Phinney (1996) claims culture and society have three distinct identifiers, behaviours and attitudes, feeling of membership, and experience. The latter specifically a direct outcome of the minority group. American literature is usually centred on the ideals of the nation. It should entail the story of the character and his place in American and its people. American literature combines freedom, hope, and hardship. Struggle, be it internal or external, seemed to be a major theme in some of the narratives we read (Britannica.com). Many works by African American authors had freedom as their primary objective, and optimism is what motivates us to continue working for equality now. Works of literature that are primarily authored in the English language and are published in the U. S. and its colonial empires are what fall under my description of “American Literature. They are a body of literally or written works that go as back as the heart of American history. ”
My assessment is premised on the reality that because it was formerly a British colony, its literary heritage is deeply ingrained in the English language. American literature is generally regarded as having its origins in the 17th century. This writing was greatly impacted by the historical developments that took place in the country that produced it. America was really little more than a bunch of sovereign colonies at the dawn of human history. The United States started to generate literature in the early years after gaining independence from England that was different from the European tradition. This literature started the process of developing our cultural ideas by emphasizing American principles. It originally consisted of a variety of publications and reports on people living in the New World. All of this had an influence on the decision-makers who were growing the country at the time.
The United States had grown to encompass all directions by the end of the 19th century, including the west, south, and north. My research taught me that because of the distinctive characteristics that it possesses in the American context, it has recently been broken off into its own class. In this paper I intend to identify and engage you in an extended version of the American literature purview. The development of American literature involved many contributors, and it is primarily made up of works from five different historical periods: the colonial and early period, which took place in the seventeenth century; the romantic era; naturalism and realism; the modernist era; and the modern era. What is currently recognized as the corpus of American literature in this country is made up of all of them.
The word “American” connotes freedom and faith in the American dream, in my opinion. The native inhabitants of the continent did not have a written text until Columbus and other invaders discovered the Americans. they used chants, songs, and oral tales to display their artistic abilities and pass on information of their traditions (Baym, et al, 34-38). I was taught in school all throughout my childhood that being an American meant being patriotic; it meant believing in the “Land of the Free,” the red, white, and blue, and having access to equal opportunities for all. But as I got older, my opinions began to shift, even though I still acknowledge that many Native Americans and African Americans who were held in slavery did not share these ideals when they were created. Scholars regarded these verbal genres, that included trickster narratives, humor, naming and grievance slogans, and dream songs (Phinney, 19), amongst many others, as “literary” since they exemplify the imaginative and energizing responses of the individuals to their Native philosophy, in contrast to the common Western comprehension of literary works that they must be primarily the result of actual text.
Writing provided opportunity to those who were not born into an existence of advantage but were in favor of excellence, aptitude, and determination to modify the prospects of their living, like John Smith and Diego del Castillo, during the early settlement of the Americas. With Boston’s magnitude in terms of population driving the production of Puritan literature and the 1636 founding of an autonomous institution and printing press at Harvard University, New England enjoyed a publishing advantage over other colonies in the 15th century (Baym, et al, 104-107).
Even if with these endeavors the English language dominance was initially hardly noticeable, political affairs ultimately altered the path and made English the preferred language for literary production and the primary language for the territories. American literature only had roughly 250 published works between 1696 and 1700. The majority of these pieces dealt with issues related to colonial life’s religion, security, and culture.
Being an American still entails feeling proud of both our Native American and African American cultures, both of which, although not being mentioned in our constitution, contributed significantly to the wealth of our nation and the American literature. Being American today means that if you were born in America, regardless of what you look like or what language you speak. Being American is having pride of all the various diversity and cultures that helped create the modern-day United States of America, not just the ones that conquerors claimed to be native to the country. American literature, in my opinion, is literature that was created mostly in the US and its former colonies and is published in English.
Because it was once dominated by Britain, my guiding principle is that English literature has had a significant influence. Beginning in the 17th century, American literature was influenced by the history of the nation that produced it. America was once only a collection of colonies for many years. Initially on after the U.S separated from England, it started to produce literature that was different from the European tradition, placed an emphasis on American Values, and began to form our cultural ideals. It was first made up of records and reports regarding New World citizens. All of that had an impact on policymakers as they expanded the nation. The United States had grown westward, southerly, and northward by the beginning of the twentieth century.
The American aspiration to establish a distinctive American literature and culture was sparked by the 1812 War, a conflict between the U. S. and the British Empire over trade restrictions, the forced conscription of American merchant seamen into the British Navy, Britain’s aid for Native American tribes opposing American expansion, and upholding national honor in the face of Royal epithets (Risjord 196-210). Before writing was invented, Native American traditions had a significant impact on American literature, as did the inspirations brought on by these European conquistadors. Early American literature was made up of accounts and records of grievances and the class of the inhabitants of the Modern World (Phinney 45). Literature and Writing were used to influence decision-makers in the development of civilization, exploration of natural resources, and comprehension of Native American customs and cultures (Hickey 56-58).
American literature has taken on many distinct forms over the ages, with both non-fiction and fiction fields used to express literature writers’ sentiments on subjects like social stratification, culture, the economy, and politics using artistic factual sources or images. During the 17th century, American literature continued to evolve into its identifiable style, moving away from its original source of inspiration, English literature, giving the country its distinct identity and encouraging individualism. It encouraged writers of various genres to experiment with the philosophy, psychology, and emotions of people. It also paved the path for the gloomy romanticism subgenre, which presents people as fallible creatures capable of sinning and self-destruction. Because of the modern writers’ approach of artistic expression and independence, American literature consistently experiments with emotions and thoughts, pushing the limits of human creativity and imagination.
Some of the pioneers created nature-inspired and romantic poetry that diverged from its initial English beginnings, while others composed comic poems about the American frontier. Short stories that explore earlier, unexplored facets of human psyche and push the boundaries of fiction in the direction of mystery and fantasy have been published. As the demand for American literary originality grew, the transcendentalism movement—which was a revolt to establish a state of society and culture born. Radical texts supporting individualistic American character appeared as a result of this emergence.
Conclusively, Native American memoirs were created, and minority authors started publishing fiction. The main themes of literary romances filled with philosophical presumptions became allegories and dark psychology (Thompson 5). Dark Romanticism, which depicts the individuals as being prone to self-destructive immoral tendencies, proved popular in American literature. Literature on the continent gradually changed over time in response to events in American culture, influencing both its authors’ and readers’ artistic expressions and socioeconomic conventions at the time of composition. The history, health, and characteristics of America can be seen reflected in American literature. It is regarded as a component of American ethos since it illustrates not only the heritage of the Americans but also their imaginative and imaginative thinking. American literature is the result of influence by European invaders and the subtly preserved native traditions of the country’s early residents. Additionally, it is a potent indicator of American traits like liberalism and individualism.
Works Cited
Baym, Nina, Franklin, Wayne, Gura, Philip, Krupat, Arnold and Levine, Robert. Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Boston: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. Print.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. American Literature. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web.
Hickey, Donald. The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1989. Print.
Phinney, J. S. (1996). When we talk about American ethnic groups, what do we mean?. American psychologist, 51(9), 918.
Risjord, Norman. “1812: Conservatives, War Hawks, and the Nation’s Honor.” William And Mary Quarterly18.2 (1961): 196-210. Print.
Thompson, Gary., ed. Gothic Imagination: Essays in Dark Romanticism. Washington: Washington State University Press, 1974. Print.
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