Abstract The evolution of literature in America has been an extraordinary process, where its development from humble descriptions of exploration to extraordinary works of fiction demonstrates a comparable form of development within the American people. This paper explores the concept of "AmericanLiterature" in respect to its evolution from the Columbian period through the Ante- Bellum period.
Abstract The paper compares and contrasts British and Americanliterature and contends that they are similar in their response to the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, but they diverge in their interpretation of romanticism. The paper relates that the short story and transcendental writing are also different between the two nations, as opposed to mysteries which are alike and equally popular in both.
From the Paper "Although America and Great Britain are separated by an ocean, they are connected at the pen so to speak. The similarities in their literature are more numerous than their differences. This is partly due to their common heritage, America having originally been a colony of England. Even beyond that, though, the literature of both countries was influenced by the same factors. One such factor was the Industrial Revolution. The influence of that revolution upon both countries was significant."
Tags: British, American, literature, romanticism, transcendental, short story, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, compare, contrast, mystery
Abstract This paper attempts to construct a definition of an Asian-American writer through the common themes in their literary works. Several examples of Asian-American novels are presented and analyzed for their shared themes such as alienation and family. These works include Eric Liu's "The Accidental Asian," "The Interpreter" by Suki Kim and "No-No Boy," by John Okada. The author concludes that the themes of self-doubt and estrangement make reading 'Asian-American' literature an enriching, complex experience.
From the Paper "This theme of internal estrangement becomes a metaphorical plot device in The Interpreter by Suki Kim. The protagonist of the novel has two murdered parents. The young woman is a both a literal and figurative orphan of her home, her original Korean culture, and cast adrift in America. If she can find their murderers, Suzy hopes, she will gain a sense of identity and a greater affinity with her national past. However, her pursuit of justice only drives her deeper into psychological turmoil and a sense of displacement, as she seeks her parent's murderers in vain in the Korean-American underworld of New York City."
Abstract This paper argues that certain themes conspire to create a uniquely American literary voice. It contends that specifically these motifs are a very staunch Christian ethos, a sense of American exceptionalism most vividly captured in the work of James Winthrop. Also a firm if not vehement commitment to individuality, personal industry and liberty are mentioned.
From the Paper "There can be little question that a nation's spirit is found in its national canon. The reason for this is that people rarely set pen (or quill) to paper to write something when they could far more easily just say it. The act of writing, the labor involved, presupposes that - in most instances - what a writer has to say is important to him or her. As it pertains to America, it is clear that certain things are especially important to Americans and those "things" or concepts animate American literature in a very special way. This paper will argue that certain themes conspire to create a uniquely American literary voice. Specifically, these themes (they may also be called motifs) are a very staunch Christian ethos, a sense of American exceptionalism (most vividly captured in the work of James Winthrop) and a firm if not vehement commitment to individuality, personal ..."
Abstract This paper examines the nature of Americanliterature. The paper explains that Americanliterature, like many other nationalistic literary bodies has had an evolution that marks changing attitudes with regard to what is to be included in the voice of literature. The paper then looks at how the representation of both women and African-American writers is not the only body of inclusion, as contemporary movements have made significant strides toward the inclusion of almost every immigrant group into the canon of Americanliterature and into the body of publishing in general in history and contemporary works. The paper also points out that the defining characteristics of what qualifies as AmericanLiterature is simply that it is a written form, poetry, prose or drama that conveys any point of view of the American experience of growth and change. The writer states that frequently some of the most fundamentally expressive forms of Americanliterature are immigrant literature that explores the real and fictional development of the self, from an immigrant outsider to someone who feels as if they are an American, regardless of the outside view of themselves as a foreigner. The paper concludes that Americanliterature should continue to be inclusive and representative of personal nationalistic growth, as a standard bearer for other forms of nationalistic literature.
From the Paper "In all representations of immigrant literature there is a clear sense that at almost any given time in America there was a dominant or subjugated immigrant group that was struggling to be accepted by those who had immigrated one, two or three generations before them. America is a nation of immigrants and American literature is finally beginning to express this, without as much of the exclusionary literary academic influences. The transition of an immigrant into and "American" in the self is frequently one of the most important and influential expression of literature, from Latino American literature, to Asian American immigrant expressions."
This paper reviews Asian-American history and provides a course outline for incorporating Asian-Americanliterature studies into middle-school or high-school coursework.
Abstract This paper explains that Asian-Americanliterature, which has grown considerably over the last several decades, is considered one of the subdivisions of multicultural literature. The author points out that scholarly and popular interest in Asian-Americanliterature is of recent vintage, having found its direct roots in student activism at San Francisco State and the University of California, Berkeley in the late 1960s, which resulted in the creation of interdisciplinary ethnic studies programs; today, courses in Asian-Americanliterature are common throughout U.S. higher education. The paper relates that Asian-Americanliterature is an oft-contested field due to the wide variety of cultures and backgrounds in the Asian-Americans culture; however, this variety of backgrounds has given rise to writings reflective of cross-generational concerns and styles.
