Elizabeth Williams, LITR 4232 spring 1998-99, final exam answer to question re classical, representative, and popular literature

QUESTION / ASSIGNMENT

4. Write an essay comparing the styles, values, and appeals of classical, popular, and representative authors and literature (Objective 1).

RESPONSE

LITR 4232: American Renaissance--answer to final exam question, spring 1999

In this course, we have touched on all kinds of literature, particularly in terms of how different literature has helped to form the American literary tradition. This essay seeks to show how classical, representative, and popular literature have shaped American literature.

Classical literature is the kind of literature which is complex and sometimes quite difficult to read. Everything from the structure of the work to the subject matter requires a great deal of pondering and re-thinking on the part of the reader. Usually, classical literature creates a sensation in its time period because it threatens the social structures of the time so phenomenally—it is never conventional. Typically, the best readers are attracted to this literature because it is challenging and rewarding—once it is read thoroughly and mostly understood. Like Billy Budd, by Herman Melville, most classical literature is hard-to-read. Melville not only uses bizarre means of structuring his sentences (2517), but he requires a large amount of vocabulary comprehension and vast knowledge of military terms in order to understand his meaning. Classical literature also is distinctive in terms of its values, as it likes to rearrange widely-held social mores with new interpretations, usually through complex characters who are neither "all bad" nor "all good." As in "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Reverend Hooper has a mysterious "sin" he is covering with the veil, which forces the other parishioners—and ultimately the reader—to consider what he or she is hiding as well (2217). Classical literature is appealing because it is challenging to the reader, forces the reader to think critically and holistically, and can always be reinterpreted in new and exciting ways.

Representative literature is difficult only in that it shows different—and sometimes highly controversial—perspectives on our shared history. Unfortunately, representative literature has become more widely read only in recent decades, but its readers tend to be more liberal, open-minded, and interested in diverse experiences. From representative literature the reader learns how phenomenally different a given time period can be for people, simply because of race or gender or sexual orientation. The writing style tends to be more culture-based and therefore eccentric, so although a person like Sojourner Truth may not speak perfect English, her ideas about being a woman and an African American slave are still incredibly powerful because it's not a white person imagining what it must be like to be a slave—she's actually experienced it (2049). The value of this literature lies in its ability to introduce us to cultures beyond the WASP perspective, and especially makes us aware of other cultures' memories of some events. For example, in Frederick Douglass's Narrative, he describes what it was like when he first arrived in the North. Although many whites might falsely assume that once a slave makes it to the North, he or she is "home free," Douglass remembers it differently, particularly when describing the white workers who refused to work with him because he was black (1812). The basic appeal of representative literature is that it gives readers a greater awareness of history and gives all cultures a voice.

Popular literature, though perhaps not as controversial or threatening as these other 2 genres, has still helped shape the American literary scene. Usually it isn't particularly offensive when it comes out, and it rarely teaches the reader anything new, but it is still pleasant to read. Its style is typically easy-to-read and the plot development is usually predictable or conventional. As in Frances Osgood's poem, "Ellen Learning to Walk," popular literature uses conventional forms—or in this case, rhyme schemes—and the subject matter is relatively light (2708-09). There are exceptions, however. Although popular literature contains familiar material and typical ideology such as "good prevails over evil," Fanny Fern shows the reader of Ruth Hall a fair amount of realism and historical context, which is unusual for popular literature, particularly in the plight of women who want to be taken seriously as writers (131-32). Still, popular literature is pervasive and appealing because it is pleasant-yet-mostly-familiar and because it is, overall, very entertaining.

Classical, representative, and popular literature have all left an indelible mark on American literature, and it seems appropriate that for the college classroom, all three should be incorporated, as each one has been important in commenting on or changing history. In terms of the high school curriculum, there should be a mix of genres, but a lot depends on how permissive a school district would be in allowing students to read very painful works, such as the slave narrative, or politically-charged, controversial narratives containing homosexual content. Therefore, to incorporate all three genres into a high school literature course, the teacher would have to find the balance between challenging students as well as challenging parental influence.

(written in-class by Elizabeth Williams, later transcribed and submitted through email)