The Shattering of Idealism in Nadine Gerfimer´s The Moment Before the Gun Went Off and Jean Rhys The Day They Burneed the Books

In contrast, some divisions of the colonial population supported Britain whole-heartedly with their lives. They delighted in the short-lived emboldened ties. A New England minister proclaimed “…the Children of New England may be glad and triumph, in Reflection on Events past, and Prospects for the future…” (Document E). Comprehensibly, he felt that Britain gave them a future, that they owed their lives to their mother country. “…Mother, who has most generously rescued and protected us, [must] be served and honored…” (Document E). This is a deep contrast to the ways of thinking possessed by the soldiers and Native Americans, and it would not last long.

Prior to the American Revolution, Britain controlled the colonies through a system of mercantilism. Many Americans found the system debasing, and they felt kept in a state of adolescence that was never allowed to come of age. It wasn’t until Britain began taxing the colonists after the Seven Years’ War that Americans began to realize what they had to do in order to resolve their problems being forced upon from overseas. The colonists developed a strong sense of their identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution through coming together to fight for independence from Britain.

Life in the North American colonies was great at one point. At first we liked having protection and assistance from the British. After a while, we Patriots yearned for more freedom. The British had too many rules and controlled a lot of aspects of our lives, including the trading of goods. To add, even though we were across the pond, they were telling us where to live. Us Patriots were forced to provide housing to the British soldiers. Although we appreciated the help, we did not want them taking over our new found land.

The British’s strict enforcement over the American colonies never sat completely well with many of the settlers to begin with, but to go along with their control issues on how they should be ran came many more policies to ensure their restrictions. Unfortunately for Britain, more rules and regulations only increased the colony’s desperation for freedom and their rebellious behavior rather than teaching them a lesson to mind their wonderful Majesty. The colony’s rebellious outbreaks, once began, would not stop until they were completely satisfied in their way of living. These colonies’ resistance towards Britain was due to their policies that had resulted in superfluous taxing, the loss of their trading rights, and

In the mid 1700’s, uproars in the thirteen original colonies had led to a revolution that eventually caught the attention of the British Tyranny. Later, the thirteen colonies sought Independence which broke off all ties with the British. In the midst of the American revolution, colonists and the British proceeded in uproar against each other; in due course, leading to the taxation of colonists, a tyrant ruler, and loyalist standpoints which opposed the colonists’ wishes.

• After 1763, Britain had to find a way to govern its enlarged territorial empire in North America, and pay of its humongous postwar debt. The Indian conflict on the frontier and unregulated colonial settlement posed major challenges, and passage of the Sugar Act, intended to help address Britain’s debt, sparked colonial protest. Britain’s empire began facing loads of problems due to this, many people were leaving and the rulers started facing many problems. • Many were concerned about imperial authority extended to inhabitants of the existing colonies themselves. Worries about the colonists’ wartime smuggling and their assemblies’ frequent obstruction of military orders fed an ongoing debate in London about the need for a more centralized form of imperial control.

As English shifted their focus on fighting wars, the colonies were left by “salutary neglect” to “develop self-reliance and their own ideas of government”.

“Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings” is a famous quote said by Heinrich Heine, which relates to the concept of book burning, seen in the novel Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury uses his unique literary style to write the novel Fahrenheit 451; where he brings his readers to a future American Society which consists of censorship, book burning, and completely oblivious families. The novel’s protagonist, Guy Montag, is one of the many firemen who takes pride in starting fires rather than putting them out, until he encounters a seventeen-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to notice what Clarisse’s values are in the novel, how her innocence and

We traveled to the Americas aboard your ships, bought your goods, and fought in the name of Great Britain; we battled and died alongside your men as equals. Tirelessly we have aided every whim of Parliament, fooling ourselves and our children, telling fairytales to delude ourselves into thinking that laws passed were for the best. In such dire times, when food and money was scarce, we tried to find hope in your name, but it has come to light that you offer no safe haven for us, and wish only for tax upon tax. In theses times, it is necessary for us to reflect back on better times in the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies. The days in which we were separate, yet united, and the affairs of the colonies lay in our own hands; days when we were in control of our own lives. With such a time in mind, it is in the best interest of the peoples of both nations, that we consider the acts which define a tyrant.

This book was written at a time of change in the world of fiction as a

During the 1950’s, literature underwent a tremendous change in structure as well as philosophy. J. D. Salinger’s book The Catcher in the Rye helped contribute to this revolution by highlighting new philosophies in literature. This is evident in pre-1950 writing as well as the changes that persisted through the remaining part of the decade, especially in the writing style popularized during the Great Depression. The Catcher in the Rye also contributed to a change in conflict. This conflict started as an external object to overcome, but after the release of this book and other, the conflict changed from external to internal and became a moral or philosophical struggle to be thought about rather than something to overcome.

During the 1950’s, literature underwent a tremendous change in structure as well as philosophy. J. D. Salinger’s book The Catcher in the Rye helped contribute to this revolution by highlighting new philosophies in literature. This is evident in pre-1950 writing as well as the changes that persisted through the remaining part of the decade, especially in the writing style popularized during the Great Depression. The Catcher in the Rye also contributed to a change in conflict. This conflict started as an external object to overcome, but after the release of this book and others, the conflict changed from external to internal and became a moral or philosophical struggle to be thought about rather than something to overcome.

To break away from the country that has reigned over us for so long is a notion that some cannot wrap their minds around. This is why we must first come to terms with how we have undergone so much scrutiny under England’s rule. For innumerable colonists the motive for why

American literature does not only include characters, plots, settings, and themes, but also historical and personal events that shape the writer’s literature. One era that is known for outside events influencing the writing of the time is the post-modern era. The start of the post-modern era took place in the year 1945. This era took rise after two major historical events in America’s history, the Holocaust and the dropping of the atomic bombs on two Japanese cities. Once World War II was over, Americans wanted to return to normal life. However, with the desire to return to normal, Americans in the 1950’s had a hard time determining what they would consider normal. One early post-modern author, Carson McCullers, focused her writing on the feeling of isolation and loneliness that American citizens were facing at the time. Carson McCullers’s novels and short stories contain themes of isolation, death, hope, and dark humor, which are all symbolic of the hardships humans faced in the post-modern time period and her own personal trials.

The eighteenth century novel was one that changed the way novels were written in many different ways. In reading Ian Watt's book, "The Rise of The Novel," quite a few things were brought to my attention concerning the eighteenth century novel; not only in how it was written and what went into it, but how readers perceived it. This essay will look into Ian Watt's perceptions on the eighteenth century novel and how it changed from previous literature.