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Austin Green
12/7/16
Ready, Set, Go
One of the most interesting aspects of this class for me was how much
overlap there has been in the lifetime of the authors we have studied over the
course of this semester. It makes our American history feel so much shorter than
it ever felt when I was studying history in previous classes. Granted the
reasoning for that is that compared to other countries our history is much
shorter, the readings this semester really opened my eyes to that. Especially
after taking the Early American Literature course right before this one.
In
all the research I have done outside of our class discussions (either
researching our readings before class, topics for my research journal, or the
lower level American Literature course I am also taking this semester), I keep
expecting to unearth a whole collection of other influential American writers. I
just keep seeing the same handful of names appear over and over. I can
confidently say I feel the authors we went over this semester were the best of
what our country had to offer at the time.
It is actually pretty nice to be
reaching a point with American literature where I can intelligently discuss most
of the names I am coming across. This can really only happen by taking the time
to read and talk about these major authors. Like most education however, I am
also sure that there are still many layers of American literature left for
someone at my level to uncover. As someone planning on going into teaching at a
high school level, I feel confident I can take what I have learned over this
semester (and the Early American Literature class), and at the very least
adequately discuss these authors and their works.
One
of the more pleasant surprises for me this semester was Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Prior to this class, the only Hawthorne I was familiar with was “The
Scarlet Letter,” which I read back in high school, and did not enjoy at all. I
had been able to make it through all my other literature courses without making
my way back to Hawthorne, so when I saw him in the syllabus I winced a little.
The two stories we read though, “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman
Brown” were great. I also read “The Birthmark” in another class. Much like I
enjoyed Poe’s works as a spin on Gothic making it fit the new America, I loved
seeing the gothic style applied to Puritanism texts. My opinion on Hawthorne has
completely shifted. As someone who tends to like more authors than I do not
like, it was nice to finally find an angle I could view Hawthorne where I
enjoyed it. It made me want to re-read “The Scarlet Letter.”
The
other major, and arguably more important, thing I took from this semester was
seeing how literature was used by those with less power or place in society in
order to draw people to their plights. I thought Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A
Woman?” was one of the more powerful and eye-opening texts we read all semester.
If you can grab people’s attention and make a personal connection to them, maybe
you can change their mind or their current views. She made the people who were
listening to her speech question what they believed, and even if it were just a
minor step forward, that is still an amazing, important step. I loved that this
has earned its rightful place in our own and future classrooms. When it was
brought up and read in our American Immigrant Literature class I was equally
pleased. I think even today, it draws you in and you cannot help but make that
connection to her words.
