Over the past month now I have come to enjoy my new "Alexa", audio command speaker. One of it's features that I especially enjoy is it's ability to read audio books. I've thus entered a new appreciation of classic literature pieces that I remember from my school years. It seemed in those days we were assigned a book to read over summer and then expected to discuss the novel in our English or Reading classes. Perhaps that it is part of the reason I have taken on this new hobby it being summer and all. The more likely reason however is that I am extremely bored at work, since all my sports media is now blocked at my day job. So audio books has now become my day-time and night-time leisure activity. I have already finished Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, The Secret Garden, and Walden to name a few.
My thoughts on Literature
I've read many books in my days, but to be quite frank it's never been one of my strong suits. I suppose I just never quite had the attention nor mental fortitude to follow along. I specifically remember reading numerous novels during my grade-school and high school days and would often have to resort to cliff notes in order to pass my tests. Sure I fully enjoyed the Harry Potter and Lord of the Ring novels but those books were all the rave in my college days. I've made various attempts to tackle the classics such as War and Peace, Les Miserables, or Tale of Two Cities yet often find myself lost in the complex detail.
And although reading comprehension has never been a strong suit of mine, I have always enjoyed to write, and thus have a fond appreciation for literature. I especially enjoy the classic books that have become staples of our human culture. Books such as Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, and To Kill a Mocking Bird have become synonymous with American history and culture. These classic stories have infused historical settings with fictional characters to make our society all the more enlightened. And as a keen admirer of history, art, and culture I find these classic literary works to be all the more significant.
So as I do with everything that inspires me I'm going to conduct a study on American literature and it's most iconic authors and novels. I don't consider myself experienced enough to make a top ten list, so instead I will just list the most significant ones. I also intend to expand on this topic to include classic works outside of America (mostly British works) but that will come in a different post. So here goes my nod to classic American literature.
The Dawn of American Literature
To be fair this idea of American literature is still quite new and did not really begin to establish it's own identity, separate from Europe, until they achieved their independence. During the colonial days, America was always in the shadow of great English works such as that of Shakespeare, John Milton, and Johnathan Swift. Various literary pieces regarding Native Americans and Christian re-awakening were also commonplace during the colonial days.
However by the mid 1700s with the growing fervor of patriotism came new revolutionary ideas and thus a new style of literature. Pamphlets of political writings became the norm during the revolutionary period, intended to unite Americans against their British oppressors. Free thinking statesmen such as Sam Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine became influential writers during this time. Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, became one of the most popular works during the period as it captured the political fervor felt throughout the colonies.
A New Identity of American Literature
At the turn of the century as America had now ratified it's Declaration of Independence (beautifully written by Thomas Jefferson) the new nation was now prepared to establish a lighter tone away from politics and revolution. Washington Irving is often considered one of the first novelists of the newly established nation, and published several popular short stories including his most famous, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, published in 1820. Shortly after this came another early famous novel, written by James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans in 1826.
In the 1830s Edgar Allen Poe personified a literary style of Gothic mysticism in various short stories and poems. His most famous poem, The Raven, demonstrated a darker supernatural tone, perhaps influenced from earlier works such as Sleepy Hollow. In contrast to this dark style was the transcendentalist movement that began to spread throughout the 1830s-1840s led by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Both writers called for a nonconformist lifestyle that incorporated individuality, simplicity, and peace with nature.
An advocate of the transcendentalist movement was famed author Nathaniel Hawthorne who published the Scarlet Letter in 1850. This famous novel about an adulteress could be seen as an early opposition to harsh judgement in a time of strict religious morals. Nathaniel's friend Herman Melville published another classic novel the following year called Moby Dick.
Also during this time was a growing new political fervor of abolitionism demonstrated by writers such as William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe released in 1852, stirred much controversy on the topic of slavery and is often regarded as the spark of the Civil War.
During the 1850s-1860s American poetry took new heights as the Fireside Poets from New England such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, began gathering recognition. Many of these rhythmic poems, glorified American revolutionary and folk heroes and were shared among families and in schoolhouses. Two of the most famous early American poets were Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson. Walt demonstrated a working class New Yorker perspective to his writing, while Emily demonstrated a more isolated upper class style to her poetry.
