Analysis of the American Writers and Their Views Concerning the Great Nation - Term Paper Example

American Writers Literature is one of the main areas of learning that concentrate their themes on one core role; correcting or informing the society concerning certain necessities. Besides, it is classified as the oldest area of study. It began centuries even before the introduction of literacy. Stories were passed by word of mouth. Most of these stories had their thematic contents revolving around certain societal issues. America is one of the nations that have captured the attention of several writers. Currently, there numerous books, in various matriculation libraries, talking of the nation in various aspects such as political, economic and social. This paper will succinctly look into the analysis of the five mentioned writers and their views concerning the great nation. Maxine Hong Kingston Maxine was a daughter to an illegal Chinese immigrant into the US. This status made her compile several novels, most of which discussed mainly her life in the United States. This provided her with a good environment to express her opinion on the United States. One of her works that received many criticisms in the Chinese world is “The woman warrior: Memoirs of Girlhood among Ghosts.” In the book, she talks of a No Name woman who is poised by Chinese culture. The book, when analyzed well, reveals Maxine’s view on America as a civilized society where culture does not interfere with or control individual’s freedom. In most of her other novels, for instance, in the Book Tripmaster Monkey, she mainly majors in the use of juxtaposition and symbolism to make side-by-side comparison between the two societies; America and China. Her main point, while comparing the two societies, is mainly based on the cultural differences and their effects to the parties involved (Grice 132). Her fellow Chinese Americans in the US sees the book as a disrespect and negative exposure of the Chinese culture to the outside world. In another article, such as the fifth book of peace, she ironically states that writing about peace has become extremely difficult. Summing up all her works of art, she is a woman who loves the American culture and sees it less oppressing, and democratic than the Chinese culture that is full of gender and religious discrimination. Don Delillo DeLillo is an award –winning professional American author, essayist, and a play-writer. Most of his works of art cover diverse subjects such as sports, language complexities, nuclear war, cold war, art performance, as well as, Mathematics (DeLillo 23). Most of his books widely considered by critics to be central figures of the postmodern literature. Almost all her books explore postmodernism themes and satirize academia themes of novelty intellectualism, consumerism, reintegration, and disintegration of families, underground conspiracies, as well as, rebirth through violence. Another common theme in most of his books is mass media saturation and its role in the formation of simulacra that serves the purpose of removing from their contents and altering or draining their inherent meaning. From her book, Mao II, he uses many rhetorical questions to analyze and outline the Americans on their view concerning terrorism. His last novel was, Falling Man, written in 2007. Before he completed writing the novel, most of the normal critics in the United States had already started analyzing his view and belief on the 9/11 event in New York, that is, the bombing of the New York City in 2004. They thought that, as an “American Enemy,” he would undoubtedly come up with blame explanations especially on the American government as being responsible for the occurrence. According to his interview in 2007 in Die Zeit, he asserted that his intention was not to write anything about the 9/11q event. “...didn't ever want to write a novel about the event.” and “... I had an idea for a different book” (DeLillo 89). This excerpt implies that he did not have the intention to write anything about the bombing. However, his critical stand and belief that American needed change to cope up with the rest of the world gave birth to the assumption by the public, especially his literature critics. Another reason for the early critical reactions was his stand, especially in analyzing the leaders and their behaviors. Considering that the US elections had been held in 2004 and George Bush was re-elected, there was a high expectation that he would criticize or ridicule people on their decision to do the take him back to the top seat. Due to this, his last novel never won any awards for American writers. As an American writer, it can be concluded that Don was a critic, especially to the political leaders. He always thought that Americans as literary blind people who elected people based not on their performance and personalities, but on their social status, race and regional origin. Bharati Mukherjee Bharati was an Indian-born American popular writer during the 1960s. She received several awards for her many acclaimed novels. Currently, Bharati is a professor at the University of California, majoring in English. In most of her novels, she employs cultural differences to expose the nature of America. In her novel, Wife, for instance, she talks about Dimple Dasgupta’s story (Alam 35). Dimple arranged marriage to an engineer, Amit Basu. After the marriage, they move to the US, where they unexpectedly experience loneliness and culture shock. The type of frustration they undergo seems like an abuse to them, and the story finally turns out to be a tragedy. Interpreted, it is arguably true that the book reveals that American social boundaries are governed by the race of the other party; they do not socialize much with the couple because they are Indians. From this, it is indisputably true that the author has portrayed America as a nation where racial prejudices and individualism prevail. Martin Luther King Jr He was one of the most acclaimed activist, clergyman, and prominent leader of the then known and popular African-American Civil Rights Movement. His main role, as a leader in the United States, was the advancement of civil rights in the country (Kirk 31). Through writings and sermons, Luther King opposed most of the steps that the US government took. One of the notable steps the United States’ involvements in the Vietnam War. While in Riverside Church, he opposed this decision stating that the intention of the US’s involvement in the war was to make some “huge profits,” with no concern or concentration on the betterment of the host countries. He considered this action unjust and rebuked it publicly. Through this, King showed that showed the image of America as an opportunistic nation, which is not fair and is not concerned about the concerns of other people. Besides, being a leader of the group that fought for the civil rights of the Blacks in the United States is evidence that he believed that the Blacks in the US were denied their rights. Denial of rights to a given people is a revelation or portrayal of a racist society. Therefore, Luther King, as an American writer, depicted the United States as a racist and unfair society where discrimination dominated. His popular phrase, “I have a dream…” further illustrate on his unsatisfactory stand on the American politics, government, and society during his time (Kirk 103). Malcolm X. Malcolm was an African-American minister from a Muslim society in the United States. Like Luther King, he was an activist of human rights in the United States. In his book, autobiography of Malcolm X, he was captured in 1946 following his participation on burglary activities that mainly targeted the rich White American families. His arrest came when he was reported to the police by a shop owner who has seen him pick an expensive jewelry stolen watch. He had left the watch for repair. Throughout his life, Malcolm appeared staunch in his decision to fight against racial and religion discrimination in the United States (Benson 45). He portrayed America, as a nation that lacked fairness, a nation with poor distribution of resources. He also portrayed the US as a nation where religious discrimination prevailed. Work Cited Grice, Helena. Maxine Hong Kingston. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006. Print. Kirk, John. Martin Luther King Jr. New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Longman, 2005. Print. DeLillo, Don. Point Omega. New York, NY: Pan Macmillan, 2011. Print. Alam, Fakrul. Bharati Mukherjee. New York, NY: Twayne Publishers, 1996. Print. Benson, Michael. Malcolm X. New York, NY: Lerner Publications, 2005. Print. Read More