Table of Contents
Introduction
History
Course Outline
Course Abstract
Fiction
Group Project
Single Project
Survey
Conclusion
From the Paper "When considering the history of Asian-American literature, it is necessary to also look at the history of those who came to the United States since its formation. In reviewing the Asian-American literature, it is also important to note the history of Asian immigration to the United States. The Chinese first started immigrating to the United States during the mid- to late-1860s, as part of the gold rush. They provided cheap labor for farms and the transcontinental railroad. Other Asian groups joined them during this same time to work in the Hawaiian sugar plantations or California farm fields. The Asians were recognized as second-class citizens from their very first days in the country. However, they still had to contribute 50 percent of the taxes collected in California between 1850 and 1870 because of the Foreign Miners Tax of 1850. Other discriminatory events included the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1885, which initiated a ban on Chinese immigration."
Abstract This paper discusses the importance of African-Americanliterature, in order to come to a true understanding of how influential and important this particular literature is. The paper claims that this literature has made an impact in many ways, including social, economic, environmental, cultural and historical.
Contents:
Introduction
The importance of African AmericanLiterature The Implications of African AmericanLiterature Social
Economic
Environmental
Cultural
Historical
How African-AmericanLiterature Has Changed -- Across the Genres
Slave Narratives and Biographies
Novels
Conclusion
Works Cited
From the Paper "The changes in African-American literature are also very important. At least two genres will be discussed, one being slaved narratives and biographies and the other being novels, in order to understand how African-American literature has changed. It has not stayed the same over the course of time, and often it has evolved as history has evolved, changing and reshaping itself in order to fit the times that it finds itself in. Occasionally, however, a particular work of African-American literature will simply break away from what society considers as the norm for that time period, and the author will go off on his or her own to write something that he or she feels is vitally important."
Abstract The paper discusses the first period of the Americanliterature that was influenced by a sense of religiousness and then shows how Americanliterature changed from a religious-based philosophy to a political-based one, with the works of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine. The paper looks at the literature trends in the period of the American Revolution and during the Civil War. The paper concludes that the theme "a new start" in Americanliterature represented an important step in the establishment of the national identity of the American people in each of its important moments.
From the Paper "The history of the American literature can be considered to be in deep contact with the history of the American nation itself. It represents a close mirror image of the way in which the United States came into being. This is largely due to the fact that one of the few means of manifestation for the early colonists that came in America to manifest themselves was the literary field. At the same time though, literature was largely used to express the feelings and emotions of the beginning of the nation. This is why, from this point of view, it is important to consider the history of the American literature as part of the wider attempt to construct the cultural identity of a nation."
Tags: colonists, writers, religion, civil, war, revolution
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that the more broadly, deeply, objectively and honestly one reflects on the question of what is; or is not Americanliterature, the more complex the issue becomes. The writer then provides a definition of literature before examining the issue of Americanliterature. The writer concludes that aspects of American life and character that often, although not always, get left out of literary works often have to do with politics and/or political processes perhaps because their bad effects, while known, are probably hard to describe in terms of tangible effects on an individual hero or life situation.
From the Paper "The question of what it means to be an American is an even more complex one; and it brings my cynicism to the surface. When I read Walt Whitman's gigantic, beautiful, exuberant ode to America these days that was first published in 1855, when being an American was obviously a whole different experience than it is for Americans today, I wish I could feel half as enthusiastic about being an American today as he obviously did back then. Nowadays, I think that to be an American (in general) just means to be an overly materialistic; chronically-shallow thinker; who is (therefore) gullible to bad political influences and the wrong kinds of "peer pressure" (e.g., to smoke; to drink; to deface public property with graffiti); and whose only real religion is materialism and whose main reason for even being alive is just to buy more and more material stuff, and to be entertained (mindlessly) mostly by television."
Abstract The paper discusses how, as the political and social climate has changed, Americanliterature has evolved to include previously disenfranchised voices, such as Native-Americans, women, African-Americans and disenfranchised immigrants from many nations of origin. The paper then explores how we define an American writer and Americanliterature.
From the Paper "The representation of both women and African American writers is not the only body of inclusion. Contemporary movements have made significant strides toward the inclusion of almost every immigrant group into the canon of American literature and into the body of publishing in general in history and contemporary works. These groups include Asian immigrants, Eastern European Jews, Germans, Italians and of coarse Native Americans who have a rich tradition of their own. Yet, we must remember that this is a relatively new experience and that for the majority of the development of "American Literature" the system was one of elitism that preferred almost exclusively the point of view of the Western white male."
