Olmsted, "Public Parks and the Enlargement of Towns"

--This is a portrait of Frederick Law Olmsted by John Singer Sargent. Olmsted was, without question, the most important landscape designer of the 19th century and perhaps the most influential designer of American spaces.

--This could be seen as a counter-part or book-end to our first reading of the term, Cole's "Notes on American Scenery," reflecting changed attitudes toward the landscape and the relationship between city and country. In what ways are they similar or different?

--Olmsted offers a vision of the shift from a rural to an urban civilization; how does he defend or privilege urban life over rural?

--Olmsted spends a great deal of time discussing city walking; what is his vision of walking in the city? How does it compare with visions of city walking in other texts we've studied this term? How or why is the park promenade offered as a superior alternative?

--This is the latest text for our class, representing the end of the romantic era and suggesting the ways in which the city park is very much the hold over from romanticism. In what ways are the founding ideals of the park movement and the vision of city planning offered here still relevant or important to American life?

Whitman, "Calamus" & "Live Oak with Moss"

It's a battle of phallic flora: the calamus plant on the left and the live oak tree on the right.

--The relation of these two groupings of poems is a matter of some critical debate: for some critics, especially the textually-oriented scholar Hershel Parker, "Live Oak with Moss" is a more direct and positive expression of homosexuality. While others see "Calamus" as equally an expression of homosexuality, but more political. Which iteration do you find more interesting or compelling or more open in its exploration of homosexuality?

--Compare how any single poem that appears in both sequences is changed by its different relation to the poems around it in the different sequences.

Whitman, "Song of Myself," Day #2

--Whitman was perhaps best-known during his lifetime for his attentiveness to sexuality in the poetry. Select a passage that seems to address a sexual experience and consider what Whitman is trying to say about it and how it relates to his broader attempt to bridge divides.
--Here are some moments that could be examined: section 5, 21, 22, 24, 27-30

Whitman, "Song of Myself," Day #1

--This is the image of Whitman he used in place of his name on the frontispiece of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. It portrays Whitman as a man of the working class, evocative of the democratic persona he sought to convey through the poetry.

--As the two critical essays we are reading for next class suggest, the notion of merging with or embodying the American people was central to Whitman's vision of the work of his poetry. Select an example other than ones selected by the critics and explore the benefits and/or problems of Whitman's entering into, becoming or speaking for another person or people in "Song of Myself."

--As part of Whitman's project of countering divisions in American life (self/other, body/soul, nation/individual, etc.), "Song of Myself" also represents both city and country. How are the two kinds of landscapes represented here? What are similarities or differences? How does the poem work to bring them together?

--More so than most other poetry, Whitman's poems demand that its readers, especially its American readers, embrace it. Without that popular acceptance, Whitman felt that his poetry would be a failure. How do you see Whitman addressing this in the poetry? How optimistic, pessimistic, anxious or hopeful do you think he is about his success by the end of "Song of Myself"?

Whitman, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"

--This is an image of the view of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights near the time of Whitman's poem.

--How does Whitman envision urban experience and community through his commuter ferry ride? How is it different or similar to other urban texts we've read?

--Whitman explicitly addresses future commuters and readers, attempting to create a bond of experience that will translate across time. To what extent did you feel yourself connecting with Whitman and his description of his experience and his articulation of the self imagined through the urban commute?

Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, Day #3

--The ending of the book is famous or infamous. To what extent does this "confession" change, alter or revise your understanding of the relations between the characters? Do you believe in it, or do you think it is 'made up' and, if made up, why?

--Zenobia's death: as a representative of women's rights issues, Zenobia has an ambiguous role here and her death is no less ambiguous. Is she a tragic figure, as Coverdale seems to imagine her, or a foolishly self-dramatizing one as Westervelt suggests? What do you make of her 'morals' (there seem to be more than one) for her life? What do you think Hawthorne is saying about women's rights through her?

--Priscilla and the Silvery Veil. Here, the allegorical story becomes real. What does its fulfillment in the confrontation at the Lyceum say about women and their relations to men and the world at large?

--Blithedale Romance is a text that engages with country, city and even suburban landscapes (the lyceum audience is described as suburban): what does it suggest about the relationship of landscape/setting and human behavior or human nature?

Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, Day #2

--This is a Victorian "spirit photograph"--ostensibly evidence of the existence of the spirit realm, but now held up as examples of the way the photographic medium can be manipulated. Anyway, it touches upon mid-nineteenth century attitudes toward the spirit realm.

--In Zenobia's story "The Silvery Veil," she offers up a story of the spirit realm which is more properly an allegory of male-female relations. What does the story have to say about those relations? To what extent are the issues presented in the story still relevant of male-female relations today?

