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Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage, in regards to the American Civil War once despondently wrote, “It was not well to drive men into final corners; at those moments they could all develop teeth and claws” (Crane). Such describes the desperate and harrowing atmosphere of the time during which Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States. As Abraham Lincoln once perspicaciously reflected upon the significance of the Civil War, "The struggle of today is not altogether for today — it is for a vast future also" meaning that the war was paramount to the survival of the union and thus, one of the most momentous occurrences of American history (Lincoln). Nathaniel Hawthorne, a transcendentalist and author of The Scarlet Letter, cogitated upon the significance of having Lincoln as president during the Civil War while simultaneously conveying the idea that he deeply venerated president Lincoln for his strength of character in times of dire crisis. Hawthorne employs the use of vivid imagery, scintillating diction, striking juxtaposition as well as a reverent tone to effectively accomplish his purpose of conveying the fact that while Lincoln is superficially unprepossessing, his approachable attitude and his insightful nature make him an excellent president.
In the article, "Chiefly about War Matters," Hawthorne utilizes conspicuous imagery as well as an awe-struck tone to accentuate the fact that while Abraham Lincoln may have been physically unattractive, his strength of character made up for all of his superficial shortcomings due to the fact that he was intelligent and exceptionally insightful. Through his usage of illustrative imagery and a mystified tone, Hawthorne is able to emphasize the fact that Lincoln, re...
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...tagonist in flank rather than to make a bull-run at him" he makes a pun off of the fact that the First Battle of Bull Run was disastrous for the Union and he juxtaposes the rashness of the battle with Lincoln's own deliberate thoughtfulness and geniality (para. 4). He also utilizes a metaphor to compare the First Battle of Bull Run to impulsiveness and thus to imply that Lincoln would use his wit to choose a more tactical way to raze the enemy thus further emphasizing president Lincoln's cleverness through the juxtaposition of Lincoln's personality with impetuosity. Hawthorne is able to successfully convey the fact that Lincoln is not impeded by his lack of superficial beauty and instead is successful due to his personable attitude and his savvy in politics and in consoling the nation through the usage of both a reverent tone as well as outstanding juxtaposition.
Dilorenzo, Thomas J.. The Real Lincoln: a new look at Abraham Lincoln, his agenda, and an unnecessary war. Roseville, Calif: Prima, 2002
In Richard Hofstadter’s book “American Political Tradition” he describes twelve biographical portraits of American statesmen, breaking them from longstanding reputations and putting them under scrutiny. Shockingly, among these statesmen is Abraham Lincoln. Hofstadter criticizes both his legacy and his political intentions. Lincoln, a president nationally regarded as a “self-made” man, nicknamed “Honest Abe,” and generally well liked, is not typically heavily criticized (Hofstadter 121). Hofstadter believed his reputation of being “self-made” was simply just a myth that he used to advance his political career and to seize opportunities of advancement (122). Although Hofstadter believes Lincoln’s reputation is not as notable as history says
Lathrop, G. P., ed. "Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou, 1962. 439-40. Print.
Though in his short life Stephen Crane was never a soldier, his novel The Red Badge of Courage was commended by Civil War veterans as well as veterans from more recent wars not only for its historical accuracy but its ability to capture the psychological evolution of those on the field of battle (Heizberg xvi). Walt Whitman, on the other hand, served as a field medic during the Civil War. He was exposed perhaps to the most gruesome aspect of the war on a daily basis: the primitive medical techniques, the wounded, the diseased, the dying and the dead. Out of his experiences grew a collection of poems, "Drum Taps" , describing the horrors he had witnessed and that America suffered. As literary artists, a wide chasm of structure and style separates Crane and Whitman. The common cultural experience, the heritage of the Civil War connects them, throwing a bridge across the darkness, allowing them, unilaterally, to dispel notions of glorious battles and heroic honorable deaths. By examining Crane's Henry Fleming and the wound dresser from 'Whitman's poem of the same name, both fundamental literary differences and essential thematic consistencies emerge.
Since ours is an age that has found irony, ambiguity, and paradox to be central not only in literature but in life, it is not surprising that Hawthorne has seemed to us one of the most modern of nineteenth century American writers. The bulk and general excellence of the great outburst of Hawthorne criticism of the past decade attest to his relevance for us(54).
