American Pride   Term Paper ID:27076 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines how the theme of pride has been used in literature by examining the collected works of Benjamin Franklin, Nathaniel Hawthorne's YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN, & Kate Chopin's STORY OF AN HOUR & THE AWAKENING.... More...

17 Pages / 3825 Words 10 sources, 19 Citations, MLA Format $68.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Examines how the theme of pride has been used in literature by examining the collected works of Benjamin Franklin, Nathaniel Hawthorne's YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN, & Kate Chopin's STORY OF AN HOUR & THE AWAKENING. Paper Introduction: American Pride Pride is not simply an American trait but is rather a human emotion, and as such it can be for good or ill. There is a saying that "pride goeth before a fall," for pride is one of the seven deadly sins. Pride can also be justified, however, but only if it is not excessive. It need not lead to one's downfall but can instead be evidence of accomplishment. In the American character, the emotion of pride derives from the combination of the success in creating what has been perceived as being a new and free nation and the exuberance that this success engenders. At the same time, there has been a tension between pride and the religious strictures against that emotion, beginning in the Calvinist era and continuing as a strain in the Protestant ethic that has been a key theme in American life ever since. In fact, Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The image of the journey is important as an allegory, for thisis not merely a journey into the woods but a journey into Brown's soul, andit does indeed test his soul: "Young Goodman Brown caught hold of a treefor support, being ready to sink down on the ground, faint and overburdenedwith the heavy sickness of his heart. Chopin creates a contrastfor the woman between the news she has been given and the reality of theworld she sees through her window: "She could see in the open squarebefore her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the newspring life. Her first reaction fits the stereotype of the grieving widow: "She weptat once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. Property owners were given greater power andmore rights than those who did not own property. Pride can alsobe justified, however, but only if it is not excessive. She wouldhave no one follow her" (Chopin 352). Often she had not. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998.Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Clearly, the Founding Fathers saw theirwork as creating something different than they had known in Europe and asassuring freedom for most citizens. The same ambiguities as are seen in the American system at that timeare evident in Benjamin Franklin's "Address to the Public" on the subjectof slavery. Without his faith, Brown has only himself on which to rely. Some historians paint a picture of a slave population madesubmissive by the conditions that existed as the slaves had their Africanheritage destroyed and were made into helpless dependents in the New World. Finally, she probably dies because her new life has been snatchedfrom her, and death is preferable to returning to life as she had to liveit in the past. They are more at sea in this sense than Young GoodmanBrown was in his community after his experience in the woods, for most havenever been able to attain the power necessary for the development of pride. The journey undertaken by Young Goodman Brown into thewoods is a symbolic journey into his own soul, and his progress reflectsideas about the Fall and its aftermath and thus about the human condition,ideas derived from the Puritanism of the period. Her sense of freedom in this worldis replaced by the only real freedom she will now know, the freedom ofdeath: "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--ofjoy that kills" (Chopin 354). Their parting takes place in away that bodes ill, and Brown blames himself as he leaves while his wiferemains behind watching him from her room: "So they parted; and the youngman pursued his way until, being about to turn the corner by the meeting-house, he looked back and saw the head of Faith still peeping after himwith a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons" (Hawthorne 7 7).Faith has mentioned that she has had troubled dreams, and dreams are amotif that will recur in this story and that signify a sort of entry intoanother world, a world of the unseen with which Brown will become familiarthis night. Works CitedChopin, Kate. Shesees the future in new terms, and she shows herself in this regard a strongwoman capable of taking control of her future because she has to do so,though she also delights in that fact. Bardes. Thecouple has been married only three months. In addition to this picture ofgrief, there is a sense of pride in facing the truth, grieving, and doingso alone. In the colonial era, though, personalpride would be avoided, while pride in the nation-state that was beingdeveloped would be another matter. He is both "young" and a "good man." Hername is Faith, and Young Goodman