Henson, Stowe and Baldwin on Uncle Tom's Cabin

The autobiography written by Josiah Henson was an inspiration for Stowe for Writing Uncle Tom's Cabin. Uncle Tom's Cabin caused a lot of controvesy because of the racial differences of black slaves. James Baldwin had a negative outlook on the book saying that it did not do a accurate representation of African American slaves.
Henson's book was an autobiography of his life and his struggle as a slave, and from reading Uncle Tom's Cabin I see some of the elements in Henson's book that were in Uncle Tom's Cabin such as, the importance of family, and freedom. In Uncle Tom's Cabin we see a mother's love for her son, and how she will do anything so they won't be seperated from another. Bladwin took a stab at the the dark and the lighter skinned slave saying that the lighter skin slaves were percieved as strong, and the darker slaves seemed almost powerless.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin: A Solution to Oppression and Racism

“Anti-Tom” literature was a nineteenth century pro-slavery genre for writing novels. The same kind of theme was utilized for other sorts of literary works, especially those written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Also referred to as “plantation literature,” the writings were generally written by authors from the Southern regions of the United States, which was . Novels and other literary works that fall under the anti-Tom genre would attempt to express slavery as being either beneficial to African Americans, or that the evils of slavery as represented in Stowe’s novel were overblown and incorrect. Published in 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin would eventually become one of the most important novels of American literature, as it revealed slavery as a thing that was cruel and unjust. Harriet Beecher Stowe was able to send a message to countless readers from the nineteenth century to the present by preaching that it is the spirit of people that must change in order to really abolish slavery.

Death as the Change Agent in Uncle Tom's Cabin

In Jane P. Tompkins essay “Sentimental Power: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Politics of Literary History” she discusses the impact that little Eva’s death in the “transformation of stories circulating in the culture at large” (Stowe 507). Tompkins attributes Eva’s ability to do so partly to the typological structure Stowe uses in the novel. The structure, heavily reliant upon the prefigured symbols of the Bible, allows Eva to become the Christ-like figure by whom every other character’s life if affected. But in reading Tompkins’ essay, what she fails to address, and what I hope to address in mine, is how the death of characters, other than Eva, serves as agents of change within the story, and history, in its entirety. This essay will discuss the possible death of George the slave, and the actual death of Tom and Legree's mother in terms of how they change the characters close to their deaths, and moreover, how they impact the course of the novel and the course of history.

Baldwin vs. Stowe

“Everybody’s Protest Novel,” was a critique written in 1955 by James Baldwin on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It's obvious from the start of the critique that Baldwin doesn’t think very much of the novel at all. He questions the need for this story to become a novel instead of being on a pamphlet- Baldwin wrote, “…she was not so much a novelist as an impassioned pamphleteer.” (496) These are harsh words for a book that some have praised highly, including Edmund Wilson, former editor of Vanity Fair and writer for the New Yorker. Jane Tompkins, who wrote an accompanying critique in the Norton edition of the novel, called the book a "classic." In order to get to the root of these discrepancies, it’s important to research the backgrounds of both Baldwin and Stowe. Both grew up extremely religious, which accounts for the religious theme of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as well as Baldwin's response.

Every Christian Woman’s Duty: Stowe’s Message in Uncle Tom’s Cabin

There is more to the characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin than one initially might see; they are complex, showcasing a number of views simultaneously. At times, it can be difficult to assess just what Stowe is trying to assert when the characters seem to change views and reveal ambiguous purposes. When looking for meaning in the characters and their views, one can often find conflicting messages, but a look at the background of the author, some particularly popular sentiments at the time she was writing, and the book’s reception help to clarify where she stands and why.

Fred Douglass on Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book printed less than a decade before the Civil War (1852), but some beliecve this book caused more ireeputable harm to blacks in America than it has helped. One white critic, J.C. Furnas, pointed out what he thought Stowe did wrong in her penning of this novel and why it hurt the advancement of blacks in America both before and after the Civil War. He believed her book distorted the reality of race relations in the South and in turn ended up harming the relations even more, especially due to the characterization of particular characters (see: Tom and Chloe). Other scholars like Frederick Douglass supported Stowe's novel and met with her to help open up an interesting discourse regarding the immediate future of former slaves in America directly after emancipation. Even though these discussions did little to stop the implementation of Jim Crow laws across the South, they are interesting to look back on and analyze their actual effects on American society over the past 150 years. 

Moby Dick(late)

Herman Melville’s Moby Dick is recognized for its exceptionally genuine depiction of life on the sea, and more specifically life on a whaling ship, during the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Though sometimes quite dry, few dispute the authenticity of Melville’s many chapters on cetology, the sea, and life as a whaleman. Part of this realistic portrayal of a sailor’s life is the inherent danger of the profession due to the hidden threats that constantly lurk beneath the sea’s glistening surface. Sailor’s in the novel do not attempt to deceive themselves about the ever-imminent chance of death, and death is in no way glamorized. Death occurs swiftly and without sentimentality, and is forgotten just as quickly. Though surely a true fact of life present in the narrative, it also seems that Melville had another motive for his anti-romantic depiction. In fact, it seems to be a response to consolation-graveyard literature which was quite common at the time.

