UNIT THREE- DARK ROMANTICISM AND REALISM

ELAALRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.

I think it means that we should be able to demonstrate in all of the different writings that we have what our ideas mean and be able to understand our writing..

Short Review:
1. What is original sin?

An Original sin i think is the condition of sin that marks all humans, as an outcome of Adam and Eve's first act of disobedience.

2. How did the Transcendentalists feel about it?

They believed that people were very good and that all the people could not be sinners because they thought that god will always be there for them.


Mini-Lesson:
Just like every other movement in American Literature you have studied (Puritanism, Rationalism, Romanticm, and Transcendentalism) Dark Romanticism is a reaction to the movement that came before it. Dark Romanticism is a little different because it coincides with Transcendentalism. Sometimes the Dark Romantics are known as Anti-Transcendentalists for this reason.

First, let's review the Transcendentalist philosophy:

a. They believed that everyone was absolutely pure and that each individual is a part of God.

b. They believed that people's thoughts and intuition were the voice of God.

c. They did not believe in institutions like government because they thought the individual human mind was the strongest power in the universe.

What would your argument to this philosophy be? Are all people good? Is the voice inside people's heads the pure voice of God?


My opinion is that what the Transcendentalists are saying and believed is not true because all the people are not good persons. Some people could be real mean at the time and is not because of the pure voice of god inside their heads i think is the devil inside them telling them to do bad things. So not all the people can be good people...


2. Which side of the divide do you fall? Are you closer to being a Transcendentalist or a Dark Romantic? Explain your answer with a short paragraph.

I think i would closer be more into like the transcendentalist because i also think we come from God and our minds are one of the strongest thing we have.

Work Period:
3. Read either "The Black Cat" or "Hop-Frog", both by Edgar Allen Poe. As you read, keep the Dark Romantics' beliefs in mind because you will be asked to point out these beliefs in the story later. You can also choose to listen to "The Masque of Red Death" below; if you do, be sure to read the text as you listen:

4. Write a 2-3 paragraph response to the story you read. You should explain what you thought of the story as well as how well it illustrates how the Dark Romantics disagreed with the Transcendantalists. You need to provide at least a line or two of direct textual evidence from the story you chose to prove your claim.


5. Once of Poe's most famous works was "The Raven", a poem he wrote while his second wife was literally dying in the next room. Read the poem (more than once), and then write a response (at least two paragraphs) that includes a few lines that stuck out to you. Add another paragraph or two that should explain how this poem represents an anti-Transcendental idea. As always, responses with direct evidence are always better than those that do not.

6. A symbol is something (usually an object) that stands for a much larger idea. Poe uses symbolism very weill in "The Raven". Can you identify it, and then support what you say with some evidence and analysis? I know you can.

Its a symbol of death as metioned earlier. Its a symbol to let you know that someone has died or there will be death in the story and it also represents that what ever Edgar ask the raven the raven said that its never going to happen.

7. Check these out. If you are doing what you should, you are addressing all three (and even more) in this unit. Using your word as DIRECT evidence (cut and paste from your own post) tell me how you are meeting these standards.

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.


ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.


ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.