Barbara Trevino

Minority Literature as Epic

            Coming from a political science and philosophy background, I often feel that I may miss the deeper literary nuances in my Literature classes. In stead of seeing the novels broken down in to literary elements, I tend to see only the message or political implications present. By taking this class, I realize how an understanding of these elements enhances comprehension and allows for a deeper understanding. During a class discussion on Black Elk Speaks, a student made a comment regarding Black Elk as a type of epic hero. This comment really piqued my interest because it offered me a new perspective on minority literature. I began to see how much of what we read in class follows a literary path very similar to that of both classical and modern epic literature. This realization led to me to ask question of how minority literature and slave narratives as a genre can also be loosely classified as modern epic literature based on the characteristics inherent in them.

            I started my quest for information similar to many other information quests I have embarked on—Google. After trying a myriad of search terms with the concepts of minority literature and epic literature it began to occur to me that more innovation was going to be needed if I wished to find any ground breaking articles, books or websites that were going to provide me with the plethora of information at my fingertips that I was looking for. It occurred to me that it was imperative to have a well researched working knowledge of epic literature or poetry if I wished to gain insight into their fundamental elements within that are also common within minority literature. So I geared my research to finding out the basics and fundamentals of epic literature.

            After searching for basic characteristics and conventions of epic literature, I found a great website written by a teacher in Ohio, Mr. Naber, that provides a brief but in depth overview of common characteristics of epic literature. He defines “epic literature” as a long narrative or poem that often relates the great deeds of a larger than life hero who embodies the values of a particular society. Further, epics often concern eternal human problems and are told on a grand or ceremonial scale. He identifies five characteristics of epics, which include a strong hero who may serve as a leader of a particular group or society; a broad setting which may include a supernatural realm; the hero partakes in great deeds in battle or embarks on a long journey or quest; sometimes gods or other supernatural elements take part in the action; and the story is told in heightened language. These characteristics seem to be present in much of the minority literature we have read. For example, while Song of Solomon may have not had only one main character who served as a leader for the community, the other characteristics were clearly present. The idea of a journey, supernatural elements, and battles are rife throughout the novel as well as Black Elk Speaks, Frederick Douglas, and the other slave narratives we have read.

 Raber  also includes four conventions that are usually present within epic literature. First, there is often an invocation for help usually to a deity or supernatural being. Next, action begins in media res, which I learned is “in the middle of thing”, then flashes back to previous times. Finally, epic similes which elaborately compare heroic events to everyday events are usually utilized. (Raber). While reading these conventions, Frederick Douglas immediately came to mind. While not necessarily aimed at a deity, he does start his story with a plea for people to stop the horrors of slavery. In addition, he starts in the present using flashing back to the past to tell the story of his rise to freedom whish most definitely included battles and journey’s along the way.

            After gaining a better insight into the basics of epic literature, I continued my research and found the article “Epic: Voices in Literature” by the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies. This article provides a much more in-depth analysis and shows the historical changes the epic has gone through. While it affirmed the findings of Raber, for the purpose of this post it did not offer much additional modes of comparison. However, after a friend recommended the works of Joseph Campbell, I found a plethora of information regarding the epic and more specifically the hero’s journey within the epic, which is basically three parts: the departure, the initiation and the return. The following link offers a great explanation of Campbell’s interpretation of the Hero’s Journey, http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html. After reading Campbell’s works, it became clear that often in minority literature the protagonist often embarks on the same heroic journey as that of an epic hero.

            While it would be simplistic and assuming to say that minority literature is actually a form of epic literature, based on my findings, I do believe it is safe to say that there are many common characteristics of the two genres. It can also be argued that since much of specifications which separate epic literature from other genres, such as the poetic form, are often not used today, epic literature is a changing form. If this is the case, I would argue that minority literature is a hybrid of epic literature and brings a modernity to the genre.

Works Cited  

Campbell, Joseph, Phil Cousineau, and Stuart Brown. The hero. 2003, 2003. Google Books

Raber, A. "Epic/Epic Hero Notes." Marlington School District Faculty Pages. Marlington school District, n.d. Web. 17 Mar 2010. <http://marlingtonlocal.org/cms/uploads/file/FacultyPages/a_

"Epic: voice in Literature." International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies 181. (1998): 1-152. Web. 10Mar 2010.

"Hero's Journey, a Summary of Steps." Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI). Maricopa Community Colleges, 11/19/1999. Web. 18 Mar 2010. <http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary