Wideman Vs. Limerick Essay

Brands, H. W., T. H. Breen, R. Hal Williams, and Ariela Julie. Gross. American stories: a history of the United States. Boston: PEARSON, 2015.

When you hear the oxymoron “historical fiction” you might think of an anecdote about a John Doe in World War 2. In this case, think more on the lines of a fiction novel with a vast historical influence on culture. Fiction novels not only play a key role in the entertainment of an audience but also the influence they leave on them. However, in order to influence the audience, the novel must also be very historically accurate. The combination of influence and historical accuracy can create a new subcategory of “historical fiction”. Two exceptional novels by distinguished authors have managed to start this new concept of “historical fiction”. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jazz by Toni Morrison are two literary novels that pioneered the movement of historical realism in fiction as well as influenced literary writing styles and United States culture for generations following their creation.

The Colonial Period in American Literature was a time period that was marked by two very distinct

“If the human race didn’t remember anything it would be perfectly happy" (44). Thus runs one of the early musings of Jack Burden, the protagonist of Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men. Throughout the story, however, as Jack gradually opens his eyes to the realities of his own nature and his world, he realizes that the human race cannot forget the past and survive. Man must not only remember, but also embrace the past, because it teaches him the truth about himself and enables him to face the future.

In the short stories, “The Destructors” by Graham Greene and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, these stories though have drastically different settings and time frames, the character’s deal with similar inner turmoil from their exterior circumstances. Each short story seems to reveal an interesting outcome and turn of events as the character’s personalities unfold. Not only does one see the personalities of the characters unfold, but the settings are revealed, to set the stage for what drives the plot.

A person’s past life is really important because it shapes the individual to be the kind of person he/she will be in the future. No matter how much we try, we can’t rid ourselves of our past nor can we run away from it. It’s embedded in our memories and will always remain to do so. In the short story “Xmas”, by Russell Banks, we meet the protagonist, Gregory Dodd who tries to run away from his past and avoid it. Eventually, the reader will learn what the consequences of such an action can lead to. Through the epiphany that the protagonist, Gregory Dodd, undergoes, Banks illustrates the consequences of avoiding one’s past; the nature of the epiphany is defined by the car collision, and ultimately leads Gregory to a wakeup call and a deeper self-realization, leaving him with some heavy thinking to do about his life. The forces that contribute to intensifying the moment of epiphany are seen in the plot and symbolism.

As they continue talking, John is somewhat shocked as to what Robby is saying. He explains how as a kid he escaped the stereotypes and the temptation of the gangs and the violence that surrounded him as he grew up. He thought that because Robby was hanging around the wrong crew that his personality was tainted in a way by thinking that he was a “cool cat” that didn’t follow the rules and sold drugs. But if you go back and read the opening of the passage john shows the audience that his brother deep down inside is a good person. Now that being said the story john gave us in the beginning of his draft was not Robby’s true words which shows the reader his first problem. Wideman states “the hardest habit to break, since it was the habit of a lifetime, would be listening to myself listen to him. That habit would destroy any chance of seeing my brother on his terms; and seeing him in his terms, learning his terms, seemed the whole point of his story.”(672). after reading the beginning again, I then realized that the way the story of Garths death was described couldn’t have been the voice of Robby. There is no exact explanation as to why Wideman interrupts the narrative to talk about his writing problems. Or why he started it with Garths death. I think he includes this to catch the reader’s attention rather than writing a traditional beginning, middle, and end. Writing the narrative with no specific beginning and stating the problems he has writing it makes

The American Romantic period of American literature propagated itself throughout the United States and multiple artistic medium from 1800 to 1850. Despite possible confusion caused by the name’s Western implications, this particular literary style originated in Germany with the publication of Goethe’s “Sorrows of Young Werther”. (11. http://www.westga.edu/~mmcfar/american%20ROMANTICISM%20OVERVIEW.html) Stories originating from this period were typically about improbable feats of adventure which provided readers with euphoric experiences not typically common in everyday life. (11. http://www.westga.edu/~mmcfar/american%20ROMANTICISM%20OVERVIEW.html) Eventually spreading throughout English culture, romanticism soon infected the colossal talents

Gunn Allen gets her audience to feel and sympathize for the American Indian women. Later on in the passage Gunn Allen writes that the women would be beaten “in the presence of her children so that the children would not believe in the strength and power of femininity. ”(83) This is very bad for the Indian women because this would have the children learn young that males are far superior than females. This puts a lot of sadness into the readers as the audience now sees how bad it was on the women back then.

John Edgar Wideman begins his piece, Our Time, with a description of the world he grew up in. He takes the reader through the story of his brother, Robby, using a variety of voices and points of view. In this narration of his brother’s life he brings to light his own dilemma with writing the piece. He uses a variety of voices and points of view to demonstrate the different perspectives of Robby 's story. To contest the ethical dilemma of telling someone else’s story without exploiting it, Wideman addresses the issue head on. By reading Our Time, a writer could learn much from Wideman, and adopt a number of his methods for different writing styles.

Ever since the invention of language, humans have been obsessed and intrigued with the aspect of storytelling. Each story, whether written or spoken, holds an important theme within its creative words and exciting plot. While each story is special and unique, over the course of history, different periods of literature have formed where authors tend to focus on similar themes and messages. One of which was the American Romantic era, where authors used their stories to challenge the boundaries of society, and delve deeper into what makes people inherently human, both the flaws and perfections. Some of America’s greatest works of literature were born in this period, like those of Poe, and Hawthorne. A very common literary theme during the romantic period was that of good versus evil, in both individual characters and society as a whole; this theme is especially evident in works such as The Tell Tale Heart, The Raven, and Young Goodman Brown.

In Smith’s past, he had been hesitant when he was supposed to stick up for others. However, he has been inspired to make sure that nobody ever makes that mistake ever again. One way that hesitance to speak influences people to use their voice to their advantage is through past

“A Tale Intended to be After the Fact…” is how Stephan Crane introduced his harrowing story, “The Open Boat,” but this 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 their works. Writing styles are also affected by the current trends and opinions of the period they represent. By reading American

The classic American short story I have decided to delve into and discuss in these

In the essay “Our Time” by John Edgar Wideman he often takes a break from the narrative to address that he has many problems as a writer. He does this to try to consciously address these problems and hopefully solve these problems. He believes that if these problems are not rectified he would destroy any chance he has at telling a truthful account of his brother’s story. To rectify these problems he employs a variety of unique techniques in his writing. Looking at these techniques it is not always 100% clear how these are fixing his problems. It is also evident that the way he is writing may be going against a lot of things we were taught in school about our writing.