Puritans vs. Transcendentalists in Early American Literature
This paper compares and contrasts major movements in early American literature, focusing on Puritan, Neoclassical, Romantic, and Transcendentalist writing. Drawing on primary texts by Jonathan Edwards, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, the paper examines three central points of disagreement among these literary traditions: their conceptions of God, their treatment of nature, and their views on human morality. The analysis argues that Transcendentalist and Romantic writers directly challenged both Puritan rigidity and Neoclassical skepticism, ultimately advocating for individual conscience, a reverence for nature, and a more humane social order that included opposition to slavery.
- Introduction: American Literature as a Literature of Change: Overview of major American literary movements and their tensions
- Competing Views on the Role of God: Puritans, Neoclassicists, and Transcendentalists on God
- Nature in Puritan, Neoclassical, and Romantic Writing: How each movement regarded the natural world
- Human Morality, Slavery, and Civil Disobedience: Moral equality, slavery, and Thoreau's resistance
- Conclusion: Synthesis of Puritan versus Transcendentalist worldviews
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What makes this paper effective
- It organizes its comparison around three clear thematic pillars — God, nature, and morality — giving the argument a logical and easy-to-follow structure.
- It uses direct quotations from primary sources (Edwards, Emerson, Thoreau) to ground each comparative claim in textual evidence rather than general assertion.
- It situates literary movements in their historical context, connecting Neoclassicism to the Industrial Revolution and Transcendentalism to post-Constitutional American ideals.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates thematic comparative analysis: rather than treating each literary movement separately, it identifies shared themes and uses them as a consistent framework for measuring difference. This approach allows the writer to draw meaningful contrasts across multiple movements simultaneously, a technique well-suited to literature survey courses.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad historical introduction establishing the succession of American literary movements. Three body paragraphs each address one thematic point of comparison (God, nature, morality), each anchored by at least one direct quotation. The conclusion synthesizes the differences by contrasting the Puritans' survival-oriented worldview with the Transcendentalists' humanitarian vision. A short reference list in informal citation style closes the paper.
Introduction: American Literature as a Literature of Change
American literature is truly a literature of change. As the nation became independent of England, this new independence was reflected in the ideals and philosophies of its writers. Early American literature was dominated by Puritan forms that contemplated the power of God and often took the shape of written sermons or journals. The stories that did emerge from this tradition were filled with ideas of sin and repentance, directly reflecting the social limitations that Puritans placed on early American society.
Once the nation was founded and the Constitution separated the power of the church from the government, new forms of literature emerged that questioned Puritan authors and their principles. These literary styles included Romanticism, Transcendentalism, and abolitionist writing, all of which drew from new sources — the individual mind and the ideals of a free nation. Alongside these new forms, a movement known as Neoclassical literature arose in Europe and made its way to America, challenging the now-prominent literary traditions by raising questions about the existence of God and the foundations of morality. It fell to American writers to challenge this European import and hold fast to the principles of democracy and fundamental liberty.
While opposite in message, America's Puritan and Neoclassical literature shared many common characteristics that the Transcendentalists, Romantics, and abolitionists chose to challenge. These challenges are directly visible within the literature and center on three themes: the role of God, the meaning of nature, and the nature of human morality.
References
Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. 1741.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance. 1830.
Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience. 1849.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. 1854.
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