--Zenobia's speech at "Eliot's Pulpit" also deals with women's issues. What are her concerns and how are they dealt with by the male characters? What do you think Hawthorne is saying about women's rights here?

--During this section, many of the characters leave Blithedale for the city. How is the city represented and how do the characters act differently (or not)? What do you think Hawthorne is saying about the city here?

Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, Day #1

--As we've come to the 'synthesis' or city/country section of the course, a number of the issues that interest me about this text reflect on things we've already studied, so...

--Compare Coverdale's attitude toward the transformative possibilities of country living and agrarian labor with that of Thoreau in Walden.

--In much of the city writing we examined, the notion of the city as a place of watching, spying or being a voyeur is explored. How does this novel thematize or explore this in the utopian community? What is Coverdale's explanation, justification or qualification of his own tendency to pry into the private matters of others?

Webb, The Garies and their Friends, Day #3

--This section focuses primarily on the drama of Clarence's passing. How are we to view Clarence and his passing? It is often figured as or likened to a criminal act (Walters compares it to forgery), but Clarence is also seen as a victim: what is the novel's attitude toward passing?

--Clarence's sister, Emily, is clearly meant as an alternative to passing. What do her choices and the novel's vision of her say about mixed race characters and their place in the African-American community?

--The novel ends with a celebration. How does it depict African-American community and its relationship to the larger white community?

Webb, Garies & Their Friends, Day #2

--In light of our conversation in class before break about racial distinctions and the shifting categories of blackness in the novel, how does this reading add to or further complicate racial categories through characters like Mr. Walters or the experiences of Mr. Stevens when he tries to hide his identity through a new set of clothing (which begins a whole series of racial transformations for him)?

--In this section of the novel, we are led through the process whereby a race riot is started. What does this tell us about the novel's vision of the origin and/or process of racism in antebellum America? How would you compare this vision of racism to contemporary notions of or attitudes toward racial conflict?

--In this section, Mr. Walters comes to stand out as a representative figure of blackness. What does he represent and how are his politics embodied in his actions during the riot? What do you see as Webb's broader message to a black or white audience through Walters?

Webb, The Garies and their Friends, Day #1

--Webb's novel touches on a couple of unusual topics of early African-American fiction: mixed-races couples and urban life.

--How does the novel address racial mixing, mixed-race couples and the possibility of "passing" (the practice of a African-American person passing for white)?

--How does it imagine the life of African-Americans in northern cities? Compare the vision of city life to the many we have studied previously.

Melville, "Bartleby, the Scrivener"

--No, watching the Crispin Glover starring version of the movie won't help you much for class discussion, but it suggests contemporary relevance.

--What sort of image of the city is offered here? Compare to the depictions of the city offered by the other authors we've read in this section of the term.

--"Bartleby" is a story of the city and represents, to a certain extent, the attempt of a person of the upper middle class (the lawyer) to understand and 'help' a person of the lower class (Bartleby). Compare the lawyer and his thinking about Bartleby to the thinking others we've read (Child, Fuller, Boucicoult, Poe) have given to the problem of understanding the "other" (mostly poor) in the city.

--This is also a story about management, that immaterial labor of making sure that others work productively and happily that has come to define middle class experience (if you don't make or sell something, you make sure that others make or sell something). Consider what the story has to say about management. Compare it to working experiences you've had either as a manager or being managed and to contemporary depictions/satires of this work dynamic ("The Office" comes to mind, but others as well).

Boucicoult, "the Poor of New York

--This is an image from another of Boucicoult's melodramatic plays, The Octoroon, but conveys the kind of staging that would take place for one of these plays.

--Written and set during the Panic of 1857, a major economic downturn brought on significantly by financial speculation, "The Poor of New York" certainly has resonances with our contemporary situation, especially in attitudes toward bankers and finance. What specifically is the critique of banking offered here and what set of values oppose it?

--Though it is called "The Poor of New York," the social politics of the play seem complicated. How is poverty examined here? What does the play have to say about distinctions between rich and poor? Compare its politics and final call to action to the urban reformist texts of Child and Fuller: how are they similar or different?

--This play is described as a melodrama and while we will hear more about this means in class, it is safe to say that melodrama depends upon relatively simple moral distinctions between good and evil and a kind of hyperbolically emotional style. How do you respond to this as a reader? Do you think such a mode is still present in our culture and, if so, where? What are the pleasures and/or pains of melodrama for you?

Poe, "The Murder of Marie Roget"

--This image comes from a contemporary depiction of Mary Rogers, the New York City 'cigar girl' whose story is vaguely fictionalized for Poe's tale.