Simon Suggs(late)

J.J. Hooper’s Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs seams from the outset to be a simple example of the typical southwestern humor of the day. It contains much of the typical vernacular of the lower classes, stories of boys out-witting their fathers, and tales of men conniving to make a dollar in any way possible. Captain Simon Suggs is the quintessential Confidence Man; always good-humored, and willing to take advantage of the all-too trustworthy masses at a moment’s notice. However, if we look deeper into the historical background of the author and his time, we will find that all is not as it seems. J.J. Hooper was an intelligent, educated man with many political and social opinions that he masterfully hides and shapes into a seemingly innocent tale. This essay will show that Hooper has molded his opinions on the campaign biography, Andrew Jackson, and the political parties of his day into this novel.

Uncle Tom's Cabin: not as bad as some say

Though Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin is one of the most influential American novels of all time and is widely held to be one of the essential protest novels of the nineteenth century, it is not without its critics. Many have noted the unrealistic depiction of its southern white and slave characters, while others believe Stowe to be a racist and a slavery sympathizer due to her often rosy depiction of slave-owners. Despite all of these seeming imperfections—most of which have been found by the modern reader—the book continues to be a widely-read example of the early protest novel and when read from the correct historical point of view, is an impressive look into the arguments against slavery that helped abolish the dreadful practice. Chief in understanding Uncle Tom’s Cabin correctly is an appreciation for the audience for which the novel was written. More specifically, we must recognize that Stowe is attempting to convince Americans that slavery is against the moral principles set forth by the Christian faith, and her argument is made in such a way as to appeal to them in this way. This essay will show that Stowe’s intention was to convince a specific group of white, northern Christians that the practice of slavery must have been ended as quickly as possible, and when studied in this way, few faults will be exposed.

Simon Says Slavery Is Okay

Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs reveals the serious, sad state of the nation at the time, showing the division between the races, and the division between Southerners and their Northern counterparts. While Simon may seem to be a simple con man, he represents much more than that. When one looks beyond the humor, it becomes sadly apparent that Simon’s success always comes at the high price of others. Within his character there exist deeper truths about the attitudes towards slavery, freedom, racial divisions, and progress in his time. Johanna Nicol Shields explores the darker side of Simon Suggs in the article, “A Sadder Simon Suggs: Freedom and Slavery in the Humor of Johnson Hooper.” While Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs may be a satire of a campaign biography, it reveals more about the intricate workings of a society, including the political and social issues of the time, than it does about any one man. In the end, Simon Suggs is saying slavery is an inevitable result of circumstances.

The Peculiar Institution

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a text which has had an enormous impact on nineteenth century America and the world. It was one of the first texts to have more readers than the bible and was translated internationally. Although much can be said to the service that Uncle Tom’s Cabin has given to the abolitionist movement and the abolishment of slavery, the novel still has its faults. Of the faults sited within the text some include the stereotypical portrayal of various slaves, which borders on racism, and a slight approval of colonization. While these flaws are few compared to the institution which the novel was written against, they are more of a reflection on the views of the author than of the reality which the author portrays. A more thorough glimpse into Stowe’s intentions and beliefs regarding the novel and the ‘peculiar’ institution of slavery can help advance the modern readers’ interpretation of Stowe’s work. As with many whites of her time Stowe, “shared many of the misconceptions about race common in her lifetime” this is not surprising considering “the absence of the kind of scientific data available today” which made it virtually impossible to avoid accepting at least some of the reigning ideologies involving ethnology and the racist common knowledge assumptions concerning race during the nineteenth century (Graham 614). Although Stowe tried to avoid notions of white superiority in her writings there are instances in which these notions do appear. Examples of this can be seen in Uncle Tom’s Cabin when she describes whites as, “cold, brave, industrious, and spirited” while blacks are described as, “timid, unenterprising, droll, and weak” (Graham 617).

Anti-Uncle Tom Literature

I was interested in Thomas F. Gossett's article "Anti-Uncle Tom Literature."  Gossett points to a few anti-Uncle Tom novels that argue against the cruel slave master and the oppressed slave image presented in many slave novels, among them Uncle Tom's Cabin.  In this anti-Uncle Tom novels--Maria McIntosh's The Lofty and the Lowly, Baynard Hall's Freeman's Barber Shop, W. L. G. Smith's Life at the South, etc.--the slave owners are always kind, and always have understandable motives in punishing their slaves.  And always the slaves are opt to engage in such actions that require some justifiable  punishment.  However, Gossett fails to mention the similarities Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel from which the anti-Uncle Tom literature evolves from and argues against, share with many anti-Uncle Tom novels.  In this essay I compare those similarities that I noticed in Uncle Tom's Cabin with what Gossett presents in his featured anti-Uncle Tom literature.

