This is a good question; Due to what American Literature stands for, who can be part of the literary canon? I think literature (American or otherwise) serves as a means by which one can examine a society's values, ideas, hopes, fears, and dreams through fiction or oral literature. Those who have had an impact on their society create something that many people will read of or look upon in different ethnicities, ages, social class, etc; However, does It always have to be an author or an writing documentation to exactly fit in the category of American Literature?; My opinion I would have to say no American Literature should be a Varity of people who made a difference in American not just by written literature but also by oral literature. Furthermore, Anne Hutchinson’s, known not as an author but an importance in our history (American history) should be included in our textbook and should be integrated into the literary canon for American Literature. For one she is known to be a political figure for not just women rights, but also religious rights for everyone. Secondly, she not just known for her beliefs but she is also proof of how religious and political leaders were towards women in her time period, and last but not least she is proven to be a women of multiply accomplishments in her life that actually helped society come to understanding later on.
In her time Period women didn’t have rights as a religious dissenter or any type of political stand point. . She was clearly a great leader in the cause of religious toleration in America and the advancement of women in society. She basically challenged men and their authority, which was a struggle and hassle to overcome without being killed, but she did. By conducting informal...
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Work Cited
"Anne Hutchinson: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article." AbsoluteAstronomy.com. Encycloedia. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. .
Hall, Timothy D. "Amazon.com: Anne Hutchinson: Puritan Prophet (Library of American Biography) (9780321476210): Timothy D. Hall: Books." Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & More. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. .
Paine, Lisa L. "Midwifery, Childbirth, Politics, and Religion: Lessons from the Case of Anne Hutchinson, Colonial Midwife." Midwifery, Childbirth, Politics, and Religion: Lessons from the Case of Anne Hutchinson, Colonial Midwife. 13 Nov. 2000. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. .
Women did not have many rights during 1616-1768, these three prominent women Pocahontas, Anne Hutchinson and Hannah Griffitts, will show many changes for women symbols from the Colony America, American Christianity to Boycotting British Goods. All three were involved in religious, political and cultural aspects during there time, making many changes and history. There are three documents that will be used to compare these three women Pocahontas Engraving (1616), Simon Van De Passee, The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court at Newton (1637), David D. Hall and Women’s Role In Boycotting English Goods, Hannah Griffits (1768), The Female Patriots.
This novel, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, is based on Ballard’s diary starting in 1785 and ending with her death in 1812. Ulrich takes us step by step through Martha Ballard’s life as a Colonial Midwife. She reveals to us all the marvelous acts that midwives performed for their families and communities. “Midwives and nurses mediated the mysteries of birth, procreation, illness and death. They touched the untouchable, handled excrement and vomit as well as milk, swaddled the dead as well as the newborn” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.47). The novel also reveals that based on the views of societal power, gender roles in the medical environment and personal values, revealed in the diary, women were subordinate to men during this historical time period. Martha Ballard lived and thrived in this inferior atmosphere.
James, Edward, Janet James, and Paul Boyer. Notable American Women, 1607-1950. Volume III: P-Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971. Print.
Martha Ballard was a midwife in Hallowell, Maine in the early eighteenth century. She is the author of the diary that inspired A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Martha Ballard was an extremely busy woman with her medical duties and was very serious about being a midwife. Nothing was trivial to Martha she was serious about her work and community. She was an independent woman of her time and valued her autonomy. Her job highlighted how compassionate and caring she was towards her community. She never turned anyone away, and she would help anyone in need regardless of race, social rank, or economic standing. She relied on her connections to the people in the community in many ways. Martha was a pillar of her community because of her
In the early eighteenth century, many people relied on the midwives, instead of doctors, for solutions to their health related issues. During the introduction, it states, “Martha and her peers were not only handling most of the deliveries, they
Upon her arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634, Anne Hutchinson was a much respected member of her community. As time went on, her dealings with the religion began to be...