Brown symbolically leaves his faith behindas he ventures innocently and foolishly into this other world at twilight,abandoning the world of warmth and home for the uncertainties of thisjourney. The Founding Fathers asserted theirpride in the institutions they were creating in terms of how well theythemselves were able to base those institutions on basic human freedomsgiven by God. Of course, Franklin was wrong that his group was succeeding so well ineliminating slavery, and it would be nearly another century before that wasaccomplished in the Civil War. Franklin's pride in the governmental system he hashelped create is apparent in the optimism which infuses his message, for hepredicts that concern for the ex-slave will become an element of nationalpolicy and will bring together the needs of the ex-slave population withthe inherent goodness of the white. What iscoming to her is a new sense of freedom, of having now been freed from theconfines of marriage and from living under the thumb of her husband. Hawthorne statesthat Faith "was aptly named," and yet that appellation will be tested bywhat her husband believes he sees on his journey. She was afraid of thesedeveloping feelings in herself at first, but she overcomes this as thesense of self grows more powerful and empowers her as she has never beenempowered before: "There was something coming to her and she was waitingfor it, fearfully" (Chopin 353). Forall these writers, pride, for good or ill, is related to all thepossibilities opened in the freedoms of American life. What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face ofthis possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as thestrongest impulse of her being!" (Chopin 353). Kate Chopin in "The Story of an Hour" tells of the way one womanresponds to the reported death of her husband in a train accident. The Antifederalistsdid not completely lose, however, and they managed to preserve the conceptof states' rights in several ways. Los Angeles: West Publishing, 1993.Zinn, Howard. He says he has toleave his wife on this particular night, but he has no doubt that she isrighteous and that he will be so as well with her in the future: "Well,she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night I'll cling to herskirts and follow her to heaven" (Hawthorne 7 7). Franklin calls slavery "an atrociousdebasement of human nature" (Franklin 229) and seems to mean that this isso both for the slave and the slavemaster. By the age of Realism, pride is a commodity that has been challengedby the prevailing moral atmosphere. She changes now that shebelieves herself to be free: "The vacant stare and the look of terror thathad followed it went from her eyes. "An Address to the Public." In Concise Anthology of American Literature, George MacMichael (ed.), 229-23 . The system was both subtle andcrude and involved every device that social orders use to keep power andwealth in their own hands. The notes of a distant song whichsome one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows weretwittering in the heavens." Slowly, the author turns this image upside down and creates a newsense of the inner life of this woman and of the meaning of marriage andspousal death. Benjamin Franklin represents the colonial era as an icon, one of theFounding Fathers whose intellect and many accomplishments certainly gavehim a reason for feeling pride. In the debate over the Constitution, the Federalists sought a strongcentral government and the Antifederalists sought to protect the rights ofstates. There is a saying that "pride goethbefore a fall," for pride is one of the seven deadly sins. Societyexpects women to have certain feelings and especially to favor and evenneed desperately the marital state, but after her initial grief, Mrs.Mallard does not have these feelings. A People's History of the United States. Her novel, The Awakening, was considered scandalous,and the response undercut her ability to work at all: "Praised for itscraft and damned for its content, the novel was a scandal, and Chopin,always sensitive to her critics, gradually lost confidence in her gift andsoon ceased to write" (http://sunsite.unc.edu/docsouth/chopin/about.html). The fact that others do not understand is evidentas her sister stands outside her door, insisting that she will make herselfill in her grief, when in fact she is more alive than ever before. Herpulses beat fast, nd the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch ofher body" (Chopin 353). The African Slave Trade. The vision that thedevil offers to Young Goodman Brown is a vision of the mixture of good andevil in the world, and this causes the young man to question himself andhis community. Pride for someone who has never known itbefore can be a fearful thing, for it is a recognition of personal valuefor a person who has never felt herself to be valuable. At the same time,there has been a tension between pride and the religious strictures againstthat emotion, beginning in the Calvinist era and continuing as a strain inthe Protestant ethic that has been a key theme in American life ever since. The Federalists clearly achieved the federal government theysought, and the document they helped write served to draw more