Simon Suggs: Harmful Humor

In Adventures of Simon Suggs, Johnson Jones Hooper creates a swift, sneaky and persuasive character Simon, who is intended to be a replica of himself. According to Robert Hopkins he states that it this book is simply a “burlesque of campaign biographies.” Although in the beginning chapters Simon claims to compare himself to the earlier president’s in later chapters this comedic elements begin to make fun of other cultures especially the Indians. This interpretation is also seen in the article written by Johanna Shields. She argues that the Adventures of Simon Suggs provoked laughter but with repercussions. Hopkins would oppose her argument because Hooper intended for Simon Suggs to be humorous not harmful.

Simon Suggs: More Than Satire

In his essay “Simon Suggs: A Burlesque Campaign Biography,” Robert Hopkins argues that Johnson Jones Hooper’s novel Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs deserves recognition as a burlesque of campaign biographies. He presents multiple examples from the novel which support his claim, but also hints at the novel’s ability to fit into many other genres and sub-genres. In paralleling the actions of Andrew Jackson to those of Simon Suggs, and finding inconsistencies in the novel's genre as a picaresque narrative, this essay discusses Hopkins’s essay and the argument for Simon Suggs as a burlesque campaign biography.

White Freedom vs. Black Slavery: Johnson Hooper’s Humor and Worldview

In Some Adventures of Simon Suggs, Johnson Hooper uses his fictional newspaper editor “Johns” and fictional candidate “Suggs” as foils for his own contradictory nature. Johanna Nicol Shields examines this in her article “ A Sadder Simon Suggs: Freedom and Slavery in the Humor of Johnson Hooper.” Hooper himself, says Shields, experienced both sides of the Johns/Suggs dichotomy; as a young man, he was Suggs, Southern born, Southern bred, looking for his fortune in any way possible, looking toward the West. He was also the editor, the Western gentleman.
Johnson Hooper’s dual nature, as explored in Simon Suggs, enables his humor to deal with the story of white freedom; of Southern scions’ freedom from geographical lines as the Western frontier opened. In this adventure, however, the black characters are pawns as well as foils for the white story.

Edgar Allan Poe reads Simon Suggs?

Since many of Edgar Allan Poe's newspaper reviews were unsigned, attribution of his articles to him is sometimes a matter of guesswork. Nevertheless, a paragraph from a newspaper column believed to be Poe's praises Hooper's collection (which, like our edition, includes several other sketches by the author):

Text: Edgar Allan Poe (?), "Our Book-Shelves (IV)," from the Aristidean, October 1845, pp. 320-322.]


CAREY and HART have issued "The Life and Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs," &c. With engravings after designs, by DARLEY. We sat down to this book quietly; read, laughed — read, and laughed again. There is more true, indigenous humor in this, than anything we have yet seen, from the American press — "Jack Downing," "Jonathan Slick," and "Major Jones," not excepted. Captain SUGGS is a man of metal — "yea! an honest, incorruptible — very jewel of a fellow." And Daddy ELIAS BIGGS — with his repeated visits to the "yeathen war" — and his hatred of the Chatahospa people! That he may speedily have another scrape at COCKERELL'S BEND, is our earnest wish. The designs of DARLEY, in the book, like all he does, are inimitable. The look of profound fright in the sentry — the solemn grandeur of Captain SUGGS, at the drum-head court-martial — the portrait of the veritable Captain himself — his reception of the Bank President — with KIT KUNCKER, his horse and his dog — are they not all pictured by the graver?

The author of this book is the editor of a country paper, in ALABAMA, in which, we believe, the sketches first appeared. He is evidently a man of the most decided, unapproachable and original humor.

The latest news from academia on SW Humor

More (very recent) scholarship from Johanna Shields on the subject of authorship and SW Humor

Yet more scholarship on Hooper

This essay includes a section discussing Simon's relationship with his father, Jedediah Suggs.

A Sadder (but not wiser) Simon Suggs

The following link to Johanna Shields' essay on the Creek Indian sketches in the Adventures of Simon Suggs was referred to in class (and may or may not be the one to which Beth was referring).

Links to SW comic sketches by topic

The Spirit of the Southern Frontier website provides links to old southwestern tales in over twenty different subject areas. See especially the links to militia drills and military subjects and gambling to compare Hooper's impressions with those of other writers.

SW Humor Source

Here is a link to the cambridge literary history's southwest humor pages. The entire multi-volume set can be accessed on-line and is fully searchable.

Understanding the "Tickle my Funny Bone" Humor in Hooper's Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs

in According to Robert Hopkins in his essay, Simon Suggs: A Burlesque Campaign Biography, Hooper's work is a burlesque of campaign biographics. The biography of Simon Suggs is a great work of satire and becomes itself a functional part of the humor. Yet those who want to look at it as a direct reference to Jackson, will find that sections 7-9 become functional only when it is recognized as a direct burlesque of political biographies of Andrew Jackson. However that may be, politics is always accompanied by humor, or more specifically Southern humor, in Simon Suggs. Southern humor developed, according to Walter Blair in his essay, "Traditions in Southern Humor," in accordance with nineteenth century British theories about humor which placed wit and satire upon a lower level than characterization and geniality. Southern humor is almost used as a stage upon which Hooper presents his own understanding of the politics of nineteenth century, and this, however, was solely for the purposes of entertaintment.