...s were introduced. American women are truly lucky to have had Abigail Adams. Abigail Adams' efforts have given education for females. Charles W. Akers, the author of Abigail Adams an American Women, as well as I believe that if Abigail hadn't spoken out on these subjects, who else would have? Even though she did not accomplish her crusades, she planted the idea of her goal and objective into other minds. For her courageous foresight, women now have equal rights. Abigail was a talented letter writer, a supporter of her husband in his long civic career, and the mother of the most significant family dynasty in American public life. Abigail Smith Adams was the first fully liberated woman in American history and an inspiration to women for generations to come.
Besides being an anti-imperialist, she was largely for equality and that everyone could participate in important situations and issues. She was part of many women’s leagues and was the founder of the Hull House. The Hull Houses gave a life to the poor and immigrants who struggled in a competitive world. It gave them education, a home, health care, social circumstances, and safety. She was never married, so she spent her life dedicated to promoting peace. She believed that war, force, and violence only brought pain, struggle,and problems for family. She saw working together instead of using force was way more powerful and successful. War and violence only hindered the world and created a loss in compassion and kindness. At the Chicago Liberty Meeting, which protested imperialism in the Philippines, Jane was the only woman to speak. “To ‘protect the weak’ has always been the excuse of the ruler and tax-gatherer, the chief, the king, the baron; and now, at last, of ‘the white man’” (Addams 1899). The United States often didn’t listen to the anti-imperialists but they continued to peacefully fight for
...nspired to make a change that she knew that nothing could stop her, not even her family. In a way, she seemed to want to prove that she could rise above the rest. She refused to let fear eat at her and inflict in her the weakness that poisoned her family. As a child she was a witness to too much violence and pain and much too often she could feel the hopelessness that many African Americans felt. She was set in her beliefs to make choices freely and help others like herself do so as well.
Anne Hutchinson's efforts, according to some viewpoints, may have been a failure, but they revealed in unmistakable manner the emotional starvation of Puritan womanhood. Women, saddened by their hardships, depressed by their religion, denied an open love for beauty...flocked with eagerness to hear this feminine radical...a very little listening seems to have convinced them that this woman understood the female heart far better than did John Cotton of any other male pastor of the settlements. (C. Holliday, pps. 45-46.)
Crane?s handling of Maggie is one that is very American. It leaves the reader without closure of the character. After Maggie?s death her mother wants too forgive her, but it is all too late. Nathaniel Hawthorne?s treatment of Hester Prynne was too be expected because of the society she lived in and of course because her ?mistake? (Pearl) would be with her always reminding the community of what she did. Willa Cather is the only author of these three to give her main character, who just happens to be a woman, a positive role within her community despite the tension between the two.
This is most likely due to the fact that she grew up in a poor household but still managed to make a name for herself through her life experiences. They gave her the knowledge to be able to formulate opinions about the relationships among people, particularly between men and women. She is a strong proponent of the belief that God placed humans on earth with the intention to live in a community equally with others. If both men and women were given the same opportunity to prove themselves then who is to say that they cannot be equal to one another? In her eyes, the soul is genderless and should be given an equal chance to be proven so before women are objectified as the weak and fragile. Women have to depend on men because they do not get the same education and knowledge to be able to support
She started out as a guest lecturer speaking out against slavery. Stone was a known as a major abolitionist in the pre-civil war period. At this time, the other Women’s rights leaders wondered if her abolition speaking would take away from their cause.
... she addressed many problems of her time in her writings. She was an inspirational person for the feminism movements. In fact, she awoke women’s awareness about their rights and freedom of choice. She was really a great woman.
She traveled abroad and gave speeches that try to push the moral button hidden inside of everyone. Another work that did the same thing was the movie The Great Debaters. The point of most movies are to make you emotionally attached to the characters. This one pulled it off in a way that made you feel sorry for them for losing to the Harvard team, but then they won. Showing that the minority is only the minority because there are less of them with less political power. The movie also deals heavily with the suppression of the black minority. The movie showed how the racist whites would disrespect and look down on the blacks for no other reason than their color. Those white racists even went so far as to lynch a black man (Washington). In another part of the world, Mahatma Gandhi lead the native indians using his Satyagraha, or peaceful protest and nonviolence (Gandhi). In a sense, the British were to the native Indians as whites are to blacks, as the majority is to the minority. As a bully is to its