American Literature

American literature is a work of literature written or produced in America. These works date back as early as the time of the European colonies. Some of the earliest known popular American authors include; William Penn, William Strachey, John Lawson, Daniel Coxe, Thomas Ashe and many others. Although these earlier works are more about the exact non-fictional occurrences during those time periods, they still become very important in learning more about our country’s great history.

Many of the earlier pieces touched on religious subjects, such as the ones that were written around the time of settlement in America. John Winthrop and Edward Winslow were among some of the popular writers of that time, who talked about the subject of religion.

Later writings described interactions with the Native Americans. Many of the authors who wrote about this subject were; Daniel Gookin, John Mason, Benjamin Church and a few others. These writers were a huge staple in making American literature a well known thing.

Some pieces written in the revolutionary times were much about political happenings during the time. Some great writers of that time were Samuel Adams, Josiah Quincy and others.

In today’s time, many consider works of American literature to be about some of the great classics such as; Moby Dick, One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest, The Great Gatsby, Call of the Wild, A Farewell to Arms, and more. These books are ones that have been read by many, and are extremely popular with folks of all ages. These are books that are World renowned, and have gained many loyal fans. This is all because of the way the books were written, the characters, plot, and other characteristics that make up a great piece of literature.

It is important to study American literature for a multitude of reasons. American literature is a reflection of changes, historical happenings, and just a general measure of how times have changed in American history. Each work of literature shows these things by using settings around the books characters that are relevant to the time period that the author is living in.

However, this does not always happen. For example, an author could have written a novel based on happenings in the future. Though this may seem like it is not describing the certain time period that the author is currently surrounded by, it can still be helpful in letting the reader discover this information on their own. For example, if an author were to write about the year 2000 when he or she were in fact living in the year 1954, they could write about things such as computers and machines that we may have nowadays, that people living in the 1950’s couldn’t possibly have. Because of this information we would know more about how life was for people living in that time period, knowing that we have much more nowadays than they had back then.

Another important reason to study American literature is simply for enjoyment; for the exciting process of getting to know numerous different characters and ideas created by an author. Being able to lose yourself in a work of American literature can be a key thing in discovering more about yourself. It is a fundamental part of life to get to know something outside of your normal realm of thought, and literature can definitely help this process. A person can get to know more ideas expressed than just their own, and even learn new things, or change their though process simply by reading a great novel that will move them in some way.

Finally, when reading American literature, we discover differences in the way everybody lives. This enables us to go into deeper thought about the ways of another’s life. This can greatly help break down social barrier. Before reading a certain piece of work somebody could feel completely prejudiced about a certain topic, whereas after having read the book, the person could have a completely new insight. This is a very important factor in helping the America and the world come together and be less judgmental towards many subjects.

There are many ways to study American literature; it all depends on a person’s personal preference. For example, we can study it thoroughly by reading different works of literature and writing about them or discussing them in class. Some people even study by forming discussion groups or book clubs where they read then discuss particular works of literature. These are all very efficient ways in studying American literature. Discussion in class or in some kind of club can bring new insight and opinions about the readings, and could possibly even form different opinions than they originally had. This can be very important because each person has something new to bring to the table in terms of their thoughts about whatever book they are reading.

In conclusion, American literature is a huge part of American culture. It has changed a lot over time, going from writing about real life happenings such as religious issues and settlement into America, to fiction works that make great American classics. There have been multiple authors that have been a huge part of American literature and have even changed lives with their classic works of fiction as well as non-fiction. It is extremely important to study American literature because of the fact that it can give us many different insights into different diversities and cultures around the world. We can study American literature in many ways such as; forming groups and discussing with others a particular novel, or reading a book and writing about how you felt about it.