The Father of American Literature
In 1876 an author from Hannibal, Missouri completely changed the format of literature with his publication of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This book by Mark Twain was quite ground-breaking during it's time because it demonstrated raw characters and dialect based off the Mississippi River. He furthered this work with his masterpiece sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884. This novel infused humor with also a controversial tone of slavery and racism.
Both these novels demonstrated an authentic American setting in the rural south that was simply unprecedented. As a river child himself, Mark Twain was simply demonstrating his ideal for adventure, and his famed characters of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were ultimately personifications of himself. It was this original ability to demonstrate American culture in his writings, as to why Mark Twain is often regarded as the father of American literature. Ernest Hemingway famously quoted that all of modern American literature comes from the novel of Huck Finn.
Modern American Literature
During the Progressive Era of the early 1900s, new waves of political literature once again became popular, especially against the evils of capitalism. The birth of "muckrackers" and "sensationalism" took place as journalists and publishers alike looked to spurn profits. Among these famous muckrakers was Upton Sinclair, who advocated for socialism and demonstrated the harsh working conditions in his famous novel, The Jungle published in 1906.
During the Roaring Twenties saw a renaissance of American literature, specifically a group of famous writers living in Paris, in which Gertude Stein referred to as the "Lost Generation". This included the famous poet, TS Eliot as well as the famous authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Fitzgerald often wrote about the dangers of American wealth personified in his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby in 1925. While Hemingway presented themes of war and romance in his famous novels the Sun Also Rises and a Farewell to Arms.
During the Great Depression years came a slew of new authors capturing the harsh poverty the country was facing. This included William Faulker who demonstrated southern culture in his famous books, Light in August and Absalom, Absalom! Also there was John Steinbeck who released several books during the 1930s such as Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and East of Eden, all of which had a general themes of rural poverty.
After WWII, began a new Beatnik movement among various writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, who encouraged nonconformity, free-thinking, and adventurism. Kerouac's novel On the Road published in 1957, became a blueprint for an adolescent's soul-searching exploration. This Beat Generation movement essentially gave way to the hippie movement of the 1960s. Also during this time were other notable authors such as JD Salinger's classic Catcher in the Rye and Harper Lee's masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird.
I believe that great literature works began to decline by the 1960s due to the rise of electronic media such as television, radio, motion pictures, and the internet. No longer were books the sole means of story entertainment and thus the demand declined. One could make the case that To Kill a Mockingbird released in 1961, was the last significant American Novel and everything that followed was just not quite up to par. Sure Harry Potter was quite significant however that cannot be considered an American novel yet another addition to the long list of famous English works.
However books still have prevalence among many whether for leisure, school-work, or one's career. The practice of reading will always be an essential tool of broadening the mind and just like any skill it needs constant sharpening. Also the growing popularity of audio-books can only be seen as a positive for aspiring writers. Who knows, maybe society is on the brink of another literary renaissance, experienced in the 1830s, 1920s, or 1950s. All it takes is a significant event or movement to stir the mind of aspiring writers.
Great American Authors
Great American Novels
My thoughts on Literature
I've read many books in my days, but to be quite frank it's never been one of my strong suits. I suppose I just never quite had the attention nor mental fortitude to follow along. I specifically remember reading numerous novels during my grade-school and high school days and would often have to resort to cliff notes in order to pass my tests. Sure I fully enjoyed the Harry Potter and Lord of the Ring novels but those books were all the rave in my college days. I've made various attempts to tackle the classics such as War and Peace, Les Miserables, or Tale of Two Cities yet often find myself lost in the complex detail.And although reading comprehension has never been a strong suit of mine, I have always enjoyed to write, and thus have a fond appreciation for literature. I especially enjoy the classic books that have become staples of our human culture. Books such as Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, and To Kill a Mocking Bird have become synonymous with American history and culture. These classic stories have infused historical settings with fictional characters to make our society all the more enlightened. And as a keen admirer of history, art, and culture I find these classic literary works to be all the more significant.
