American Renaissance Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," belongs to the period known as American romanticism, the period called, by F.O. Matthiessen, the American Renaissance. The American Renaissance took place roughly from 1840-1865, though the most significant work of this period was prod...
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."1 Therefore, it makes sense that if mortals cannot bear the darkness, they [should not] not go there. If man dislikes "black night and yawning chasms,"2 then should he not even consider them? Shouldn't man seek out the sunshine, instead? The remedy is very simple: Avoid the darkness and seek the light. But, no. ...
American culture after the Revolutionary War was one of change. After securing freedom from King George III, the former colonists began to develop their own sense of national identity. With this recent individuality came new innovations such as the cotton gin, which cemented slavery as the cornersto...