Abstract This paper examines the African-American experience as it is expressed in the work of several notable writers. The author states that the works of black writers reflect aspects of American life and the development of American society over time. Several works are discussed that highlight various themes in African-American life, such as slavery and discrimination. The paper concludes by stating that the black experience is as American as any other and complements the experience of the majority society in many respects even as it extends it to new areas.
From the Paper "Ralph Ellison is a black man and approaches the world from that perspective, finding a way to express how society treats the black man through the character of the Invisible Man, a persona that enables him to hide even when in a crowd. For Ellison, blackness has been made by society into the defining characteristic of his existence. In a sense, he adopts the point of view of the white by making himself invisible. He is treated as if he were invisible, and he finds the benefit in that stat and uses it to his advantage in commenting on whit society. The main character in The Invisible Man is invisible only in a metaphorical sense, so that he seems invisible both to himself and to others. The hero of this novel is a black man who is invisible in white society because he is black. He is invisible in black society because of the way he takes on various roles expected of him by white society, though he recognizes how demeaning and false many of those roles are. He is invisible to himself because he has adopted certain roles and so cannot allow himself to exist as a real person with his own point of view. The existence of such a character is a devastating indictment of the dehumanization process in American society based on racial discrimination."
Abstract This paper discusses how any Americanliterature class is important today because it offers students the opportunity to view how the culture of America has been shaped and transformed. The paper begins with a review of early colonial and Puritan writings and expands on American history through the women's rights movement and time of slavery and freedom. It also discusses how the early writings of Americans helped shaped America by explaining how America has always given man the opportunity to express him or herself liberally, and offered the right to freedom, democracy and eventually justice for all. For this reason many today look up to America still as a land of opportunity, and is the reason these writings are essential to understanding this opinion of America today.
Outline
Introduction
Early Literature - A Reflection of Hope
Enlightenment and Deism
The 19th Century and Beyond
Conclusion
From the Paper "Much of early literature including works like William Bradford's, "Of Plymouth Plantation" and John Winthrop's, "A Model of Christian Charity" reflect what America was about in the earliest stages of its growth, or its infancy using our initial analogy. In his original manuscript, Bradford attempts to explain life during the early puritan period as he states, "with singular regard unto ye simple trueth in all things, at least as near as my slender judgmente can attaine the same" (Bradford 3). This early document demonstrates the early spelling and phonetic writing of early authors, but more importantly demonstrates Bradford's attempts to describe the "truth in all things" as he saw them, admitting his own judgment may be "slender" but truthful. Bradford goes on to describe the, "Honourable Nation of England," the first nation purportedly adorned by God, and the transgressions that had led to wars and opposition, imprisonments and banishments that occurred in early times, forcing the people of American to return to churches of God that, "reverte to their anciente pruitie, and recover primitive order, libertie & bewtie" (Bradford 3). "
Abstract This paper discusses literature in the African-American community and the significance it holds. It provides a brief history of African-Americanliterature and about the prejudices that authors faced to have their works recognized. The paper also provides examples of noted African-American authors from before America gained its independence until the present day.
From the Paper "Since African Americans were first brought to America as slaves, they have been the victims of repression and cruelty. This began with slavery, continued on to segregation, and even continues on today through various forms of racism. Throughout this entire situation, African Americans have produced many different forms of literature, which has a great significance in history. Through African American literature, it is possible to follow the struggles of African Americans from their own points of view. It is also possible to see the different ideologies that shaped the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement, among other things. African Americans were brought to the United States as slaves, and they have been treated as second class citizens ever since. At first, their literature was not taken seriously as it should have been, and it also was often thought to be unoriginal. Over the years, African American authors slowly began making progress in society. This began with them getting the proper recognition for their work. Next, they began to enter into mainstream society and be recognized as legitimate artists. Finally, they achieved complete integration into mainstream literature, but the importance of the early African American literature remains as large as ever. Through the various social movements that have occurred over the years, African American authors have been able to gain national and international recognition for their contributions to the arts."
Abstract The 'American Dream' is the assertion that any individual can become fabulously wealthy and that fabulous wealth, in turn, produces great happiness. It pervades American society and, consequently, Americanliterature. Its thematic impact on The Great Gatsby and "Death of a Salesman" is explored.
Abstract This seven-page paper presents a discussion about the importance of William Shakespeare to the world of AmericanLiterature. The writer of this paper uses several of Shakespeare's works to illustrate he ways he ingrained himself and his writing style into the hearts of his audiences and how those works become important to Americanliterature. There were seven sources used to complete this paper.