The Chauvinistic Adventures of Captain Hooper

Johnson Jones Hooper’s Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs contained many things that were and still are pertinent within the south and United States such as references towards blacks and slavery. Of the many occurrences of the mid to late nineteenth century slavery was one of the most influential and important. This is why Hooper’s representation of slavery and white supremacy within his texts and his life are important and must be evaluated in order to fully understand his fiction. To describe Hooper, it would not be a fallacy to state that he was, “an inveterate racist” and frequently mentioned “the inferiority of blacks” within most of his written works (Tate 338). His belief was that slavery was essential to the advancement of the Southern economy and way of life. He thought that to lose slavery would be to, “lose all that white men hold dear in Government” and that “secession was more than a constitutional question….It was also a matter of maintaining white supremacy” (Tate 338).

Thoreau and King aganist the Government

Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr., both had similar perceptions about the government. In Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience he argues that people would be more powerful and effective if people were to depend on themselves and not the government. Throughout his book titled Walden he stresses this issue by writing about his experiences at Walden. Being sure to state how much money he saved by living on his own and by producing his own food. Along the same lines in an excerpt from King, he stresses the importance of non-violence and how practicing non-violent acts can lead to change from the government. In Civil Disobedience Thoreau states, “For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once done well is done forever” (Thoreau 16). This statement applies to King’s argument because of his courageous efforts toward African American freedom he helped produce African American equality.

Thoreau and Gandhi

In his essay for the New England Quarterly, George Hendrick describes the rest of the pieces to the Thoreau – Gandhi relationship. Universally referenced as the source of Gandhi’s Satyagraha, Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience essay on the virtues of nonviolent resistance has obvious parallels to the definitions Gandhi laid out of his brand. Hendrick’s essay, however, points out that the intellectual draw of Thoreau’s thought into Gandhi’s philosophy neither started or ended with Disobedience – Gandhi read Walden first, and then Disobedience, the latter coming at a critical point in Gandhi’s Indian work.

Thoreau's Utopia

Henry David Thoreau was one of the most important transcendentalist writers of the mid-19^th Century. He, like some of his collegues (Emerson, Fuller, et al), essentially abandoned modern American society to form their own working, “utopian” society. A utopian society is one that is perfect in every aspect. Most view attempts at creating a utopia as feeble and useless, but Thoreau did not. Maybe Thoreau was unable to create a true utopia, but from Lance Newman’s writings we are able to see that he viewed much of it as a success.Thoreau could not stand the hypocirsy of American government in the mid-19^th Century which is one of the reasons he left it for his own utopia. As well as his sentiments regarding America, Thoreau’s sense and love for Nature was a determining factor in moving on to his utopia.

Thoreau and King

Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” has been known to influence many twentieth and
Twenty-first century icons, but one of the most well known is Martin Luther King Junior who was heralded as sparking the civil rights movement. King has been quoted as saying, “a sit- in at lunch counters, a freedom ride into Mississippi, a peaceful protest in Albany, Georgia, a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, it is an outgrowth of Thoreau’s insistence that evil must be resisted and no moral man can patiently adjust to injustice” (Thoreau 433). Further examination of King’s Stride toward Freedom can help advance the modern readers’ comprehension of Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” within the context of the twenty-first century. Many instances of Thoreau’s influence on King can be seen in King’s writings (Goldman 3). For example in Stride toward Freedom King states, “To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor” (Thoreau 424).

Moby-Dick explors American Political History

Alan Heimert’s “Moby-Dick and American Political Symbolism” explored a few aspects of American history that were weaved into Melville’s tale. Slavery was one of them. According to the Civil War Home Page, of all the roughly 1.5 million families in the American South, about one in four owned slaves. According to the 1860 U.S. Census Bureau, there were nearly four million slaves held in the 15 slave states. These statistics were reflected in the story by the harpooners, who played a secondary role to the ship’s mates such as Stubb and Flask. Heimert also drew a connection between the Pequod and the United States at the time, which was referred to as “the Ship of State.” The Compromise of 1850 signaled the end of a turbulent era for U.S. politics, and this was supposed to reflect the turbulent voyage of the Pequod.

Transcendentalism's Trail through History

At one point, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The Transcendentalist” compared the Transcendentalist philosophy with other movements from different time periods. Some of these movements, like Protestant Christianity, are still relevant today, while others, such as Stoicism, have less impact on our modern society. One movement Emerson mentioned, Idealism, was contrasted with a form of Christianity called Unitarianism. The theology of this religion teaches against the Trinitarian form of God. Another example used was that of Cato and Brutus, two men who were a part of what could be classified as a movement- the Roman Republic. Both men were influential in the assassination of Julius Caesar, who happened to be on his way to becoming Rome’s dictator. While this event isn’t culturally relevant to us, it is a significant turning point in the history of Rome. One example that is still relevant was the Protestant Reformation that led to various modern branches of the Christian faith- Lutherans and Calvinists were just some of the denominations that sprung out of the 16th century event.

