dismissed from school, his father sent him to the sea. He was in the navy and helped on a merchant ship.  In 1811 he was able to settle down and marry Susan Augusta DeLancey. They lived on a small farm in Winchester County. At 30 his first novel was published. He then started to write about the Native Americans, the sea, and the history of America. Cooper said, "History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness" reflecting his view on literature. He was a writer during the period of Romanticism when imagination, nature, and the thoughts of humans were becoming a popular subject of literature. One of his most famous novels is "The Last of the Mohicans". This novel represents his views on humans and how they reflect nature. James Cooper died a famous author that will never be forgotten on September 14, 1851, in Cooperstown.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/James_Fenimore_Cooper.aspx

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9121.James_Fenimore_Cooper

Thomas Jefferson

The Jefferson Memorial Building

Thomas Jefferson was born on a farm in Virginia on April 13, 1743. He had 9 siblings and was the third oldest. He went to a local school at 9, and by 16 he was attending the College of William and Mary. He studied mathematics, philosophy, law and metaphysics. He took his education very seriously. He was a very laid back person, when president, he made formal dinners at the White House more casual events. His personality gained him the nickname "Man of the People." He had many occupations, 3rd president of America, statesman, teacher, lawyer, philosopher, and many others. His most know accomplishment is he wrote the Declaration of Independence. He also bought the Louisiana Purchase."The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time," shows his view on freedom. It was very important to him and he was willing to fight for it. Thomas Jefferson was a red haired, six foot man, with terrible public speaking skills. Although he is known as the president against slavery, he had slaves of his own. Thomas Jefferson could easily be considered one of the greatest leaders in the history of America.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/facts-on-thomas-jefferson.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=thomas+jefferson+occupations&rlz=1C1ASAC_enUS498US498&oq=thomas+jefferson+occupations&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

http://www.google.com/images

The Crucible

One major difference between the play and the movie is how it starts. The play starts out in the upper room of Reverend Parris' house. There are people gathered around Betty, trying to figure out why she will not wake up. In the movie the first scene is a bunch of the girls from the village in the forest dancing around a fire, trying to charm the boys. The director most likely did this to put emphasis on the dancing, and also to show why Betty and Ann Putnam would not wake up. This change in the beginning only changes your mindset, not the meaning of the play.

A similarity between the play and the movie is Abigail Williams. Throughout both, she is the same character; deceitful, selfish, and wicked. Both portrayals show her character well. Her love for John Proctor is shown clearly in both. The director kept  her character the same because her role is so crucial to how showing how the Salem Witch Trials started. If her character would have been changed, the story would have been drastically different. The girls wanted to confess, but Abigail refused to blacken her name. This clearly shows that Abigail Williams is the reason for the start of the Salem Witch Trials, and if the director of the movie had changed anything about her character the movie would not have matched up with the book.

I think the movie did a good reproduction  of the play. Although some things were changed, the main idea remained the same throughout both. The characters were kept the same from the play to the movie. If the movie had not made any changes to the play, we would not have any other views on this event; taking away any room for discussion on the matter. The overall theme was the same, however i prefer the movie to the play. I like how the movie starts and ends more so than how the play starts and ends. The movie put more emphasis on the girls deceiving everyone right away instead of leaving that to question, and the end of the movie seems to fit the characters that are being hanged. It shows how trivial the trials were and gives the people a better reason to stop them. The Salem Witch Trials are represented well in both portrayals. 

Reverend Hale's Revelation!

Hale has  changed in the first three acts, but he has changed drastically from the first act to the fourth. In the beginning of the play, he was an all business kind of guy. He knew he had been called there to convict people of witchcraft, and that is what he intended to do. However throughout the story he has gradually changed. In the second and third act, he started to have more compassion for the towns people. His way  of thinking has changed; he started to understand what it would be like to be in their situation. After trying to defend some of the accused and getting nowhere, he just leaves.

When everyone thought he was gone for good, he came back. He had changed even more while he was gone. When he is in the jail talking to Danforth, he says, "If you think God wills you to raise rebellion, Mr. Danforth you are mistaken."(130 Miller) If this would have been the old Hale talking, he would not have argued with Danforth. His mindset has changed to that of a caring reverend that wants to give everyone another chance instead of thinking that the people have already wasted their only chance of redemption. I think he changed mostly from seeing all that the families had to go through when losing someone. When he came back, he had had a lot of time to think about the families and their situations. I think he just came to the realization that he could be of some help to these people and save fathers', mothers', sons', and daughters' lives. The  hysteria had been calming down a bit but with Reverend Hale there in the jail to help the accused be set free, the towns people had calmed down; bringing Salem almost back to normal.



google.con/images

Reverend Hale

Reverend Hale does just what he was brought to Salem to do, he finds people and accuses them of witch craft. He goes by the ways of the court, and looks to find fault in the accuses parties. If they do not follow the Bible, they are guilty and they have no way to reason with him. "Nonsense! Mister, I have myself examined Tituba, Sarah Good, and numerous others that have been confesses to dealing with the Devil. They have confesses it."(Miller 68) Hale has his mind made up, and will not reason with others. He is in Salem to convict people, and that is what he is going to do.

However, throughout this story, his way of thinking has changed. He has opened his mind to see what the citizens of Salem see. "I see nothing Your Honor" (Miller 117), when Abigail says Raphael's wings are spreading. Before when asked if he saw wings spreading, he may have tricked himself into seeing them just to prove that witchcraft is real and he has a reason to be there, but he has changed. His purpose of being in Salem is not longer to convict people of witchcraft. It is to find justice in what is being brought to court. Hale has changed for the better clearly when he disagrees with the "all knowing" Abigail Williams.

Mass Hysteria

Defined as: 

a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational  behavior or  beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mass+hysteria?s=t

The Dancing Plague-1518

Strasbourg, France people started dancing until they couldn't dance any more. It started off with two women dancing in the streets, and eventually others began to join until there were over four hundred people dancing in the streets for days. People started dying from strokes, heart attacks, and exhaustion.

http://listverse.com/2009/03/16/top-10-bizarre-cases-of-mass-hysteria/

 

http://www.google.com/imghp

The Salem Witch Trials-1692
 Hundreds of people died after being accused of being witches. Witches were said to pinch, bite, and strike fear into people. The witches would be hung, pressed, or put in jail until they died. The hysteria about everyone being witches only lasted for three months.
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM

http://www.google.com/imghp