and morepower to this central government over time, as noted. Boston: Twayne, 1983.Schmidt, Steffen W., Mark C. Chopin's own sense of pride was challenged by the wayher work was treated. However, as noted, the picture of a relationship or a person that isperceived by the outside world is very different from the reality. In theend, though, he is left questioning whether he was right. Yet, the document alsoreflected a desire for balance and sought a number of means to accomplishthis, from the checks and balances between branches to the larger balancebetween federal prerogatives and states' rights. To protect individual rights from thetyranny of the majority and from the centralized control that was emergingform the Convention in the federal form of government, the Antifederalistsinsisted on the addition of a bill of rights. The thrust of the narrative is to move the protagonist toward apersonal and climactic vision of evil which leaves in its aftermath anabiding legacy of distrust" (Martin 81). At the same time, the accommodation made to theAntifederalists was more than just compromise but also involves anexpression of the sense of justice that infuses the American experience.The overriding intent of the Framers was balance, to balance the rights ofdifferent groups, to balance the powers of the different branches ofgovernment, to balance the power of the states against the power of thefederal government. Historians more recently have found a different picture. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969."Chopin, Kate: 1851-19 4, Writer." http://sunsite.unc.edu/docsouth/chopin/about.html.Davidson, Basil. Pride and certainty are coupled in this story--Young Goodman Brown haspride because he is certain of his role in the world, his relationship withGod, and his sense of his place in the community. Shelley II, and Barbara A. The galling chains, that bind his body, do alsofetter his intellectual faculties, and impair the social affections of hisheart" (Franklin 229). Hispride in himself is misplaced--he needs faith to survive. Brown travels intoa dark wood where evil is encountered, taking the form of his neighbors andthe Devil. The story is told in an objective fashion, as if the author werewatching the proceedings. Whatdid it matter! In the streetbelow a peddler was crying his wares. American Government and Politics Today. The fact is that the institutions they had created did not really liveup to the ideals the Founders had set, but that is only an issue as to howjustified they were in feeling pride in their accomplishments, not as towhether they felt pride or not. The Federalists haddeliberately omitted a bill of rights, and so they expressed theiropposition to the document. The Bill of Rights would be added as the firstten amendments to the Constitution in 1791. The form of the story is that of a story of initiation, and ritual andceremony are dominant as Goodman Brown is invited to become an initiateinto the community of evil. The promise of futureamendments was key to gaining the needed support of the Antifederalists forthe Constitution: "Many of the recommendations of the state ratifyingconventions included specific rights that were later considered by JamesMadison as he labored to draft what became the Bill of Rights" (Schmidt,Shelley and Bardes 5 ). His pride hasbeen shattered as his certainty is destroyed. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. The woman is experiencing a new sense of life,reveling in the life she sees outside the window, while the peopledownstairs fear that she is wallowing in death and in despair because ofdeath. The way the story is presented leaves a question openas to whether Young Goodman Brown's experience was real or a vision. She is forever "Mrs. The allegory is quite overt in "Young Goodman Brown." Brown and hiswife represent the community and certain virtues, and the angelic wife inparticular represents all that is good to the husband. University, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press, 1981."Kate Chopin." http://sunsite.unc.edu/docsouth/chopin/about.html.Martin, Terence. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998.Johnson, Claudia D. This is reflected in hisview not only of himself but of that community--he believes he knows ismembers and has a certainty about who they are and so who he is. Many provisions did not apply to women, forinstance, and slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person for thepurposes of representation. The story as told by Chopin involves issues of female self-discoveryand identity, and pride is developed in Mrs. Mallard as she becomes moreher own woman rather than merely an adjunct to a husband she only sometimesloves: "And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Despite the narrator's ambiguity, Goodman Brown'sjourney has all the uncertainty and vagueness of a dream" (Johnson 3 ). Brown insists that he must undertake his journey. In his short story "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthornecreates an image of innocence compromised in the face of the evil of theworld, an evil that is always hidden and that masquerades at times as theheight of probity. The essential idea of white superiority