Melville’s Take on the Negro Problem in Moby-Dick

I wanted to look at Melville’s attitude toward the Negro problem in Moby-Dick and also in some of his other works--Benito Cereno, Typee, and Mardi. The Negro problem is the representation of African Americans in 19th century literature, and since many of Melville’s fellow authors did not have any African American characters in their novels Melville’s Moby-Dick made it easier to understand the attitudes toward African Americans. Melville did not give careful consideration to the African American character, he based his black characters in his earlier works on the Negro stereotypes--the most common, that they were savages-- that bombarded the 19th century. The black character Daggoo in Moby-Dick is somewhat different from the Negro stereotype. Melville may have considered the Negro Problem in his earlier works and have altered the black character in Moby-Dick so that he (the black character) may stand at the level of the white characters.

The Lasting Value of Thoreau's Walden

What is the value of Thoreau’s years in the woods at Walden Pond? Did he achieve what he set out to do, and if so, what is the consequence of his experiment? Is the effect a lasting one? Leo Tolstoy writes in a Letter to Dr. Eugen Heinrich Schmitt of the value of the ideas and approach of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and “Civil Disobedience.” He compares his own ideas with Thoreau’s and concludes they are driving at a similar notion. Mohandas K. Gandhi also writes about the similarities of his own doctrine of Satyagraha and Thoreau’s civil disobedience. While he believes they were both aimed at the same ultimate goal, their approaches and reasons for non-conformity diverge. Thoreau may have gone to the woods to “suck out all the marrow of life,” as he says, but in his solitary endeavor, he contributed much more to society than his individual goal implies.

Putting The Hip In Hypocrite: Thoureau and Impractical Ideas In Walden

Throughout John Albert Macy’s “Thoreau” there is much praise in adornment of Thoreau’s Walden. Thoreau was thought of a revolutionary of the Transendentalist way. The problem with this is that Thoreau was nothing more than an idealist taking advantage of people’s desire to lead a free life. Thoreau does nothing more than exaggerate and embellish the way he actually lives while degrading the rest of the country for not having the resources he had.

Moby Dick and it's Political Symbolism

Herman Melville himself was very active in the politics of the mid-19th Century in America and used his novel Moby Dick as an allegory representative of many factual, historical events leading up to and including the Compromise of 1850. Melville symbolically created the Pequod's crew to coincide with a lot of the American ideologies with which he fervently disagreed. Among these were the idea of Manifest Destiny, the Mexican-American War, and racial and ethnic inequalities. Through Ahab himself, the ship mates, and harpooners, Melville was able to characterize many of the pockets of people within United States. He was also able to symbolically capture the stories of the people who conversely felt the wrath of America's endless growing. Throughout the novel there are small instances of symbology relating back to Melville's idea that the path America was taking in foreign and domestic relations would eventually lead to its ultimate demise.

Moby Dick and American Political Symbolism

Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick during a time of great political turmoil. In 1850 the United States of America was on the brink of civil war as the North and South became increasingly estranged over issues of expansionism and slavery. In his essay “Moby Dick and American Political Symbolism” Alan Heimert argues that Melville, who was extremely concerned with the future of the Union and the Democratic Party, used America’s political climate during the tumultuous years preceding the Compromise of 1850 as an endless source of inspiration for his masterpiece. John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, both the Whig and Democratic parties, and even the U.S. as a whole are depicted in Melville’s epic tale.

Ishmael’s perspective is likely that of Melville’s own. It is a hopeful vision of the future of the Union: even if the “ship” that is the Union gets torn apart, there will still be fragments onto which those faithful to democracy can cling (Heimert 527).

The “White Whale,” also known as Moby Dick, could have possibly been modeled after Daniel Webster.

Ahab might symbolize Calhoun, or perhaps the South in general. Fedallah may represent traditional Northern thought on African Americans at the time, or possibly his character is there to illustrate the way slavery has served as a catalyst, accelerating the South down their destructive path.

Slave to the Great White: The Large Symbol That is Moby Dick

In “Moby Dick and American Political Symbolism” Alan Heimert looks at Moby Dick as a symbol for all of the political feuds during the 1850’s. It is a must read before attempting to tackle the beast of a novel that is, Moby Dick which dives into great issues such as slavery as well as The Compromise of 1850. Alan Heimert gives a harsh but accurate account of who each of the major characters may be based off as, as well as who the other boats they encounter could be. Who knew there could be so much historical representation in such a seemingly already dense book.

