LITR 4232: American Renaissance
UHCL, spring 2002
Sample Student Answers to Final Exam

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

As usual in an essay like this, you’re encouraged to do a lot of comparing and contrasting from start to finish, for the sake of sparking ideas and weaving organization.

Examples: (not an exhaustive list—you’re welcome to develop your own)

“Classic” authors and texts: Herman Melville, Billy Budd; Emily Dickinson, poems; Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Popular” authors and texts: Fanny Fern; Frances Sargent Locke Osgood; Washington Irving

“Representative” texts and authors: “History of the Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531”; Mariano Guadalupe Vellejo; Frederick Law Olmsted; William Apess; Elias Boudinot; Chief Seattle; Sojourner Truth; Harriet Jacobs.

(In the second part of the semester we concentrated less on this category, so your treatment of this category may or may not be equal in length to the other two categories.)

*Also consider authors who combine or cross categories: Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Washington Irving, Margaret Fuller.

 

[complete answer from email exam]

All types of literature have something to offer their readers. Categorically, the types of literature we have studied this semester are classical, popular, and representative. Each category sets its own boundaries, however some authors have the capacity to simultaneously encompass two or more categories.  By examining the reader and his expectations, these literary categories can be compared and contrasted.

            The intellectual, one who enjoys reading for the sake of learning, is most likely the reader of classical works. Classical authors such as Emerson, Dickinson, Melville and Hawthorne address specific issues, primarily moral issues, in refined, intellectual styles. Each of these authors address issues pertinent to all human beings (good, evil, death, immortality, nature) in a manner that encourages close readings and serious reflection. Classical works also hold the characteristic of welcoming a second reading, as the reader often gains something each time the work is read. I experienced this today as I reread the end of “Young Goodman Brown.” Today, I wondered why he continued to go to church after be believed all the good people attending church were actually evil. I compared this to my own questions regarding the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in light of the recent controversy whereas the first time I read it, I gave it no consideration at all.

            The readers of popular literature usually just want to read something entertaining. They are looking for an escape from the pressures or boredom of reality in books that offer humor, excitement or fear. The styles of popular literature are often formulaic, sentimental and freer than that of classical literature. Popular works are “popular” because they tend to be short-lived, quickly replaced by something new. This fact attests to the reader’s (and the general public’s) aversion to boredom, always anxious for something more entertaining. In a way this is sad because I loved Fanny Fern. I think the publishing world should dredge up some “old” popular literature and offer it again, after all movies are remade all the time.

            Representative literature’s readers are usually the ones identifying with the topic, whether it is freedom, civil rights, women’s rights, or ethnic struggles/oppression. Representative literature is invaluable because it gives a voice to unheard issues and it provides perspectives that otherwise may not be considered. Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass were instrumental in the abolition of slavery and women’s rights issues of their time. However, their works provide today’s (and later) generations with their perspectives, prompting reflection on current discrimination issues.

            We studied a few authors this semester who crossed literary boundaries. Poe is a classical author because his gothic style is still studied and analyzed today and it is popular because many still read his work just because his gothic, mysterious stories intrigue them. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is an example of work that fits into all three categories. It is classical because it is still studied in universities today; it was popular because it is sentimental, entertaining and it sold like hotcakes immediately upon its first publication; and it is representative because it presents the voice of black slaves in a very non-academic way.

            Classical literature gives the reader a topic to contemplate; popular literature is entertaining and may offer something the reader identifies with; and representative literature provides perspectives that may otherwise go unnoticed. While the audiences of each literary type may vary, the intellectual reads them all. [TStJ] 

[nearly complete answer from email exam]

In literature, as nowhere else, there is a venue for every reader.  Somewhere within the confines of classic, popular, and representative authors there is a niche for any given reader of any age.  Many things determine the reason a person chooses a particular type of literature: time, education, availability, and state of mind to name only a few.  Looking at the challenges and benefits we see the limitations each imposes produces a different response from the marketplace.

            The reader of classical literature is likely to be interested in the “DWEMs” for their ability to provide the timeless and respectable elements of society in a controlled atmosphere.  A well-educated author usually writes the classics; someone with the money for education parallels with someone that has leisure time and “a room of one’s own” to write.  This education places the concepts written about in the venue of intellectual thought with works by authors like Melville, Hawthorne, Whitman, and even a lone woman: Dickinson. 