So as I do with everything that inspires me I'm going to conduct a study on American literature and it's most iconic authors and novels. I don't consider myself experienced enough to make a top ten list, so instead I will just list the most significant ones. I also intend to expand on this topic to include classic works outside of America (mostly British works) but that will come in a different post. So here goes my nod to classic American literature.
The Dawn of American Literature
However by the mid 1700s with the growing fervor of patriotism came new revolutionary ideas and thus a new style of literature. Pamphlets of political writings became the norm during the revolutionary period, intended to unite Americans against their British oppressors. Free thinking statesmen such as Sam Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine became influential writers during this time. Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, became one of the most popular works during the period as it captured the political fervor felt throughout the colonies.
A New Identity of American Literature
At the turn of the century as America had now ratified it's Declaration of Independence (beautifully written by Thomas Jefferson) the new nation was now prepared to establish a lighter tone away from politics and revolution. Washington Irving is often considered one of the first novelists of the newly established nation, and published several popular short stories including his most famous, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, published in 1820. Shortly after this came another early famous novel, written by James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans in 1826.In the 1830s Edgar Allen Poe personified a literary style of Gothic mysticism in various short stories and poems. His most famous poem, The Raven, demonstrated a darker supernatural tone, perhaps influenced from earlier works such as Sleepy Hollow. In contrast to this dark style was the transcendentalist movement that began to spread throughout the 1830s-1840s led by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Both writers called for a nonconformist lifestyle that incorporated individuality, simplicity, and peace with nature.
An advocate of the transcendentalist movement was famed author Nathaniel Hawthorne who published the Scarlet Letter in 1850. This famous novel about an adulteress could be seen as an early opposition to harsh judgement in a time of strict religious morals. Nathaniel's friend Herman Melville published another classic novel the following year called Moby Dick.Also during this time was a growing new political fervor of abolitionism demonstrated by writers such as William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe released in 1852, stirred much controversy on the topic of slavery and is often regarded as the spark of the Civil War.
During the 1850s-1860s American poetry took new heights as the Fireside Poets from New England such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, began gathering recognition. Many of these rhythmic poems, glorified American revolutionary and folk heroes and were shared among families and in schoolhouses. Two of the most famous early American poets were Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson. Walt demonstrated a working class New Yorker perspective to his writing, while Emily demonstrated a more isolated upper class style to her poetry.
The Father of American Literature
In 1876 an author from Hannibal, Missouri completely changed the format of literature with his publication of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This book by Mark Twain was quite ground-breaking during it's time because it demonstrated raw characters and dialect based off the Mississippi River. He furthered this work with his masterpiece sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884. This novel infused humor with also a controversial tone of slavery and racism.Both these novels demonstrated an authentic American setting in the rural south that was simply unprecedented. As a river child himself, Mark Twain was simply demonstrating his ideal for adventure, and his famed characters of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were ultimately personifications of himself. It was this original ability to demonstrate American culture in his writings, as to why Mark Twain is often regarded as the father of American literature. Ernest Hemingway famously quoted that all of modern American literature comes from the novel of Huck Finn.
Modern American Literature
During the Progressive Era of the early 1900s, new waves of political literature once again became popular, especially against the evils of capitalism. The birth of "muckrackers" and "sensationalism" took place as journalists and publishers alike looked to spurn profits. Among these famous muckrakers was Upton Sinclair, who advocated for socialism and demonstrated the harsh working conditions in his famous novel, The Jungle published in 1906. During the Roaring Twenties saw a renaissance of American literature, specifically a group of famous writers living in Paris, in which Gertude Stein referred to as the "Lost Generation". This included the famous poet, TS Eliot as well as the famous authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Fitzgerald often wrote about the dangers of American wealth personified in his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby in 1925. While Hemingway presented themes of war and romance in his famous novels the Sun Also Rises and a Farewell to Arms.
During the Great Depression years came a slew of new authors capturing the harsh poverty the country was facing. This included William Faulker who demonstrated southern culture in his famous books, Light in August and Absalom, Absalom! Also there was John Steinbeck who released several books during the 1930s such as Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and East of Eden, all of which had a general themes of rural poverty.
