Francis Brett Harte is a truly American author, poet, and short story writer. Harte was always interested in writing and almost always used his writing to fight social injustices, in particular, racism, slavery, and racial discrimination. He is most known for his short stories that were published in the Overland Monthly Magazine. He helped establish the local color genre of writing along side other talents, like, Mark Twain. He is also known for laying the ground work of another deeply American genre, the Western. He was not only deeply influential during his own time, but had a lasting impact on American pop-culture and art. In Andrew Carnegie's autobiography he wrote about Harte with, “America had in Bret Harte its most distinctively national poet."(Carnagie) Bret was born in August of 1836 in Albany, New York to Henry and Elizabeth Harte. Henry Harte was a school teacher. Bret was a frail and unhealthy child, so he spent much of his indoor time reading. This long time passion manifested itself, when at age 11 Harte submitted “Autumn Musings”, a satirical poem, to a local newspaper that published it. Short of impressing his parents by getting a poem publish this action, actually, ended up embarrassing his father. His father passed away in 1853 and his family moved to Oakland, California where his mother re-married. Here, Harte worked as a miner and school teacher for a while, but grew bored. In 1860, an incident where drunken Union soldiers killed many unarmed native
against the standard poets to say the least, “I wanted to break the linearity of poetic text — to mess with it, if you will.” (poetryfoundation.org) He was not born into the wealthiest of families and found himself unable to pay for education, yet he has pushed boundaries for many
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.
Fleece, The Souls of Black Folk, and was one of the primary editors of his magazine, The Crisis,
Samuel Clemons, later known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a most famous American fiction writer, story teller, and showman in the nineteenth century. He is referred to as the father of American Literature. In fact, he was the first national and international celebrity. The most well-known man on earth. He was able to capture the spirit of youthful optimism of small town America; and the freedom and excitement of the Western Frontier. His writing was unique in that he used the simple, plain meaning language of the average American.
The prospect of labor to earn money is a blessing for many people in the world. In the essay, “Work Is a Blessing” by Russel Honoré, the author makes a point that this prospect is vital for survival. Honoré starts his essay with a story from his past: “We grew cotton, sugar cane, corn, hogs, chickens and had a large garden, but it didn't bring in much cash. So when I was 12, I got a part-time job on a dairy farm down the road, helping to milk cows” (79). Readers can immediately infer that even if Honoré hated the job, it allowed him to help his family.
Mark Twain's story, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," and Bret Harte's short story, “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” is both works in the Western genre and portrays culture in the West. However, both stories being similar in setting, the two stories are still very different.
One such author, poet Langston Hughes, wrote “Let America Be America Again.” Hughes is known for his portrayal of the African American life in America during the early to mid 1900’s. Hughes was born in 1902 in Missouri where his parents divorced when he was a young child. He was raised by his grandmother until his teenage years before he moved to live with his mother and her new husband. He was a college graduate from Lincoln University and was an award winning novelist. Another author, Edward McClelland, we don’t learn as much about. We know he grew up in an auto making town in the 1970s, a time during which middle-class America was strong and prosperous. McClelland tells us his ideology through personal experience, examples, and the use of some statistics. With our last author, meet D. Watkins, a college professor who has a master’s degree in education from John Hopkins University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Baltimore. (3) We
In the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, where by British supremacy within Australia was actively felt, Richard Broome outlines the control practiced by white people over the Aboriginal population. Basing predominantly upon the Aboriginal Protection Boards acting under special legislation and the informal ‘caste system' , Broome powerfully illustrates the treatment and discriminatory effect of these two methods of control on Aboriginal people.
Ambrose Bierce led a relatively full but tragic life. After losing his sons Day and Leigh to suicide and alcoholism respectively, his wife left him for another man (“Ambrose Bierce”). His struggles with death and the inequity of life are evident throughout his literary works. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” illustrates many of the power struggles that Bierce was fighting throughout much of his life.
Let us begin by going back to a time before the Great Wall, The Great Pyramids, and even Stonehenge. A time that could not even fathom the thought of metal tools and tall buildings. This time is the Neolithic period between 3180-2500 BCE and the location is the west coast of the mainland of Orkney in Scotland. There you will find the ancient ruins of Skara Brae. During the winter of 1850 a massive storm hit the coast of Orkney. A combination of fierce winds and high tides stipped the top layer of soil from the ground to reveal the outline of an old building. Intrigued by the outlines the local laird, William Watt of Skill, started excavating the site too see what he could find. In 1868 the site was abandoned for unknown reasons and in later
Conceived July 4, 1804, Nathaniel Hathorne was the main child of Captain Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning Hathorne. (Hawthorne included the "w" to his name after he moved on from school.) Following the passing of Captain Hathorne in 1808, Nathaniel, his mom, and his two sisters were compelled to move in with Mrs. Hawthorne's relatives, the Mannings. Here Nathaniel Hawthorne experienced childhood in the organization of ladies without a solid male good example; this environment may represent what biographers call his timidity and withdrawn identity.
Walt Witman is considered the first urban poet. He republished his life long work, “Leaves of Grass” several times. Constantly revising it and adding more to it. When he sent his first edition of the book to Emerson, he got warm receptions and praises for his work. Walt often wrote about sensual things. For this he was criticized harshly even, Emerson advised taking parts out of his book, he adamantly refused to do so. This type of writing has never been seen before Walt’s time. Witman would often walk the streets of New York and observe people, busy about their day. Witman received inspiration from his walks and put them into his writings. Most writers of this time wrote about fantasy lands, love, or war, however, Witman writes about the here
The relationship between a parent and child is potentially one of the most influential in a child’s life. A positive interaction often yields admiration, love or a sense of support. A negative relationship may yield distrust, animosity or a sense of solitude. Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” describes the admiration of his hardworking father. The speaker, a young boy, depicts roughhousing with his father in the form of a waltz; expressing his desire to stay up and spend more time together though their relationship is detached. Seamus Heaney’s “Digging,” instills a sense of respect, pride, and a slight affliction for the speaker’s choice of the pen over the spade. The speaker has chosen a different path in life than that of his father and grandfather. Although written at different stages in life, both Roethke and Heaney write a poem about their families utilizing vivid imagery to demonstrate the love and pride they felt for these men.
The most well noted early American authors all have one big, sometimes unrealized bias. That bias is gender. Authors such as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Henry James all follow this unintentional norm in the way that they have represented masculinity through their works.
A View from the Bridge is a dramatic tragedy, which follows the life of a dockworker, Eddie Carbone, in 1950s America who is the main focus of the play. He represents the average, everyday man in society, but his character draws parallels to many tragic heroes in the past shown in Greek tragedies, Shakespeare’s plays, etc. (e.g. Hamlet and Macbeth). A tragic hero is the hero in the story who has positive and negative traits and their negative traits is what eventually leads to the demise and this is what happens to Eddie. Many fathers and uncles can relate to Eddie when they have to ‘let go’ of their children, but Eddie’s tragic flaw is that his immature actions and selfish behaviour emphasises his personal obsession of being in charge and