A Study Of American Nationalism And Imperialism In The Country Of The Pointed Firs

The Country of the Pointed Firs is the masterpiece of Sarah Orne Jewett.Published in 1896,the book presents a vivid picture of Maine in the post-bellum era.In the late nineteenth century,America managed to establish itself as an empire after consolidating its national identity.Set in such historical and cultural context,the author of this thesis argues that Jewett’s The Country of the Pointed Firs(Pointed Firs)reflects American nationalism and imperialism of the nineteenth century.On one hand,as a resistance to British cultural hegemony,Pointed Firs contributed to the establishment of American cultural identity in terms of its faithful reflection of Maine and its culture.Moreover,through a portrayal of an idealized “past,” a communal inheritance is constructed for American people,which contributed to the reunification of United States in the post-bellum era and the healing of trauma resulted from the Civil War.On the other hand,the discourse of White Supremacy implied in Pointed Firs is a reflection of the imperialist ideology prevalent in the nineteenth-century American society.Furthermore,the absence of men in the book reflects in a way the American imperialist expansion of the nineteenth century.It is hoped that a study of The Country of the Pointed Firs from the perspectives of American nationalism and imperialism could broaden the view of the interpretation of this great regional work.