Letteratura angloamericana, appunti in inglese

Melvyn Bragg's Adventure of English

"Sold down the river"

This phrase originated in the Mississippi region of the USA during slave trading days (late 1800s). House-Slaves were threatened by their owners with this sentence, in fact slaves who caused trouble or tried to escape were often sold down the Mississippi River to work as labourers on cotton plantations. There, the work and living conditions were much harsher, and they usually resulted in death.

"My America"

The English settlers ruled over everyone else because of their economic purpose/exploitation, because of the impact of their religion and also because most of them were rather educated. However, the settlers weren't prepared for the hard living conditions and could only survive thanks to the help of Native Americans (wild men). One of them was named Squanto, he had been kidnapped and brought to London before, so he knew English and could communicate with the settlers: he taught them how to survive during winter.

Only a few words of the native language were admitted into the English vocabulary, probably because the pilgrims preferred to keep their own language and use it to name places in order to recreate their homeland (e.g. New England). They forced the natives to learn English to understand the word of God. The New England Primer was the very first book to be given to children in order to teach them how to read and write. The themes of the book were heavily influenced by the puritan religion: The New England Primer followed a tradition of combining the study of the alphabet with Bible reading. It introduced each alphabet letter in a religious phrase and then illustrated the phrase with a woodcut.

"Wild west words"

President Jefferson bought Louisiana from the French and this allowed the English to start their exploration of the west. Consequently, the language of the east (the London variety) was not sufficient anymore. These explorers created new words, and in comparison to when the settlers first came to America, many more Indian words were adopted and used in daily language but also to name states (Dakota, Utah, etc.).

"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, which first originated during the Seven Years' War. The Macaroni wig was an extreme fashion in the 1770s. With this song, the British are mocking the American colonists (Yankees) because of their ridiculous fashion. The word "doodle" comes from German and it can mean "simpleton" and "fool".

Robert Frost (1874-1963)

The gift outright

In the sonnet (written in 1936) Frost talks about how in the beginning, the colonists didn't feel a national identity with the new land because they were still tied to England. Eventually, they decided to embrace the land fully, but to mark it as their own they had to fight many wars. Finally, the land became a truly American land, made by its people.

Provide, Provide

The poem clearly shows the terrible powers of time. It reiterates the universal truth about beauty's ephemeral nature. The inevitability of ruin and decay is built into the very essence of life. Nobody can escape it; nothing is forever, nothing is permanent. Frost also encourages the reader to "provide" for themselves, follow the path they have chosen for their life.

Desert places

The atmosphere of this poem is very quiet and gives off a lonely vibe. Everything is covered in snow but a few weeds. The snow serves the purpose of isolating and blanketing the world. At the end the poet says that the realest and most profound kind of loneliness is that of his own desert places, which are both physical and spiritual.

Acquainted with the night

The narrator is not a specific character but rather a generalized person. The poem is set in an urban background. The narrator describes his loneliness as he walks the isolated city streets at night. He cannot connect with any human being, even when he makes eye contact with one. He hears a cry from the streets but realizes quickly it's not meant for him. He is completely alone and isolated and even the time has no value for him.

Neither out far nor in deep

In this poem, the author talks about how humans try to understand everything they come across, despite their limited knowledge and vision. The sea represents the unreal and the unknowable, while the land stands for the concrete reality. Frost uses an ironic tone, he jokes about humanity and their behaviour but he still admires their perseverance.

Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller (1915-2005)

Written in 1949, this play deals with the economic crisis in America and the delusion of the American Dream. Willy Loman, the main character, has lived in a fantasy for most of his life: he has always believed that he'd be successful thanks to his pleasing disposition. Willy has engrained this concept into the minds of his children since they were little, he told them they'd go far in life because of their good looks and charming personality, but as Biff and Happy grow up they face rejection and failure and realize it was a lie.

Despite the fact that the play goes back and forth in time, the Loman family has no development, everyone is stuck with the same character flaws. Willy continues to pursue the wrong business principles and his delusions and hallucinations worsen, the boys are still in their childhood room with their old problems: Biff's bitterness towards his father and Happy's difficult relationship with women. Linda Loman, Willy's wife, is the moral centre of the play, she has a strong personality and is a loving and loyal wife, despite Willy's poor treatment of her. Linda doesn't change much, she was supportive of Willy in the flashbacks and she still is in the present. She seems to dedicate her entire life to help her husband. In fact, Linda is the only one to tend to Willy's mental illness and she occasionally scolds the boys for mistreating their father.

Themes

• The Dangers of Modernity/Nostalgia, regret: Willy is the most nostalgic character. He has a difficult relationship with Modernity and changes. Willy misses when they were fewer people and fewer houses in the city, because now the Loman are surrounded and he feels kind of claustrophobic. He thinks back fondly to the time when they had a beautiful, fully-blossomed garden where he played with the kids. Modernity is also the cause of the obsolescence of Willy's career, in fact, salesmen were much more respected and important in the past. Biff looks back to when he was popular and skilled in high school, and, more importantly, to when he did not know that his father was a cheater and still idolized him.
• The American Dream (the concept of opportunity)/Cult of Personality: In America, land of opportunity, everyone should be able to become successful through their own hard work and your connections and pleasing behaviour are what will get you ahead in the world. However, Willy teaches his kids the wrong qualities, tells them they won't need to be smart, like Bernard or particularly skilled to move upward in life. Eventually, both Willy and the boys will have to face the harsh reality and realize how wrong all these concepts were.
• The dramatic structure of the play (The Freytag triangle): 1) Exposition; 2) The rising action; 3) Climax; 4) Falling action; 5) Conclusion. In Death of a Salesman, the turning point is in the II act when Willy goes to talk to his boss, H. Wagner, and gets mistreated badly. Wagner barely listens to him and when Willy gets agitated he ends up getting fired. This episode crushes Willy's hopes and makes him start to contemplate suicide. The true climax happens during the flashback concerning Willy and The Woman, Biff finding out (I've let you down).
• Criticism of capitalism: Willy lives in a society where financial success is a necessity: in the land of the American Dream there is no place for those who have failed. Miller criticises America's capitalistic economic system that drains people emotionally, and, in Willy's case, leads them to see suicide as the only solution.

The author uses the dramatic irony - a type of theatrical irony - throughout the play. This kind of writing is similar to a paradox. Here, the audience often realizes something about a character which the character himself does not know (e.g. Willy's inconsistencies).

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Written around 1870, this book will be Twain's most successful work and will be read by people of all ages. The character Tom Sawyer is the result of the combination of three boys whom Twain knew in real life. The novel describes the youthful adventures of the young protagonist, who embodies the ideal of American youth during the frontier era that preceded Industrialization.

Tom is the main character, he lives in St. Petersburg with his Aunt Polly, his half-brother Sid and his older cousin Mary. Tom has a reputation for being mischievous and troublesome and often gets scolded or even physically punished by his aunt. However, Tom is incredibly smart and clever and wo