From Puritan to Enlightenment: Understanding the Transformation of American Culture - Prof, Study notes of English Language

Download From Puritan to Enlightenment: Understanding the Transformation of American Culture - Prof and more Study notes English Language in PDF only on Docsity! Rosalynn Deloach Peter Olson American Literature March 5, 2012 From Puritan TO Enlightenment? Just how safe is the strong statement of “from Puritan to Enlightenment?” The beliefs, ways, and factors of this mere argued, transitioned culture is inquired to many. Are the two, separate cultures or customs? Or are they merely the same but altered over time? The enlightenment sought to return Western culture and civilization and argued that humans were capable of coming to rational conclusions based on experiment, observation, and careful thought. Puritans, on the other hand, wanted to return to what they deemed to be a "pure" interpretation of the Bible. They believed in the corruption of the Word and world due to society. Many of them biblical literary users. The Puritan New Englanders believed man was without the faculty of reason and initially corrupt. Those of The latter American Enlightenment believed man was reasonable and in good sense while initially good. There are common beliefs within “puritan to Enlightenment”. They believed strongly that a human has natural goodness. That humans are born without corruption or tainted ness. In other words they believed that everyone is born with a clean slate. This “clean slate” is also known as tabula rasa. They also believed that human beings could fix any worldly problem or issue. The improvements of human birth, bettering society, economy and even modifying religion at its best. In their eyes human kind has the ability to obtain perfection. They believe that man is rational. That man has such good sense that they are agreeable to reason. Rene Descartes’ cogito ergo sum shows that Descartes believes that orderly conduct and reason is obtained through method. He also believed that a private life is a well lived life. Helping those in need was a big part of their beliefs. Benevolence, the desire to do good to others. In other words, good will. They believed that man naturally acquired the inclination or tendency to help or do good to others. The belief that absurd behavior in churches, groups, political offices, and other bureaucratic societies is was causes the human being to act out. Man does not act out naturally or for no reason. In all words that rebellion is the act of a human’s obstructive behavior. Rebellion against other man’s doings or orders. The writers functioned by different elements or subjects rather. The writers of the Enlightenment questioned the world. They had a seeking of information about the entire world. They sought for truth of the earth and the entire universe. They requested, or furthermore, demanded knowledge of everything, everywhere, and everyone by questioning. Questioning is somewhat key to their longing for information. They found that referring to the prime texts and older texts were most successful and satisfying. The bible one of the world’s most prime texts holds the believed answers and believed theories to everything in existence. Writers such as John Edwards have functioned in this manner. Cooper grasped the essential myth of America: that it was timeless, like the wilderness. American history was a trespass on the eternal; European history in America was a reenactment of the fall in the Garden of Eden. They had great interest in nature as with Creve Coeur and cooper. One poet, Philip Freneau, incorporated the new stirrings of European Romanticism and escaped the imitativeness and vague universality of the Hartford Wits (. The key to both his success and his failure was his passionately democratic spirit combined with an inflexible temper. They gave high interest to the absentee landlord phenomenon. The term “absentee landlord” describes the