A Reading Of The American Jeremiad And The American Identity-formation

Jeremiadic sermons can be found in Europe in the sixteenth century, but the American jeremiad is the recasting of the genre by the colonial New England Puritan ?preachers with the distinctive form. The American jeremiad and American identity have drawn the attention of some of the scholars in the United States after 1950s and some valuable research papers and books have been published. However, the research is insufficient and immature. This dissertation, analyzing the rhetoric features of the American jeremiad, is focused on the relation between the American jeremiad and the American identity-formation. Therefore, the present research will contribute to a thorough grasp of the understanding of the American jeremiad, the American identity-formation, and the national development in the American study in China.The American jeremiad deserves a multi-faceted approach because it performed a paradigmatic American cultural ritual. The purpose of this study is to revisit and reexamine the American jeremiads after the American scholars to see whether these culture texts are open to further interpretation. The main research method of this dissertation is a combination of theoretical research and positive analysis and an integration of rhetorical and historical analysis in an examination of the sermons. This dissertation, assimilating and using the related achievements in religious and literary studies, expounds comprehensively the definition, themes, features, identity, and literary-historical significance, as well as symbolism of jeremiads as a literary genre, and primarily defines the American identity-formation from the aspect of jeremiads. With a critique of the American jeremiad development, the study seeks to argue that the national consciousness derived from the Puritan mission and the American myth has become the significant symbol of the American identity.