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Patriotic Themes in American Literature
Patriotism is essentially a bond among countrymen as expressed concisely by Oliver Wendell Holmes, when he wrote, "One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, One Nation evermore!"[footnoteRef:1] Love for America is fortified by poetic images such as a tattered waving flag or a black and white photo of John Junior's salute. These images stir the heart and reinforce the bond that comes from having a common experience. However, just as romantic love is not all hearts and roses, so too love of country is not all banners and parades. In time, poems become dusty and old photos fade, making room for new images and experiences, such as empty ships, that may not be as moving. Seeing one's dreams of yesterday fall can lead to a pessimism that believes all the good is in the past and there is nothing but darkness awaiting the future. In American literature we find poignant examples to illustrate this pendulum of sentiment between blaring...
This essay will briefly compare and contrast an idealistic view with a pessimistic one as found in patriotic literature. A conclusion will be presented to address the question of how these two basic sentiments affect the future of American's thoughts and attitudes on patriotism. [1: Holmes, Voyage Of The Good Ship Union]
The first view, idealism, is iconically captured in Revolutionary War soldier Nathan Hale's dying words, "I regret that I have but one life to give my country." To die for one's country is the ideal of all patriotic ideals. This sentiment is echoed in Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem "Old Ironsides," first published in a Boston newspaper in1830 to protest the dismantling of the frigate U.S.S. Constitution. In writing, "Her deck, once red with heroes' blood; where knelt the vanquished foe"(line 9-10), Holmes laments that the war ship will see no more heroes' defeat of the enemy. The poem so touched the hearts of its…
Patriotism and Okada's No Boy The current war in Iraq has brought out displays of patriotic fervor throughout the country. People proudly display the American flag on their homes and cars. Even Major League Baseball has replaced the traditional seventh inning song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" with a stirring rendition of "God Bless America." However, for the people protesting the war, these surface displays are an inadequate indicator of patriotism.
patriotism start?...Most likely, as in many cases, it should begin with a definition of this term, as asserted by the Webster online dictionary. According to it, patriotism is "love for or devotion to one's country." As we can notice, this definition includes two similar, but not identical terms: love and devotion. The second term introduces a higher level of love, because devotion implies an ardent feeling, that is, "a
It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others." On the other hand, as we have seen in America, there is also a patriotism which is aimed at a sense of belonging and only aggressive in defense of this feeling of identity, and from invasion or destruction by outside elements. This
Patriotism, Democracy and Freedom Karl Marx, Woody Guthrie, and Martin Luther King may have had more in common than it may first seem. Karl Marx, the author of the famous Communist Manifesto, that laid the groundwork for the formation of the Soviet Union wanted order and a civil society. Karl Marx felt that freedom lied in the needs of the worker being met. The worker would work for the joy
The great American writer Henry David Thoreau wrote an essay that has become very well-known called "Civil Disobedience." In the essay Thoreau said "That government is best with governs least" and then he clarified himself by adding: "That government is best which governs not at all." Thoreau admitted that governments need a standing arm, but that is only "an arm of the standing government," he said. But he disagreed in
For Li & Brewer, the foremost different between nationalism and patriotism is that patriotism is "love of the country" and "attachment to national values based on critical understanding" (Adorno et al. As cited in Wei, Roy, Wells, Rethen and Huang, 2006). Meanwhile, McConnachie (2003) believes that the main difference between the two is that "a patriot is one who expressed emotion - love. A patriot loves his country whereas a