Summary Of Letters Of An American Farmer

When arriving in America people saw the new world as a blank slate with many opportunities. In “Letters of an American Farmer” De Crevecoeur writes in the perspective of a fictional character named James. James is an American farmer who writes about his life, thoughts and experiences in America. Throughout the letters James cites the success and hardships he encounters as an American Farmer and citizen. “According to this common understanding, the first letters present an optimistic vision of life in the American colonies, but at some point in the Letters this vision is disrupted and ultimately reversed.” (Holbo) Is how Christine Holbo explains this in her criticism of the letters. The tones presented by De Crevecoeur in the first paragraph of Letter III are pride and optimistic.
De Crevecoeur shows the tone of pride in this section of the letters when the narrorater describes the foundation of America.
“Not surprisingly, then, the "train of pleasing ideas" the American scene provokes in James is explicitly connected to citizenship, causing the viewer to "feel a share of national pride."” (Holbo). While James is explaining the development of America he uses diction with words such as “genius” (De Crevecoeur 1014) and “pride” (De Crevecoeur 1014). The word genius is explained by the anthology as “characteristic national spirit” (De Crevecoeur 1014). The word is inserted in a quote that it used to portray what he, as an English settler of that time, would feel during the creation of America. He specifically uses the word pride when describing the setting of the newly settled America, while creating an image that also presents the tone of pride. “he must necessarily feel a share of national pride when he views the chain of settlements which embellish these extended shores” (De Crevecoeur 1014). This sentence creates an image of the shores of America being cultivated while also conveying the tone of pride in the
paragraph. The tone of optimism is consistent in this letter by De Crevecoeur as he illuminates he opportunities available to Americans. James repeats using diction through the words “equitable” (De Crevecoeur 1015), and “free” (De Crevecoeur 1015) to create this tone. When using the word equitable James is explaining how equal the government and society are compared to England’s which creates more opportunities in America. James use of the word free contributes to the details and diction of this tone. The word free means to do as you please which had a more extended definition in America than it did in England. James says “Here man is free as he ought to be” (De Crevecoeur 1015). This is the detail that elaborates on the characteristic of being free in America, which creates optimism for its civilizations and people. “Letter three thus opens with a description of an immigrant or traveler's first look at the American prospect.” (Holbo). In the first paragraph of Letter III James writes about the origin of America and puts himself in the perspective of an English settler of this time. James is very positive and opportunistic in this letter and while setting himself in this position the reader is able to recognize the tones of pride and optimism. The tones can be shown through the diction imagery and details of the paragraph. Thus giving the readers a clear picture of what he wanted to convey.