Identifying the Destroyer: The Impact of the Pequod's Historical Context on the Novel

As Louis Heller writes in his essay “Two Pequot Names in American Literature,” the name Pequod may be as elemental as Melville suggests in Chapter XVI “The Ship” when he says “you will no doubt remember that was name of a celebrated tribe of Massachusetts Indians, now extinct as ancient Medes.” While perhaps readers may have been familiar with the Pequod tribe in Melville’s time, today, the narrator’s seemingly strange assumption creates more humor than significant historical or literary meaning. Historically, the Pequot tribe was originally part of the Algonquin Mohegans. When this tribe moved south into Eastern Connecticut they antagonized and dominated neighboring tribes in the area. As such, the fearful members of surrounding tribes began calling them the Pequots, meaning “destroyers.” This essay examines Melville’s possible intentions for using the name Pequod in terms of how its historical significance may impact Melville’s agent of destruction within his novel.

Moby Dick: Understanding Melville and His Time

America had some of its greatest authors during the 19^th century. This period, also known as “the American renaissance”, was the essential beginning of American literature as the country will still very young. Writers like Thoreau, Emerson, Poe, Whitman, Hawthorne, and Herman Melville were the featured authors of the renaissance. Melville’s probably most known work, Moby Dick, is recognized as a huge part of this period. Any person that is generally familiar with American literature understands the importance and impact that was created by this white-whale of a novel. However, Moby Dick is anything but a simple voyage to hunt down a monolithic whale. Anyone who wants to read the novel with more understanding must appreciate the background of Herman Melville and when he wrote the novel. The author’s experiences and time on the high seas traveling around the world helped make Moby Dick great. Who would have thought there would be philosophy in whales or poetry in blubber? Few novels that deal in metaphysics, or claim to be the descent of muses, contain as much true viewpoint and as much genuine poetry as the tale of the Pequod’s whaling expedition.

Fanny Fern: Breaking the barrier for Women

In “The Scribbling Woman and Fanny Fern: Why Women Wrote Ann D. Wood made it conscious to the public that women writers were existent and that women wrote because writing was a form of expression for them and in some cases if they were to succeed help them economically. One of the many reasons why Ruth Hall was so famous in the 19th Century was because she was able to write about the struggles that many women had to overcome.

As I was doing research on my paper it became evident to me that during this time men felt threatened by women’s writings because women tended to focus issues that affected them as women and they took a more realistic approach in their writings. It was fascinating and at the same time shocking to find that men were harshly critical towards women. For example, Hawthorne stated that “Fanny Fern” writes as if the devil was in her and he went on to say that, that is the only condition under which a woman ever writes anything worth reading. I just couldn’t make sense of why men didn’t want to welcome women into the literary world.

The Hidden Agendas of Female Authors

Ann Douglas Wood's essay "The Scribbling Woman and Fanny Fern: Why Women Wrote" discusses why various women writers published work during the ninteenth century- a time when society demanded women be confined to domestic duties and childcare.

Many female authors were in fact widows, or otherwise disadvantaged by the lack of a male supporter, but still tried desperately to maintain their "femininity." They made excuses for why they must work and tirelessly worked to maintain their delicacy by apologizing and justifying through religion and family.

Fern was significant because she made no apologies for her opinions and beliefs.

Fern essentially argues that women needed to write in order to maintain their sanity and survive. They needed a creative outlet beyond cooking and cleaning that allowed for self-expression.

Fern did not necessarily become a writer by choice- originally it was a way for her and her daughters to survive. She therefore felt no guilt or remorse for her work, despite its harsh stance on male roles in society, because she believed that if men wanted their women to be frail and dependent then they should take care of them- if not how could they expect women to not turn into an independent and resourceful person like Ruth Hall?

Scribbling Women and the Feminine Ideal

Ann D. Wood explores, among other topics, the role of women as writers in 19th century society’s constraints in “The “Scribbling Women” and Fanny Fern: Why Women Wrote.” Using a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne as a jumping off point, she maps the complexities of women writing in a man’s world. There are acknowledged parameters in the society and then more hidden, nuanced rules for expression that affect the way women wrote. Connecting this to “The Female Woman: Fanny Fern and the Form of Sentiment” by Lauren Berlant shows the gender stereotypes women were laboring under and what effect these stereotypes had on their writing and their ability to capitalize on that endeavor. I found the many undercurrents in sentiment of the time fascinating, and attempt to show their interplay through the various ways in which they surface in Fanny Fern’s Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present.

How a woman got away with writing in the 19th century

In the American Quarterly article “The “Scribbling Women” and Fanny Fern: Why Women Wrote” Ann D. Wood examines the selective hypocrisy of a literature audience that allowed the publication of female writers only on the condition that it be only a side project to those writers. The publication of Ruth Hall is notable precisely because it flies in the face of that convention – in fact, it examines the circumstances that often caused women to write, in an exacting and unforgiving manner. Thus the book was not well received in its time.

I was more personally fascinated by the utter denial in which males and other females received a female's work. Anyone who was female and wrote 1) couldn't be doing it for money 2) could really only be doing it "accidentally" 3) couldn't threaten a male writer, of course and 4) should remind her readers often of her domestic priorities. If a female were allowed to break this convention, she would then only be 1) crazy 2) consumptive 3) exotic or 4) utterly tormented.

