Introduction
The change in cultural and historical eras is quite clearly traced in history, each of which determined the face of its time. The Age of Reason or Enlightenment occupies a special place among these eras. It was marked by the formation, flourishing, and crisis of that complex of ideas, forms of historical behavior, and cultural preferences that entered the memory of humanity under the name of enlightenment (Dahl 192). At the same time, the colonial era was recorded in history, which ended as a result of the development of enlightenment sentiments, which were also reflected in literature. Social progress and the struggle for independence are interacting themes of the Colonial Era and the Age of Reason, which can also be found in The Journal of John Woolman.
Historical Features of Epochs
The main value of 17-18 centuries was recognized as the cult of reason, social progress, and the struggle for independence. It meant that deep socio-economic shifts in society, which resulted from the intensive development of commodity-money relations, provided opportunities for self-realization for representatives of various estates (Dahl 85, 194). It was this young class that was the driving force in the progressive transformation of society. In his interests, fundamental shifts in culture took place: new schools were opened, a regular education system was created, and the social framework of art expanded.
Common difficulties and dangers united the settlers and relegated religious and national contradictions to the background. Colonists from different countries in America could not live in constant opposition to each other; they needed a consensus (Hoffer 127). During historical development, it was found when the basic national values of Americans began to form, such as freedom, equality, and independence of each individual (Dahl 5). These categories form the semantic basis of American national identity (Dahl 5). Moreover, the theological thought of the 18th century was distinguished by increased attention to the problems of the individual. The national identity of the Americans, formed by the beginning of the War of Independence, was also fundamentally religious. Thus, during this period, the foundations of later ideas about individual freedom and civil rights were laid, reflected in Woolman’s work. Wherever the author preached, he tried to convey the idea of the inadmissibility of any form of social injustice.
The Journal of John Woolman
The Journal of John Woolman is an autobiographical narrative centered on a Quaker-based mystical image of an “inner light” that can illuminate a person’s mind and guide him along the path of life. The autobiographical hero’s constant correlation of his actions and reasoning with the dictates of the “inner light,” “true light of life,” is the key motif of the ‘diary’ (Woolman 20). It should be noted that Woolman’s religious component is closely connected with social issues. Therefore the most important role in his spiritual autobiography is played by such topics as slavery, the position of Indians in the colonies, and ethical aspects of economic development (Woolman 3, 4, 62). Meanwhile, those aspects of Woolman’s life that are not directly related to religion and social issues remain outside the scope of the narrative. The purpose of The Journal is not only and not so much to capture a unique ‘I,’ a unique historical personality, but to model a certain exemplary hero in demand in the American autobiography of the Enlightenment.
Conclusion
With good reason, The Journal of John Woolman can be called one of the best works of colonial American literature, although the author’s task was completely non-literary. That is why he attracted close and admiring attention from his contemporaries and many writers and philosophers of England and America in subsequent eras. The diary-confession genre itself was fruitful in the new educational worldview system. It demonstrates one of the most important features of the literary and philosophical history of America, its accelerated pace of development, which led to the combination of various stages.
Works Cited
Dahl, Adam. Empire of the People: Settler Colonialism and the Foundations of Modern Democratic Thought. University Press of Kansas, 2018.
Hoffer, Peter Charles. Law and People in Colonial America. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019.
Woolman, John. “The Journal of John Woolman.” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1774, Web.