--Some of the plot hinges upon conflicting notions about city life. The fact that Marie is not recognized by anyone in the city seems to be a point of contention between different theories about her disappearance. How do these differences fit with discussions we've seen so far about the city as an anonymous, alienated space versus a space of social connection?

--This is in many ways a very strange story--based in fact, but offered up as fiction; making claims about truth and probabilities. How does it fit or not fit with expectations one has about the detective story genre (itself in formation at this very moment)? How do we fit this story with or compare it to the popularity in our own period of fact-based crime dramas, 'true-crime' fictions or even 'non-fiction novels' (like Capote's In Cold Blood)?

--How do we compare Dupin, the detective who refuses to leave his house but 'solves' the crime (or at least proposes ways to solve the crime), to other city narrators we've read who imaginatively engage with life in the city (whether the narrator of "The Man of the Crowd," "Wakefield," or Child)?

Poe, "The Man of the Crowd"

--Like the other city writings we have looked at so far, Poe's story is about individuality and the crowd. How does his story imagine the relationship of the individual to the crowd? How is it similar to or different from the vision of Hawthorne, Child or Fuller?

--The narrator imagines the man of the crowd as a 'genius of crime,' yet he is not actually seen committing any criminal acts. What, in the end, do you see as the 'man's' crime?

--In "Wakefield," the narrative is framed, leading us to understand the story as about the author/narrator and his own vision of the personality of Wakefield and meaning of the episode he recounts/creates. How does Poe's story lead us to consider or question the narrator and the validity of his narration of this story?

Child & Fuller, City Sketches

--Child & Fuller write about New York City life, finding much to complain of. What is it that they (individually or separately) dislike about city life?

--Child, at least, also finds things to praise about city life. What is it that she likes?

--Both Child & Fuller write about the city poor, each hoping to improve their conditions. What do you find similar or dissimilar about their attitudes and/or strategies for engaging with urban poverty?

Hawthorne, "Wakefield"

--Discuss the depiction of the city in "Wakefield." What are the qualities of city life? How does the individual fit into the scheme of city life?

--The narrator of this story presents the character of Wakefield as an object of fascination, but also openly mocks him. What is it about Wakefield that the narrator finds so unpleasant or humorous?

--The narrator tells the whole plot of the story at the very beginning, then retells it and offers a moral. Why construct it this way and what kind of moral is offered?

Thoreau, Walden, Day #4

--In the winter sections of the narrative, Thoreau's focus turns to nature, both animals and the landscape. These chapters seem to hinge on the question of whether or not and to what extent, we can know or understand (plumb the depths, to use one metaphor) nature. Ultimately, how knowable does Thoreau find nature?

--At the beginning of the book, Thoreau claimed to want to brag, to speak to his neighbors about changing their way of life. But there have signs that the narrative is less focused on persuading others than in demonstrating his own insight. In the end, particularly the conclusion, do you find him more focused on personal or more public significances of his experience?

Thoreau, Walden, Day #3

--In "the Ponds," Thoreau praises Walden and compares it to its neighbor ponds, most particularly Flint's Pond. The owner of Flint Pond is critiqued for his appropriation of nature and transformation of it into market value, but what does Walden mean for Thoreau in distinction to this?

--For those of you who complained of Thoreau's depiction of the Canadian woodcutter Alek Therein, surely there was much to note in "Baker Farm" and its depiction of the Irish farming family. What do you make of his suggestions to that family and his thoughts on hunting, vegetarianism and consumption more generally?

--The episode at the end of "Brute Neighbors" with Thoreau 'chasing' after the loon is often seen as a meaningful symbolic moment in the text, but critics and scholars often disagree about its significance. What do you see as its significance to the narrative?

Thoreau, Walden, Day #2

--Somehow, even with the new vogue for 19th century facial hair among young men, I don't think we'll see a lot of localvore, bicycle-riding types sporting Thoreau's chin beard--But on to the questions.

--Consider the contrapuntal structure of the chapters, mentioned last class. Look at one pairing ("Reading" & "Sounds," or "Solitude" & "Visitors," or "The Bean-Field" & "Visitors") and consider why he puts them together and what their being paired does to put the ideas into dialogue. What is the general effect of the contrapuntalism?

--Since I set you to look closely for figurative language in Walden, I hope you have noticed that it is more or less full of it. How do we reconcile this rich, complex and sophisticated literary language with Thoreau's call for people to "simplify" their lives?

Thoreau, Walden, Day #1

--In "Economy," Thoreau spends a good deal of time suggesting to whom this text is directed: who is the constituency/audience? Is it singular or multiple? Is it coherent or contradictory?

--Thoreau is a classic romantic author, so many find it strange that the first chapter of his central work is is named after that most material of concerns, "Economy." What does Thoreau have to say about economy? What is the relation of economy to spirit or the ideal here?