The Empowered Woman

I looked at Lauren Berlant's criticism "The Female Woman: Fanny Fern and the Form of Sentiment" and what her interpretation of Fanny Fern's ideas were. Berlant suggested that Fern was trying to create a new breed of women, who thought differently and redefined their roles in society. This new idea of gender and "owning oneself" led to an article by Gale Temple which developed a clear picture of the once patriarichal community that women were forced to live in and endure the oppressive behavior that males inflicted. Berlant's article then compared the issue of race and the issue of "owning oneself" and the capitalistic identity which it holds allowing for exploration of "fraught individualism" experienced by both Ruth and Fernin comparison to "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl".

Fanny Fern Stands Alone

I did research involving Fanny Fern and her role in writing at that time. I started out by reading "The Scribbling Woman and Fanny Fern: Why Women Wrote", then I did additional research involving "Fanny Fern", by Barbara A. White. Through these sources I found the two voice method Fanny used to change or at least question the role women played in writing, and the standards in which they had to abide by. Fanny stood alone as the only women willing to break the mold and find her own voice, or combination of two, to raise questions as to why women are held to certain standards of genteelness. Why do they have to be feeble, and doubtful? Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of few writers who, at the time, saw the need for women to be set free in their writing. Fanny was the initial spark that changed the view of the "feminine genius" forever.

Valentine's Day Special: Four Links and One Print Reference

Lauren Berlant. “The Female Woman: Fanny Fern and the Form of Sentiment.”
American Literary History, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Autumn, 1991), pp. 429-454.

Richard H. Brodhead. “Veiled Ladies: Toward a History of Antebellum Entertainment.”
American Literary History, Vol. 1, No. 2. (Summer, 1989), pp. 273-294.

Joanne Dobson. “Reclaiming Sentimental Literature.” American Literature, Vol. 69, No. 2 (Jun., 1997), pp. 263-288

Stephen Hartnett. “Fanny Fern’s 1855 Ruth Hall, the Cheerful Brutality of Capitalism, & the Irony of Sentimental Rhetoric.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, 88, (2002), 1-18.

Ann D. Wood. “The ‘Scribbling Women’ and Fanny Fern: Why Women Wrote.”
American Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Spring, 1971), pp. 3-24.

The Origins of The Bosom Serpent

While the tale of the Bosom Serpent may simply be read as a metaphor for sin within the conscience or heart of man, Hawthorne's statement at the beginning of the tale lends to the fact that cases of snakes within the stomach or bosom were seen in newspapers, magazine articles, and other literary sources before Hawthorne's story was conceived. Nonliterary sources from legitimate magazines such as the New-England Magazine and the Universalist newspaper the Olive Branch report occurrences where citizens have reportedly ejected snakes and eels from their stomachs. While these may well be folkloric beliefs, they could still be the source of Hawthorne’s Egotism. Another more likely source is that from Puritan priests that speak of metaphors of snakes within ones bosom to depict the guilt of man’s soul. These sources prove that the origins of The Bosom Serpent may not have been from Hawthorne’s own imagination but from the abundance of “bosom serpents” seen in the newspapers, magazines, and sermons of his time.

Rappaccini's Daughter: An allegory of science

Rappaccini’s Daughter has been the subject of critical disagreement for quite some time. While critics (e.g. Oliver Evans and Edward Rosenberry) typically maintain that the meaning of the story is to be found in its use of allegory, the allegorical identities of its central characters are hardly clear. Oliver Evans argues for the predominance of religious symbolism in Hawthorne’s tale, positing that the relationships of its central characters are meant to retell the biblical stories of Adam and Eve. Other critics (namely, Rosenberry and McCabe) argue that the narrative structure of Rappaccini’s Daughter does not befit religious allegory; indeed, that the narrative centrality of Giovanni highlights his actions as Hawthorne’s primary moral vehicle. As a religious allegory, Hawthorne’s tale proves to be unbearably convoluted and fraught with inconsistencies. On the other hand, an interpretation of Rappaccini’s Daughter on scientific terms yields a much more manageable—much less convoluted—message: that the pursuit of God-like power through science will always end in disaster.

Hollingsworth reflects the thoughts of Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Man the Reformer” heavily reflected the views of the members of the Blithedale commune, especially Hollingsworth. Emerson’s essay espoused the philosophies of the Transcendentalist movement, which sought to reform society and highlight the importance of the individual as opposed to the organization. Emerson’s essay specifically targeted the lack of independent farming and self-subsistence during the middle 18th century. This lack of self-reliance, in Emerson’s view, would weaken his generation of men. His disdain for man’s growing inability to plant one’s own crops through the use of one’s own hands and tools was made evident during the middle part of the essay.
This philosophy was reflected in the goals of the characters in the Blithedale Romance, but Hollingsworth was the clear Transcendentalist. Some characters, like Coverdale or Silas, seemed to lack a deeper commitment towards the uplifting of the individual. Others, such as Zenobia or Priscilla, seemed to have shallower convictions for the commune. Hollingsworth not only worked hard for the commune, but also dreamed of reforming criminals at Blithedale, which reflect the idealistic goals of Transcendentalism.