isevident even among those seeking the abolition of slavery, and Franklinshows this trait as well, though he blames the inferiority of the ex-slaveon how the slave has been treated: "The unhappy man, who has long beentreated as a brute animal, too frequently sinks beneath the common standardof the human species. Pride is related to both religious and political belief for Franklin,while for Nathaniel Hawthorne in the Romantic era, pride is considered morein terms of how it interferes with one's attainment of a unity with God andnature. Different groupsbenefited more from the Constitution in 1787, but as noted, the power ofthe document has been that over time inequities have been addressed.Perhaps not all have been eliminated, but the inherent imbalances of 1787have been largely removed. Brown's wife wantshim to wait until the next day, for she is afraid to be alone on thisparticular night. In theAmerican character, the emotion of pride derives from the combination ofthe success in creating what has been perceived as being a new and freenation and the exuberance that this success engenders. The important critical question ininterpretation of this tale is often seen as whether Brown experiencesreality or a dream. As hewatches the congregation in the woods, he feels a kinship because of whathe sees as the blackness in his own heart: "At the word, Goodman Brownstepped forth from the shadow of the trees and approached the congregation,with whom he felt a loathful brotherhood by the sympathy of all that waswicked in his heart" (Hawthorne 714). Nathaniel Hawthorne. The system was both physical and psychological. The aristocratic Federalists believed that an elitewas better suited to administer government and dispense justice, butjustice was always seen as a matter of balancing the inherent rights of theindividual as expressed by Locke and Rousseau, among others, and therequirements of society under the social contract. He looked up to the sky, doubtingwhether there really was a heaven above him" (Hawthorne 711). In the beginning, thegovernmental structure created was not the equitable system of equality ofopportunity and treatment before the law that has often been claimed. The Productive Tension of Hawthorne's Art. Kate Chopin expressed her views in her work at a time when these ideaswere not well-received: "As her later stories, such as 'The Story of anHour,' began to emphasize women's need for independence and capacity forpassion, editors became less receptive to her work"(http://sunsite.unc.edu/docsouth/chopin/about.html). However,over time, many of these issues have been addressed, and this was the realaccomplishment of the Founding Fathers--they created in the Constitution adocument that was flexible enough to accommodate new views andcircumstances. In this sense, the aristocratic element seems to have carried the dayand to have structured a document that protected their rights (the maleproperty owners) first, giving them more power as recognition of theirgreater value. Another way ofstating this is that the American system has become more like the idealthat the Constitution has held out for it. In the case of Young GoodmanBrown, this distrust applies to himself as well as to others. This is considered one of Hawthorne's mostprofound tales: "In the manner of its concern with guilt and evil, itexemplifies what Melville called the "power of blackness" in Hawthorne'swork. This is a direct challenge to the conventions of the timeand to assumptions made about how women experience grief. Mrs.Mallard is never identified except in that way--the fact of her marriage isher identity. The deliciousbreath of rain was in the air" (Chopin 352). Pride would be somethingthey would see as illusive given that they cannot overcome the forcessurrounding them. The wife'sname is significant, as is his. Thejourney taken by Young Goodman Brown in his discovery of the evil in theworld itself is both symbolic and mysterious, for the purpose, while thatpurpose must be important to draw young Brown away on this night, is neverexplained. The evolution of the system has been positive in nature,and in effect the American system has tended toward increased equality,increased fairness, and increased opportunity for all. Slaves were taught discipline and were also impressed over and over withthe idea of their own inferiority and to "know their place." They weretaught to see blackness as a sign of subordination, to be awed by the powerof the master, to merge their interests with those of the master, and toignore their own individual needs. American Pride Pride is not simply an American trait but is rather a human emotion,and as such it can be for good or ill. Franklin's pride in the country is evident as he reports tothe Pennsylvania society for the Abolition of Slavery, of which he was amember, and refers to how much the society is accomplishing: "It is withpeculiar satisfaction we assure the friends of humanity, that, inprosecuting the design of our association, our endeavors have provedsuccessful, far beyond our most sanguine expectations" (Franklin 229).Inherent in this discussion, though, is a degree of shame concerning thefact that Slavery exists in this country. Fear of slave