--Thoreau writes at length about constructing his cabin, considering how to design it and what are the significances of designing a home. Compare his attitude to Downing's.

--Compare Thoreau's tone, voice and/or persona to that of Willis and/or Melville's narrator in "The Piazza."

Willis & Melville, "The Piazza"

This image is of Herman Melville's home, Arrowhead, in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Like Willis, Melville moved out of the city to live in a rural district that was transitioning from agricultural use to more residential use.

--Willis' letters deal extensively with the kinds of manipulations of the landscape to make it more pleasing that Downing advocated. Downing sees this as a service to the community: how does Willis present or understand it?

--Compare the tones and personas of the narrators of Willis's letters and Melville's stories. What are their similarities and/or differences? If Melville's story is a commentary on Willis (and his ilk), what is it saying?

--What is the 'lesson' of the narrator's experience with Marianna in "The Piazza"? Is he in any way affected or changed by his encounter with her by the story's end?

Willis & Downing, Country Living

--A.J. Downing was in many ways the "Martha Stewart" of his time, offering all sorts of advice on how to make life more beautiful and pleasing to antebellum Americans. In the essay we are discussing tomorrow, he takes up the significance of building attractive country homes and cottages. Why are they important and what are they supposed to do (beyond pleasing owners)? Compare Downing's notion of the cultivation of taste for nice homes to Cole's notion of cultivating a taste for scenery.

--Willis writes about the countryside around his home "Glenmary" in the Susquehanna River Valley. While surely not urban, it is neither wilderness nor farmland (he is farming, but not because he needs to financially). What does he value about this landscape? What do he do on it and with it? Compare it to the visions or attitudes toward landscape that we have seen to date in the class.

Fuller, from Summer on the Lakes, in 1843

You may answer this for Wednesday or for Monday's class as well. Please answer one of the following questions, or supply your own questions or responses.

--Fuller goes to Niagara Falls expecting a sublime experience like so many before her. Does she get that experience or not? What seems to stand in the way or help her have this experience?

--Compare her discussion of sublimity with Thoreau's meditation on the sublime in "Ktaadn."

Thoreau, "Ktaadn"

--In several passages here, Thoreau considers the situation of New England Native Americans. What is his attitude toward them? In a late passage, he compares them to the urban poor. Compare this vision to the depiction of Native Americans (whether the mound-builders or the "Red-Man") of Bryant's poem.

--This text is famous for its depiction of the sublime and we will spend a fair time in class looking at the passages when he comes to the top of Ktaadn and the next day coming down through the Burnt Lands. Consider what the sublime experience means for Thoreau here, what it suggests about the human relationship to nature and our sense of self?

--This text is very much about wilderness, a landscape in a primitive state. Compare Thoreau's vision of this landscape to that of Cole's "Savage State."

Bryant & Cole

--Bryant's poem "The Prairies" narrates the poet's reverie at the sublime prospect of the midwestern prairies described in Cole's "Essay." In what ways does it represent the experience of the sublime? How does it fit or not fit with our characterization of the sublime in class?

--"The Prairies" is a depiction of Native American civilization. What is Bryant's attitude toward the Native Americans? How does he represent their culture/s and their disappearance? What is the depiction of European settlement of the prairies?

Cole's series "The Course of Empire" represents a single location over time, telling a story and presenting a vision of history. Compare it to Bryant's poetic vision of the prairie landscape and itse history.

Thomas Cole, "Essay on American Scenery" (1836)

Please don't try to answer all of these questions--select one or even an element of one to answer. (ps--I won't normally write this many questions!)

--"Picturesque" and "sublime" are terms featured prominently but never defined in Cole's essay. Combine his use of the terms to the definitions you have found in your research. How do they agree or diverge from Cole's usage?

--This essay hinges upon a seemingly contradictory relationship between "cultivation" (developing an appreciation or 'taste' for natural beauty) and the "uncultivated" (nature in its pure state). Does this seeming contradiction produce a problem for the essay? How does one 'cultivate a taste for the uncultivated' and what effect should it have according to Cole? Do you agree or disagree with Cole's notions: explain how or why.

--Select a painting from the group made available on artstor, identify whether it is mainly picturesque or sublime and describe what makes it so.

At the end of the essay, Cole discusses both the threat of the destruction of the American landscape by "improvement" and a more hopeful future of peaceful, tasteful development. Select a painting that has evidence of human presence from the group made available on artstor (two salient examples are Cole's "View from Mt. Holyoke" and "Notch in the White Mountains") and discuss how the painting might be addressing the positive or negative effect of humans on the American landscape.