            Melville provides the concept of criminal justice, in his work “Billy Budd”, while weaving in the ability to decipher personalities involved in reaching the ambiguous decisions of what is “right for the time”.  Hawthorne twists this same personality issue by engaging his reader in the solving of a question left lingering in the mind, a question based on the actions of individuals like “Young Goodman Brown[s]” Faith and even Goodman himself.  In “The Minister’s Black Veil” Hawthorne gives the reader many truths to ponder as he presents the view of truth from many people and both sides of the veil.  These classic works take the form of tales told by narrators leading one to feel the decisions are not necessarily their own but only a retelling which absolves them of guilt associated with the actions of characters which follows the classic theme of maintaining that there is no right or wrong because none of us is without sin.  Our perspective is one colored by our point in life and our connections with life at that moment in time. . . . 

            Popular writing, by contrast, gives the reader a fast, fun, adventure.  Often termed “escape reading”, the popular genre takes its reader to different exotic locales that are beyond their daily lives.  Living vicariously, the reader can sit for a few minutes and leave the popular work, pick it up again days later for a few minutes, and yet days later without losing the jest of the piece.  Unlike classic literature, the popular has no deep meaning that must be concentrated on and uncovered; it is straight surface level reading.  This lowered intellectual requirement makes popular reading available to the masses in cheap paperbacks once the printing press and literacy infiltrate society.  The city dweller can venture to the wild west for an afternoon, with no danger from those paperback Indians in Cooper’s “Last of the Mohicans” while getting a touch of classic literature morality to consider only if they choose to think about it.  Washington Irving introduces the sublime and escape of reading gothic literature with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” that parallels the type escape that Edgar Alan Poe presents in “Ligeia” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”.  The reader is thrilled to be afraid and feel the sensations they cannot dare to experience otherwise.  Likewise, authors like Frances Sargent Locke Osgood display the other side of popular literature that we want to feel: sentimentality.

            The comfort of recognized emotions and situations extends from the stock characters and plot lines of Irving to the emotions presented by Osgood in “Ellen Learning to Walk” and “The Little Hand”.  All parents can relate to the first steps of a child and experience the dread at the thought of loosing a child as Osgood sets out for her audience.  These are the elements of popular literature that make them an easy read but they do not lend themselves to the academic study of classic authors.  Unlike the classic, these do not bear well with repeated readings and ultimately do not stay on the shelves very long.  While they are temporary moneymakers, the popular authors cannot expect royalties to subsidize the future generations of heirs.

            Representative literature, like classic literature gives us something to think about but like popular literature it tends not to be the long-term moneymaker.   The slave narratives by Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth give examples of representative literature's ability to open our eyes to other societies perspectives.  Douglass maintains readability by virtue of his educated background making his work easier to read than most representative works.  The typical representative author uses terminology from his culture and references the religious and cultural beliefs that form the basis for his daily world.  In “History of the Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531”, Perez de Villagra tells how the mestizo views the Virgin Mary.  The association with issues, civil rights issues, are linked to religion and gender making this piece a cultural education while Mariana Guadalupe Vallejo shows another side of the Mexican civilization.  Vallejo, in “Recuerdos historicos y personales tocante a la alta California” tells of the fight for freedom and retention of property in a rapidly changing land.  All these views are typical of the representative literature.  This type of literature will attract not only scholars who wish to learn of other cultures and history but also the student of life in general because they can learn so much from the lessons of the past.

            The various categories of literature are all appropriate in the college classroom and the regular high school classroom.  Beginning with popular pieces, like we did in this class, makes for an easy introduction to works that focus on stereotyping. The stereotyping found in popular work is followed naturally by the representative and classic works as a means of exploring how the students feel about the opinions they currently hold versus the views presented in works that endure.  One must be cautious to explain that there are many appropriate ways to view these works and let the students draw from the pieces what they personally feel compelled to believe.  The student naturally gravitates toward a particular type of work but I believe they should be exposed to many in order to form a solid background of life experiences before making moral decisions in the real world as an adult.  The preference for an “easy read” will naturally draw most audiences to popular work but the exposure to classic and representative work has a definite place in the formation of a well rounded person. [VH]

 

[excerpt from email exam]

Representative Literature has a very special audience and usually ends up in special collections. This work has a style that is non-academic and is not standard, but one in which is representational. It covers content in which a voice needs to be heard. . . . The attitude towards works that are representative is one of desire to be heard and accepted in their differences. These works cry for acceptance of the differences that people or groups have. Representative works are very down to earth with simple, readable language, and are sometimes elusive to the mainstream writers who end up asking questions about why they need to know this stuff. This type of work is also usually very cross-cultural. These works deepen traditions, especially of non-dominant cultures and most of the authors are non-dominant culture authors: under represented ethnic groups. These authors write about things that are important to them and that they suffer through because they don’t have the time to think of the classical subjects since they are not self-sufficient and must work so very hard. [RS]