revolts was a permanentpart of plantation life, and there was an intricate and powerful system inplace to control the slaves. Among the means for effecting this werethe discipline of hard labor, the breakup of the slave family, the lullingeffects of religion, the creation of disunity among the slaves byseparating them into field slaves and the more privileged house slaves, andthe power of the law and threats of death (Zinn 345-355). She says it, and he reiterates it when he states that "ofall nights in the year" this is one in which he must make his journey. "Young Goodman Brown." In Concise Anthology of American Literature, George MacMichael (ed.), 7 7-716. The young man is excessively proud of his position in life, ofhis righteousness, and of his own ability to repel evil. TheConstitution as ratified in 1787 did not apply equally to all the people inthe new United States. In this era, pride is a necessary component of life, something Mrs.Mallard finds only for a time when she believes her husband is dead. However, this leads him to theconclusion that eliminating slavery has to be undertaken with care becauseotherwise new evils might be opened. This idea is related to thepaternalistic view he takes of how whites are superior to blacks, which asnoted was a false perception for both slave-holders and abolitionistsalike. Considering theharsh punishments meted out to slaves attempting to escape, the vast numberthat did try and even succeeded shows a rebelliousness at odds with thepicture of a submissive population. The ambiguities in the American system can be seen in the institutionof slavery, an institution which denied freedom to one group largely foreconomic reasons. The author knows that the woman is experiencinga new sense of freedom because of her demeanor and the fact that shewhispers about being free. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1961.Franklin, Benjamin. It need not leadto one's downfall but can instead be evidence of accomplishment. Some were indeed excluded. The opening paragraph foreshadows what is to come in the last while atthe same time showing the way people feel about how a woman will react:"Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great carewas taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband'sdeath." So far, all is as would be expected. Johnson compares themain character in this story with the protagonist in another Hawthornetale, "My Kinsman, Major Molineaux." She says that both young men enterother worlds in the twilight: "Both landscapes are externalizations of aninner hell, presided over by Satan. When thestorm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. The people around Mrs.Mallard misunderstand her reaction to her husband's death and his"rebirth." They project the attitudes of society onto this woman, who inreality has an inner life more varied than they can understand and a lifethat is at odds with the social conventions of her day. Her solitude becomes a source of personal esteem and pride forher, and her second reaction to her husband's death is that of a personnewly alive: "She could see in the open square before her house the topsof trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. Human beings now often emerge infiction not as products of God or as unified with nature, but instead assubject to natural forces which push them this way and that and whichcreate greater obstacles for them to overcome. Thestory is told in the third-person, with Mrs. Mallard being the centralfigure whose point of view is maintained throughout the story. Attitudes of superiority were used to control the slavepopulation. New York: HarperCollins, 198 . Mallard," and this fact combines withthe structure of the story and the way the main character is treated by theauthor to create an ironic situation, showing that we never really knowpeople from an external observation of them. The slaveowners used this system to maintaintheir labor supply and their way of life. The names used in the story contribute to the allegory. The irony here is that she dies not fromjoy but from heartache that her husband has returned and that her illusionof freedom was just that, an illusion. In fact, this tension is evident in the works of different writers fromdifferent historical periods. In "The Story of an Hour," the main character at first feels andexpresses the emotions that are acceptable in society and that are expectedof a grieving widow, but she soon begins to revel in her new-found freedom. They stayed keen and bright. The woman herself has acted up to the conventions of herday and expects no less of herself, but a new concept slowly takes root,something that comes to her as she waits fearfully for it to form. The Complete Works of Kate Chopin: Volume 1. The fact that this is a special night is emphasizedseveral times. His pride inhis righteousness is shaken, for if evil can be so pervasive as to affecthis neighbors and his wife, it can affect him as well: "On the Sabbathday, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he could not listenbecause an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all theblessed strain" (Hawthorne 716). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.