After WWII, began a new Beatnik movement among various writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, who encouraged nonconformity, free-thinking, and adventurism. Kerouac's novel On the Road published in 1957, became a blueprint for an adolescent's soul-searching exploration. This Beat Generation movement essentially gave way to the hippie movement of the 1960s. Also during this time were other notable authors such as JD Salinger's classic Catcher in the Rye and Harper Lee's masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird. I believe that great literature works began to decline by the 1960s due to the rise of electronic media such as television, radio, motion pictures, and the internet. No longer were books the sole means of story entertainment and thus the demand declined. One could make the case that To Kill a Mockingbird released in 1961, was the last significant American Novel and everything that followed was just not quite up to par. Sure Harry Potter was quite significant however that cannot be considered an American novel yet another addition to the long list of famous English works.
However books still have prevalence among many whether for leisure, school-work, or one's career. The practice of reading will always be an essential tool of broadening the mind and just like any skill it needs constant sharpening. Also the growing popularity of audio-books can only be seen as a positive for aspiring writers. Who knows, maybe society is on the brink of another literary renaissance, experienced in the 1830s, 1920s, or 1950s. All it takes is a significant event or movement to stir the mind of aspiring writers.
Great American Authors
- Washington Irving (1783-1859)
- RIP Van Winkle (1819)
- Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820)
- James Fenimore Cooper
- The Last of the Mohicans (1826)
- Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)
- The Raven (1858)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
- Nature (1836)
- Self Reliance (1841)
- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
- Civil Disobedience (1849)
- Walden (1854)
- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
- Scarlet Letter (1850)
- Herman Melville (1819-1891)
- Moby Dick (1851)
- Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)
- Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)
- Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
- Leaves of Grass (1855)
- Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)
- The Raven (1858)
- Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
- A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889)
- Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894)
- Jack London (1876-1916)
- The Call of the Wild (1903)
- Upton Sinclair (1878-1968)
- The Jungle (1905)
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- This Side of Paradise (1920)
- The Beautiful and the Damned (1922)
- The Great Gatsby (1925)
- Tender is the Night (1934)
- Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
- The Sun Also Rises (1926)
- A Farewell to Arms (1929)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
- The Old Man and the Sea (1952)
- William Faulkner (1897-1962)
- The Sound and the Fury (1929)
- As I Lay Dying (1930)
- Light in August (1932)
- Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
- John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
- Tortilla Flat (1935)
- Of Mice and Men (1937)
- The Red Pony (1937)
- The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
- Cannery Row (1945)
- East of Eden (1952)
- Eugene O'Neil (1888-1953)
- Long Day's Journey into Night (1941)
- JD Salinger (1919-2010)
- The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
- Nine Stories (1953)
- Joseph Heller (1923-1999)
- Catch-22 (1953)
- Ralph Ellison (1914-1994)
- The Invisible Man (1952)
- Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)
- Farenheit 451 (1953)
- Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977)
- Lolita (1955)
- Pale Fire (1962)
- Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997)
- Howl (1955)
- Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)
- On the Road (1957)
- Harper Lee (1929-2016)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
Great American Novels
- The Last of the Mohicans (by James Fenimore Cooper) 1826
- The Scarlet Letter (by Nathaniel Hawthorne) 1850
- Moby Dick (by Herman Melville) 1851
- Uncle Tom's Cabin (by Harriet Beecher Stowe) 1852
- Walden (by Henry David Thoreau) 1854
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (by Mark Twain) 1876
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (By Mark Twain) 1884
- The Call of the Wild (by Jack London) 1903
- The Jungle (by Upton Sinclair) 1906
- The Great Gatsby (by Scott Fitzgerald) 1925
- A Farewell to Arms (by Ernest Hemingway) 1929
- Absalom, Absalom! (by William Faulkner) 1936
- Of Mice and Men (by John Steinbeck) 1937
- The Grapes of Wrath (by John Steinbeck) 1939
- The Catcher in the Rye (by JD Salinger) 1951
- Invisible Man (by Ralph Ellison) 1952
- Fahrenheit 451 (by Ray Bradbury) 1953
- Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) 1953
- Lolita (by Vladimir Nabokov) 1955
- The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway) 1956
- On the Road (by Jack Kerouac) 1957
- To Kill a Mockingbird (by Harper Lee) 1960
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