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LITR 4232: American Renaissance  |
Final Exam Essays 2013 Sample answers for Classic, Popular, & Representative Literature |
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Sarah Gonzalez
The Recipe for a Healthy Mind: A Combination of Classic, Popular and
Representative Literature
One of
the great things about this course is that we covered work from all three of the
classifications of literature and authors; classic, popular, and representative.
Given that every individual can have their own opinion as to what
category each other and the literature falls under, the decision is made based
on the readers own perspective. In order to decide who and what falls under each
category, you have to have a clear understanding of what the characteristics of
each genre are. After taking a closer look at the authors from this course, you
will see cases where some of them overlap one another in categorization.
Classic
Literature is by far my favorite to read. To me, classic literature is refined
so I know that by the time I get to the end of the book, my time would not have
been wasted. There is a reason why this category of literature is studied in
high school and by college professors. When a person reads a classic literature
novel, they usually take something away from it. A lot of times they discover a
moral lesson or complex meaning to a significant issue of life. Classic
literature has been able to live out other categories because it carries heavy
importance or a moral lesson. In large part, I believe that is one of the major
reasons classic literature as a staple, is taught in schools. Contrary to
popular literature, classic writers incorporate metaphors and allegories among
other literary techniques that further challenge the reader’s mind to work hard
at deriving to the meaning. Classic literature challenges the reader
intellectually and often times leave unanswered questions or unresolved problems
at the end. Classic literature also explores sensitive issues, plus historical
knowledge and depth.
Examples
of authors of classic literature are Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
However, these authors are not exclusive to this one category but are models of
it. Poe’s work is classical because it is still heavily discussed and studied in
classrooms all over the world. Like other classic work, Poe’s poems allow for
different interpretations and the fun part is discussing what everyone’s opinion
is on it. The ability to discuss a work of literature and form different views
on it is a major contributor of why classic literature is long lasting. People
will always have something to say about it. Just about everyone, regardless if
you read a lot or not, knows what The
Raven is and who wrote it. Poe’s classic, to this day, has not lost its
luster. If anything it continues to be acclaimed and popular among audiences.
This is where we see an overlapping between the classic and popular categories.
Poe has inspired countless people with his writing but shockingly he never made
very much money for his writing. He actually struggled with poverty throughout
his life. Most classic literature, like with Poe, does not experience a high
value of sales, at least not until it becomes classic literature many years
later. I often wonder what Poe would think of the amount of success he’s had
after his death. Apart from his poems being studied in schools and universities,
his work is now being put into modern entertainment. A recent television show
that features actor Kevin Bacon, called The Following, was inspired by Poe. Just
last year, John Cusak took on the role of Poe in the movie The Raven. As we have
seen, classic authors and literature do have the potential to become widely
popular. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The
Scarlett Letter is still being read in schools and the plot has been adapted
into movies as well. Most recently, Emma Stone starred in a comical version of
the book in the film Easy A. It was a good representation of the book but in a
highly modernized fashion.
Popular literature is categorized as
best-selling or well-known to wide audiences. It is over-exposed, shorter-lived,
and soon forgotten. One modern day example of this would be the
Fifty Shades of Grey series.
The series sold millions of books and is now being made into a movie. However,
even some of the biggest fans of the series can agree that the level of writing
is very weak. What readers are buying into is the plot which involves nothing
more than sex and is very easy to read. These books are popular for the moment
but they lack the essence of what’ll make them withstand the test of time.
Instead, they will soon be forgotten when the next big thing comes along.
Popular literature is really just for pure enjoyment because it is not likely
that it holds any type of dignified symbolic nature. It style or elements are
predictable and appeals to what is already known. It doesn’t ask for higher
thinking on the reader’s part. I think it is healthy and ok to divulge in this
category of literature once in a while but if you want to keep your mind active
on learning material, you should stick to the classic or representative
literature. For this reason, I think teachers should choose to teach literature
that is both classical but popular at the same time.
Authors
of popular literature are Susan B. Warner’s
Wide Wide World and Maria Susanna
Cummins’ The Lamplighter. These two
novels sold well which is characteristic of popular literature. The first and
most successful novel written by Maria Susanna Cummins was
The Lamplighter and it had great
sales and considerable acclaim in the United States and Great Britain. It
continues to be strongly popular especially by the female audience. This
category is perhaps the most blurry in terms of authors that produced classics
that later became popular. One example is Washington Irving whose many works
have now been made into cartoons and movies.
The Legend of Sleepy Hallow is one of
his most popular and well known even by people who have never read it.
The last
category is representative literature which is more educational than the other
two categories. Representative literature is often neglected or unknown except
by special audiences, or written by a marginal or repressed race, class, or
gender. The popularity and importance of this type of literature may change
depending on social needs. It is characterized by a voice needing to be heard.
Representative literature can be difficult to teach because you have to be
cautious about how you go about it. Religious content is often foregrounded and
political and historical issues are introduced. Authors of representative
literature include Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs and Margaret Fuller. The
works of these authors are categorized as representative literature because they
were written by a minority group. Douglass’s
Narrative is a slave narrative that
opens our eyes into a reality very different from our own. However, slave
narratives also became popular in literature. Something about the real life
occurrences that it depicts, with elements of the romantic and human suffering
has a major effect on us as readers. More and more of these slave narratives are
being made into movies, Ten Years a Slave an example of this. Representative
literature is just as important as classic literature because it holds some of
the same values.
The
classifications for American Renaissance Literature are just a way of putting a
label on an author’s work however, as we have seen, they are subject to change.
In my opinion, I believe people should enjoy literature from each group. The
importance of reading cannot be stressed and it has become a continually rising
issue that students now a days do not read as much as they should. With so many
different genres of literature out in the world, it is impossible for a person
not to find their fit or preference in what to read.
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