Is American Literature Possible?

Review of history terms

Discussion: Is American Literature possible? Could literature and art thrive in this new nation? Were literature and art possible in the special political, social and economic conditions Americans created? How could the language and literary models of England be naturalized to the conditions of America?

This is what we will explore today, as we read some introductory notes on American Romanticism, and dive into some James Fenimore Cooper with an excerpt from The Deerslayer. To set up this excerpt: As this scene opens, Natty Bumppo -- known as Deerslayer to his Native American friends -- has been taken captive by the Hurons, allies of the French and sworn enemies of Deerslayer’s (and England’s) friends, the Delawares. Hist, a Delaware female who just happens to be in love with Deerslayer’s buddy, Chingachgook, has also been taken captive, as have two white women, Judith and her sister Hetty.