Representatives of American Literature - Essay Example

American Literature 2 NUMBER DUE American literature is specific to the Americanexperience. It is a subset of English Literature which in turn is subset of World Literature. There are several major movements within American literature which include Early American Literature, Gothic-Supernatural-Fantasy Fiction, Naturalism, American Realism, Modernist Literature , Science Fiction , Postmodernist Literature. The theme of this course was to review and read a variety of authors that were part of modern American literature. While the course does cover a number of great American authors, the exclusion of the founders of American literature like Emerson, authors of the great American novel like Steinbeck, and playwrights like Tennessee Williams was disappointing. However, the course did cover literature that when originally published was considered subversive and vulgar which have now found their way into the common American conscience and American textbooks. There are several instances where literature written at a particular time was not accepted as part of American literature until years after it was published. In many cases rejection accompanied severe criticism and cruel treatment of the author. American literary masterpieces were not born overnight but through the filters of time, reflection, and intellect. A clear demonstration of this can be seen in the prejudices applied to authors who looked for alternative narrative styles and techniques he Things They Carriedby Tim O'Brien, "That Evening Sun by William Faulkner, and here Are You Going, Where Have You Beenby Joyce Carol Oates were all criticized for unusual techniques and called unsuitable, unreadable, and unamerican when published but today represent the bulk and range of everything that is truly unique about America Literature. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates ventured into the issues of sex and violence. On the surface the narrative is fairly generic. The plot follows a 15 year old girl named Connie who is a typical teen - shallow, and self consumed. She spends her days at the mall, listening to the radio, and boy watching. However, it soon becomes clear that this story has a very dark undertone. Joyce Carol Oates has commented that this short story is a ealistic allegoryand that she uses characters in the narrative to represent abstract ideas. A common theme in much of Oateswork is her belief that the 20th century is spiritually empty. That people have no piritof their own and therefore are easily influenced and harmed. In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" Oatescreates the character of Arnold Friend to be the antagonist. He is intense and powerful. As the story continues he is like a dark persistent cloud that weighs heavy on Connie and the reader. Arnold Friend is evil personified and his omnipotence allows him to know and abuse Connie insecurities for his own uses. This story has images of the devil, possible rape or murder, and teenage promiscuity none of which was well received by the public in conservative 1965. Even after she took a full time position of Princeton where she taught literature, receive great reviews from critics her work was still seen inappropriate for the students of American. It was not until 30 years that, the academic world took notice of Oates and incorporated a great deal of her writing in their textbooks. Young women are now encouraged to read Oates' work which is now called feminism literature. The events that inspired this short story were based on a real life murderer in the early 1960s. This was a time when most horrific things in the world simply were not discussed. However, today modern audience do not shutter, close their eyes, or get sick to their stomachs when this type of violence is discussed. The events in the story, occurred in 1965 as they occurred today however current society is much more open and accepting. hat Evening Sunby Faulkner, is today hailed as a great achievement in narrative style, this was not always the case. When it was first published the dual point of view was not widely accepted and was hard to read. he Evening Sunis about a man, Quentin, in his mid 20s who is recalling an event that happened 15 years in the past. The event centers around a woman who believes her husband, aptly named Jesus, is going to kill her. The main character in the story is only 9 years old. While the young child did not know what was going on at the time, he does now as he retells the story as an adult. There are two different types of narration occurring. The first is that of the young Quentin describing things as a child. Then there is the narration of the adult Quentin. The child sees things very emotionally while the adult is able to sort out and logically judge his memories. On top of the odd narrative style, Faulkner creates a story in which the evil individual in the story is named Jesus. This is extremely risky topic for the early 1930s. The title of the story is a reference to a black religious song. The song is about how death comes when the sun goes down. The resolution of the story offers no real conclusion. The characters nor the reader have a solid proof that anyone is waiting to kill Nancy. Another new technique that Faulkner explores is the use of extremely long descriptions which are single sentences. Each of the first two paragraphs are single sentences. The first paragraph is a description of the setting. The second paragraph offers background information about the setting. The use of dual narration and the extended descriptions brought Faulkner nothing but grief when it was first published. But today it is seen as one of the best uses of point of view in American literature. O'Brien uses an interesting and unique approach in writing this novel. "The Things They Carried" is essentially a collection of stories which function to together as a novel. O'Brien actively works against the literary belief that truth can only be communicated through realism. While literary realists strive to document events as they actually happen, O'Brien wished to document the emotion experienced by the storyteller. O'Brien as well as a number of postmodern writers believe that realism is actually unable to convey truthful emotion and the izeof an experience to the reader. It is only through the distortion of the events that the real experience can be conveyed. The story style and topic was not well received when it was originally published and many critics believed that the public would not be able to understand O'Brien point of view. A key component in O'Brien being able to portray the the events and emotion of the Vietnam War is his intentional blurring of truth and fiction. he Thing They Carriedis subtitled as work of fictionand offers the following disclaimer ll the incidents, names, and characters are imaginary. However, the stories are written in first person and reads like a personal memoir. The main character is named Tim O'Brien. Tim O'Brien, the real author, is veteran of the Vietnam war. The intentional blurring of reality with fiction is used by O'Brien to reconstruct the fragmented and unreal experiences of the Vietnam War. The use of distortion can be found in the story he Man I Killed O'Brien, the character, tells the story of how he killed an enemy solider with a grenade. He goes on to describe the consuming and ever present guilt over the incident. Chapters later, O'Brien states that did not kill him. But I was present, you see, and my presence was guilt enough. The reader feels lied too and wonders what is truth and what is fiction. The emotional manipulation creates an enormous amount of confusion in the reader and mistrust of the author. This mirrors the emotion and betrayal felt by the confused American soldiers who did not understand what they were fighting or who they were fighting. O'Brien continues to explain very story is made upand like war there is o clarity. The retelling of war tale is bout sorrowand bsolute occurrence is irrelevant. While O'Brien's topic is edgey so is his choice of narrative technique. Telling the truth by lying, is hard concept to understand even for modern audiences. Vietnam is not an easily approach topic and O'Brien handles it well. Oates, O'Brien, and Faulkner are three names associated with testing the limits of narrative approach and exploring new avenues of expressing the human condition. These are the authors of modern literature in America however when their stories were first publish they were admonished for bad topics and even worse writing techniques. The public shock was not just centered on their writing or choice of subject. Each of them authors suffered through personal attacks on their characters, their lifestyles, and their own place within literary society. American literature is a reflection of the American self. When these three short stories were published American society was not quite ready to take a honest look at the at the specific events depicted. Instead of dealing with these issues directly, this stories were buried in criticism. It was not until years later that they became included in American literature as respected authors of great pieces of truly American prose. These authors had the courage, foresight, and technical expertise to write about topics and events which were important depictions of the human experience. These writers do exactly what modern authors are supposed to do. Modern literature is supposed to inspire, enrage, and evoke emotion causing the reader to both think and react. Each of these author depicts different events, through different eyes, and each expresses different sentiments. However, through the common beliefs and dedication to the exploration of self, emotion, and independence they can all be considered great American writers. Works Consulted Faulkner, William. "That Evening Sun." American Literature, Volume II. Ed. William Cain. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. Oates, Joyce Carol. "Where are you going, Where have you been." American Literature, Volume II. Ed. William Cain. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." American Literature, Volume II. Ed. William Cain. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. Read More