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American Theme-Individualism. American Theme-Individualism Literary works
reflect the main ideas of the American mind. An American ...
... American citizens develop a sense of individualism which is unique to Americans. ...
This is a common theme in early American literature. ...
... a distinctly American movement in that it was tied into notions of American
individualism. In addition to the theme of American democracy, transcendentalist ...
... is a key work of American Romanticism because of ... that solitude was a common theme
of Romantic ... Romantics commonly incorporate ideas of individualism in their ...
... play deals with a common yet epic theme in American ... man to achieve the widely desired
American dream. ... Death of a Salesman shows more individualism than simply ...
Submitted by oppapers on January 21, 2001
Category: English
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American Theme-Individualism
Literary works reflect the main ideas of the American mind. An American theme that is seen in various works of literature is individuality. Individuality is expressed in three different literary works from Frost, Chopin, and Paine. These works of literature aid us in developing an open mind about what the American people should expect in society. Following others doesn't guide us in any way because it does not allow for us to express our innermost feelings. Throughout these three works, individualism is expressed in various ways. Although all three works do illustrate the idea of individualism, Paine seems to approach it in a different way.
Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", is an insightful idealistic attempt to illustrate the paradox of free will. In the first line, Frost uses the metaphor "Two roads diverged" (1), to establish not only the hard decision the traveler must make in the poem, but life itself. The decisions we make in life, like the traveler in this poem, are not to be taken carelessly. Many have a desire to be adventurous, yet fear possibilities of failing if we are different from others. In this poem, the road that he decides to take "wanted wear." This road is not a well-traveled path and no one has taken it before. The central idea of Frost's poem is individualism. Frost shows that being his own person makes life so much less difficult because he is able to act the way he would like to without worrying about everyone else. Frost shows us that we should all express our feelings and be our own person, even if no one else will follow. He took the path that no one else did "and that has made all the difference."
Similarly, in Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," the central theme of individuality is also expressed. When Mrs. Mallard received the news of her husband' s death, she was in a deep state of grief. After she realized that she would now have freedom, she began to...
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