Anthology of English Literature - Essay Example

ENGLISH 441 MIDTERM - Anthology Preface This anthology will encapsulate the true diversity and paradoxically contradictory experience which makes up both the American "character" and the "voice" which tells it. While tradition has tended to hand down the perspective of a particular group within America, that of white men, in reality an honest description would involve many more groups. This Is not to minimize or underplay the contribution of white men to the American experience, any attempt to do this would be purely political/ideological and, most importantly, ashistorical. But at the same time other voices can and should be added to that received conclusion as to what the American experience is. The attempt to "absorb America" that Deveare speaks of is perhaps impossible because of the sheer range of peoples, experiences and ideas that exist within it. But perhaps that very impossibility is an example of the success of the project. Thus is a person thinks that they have encapsulated the American experience and can hold it all within their viewpoint, they are bound to be excluding some groups and ideas that are not easy to absorb. A true absorbing of what it means to "be" American will involve a dizzying mixture of experiences which will overwhelm any one individual. The through-line which holds these selections together is the fact, paradoxically, that they are so different from one another. They hold a commonality of difference. But that difference is perhaps the best descriptor of the genuine American experience. Kowalewski. Gold Rush: A Literary Exploration Ridge. Joaquin Murieta "I sit down to write something of the life and character of Joaquin Murieta, a man as remarkable in the annals of crime as any of the renowned robbers of the Old or New World, who have preceded him." (p.1) The idea that a Mexican could be as "renowned" in anything as a white man, even in the dubious distinction of being an outlaw, was novel at the time this account was written. In many ways Ridge's account of the actions of Murieta contributed to the outlaw bandit image of the border states more than anything else. There is something Romantic to this hero, something which has remained to the present day. "I do this not for the purpose of contributing to any depraved taste for the dark and horrible in human action, but rather to contribute my mite to those materials out of which the early history of California shall one day be composed." Of course this appeal to "depraved tasted" is precisely what Ridge is doing. This quotation is useful because the legend and myths of such outlaws are as much a part of early American history as any of the lives of politicians. The mythology of the west is as important as the reality, indeed, it becomes part of the reality whether it is true or not. Harte, The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Writings "There was commotion in Roaring Camp. It could not have been a fight, for in 1850 that was not novel enough to have called together the entire settlement. The ditches and claims were not only deserted, but "Tuttle's grocery" had contributed its gamblers, who, it will be remembered, calmly continued their game the day that French Pete and Kanaka Joe shot each other to death over the bar in the front room." (p.1) The myth of the violence of the American West, like many national myths, is based at least partly upon reality. This memorable opening shows the innate humor that could be gained from a community that is so violent that it barely notices two men shooting each other to death in a bar. In one sense, this quotation supports the great Hollywood Western myth that the whole of the West was made up of lawless towns in which coffins for the day's shooting deaths were lined up every day. "The assemblage numbered about a hundred men. One or two of these were actual fugitives from justice, some were criminal, and all were reckless. Physically they exhibited no indication of their past lives and character. The greatest scamp had a Raphael face, with a profusion of blonde hair; Oakhurst, a gambler, had the melancholy air and intellectual abstraction of a Hamlet; the coolest and most courageous man was scarcely over five feet in height, with a soft voice and an embarrassed, timid manner. The term "roughs" applied to them was a distinction rather than a definition." (p.3) Here Harte supports the idea that most people in the West were either criminals (wanted or otherwise) or at least had the potential for criminality. Yet at the same time he illustrates that appearances may be deceptive within America. Within this so-called "classless" society the most violent man might have a "Raphael face" and a gambler might appear to be "Hamlet". There is a good deal of irony here as Harte identifies the paradoxes of the town he is describing. Twain, Roughing It Quote 1: "This book is merely a personal narrative, and not a pretentious history or a philosophical dissertation. It is a record of several years of variegated vagabondizing, and its object is rather to help the resting reader while away an idle hour than afflict him with metaphysics, or goad him with science. Still, there is information in the volume; information concerning an interesting episode in the history of the Far West." (p.1) Here is perhaps a classic rendition of the American travel experience. The idea of a writer "vagabondizing" (a word that has tragically fallen out of usage) his way across America essentially typifies the experience of the American traveler. The idea is that a formal, organized type of trip across America is unlikely to yield much in the way of genuine insight into its true character. The high-thinking travelogues that are produced for other countries have no place here. It is Twain's modesty as to his actual intentions that is also quintessentially American. Suspicion of any overall philosophies, whether metaphysical or otherwise, goes hand in hand with an appreciation of the diversity of experience. Such experience cannot be limited by a simple "ism", however appropriate it may initially seem. "I allude to the rise, growth and culmination of the silver-mining fever in Nevada -a curious episode, in some respects; the only one, of its peculiar kind, that has occurred in the land; and the only one, indeed, that is likely to occur in it." (p.1) Many definitions of America involve a mythology - and one of the great mythologies of the Nineteenth Century was the manner in which the West was opened up. Many miners looking for gold in California, and silver in Nevada, came to the region in search of their own "dream". It was defined through a quite simple desire for quick wealth, but ironically created the vibrant economies that still exist today, especially in California. Twain describes a unique experience, giving the objective observations of a superb writer and also the activity of a man who was involved in ordinary life to the fullest. Twain was an observer and a participant, in the best American tradition. Jackson, Ramona "IT was sheep-shearing time in Southern California, but sheep-shearing was late at the Senora Moreno's. The Fates had seemed to combine to put it off. In the first place, Felipe Moreno had been ill. He was the Senora's eldest son, and since his father's death had been at the head of his mother's house. Without him, nothing could be done on the ranch, the Senora thought. It had been always, "Ask Senor Felipe," "Go to Senor Felipe," "Senor Felipe will attend to it," ever since Felipe had had the dawning of a beard on his handsome face." This introduces the manner in which Spanish-American homes were largely dominated by men at this time. The rise and fall of ranches often mirrored the fluctuations in the local economy. While often hilariously dated by modern standards, this novel acts as an important historical document. "To the Senora it seemed as if there were no longer any people about the place. A beggarly handful, she would have said, hardly enough to do the work of the house, or of the estate, sadly as the latter had dwindled. In the General's day, it had been a free-handed boast of his that never less than fifty persons, men, women and children, were fed within his gates each day; how many more, he did not care, nor know. But that time had indeed gone." The view of the growth of California as a one-way upward arrow is not born out by reality. As this quote shows, various areas, and ranches, would rise to prominence and then fall. The myth of how many people the old General had working on his farm is probably just that: a myth, but this does not necessarily mean that it is any less real to the people. America is largely composed of myths, especially in the West. Conclusion This assignment has shown me that there are multiple voices which can express the American experience. The ability to enter the world of another who has a very different experience from myself enables me to both appreciate the diversity of this country and also, paradoxically, to understand my own experience more completely. This is perhaps what Deveare Smith means when she speaks of a search for "American character". That character is multifaceted and multi-dimensional. It cannot be encapsulated by a single racial, cultural or historical experience but rather varies according to geography, time period and individual. It is the "many" that this anthology represents which means the most to me. Read More