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John Winthrop: "A Model of Christian Charity"
Summary: John Winthrop gave this sermon while aboard a ship coming to North America. It described the ideas and plans to keep the Puritan society strong in faith as well as the struggles that they would have to overcome in the New World. Key lines
-"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill."
-"The eyes of all people are upon us." This sermon reflects the era of colonial literature because Winthrop is colonizing North America and wants to create a perfect society. -
William Bradford: Of Plymouth Plantation
Summary: Details the story of the Pilgrims from 1608, when they settled in the Netherlands through the 1620 Mayflower voyage, until the year 1647. Key Line
- Being thus arrived in good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven... It reflects the era because the people are worried about going to heaven and they constantly look for sings from god. -
Jonathan Edwards: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
Summary: Jonathan Edwards uses pathos to evoke emotions of fear while explaining the importance of living a holy life. Key Line
- The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked This sermon reflects its era because it is about god and everyone was concerned with religious issues back then. -
Patrick Henry: Speech to the Virginia Convention
Summary: Patrick Henry was attempting to convince delegates of the need for armed resistence against the feared british attack. Key Line
- The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. This speech reflects the era because Patrick Henry is preaching that the colonies start the American Revolution. He uses reason to justify going to war with Great Britain. -
Ben Franklin: The Autobiography
Summary: Benjamin Franlin details his trip to Massachusetts and explains his new mission of achieving absolute morality. Key Lines
- Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
- ...the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established... Franklin's Autobiography reflects his era because it is about him using reason to become a better person. -
William Cullen Bryant: "Thanatopsis"
Summary: This poem describes how death is not something people should be worried about because it is inevitbible. Key Line
- Go forth, under the open sky, and list To Nature's teachings, while from all around -- Earth and her waters, and the depths of air -- Comes a still voice. This poem reflects the era of romanticism becuase is is about nature and death. -
Washington Irving: "The Devil and Tom Walker"
Summary: Tom Walker has conflicting feelings about god and satan which eventuaklly cause him to lose his religion and go insane. Key Line
- As Tom waxed old, however, he grew thoughtful. Having secured the good things of this world, he began to feel anxious about those of the next This story reflects anti-transcendentalism because it is about religion instead of nature. -
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Nature"
Summary: Emerson explains the importance of appreciating and understanding nature and describes his feelings about nature. Key Line
- Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher. It reflects tanscendentalism becuase it is about nature. -
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "The Minister's Black Veil"
Summary: A story about a minister who wears a black veil, how people react to it, and sin. Key Lines
- I don't like it, muttered an old woman, as she hobbled into the meeting-house. "He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face. It reflects it's era because it is about sin. -
Henry David Thoreau: Walden
Summary: Thoreau details the time he spent living in the forrest at Emerson's house. He lives by himself and writes about all of the things he sees in a symbolic manner. Key Lines
- To be awake is to be alive. It reflects transcendentalism becuase is is about seclusion and going out into nature. -
Henry Davod Thoreau: "Civil Disobedience"
Summary: Thoreau doesn't pay his poll tax so he is put into jail for a night. He describes the experience and explains the importance of disobeying government when is is just. Key Lines
- I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. Its is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. It refelcts transcendentalism because it is about putting yourself before an organization and self reliance. -
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "The Cross of Snow"
Summary: This is a poem about the author who is mourning the death of his wife. He explains that his sorrow will never go away. Key Lines
-That, sun-defying, in its deep ravinesn displays a cross of snow upon its side. Such is the cross I wear upon my breast It reflects it's era because it is about death. -
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls"
Summary: This poem is about life and how things change easily. Key Line
- The tide rises, the tide falls It relfects its era because it is about life and the changes people go through. -
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Summary: A woman is driven crazy by her husband who locks her in a room. Key Lines
-He said that after the wall-paper was changed it would be the heavy bedstead, and then the barred windows, and then that gate at the head of the stairs, and so on. It reflects its era because it is about how reasoning is better than false knowledge.
