The History of American Literature - 3501 Words

The history of American Literature starts well before this land was even called America. It has been a great evolution to come from tribal symbols and drawings to todays Stephen King and Danielle Steele. Literature has gone through many phases and was impacted by great events and ideas in American history. The earliest form of literature in what would one day be known as America were far from what modern day people would consider Literature. The Natives who inhabited this land first had unwritten ways of passing on experiences, beliefs, and stories. Natives relied heavily on the verbal telling of these stories to younger generations. The same stories, fables, or belief structures were told repeatedly, each time identical to the last,†¦show more content†¦Mathers rewarding career included writings on science and medicine as well as theology and history. His Sentiments on the Small Pox Inoculated (1721) was instrumental in introducing the smallpox vaccine to New England. A new genre for American writers, the travel narrative, would become especially influential late in the 1700s. Travel narratives include Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America (1778) by Jonathan Carver and Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, etc (1791) by William Bartram . Travel stories often blended observations on nature and landscape with tales of personal courage and achievement. The first American newspaper, the Boston News-Letter, was founded in 1704, and joined by the Boston Gazette in 1719. At a time when newspaper journalism was concerned primarily with reporting political events, the New-England Courant, started by James Franklin in 1721, became the first newspaper to include literary entertainment. Franklins younger brother Benjamin Franklin published humorous social commentary in the Courant under the pen name of Silence Dogwood . Magazines also appeared for the first time in the colonies duri ng the mid-1700s. Before 1800 magazines were concerned primarily with measuring Americas developing culture against the British model. During the 1700s Boston and Philadelphia became centers of publishing in addition to being political and commercial centers.Show MoreRelatedHistory And Latin American Literature1873 Words   |  8 PagesMany works in Latin American literature can be attributed to the multitude of historical events that transpired within the overtake of the Latin American continent by the Spanish. This interplay between Latin American literature and history gave rise to different movements as well as different styles of writing that the world had not really experienced before. When one is examining the relationship between history and Latin American Literature, it is important to chronologically analyze its materializationRead MoreHistory of America Mirrored in American Literature751 Words   |  3 PagesThe history of America is mirrored in American Literature. The American dream, the idea of equality and being able to achieve anything you wanted, meant that millions of immigrants moved to America. America claims to be a country which enables everyone to have equality and freedom however in the texts we can see it is rather a Capitalist and individualist country. The paradox of America can be seen through the fact that the Statue called freedom was built by slaves. The inequality can also be seenRead MoreThe Influence of History on American Literature Essay1546 Words   |  7 Pagesthis statement also shows that history influences American Literature. Throughout history, there has been a connection among literary works from different periods. The connection is that History, current events, and social events have influenced American Literature. Authors, their literary works, and the specific writing styles; are affected and influenced by the world around them. Authors have long used experiences they have lived through and/or taken out of history to help shape and express in theirRead MoreEmily Gjertsson. American Literature And History. Duncan,1104 Words   |  5 PagesEmily Gjertsson American Literature and History Duncan, Fierce February 6, 2017 The School-to-Prison Pipeline Four kids, each under the age of 18 were sentenced as adults for 6-11 years in prison before DNA evidence proved them all innocent. You all probably remember Trayvon Martin, who was walking home, pursued by a neighborhood watch captain for having a â€Å"suspicious† appearance, and then fatally shot. You might know of Philando Castile, who was pulled over for a broken tail light, and was alsoRead MoreAmerican History And Literature : The Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression, And Wwii942 Words   |  4 PagesThe early 1900’s (between 1914 and 1945) were an interesting time in both American history and literature. Considering that events such as WWI, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and WWII had formidable impacts on many people who lived during those parts of the early 20th century; it would be apropos to assume that many writers of that time had major influences in their writing styles out of the various events that occurred during those times. One popular literary movement during this timeRead MoreNative American And American Literature Essay1351 Words   |  6 PagesIn all my years of studying literature while living in America, I have only one memory of ever having read anything Native American, and that was in grade school. Native American literature is typically left out of studies in general American Literature, although there do exist plenty of programs for studying these types of narratives separately and individually. It has yet to become a prominent area of study and there a differing reasons as to why this is. Part of the lack of study in this subjectRead More`` The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow `` : How Did Irving And Sedgwick Use American History?1520 Words   |  7 Pagesnature there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane† (Washington Irving, â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow†, 1820). How did Irving and Sedgwick use American history in their writings? Well into the early 19th Century the idea of ‘The American’ was far reserved from what we recognize now, due in a large part to the the lack of a credible sense of culture and history emitted from the settlers. Whilst the RevolutionRead MoreWhat Does Ethnic Literature Mean?994 Words   |  4 Pagesdoes ethnic literature mean? We all have some ethnicity in us that is different than the rest, so doesn’t that mean that all of our literary contributions make up that of American ethnic literature? Before the Civil War, many of the minority people of America started writing poems, songs, and other types of literature that helped describe what life was like in America as an outsider in the â€Å"white† world. These writings became the beginnings of what is now called American ethnic literature. Early authorsRead More American Literature: Kate Chopin, and Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman1506 Words   |  6 PagesOver the years American Literature has become an important part of the American history. In the other hand, it is really important for people to study the significant of the American literature, because in particular is associated with influence of the American culture. People should know more about their culture, because it is the place where they are living in. Literature was brought to the United States from the European culture. The American literature started to develop during the antebellumRead MoreNative American Paper1353 Words   |  6 PagesNative American Storytelling Paper Rashmi Price ENG/301 August 26, 2013 Dr. Gregory Beatty Native American Storytelling Paper Native American literature is considered by many as the traditional written and oral literature of Native cultures around the world. Many of these literatures are transmitted over periods of time by storytellers. This particular literature has many features that includes a mixture of oral tradition techniques along with tribal mythology. The majority