Robinson, Luther E. Abraham Lincoln as a man of letters. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: R. West, 1977. Print.
The Red Badge of Courage is not a war novel. It is a novel about life. This novel illustrates the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Stephen Crane uses the war as a comparison to everyday life. He is semi-saying that life is like a war. It is a struggle of warriors—the every day people—against the odds. In these battles of everyday life, people can change. In The Red Badge of Courage, the main character, Henry Fleming, undergoes a character change that shows how people must overcome their fears and the invisible barriers that hold them back from being the best people—warriors, in the sense that life is war—they can be. Henry has a character change that represents how all humans have general sense of fear of the unknown that must be overcome.
Since ours is an age that has found irony, ambiguity, and paradox to be central not only in literature but in life, it is not surprising that Hawthorne has seemed to us one of the most modern of nineteenth century American writers. The bulk and general excellence of the great outburst of Hawthorne criticism of the past decade attest to his relevance for us (54).
"Ethan Brand" Nathaniel Hawthorne: tales and Sketches. Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., New York, N.Y. 1982.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the more well known and well respected American authors to this day. Hawthorne was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts to a Puritan family which had a long New England history. Although Hawthorne was not extremely interested in the idea of higher education he did attended and graduated from Bowdoin college. In 1842 Hawthorne was married to Sophia Peabody and they had three children together until Nathaniels untimely death in 1862 at the age of 59. His short stories are just one of the many reasons for his popularity. Hawthorne like most writers has his own method with which he writes. The term which is most often used when discussing a writer's method of writing is called style. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes with a style which is unique to him and that is what makes his writing so special. In the short stories The Ministers Black Veil, Young Goodman Brown, and The Birthmark patterns in Hawthorne's style become evident. In his writing Hawthorne uses a formal tone, long descriptive sentences which are full of complex vocabulary, a very dark/gothic tone, his characters are often victims of alienation and scrutiny, and lastly it can be noted that Hawthorne inserts autobiographical elements into each of his characters.
The moment Hawthorne saw Lincoln, he says “It is the strangest yet fittest thing in the jumple of human vicissitudes, that he, out of so many millions...should have found the way open to fling his lank personality over the chair of state” (Hawthorne). Hawthorne expresses his respect to Lincoln by listing his accomplishment of being chosen as President of the United States. He uses exaggeration as a form of flattery, by implying the President was chosen out of millions and millions, yet the competition was much lower than that. The use of the rhetorical device hyperbole, in this case, creates the tone that Hawthorne is bragging and proud of who Abraham Lincoln has become. The attitude of awe can be seen when Hawthorne goes out of his way to over eagerly speak of Lincoln’s
If it was not for Stephen Crane and his visionary work than American Realism would not have taken hold of the United States during the eighteen hundreds. During the years following the Civil War America was a melting pot of many different writing styles. Many scholars argue that at this time there was still no definite American author or technique. Up to this point authors in the Americas simply copied techniques that were popular in regions of Europe. Stephen Crane came onto the scene with a very different approach to many of his contemporaries. He was a realist, and being such he described actions in a true, unadorned way that portrayed situations in the manner that they actually occurred (Kaplan). He had numerous admired pieces but his most famous work was the Red Badge of Courage (Bentley 103). In this novel he illustrates the accounts of a Union soldier named Henry Fleming. At first the writing was considered too graphic and many people did not buy the book. Eventually the American people changed their opinions and began to gravitate towards Crane’s work. The readers were fascinated by the realistic environment he creates even though he himself had never fought in a war (Bentley 103). By spreading the influence of realistic writing Crane has come to be known as the first American Realist.
Waggoner, Hyatt H., "Nathanial Hawthorne," Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1969, pp. 47, 69, 73, 85
Hawthorne expresses his resentment towards the government in the passage, and upon closer examination, one can notice the shift in tone. He begins with imagery, creating a soft, motherly atmosphere when discussing the snug bosom of the eagle. However, the next sentence sharply contrasts that prediction, with opinion that marks the eagle as brute and cold, one who “is apt to fling off her
Werlock, Abby H.P., ed. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” New York: Fact On File, Inc, 2006. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Fact On File, Inc. 21 February, 2011.