Project Blog #6 - Letter to His Family

In Robert E. Lee's "Letter to his Son", Lee expresses the dismal of the Union's fall. It is evident that he fears the Union will erupt into war and fighting due to the growing tension and arguing over secession and slavery. These two issues took its toll on the United States, and Lee sees a Civil War breaking between the North and the South. "I must try and be patient and await the end, for I can do nothing to hasten or retard it," (Lee). In this phrase, Lee basically says that evil is upon the states, and that his only option is to sit back and let the fighting take its toll. When one reads this letter to his family, it is evident that he loves his country and does not wish to see it fall in ruins. Before reading this, I always had the perception that Lee was a strong advocate for slavery and its evils, but now it is self-evident that he strongly loved America and felt grateful for the framer's of the Constitution for providing such a proficient document. For Lee, seeing the Union tear itself apart would be almost terrifying.

Robert E. Lee's letter is very much apart of the realism era. He continually uses simple language and straight-forward grammar which strongly defined the realism time period (Quinn). This is more than likely because he never foresaw his writing to be published for individuals to analyze. But regardless, the letters were personally evading for his family. He gives advice to his son to never back down from what he believes in. This is similar to the ideas of both Thoreau and Emerson. In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" and Emerson's "Self-Reliance" qualities of sticking up for what is right is consistently portrayed.

Lee's letter put things in perspective for America at the time. The South time and time again went against the north to the point that war was the only way to solve the dilemma of slavery. Men were treated like dirt, yet it took thousands of lives lost to get anything solved over the issue. By following the example Lee portrays in his letter, the South could have avoided war with the North and compromise to save the humanity and dignity of countless African Americans.

Quinn, Edward. "Realism and Naturalism in American Literature." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0707&SingleRecord=True. February 15, 2012.

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to His Sons." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 385.