The Importance of 19th Century Transcendentalism

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his own personal experiences at Brook Farm for the basis of the novel "The Blithedale Romance." The foundation of both Brook Farm and the fictional Blithedale are the principles and values of transcendentalism. Transcendentalim was a new set of ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that were formed as a protest against the general state of culture and society at that time. Louisa May Alcott was also a strong follower of transcendentalism and was a resident of Fruitlands, another Utopian-like society at that time. From her stay at Fruitlands, Alcott published "Transcendental Wild Oats." The formation of these societies and the transcendental basis of these societies created a new era of literature and culture. Nathaniel Hawthorne and transcendentalism had a huge impact on the society and culture of the 19th century.

The Blithedale Romance: Hawthorne is Coverdale

Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Blithedale Romance”, is the first person narration of a man set upon joining a world that has no need of him by imposing an absolute order upon his reality. Based on his own experiences at the utopian Brook Farm during the 1840s, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “The Blithedale Romance” in order to demonstrate the inadequacy of much of the Transcendentalist’s beliefs. Miles Coverdale will often exaggerate about the negative qualities that he sees in people that live with him. In fact, he seems to have an aptness for picking out those qualities and constantly dwelling on them. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Miles Coverdale as a disguise to show his own dissatisfaction with the negativity of the people who lived at Brook Farm. Many critics, among others, believe that the fictional Coverdale is really a representation of Hawthorne himself. Coverdale’s weaknesses are how Hawthorne saw his own weaknesses. One of those primary weaknesses must surely be that he exaggerated both good and bad at Blithedale, and had a negative opinion of the experiment from the beginning. Nathaniel Hawthorne seems to be making fun of himself by making Miles Coverdale an equivocating poet who really has little interest in anything and survives primarily all by himself.

Characters of the Transcendentalist Utopia

Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Man the Reformer" (1841) proposes transcendentalist ideals in hopes of transforming a "common and mean" existence into an improved society founded upon the principals of education and labor for the betterment of all.  Many of Emerson's ideas created the basis for Brook Farm, the Utopian community Hawthorne writes about in The Blithedale Romance (1852).   A cross examination of these texts reveals both Hawthorne's skepticism and support for the foundations of the transcendentalist Utopia.  This essay identifies and examines the characters discussed in Emerson's essay and the manner in which Hawthorne's approaches these character types in Blithedale.  The characters include: Coverdale "The artist", Hollingsworth "The reformer," Silas Foster "The laborer," Zenobia "The selfish one" and Priscilla "The provided for."

Dreams in The Blithedale Romance

Principle in understanding Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance must be a discussion of Miles Coverdale’s dreams regarding the other characters in the narrative. As many critics have noted, Hawthorne makes use of dreams as means to an understanding of that which is hidden in the world in many of his works, and the dream is “the point of view essential for reading Hawthorne”. In The Blithedale Romance, the dream is chiefly employed as a means to discovery and wish fulfillment in Miles Coverdale’s life, particularly in regard to his sexual attraction to Zenobia, and possibly to Hollingsworth. By the use of the dream as a literary device, Hawthorne gives us as readers access to information that would have either been impractical or improper due to social standards at the time to give us explicitly, and lets us know what is really happening with Miles Coverdale in The Blithedale Romance.

-Rob DiMarco

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Blithedale Romance"

Nathaniel Hawthorne has become one of the more influential writers in American history since his death. The achievement of his writing abilities can be traced back to a time when he lived in a "utopian" society with many of the other influential authors of the mid-19th century. This "utopian" society was named Brook Farm. Hawthorne tended to use many real life situations and events to model much of his writing after. A few examples of this can be found in his novel, The Blithedale Romance as well as in some of his other works. Hawthorne molds the character Zenobia around the story and sentiments of his friend Margaret Fuller, uses Brook Farm’s masquerade picnic as a model for a chapter in Blithedale Romance, and relied on his personal experiences from his time spent at Brook Farm with other influential writers of his time to get ideas, themes, and characters for his stories.

Antebellum Abstracts

The purpose of this blog site is to establish a listing of resources for the research of American literary texts published between 1845 and 1855, focusing in particular on the following representative narratives from the period:

Fanny Fern - Ruth Hall
Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Blithedale Romance
Johnson Jones Hooper - Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs
Herman Melville - Moby Dick
Harriet Beecher Stowe - Uncle Tom's Cabin
Henry David Thoreau - Walden

Each of the abstracts listed below summarizes research involving a cluster of topically associated primary or secondary sources related to one of the texts listed above. The relavance of these materials to a fuller understanding of these works is outlined in the abstracts. Interpretive analysis applying insights gained from the research to specific aspects of the texts is also provided.