National characteristics, American

Puritan spirit : an oration
Notes: Cover title. "Press of Geo. H. Ellis, 101 Milk St., Boston."--Title page verso. FAU Libraries' copy has original printed wrappers, side stitched with cord.

"Published by the Society." Includes bibliographical references. FAU copy has original printed wrappers.

FAU Libraries' copy edges trimmed to 21 cm.

Cover title: Mr. Hall's discourse before the New England Society, in the City of New York, Dec. 22, 1847. FAU copy imperfect: disbound, cover missing, pages loose, all edges trimmed (to 21 cm).

The push of the past half century to redefine the American canon through the incorporation of writers representative of America's heterogeneousness has given voice to a range of marginalized writers. This movement, predicated on the belief that American society was never as unified as its early leaders would have us believe, has overstated what it sought to challenge : the unitedness of early Americans. Casting the leaders of the Early Republic as in complete accord, such critical readings negate the significant differences that existed and the pains necessary to present something akin to national unity and identity. It is my aim to show that this unity came about through a constructed rhetoric meant to unify the citizens in colonial America and the Early Republic. In this thesis, I will examine three modes of this rhetoric : American Exceptionalism, the American Enlightenment, and the movements supporting a mono-dialectal view of American English.

This thesis explores W.P. Kinsella's emphasis on love for land, family, and baseball in discussing relationships between characters in his short story "Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa". Chapter I introduces the characters, their role in establishing this as a tale of conservation through agrarianism, and how Kinsella's choice to write a positive story creates unique potential for healing. Chapter II establishes similarities between the father's war experiences and Jackson's exile from baseball, underscoring its mythic importance. Chapter III examines the relationship between the protagonist and his wife, and how their relationship symbolically fosters love for nature through farming, and can be used to reconcile modern agrarianism with ecocriticism. Chapter IV discusses how connection with the earth brings healing. The final chapter underscores the worthiness of this work to be a cherished part of the American literary canon.