Anti-Transcendentalism

1
Anti-Transcendentalism

• Herman Melville
• Nathaniel Hawthorne

2
Reasons / Causes

• Opposed the optimism and naïve idealism of the
  transcendentalists
• Dwelt on guilt and remorse over past sins
• Discontented with current circumstances in America

3
Key ideas / Philosophies

• Belief in the potential destructiveness of the
  human spirit
• Belief in individual truths, but no universal
  truths, and the truths of existence are deceitful
  and disturbing
• Human nature is inherently sinful (original sin)
  and evil is an active force in the universe
• Focus on the mans uncertainty and limitations in
  the universe

4
View of Nature

• Nature is vast and incomprehensible, a reflection
  of the struggle between good and evil
• Nature is the creation and possession of God and
  it cannot be understood by human beings

5
Writing Style

• Man vs. Nature conflicts bring out the evil in
  humanity
• Raw and morbid diction
• Focus on the protagonists inner struggles
• Typical protagonists are haunted outsiders who
  are alienated from society
• Prevalent use of symbolism

6
Shiloh a RequiemHerman Melville

• Title Connotation/Denotation
• Initial Response
• Vocabulary
• Paraphrase
• Speaker
• Tone
• Techniques (3)/Meaning/Significance
• Theme/Thesis Sentence
• How does Melvilles poem reflect
  anti-transcendental ideas?

7
Melville, cont.

• Using profits from first three novels, buys a
  farm called Arrowhead near Pittsfield, MA.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne lived near by and the two
  became close friends
• With encouragement from Hawthorne and a renewed
  study of Shakespeare, Melville begins work on his
  lifes workMoby Dick
• When first published, it was a flop and caused
  Melville to drop into a deep depression
• d. 1891, both unappreciated and unnoticed

8
Nathaniel Hawthorne

• b. 1804 in Salem, MA, a descendent of a prominent
  Puritan family
• One of his ancestors was a prominent judge in the
  Salem Witch Trials
• His personal character and writing were shaped by
  a sense of inherited guilt
• He was haunted by the intolerance and cruelty of
  his ancestors

9
Shiloh a RequiemHerman Melville

• Title Connotation/Denotation
• Initial Response
• Vocabulary
• Paraphrase
• Techniques
• Theme
• How does Melville poem reflect
  anti-transcendental ideas?

10
Hawthorne, cont.

• Moved onto Brook Farm and became a part of the
  Transcendentalist Society
• Became friends with Emerson and Thoreau, but
  their vastly different spiritual philosophies
  kept disallowed deeper friendship
• Published his most famous work, The Scarlet
  Letter, in 1850 and it was an instant classic
• His college friend, Franklin Pierce, was elected
  President and appointed him as American consul at
  Liverpool, England.
• d. 1864 in his sleep

11
Herman Melville

• b.1819 in NYC father was a wealthy merchant
• Father died when he was 2 years old
• Ultimately forced to quit school and worked as a
  clerk, farmhand, and teacher to support family
• At 19 became a sailor and worked on whaling ships
  exploring the South Pacific for many years
• Began writing soon after this

12
Melville, cont.

• Using profits from first three novels, buys a
  farm called Arrowhead near Pittsfield, MA.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne lived near by and the two
  became close friends
• With encouragement from Hawthorne and a renewed
  study of Shakespeare, Melville begins work on his
  lifes workMoby Dick
• When first published, it was a flop and caused
  Melville to drop into a deep depression
• d. 1891, both unappreciated and unnoticed

13
Melville, cont.

• Melville harshly criticized capitalism,
  slavery, war and imperialism, but he showed
  passionate empathy for classes of men who bear
  the same relation to society at large that the
  wheels do to a coach.