American writers have a long and illustrious with some.docx
1. American writers have a long and illustrious history, with some
American writers have a long and illustrious history, with some of the world’s most
famous authors among them. Plays, novels, and poems are the main writing in the United
States, with an increasing number of women, Native Americans, Hispanics, and African
Americans making a significant contribution. Since the beginning of American literature in
1607, it has evolved through four periods (realism, naturalism, and postmodern). Due to
this evolution, these four periods will be discussed to reveal who is an American writer
during each movement. Realism In American literature, realism refers to the period
from the civil war until the century when American writers wrote fiction dedicated to
accurate representation and exploration of American lives in different contexts. Due to the
rapid growth of the United States after the civil war as shown at literature assignment help,
there was an increase in literacy and democracy, population increase caused by
immigration, and rapid development of industrialism and urbanization. This significant shift
in the U.S. led to a comparative rise in middle-class fortunes to provide a fertile literacy
environment for readers interested in understanding the rapid culture change. To satisfy
the increasing number of readers, American writers had similar writing characteristics to
what was happening and is likely during the realism period and in the future. While writing,
they used different literary realism such as social, magical, kitchen sink, socialist, and
psychological realism. In Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses work, Mark Twain
uses psychological realism to criticize James Fenimore Cooper’s writing. Twain starts by
quoting a few critics who have supported the work of Cooper. The main issue with the
supporters is that they do not have the novels because Cooper’s work is inaccurate. Twain
argues that Cooper has achieved 114 out of a potential 115 infractions towards literary art
in one location in Deerslayer and the limited span of two-thirds of a page. Further on, Twain
list 18 different literacy offenses that he feels were committed by Cooper. One violated
literacy that governs romantic fiction is “That a tale shall accomplish something and arrive
somewhere (Twain 1343).” This rule was violated as Deerslayer did not accomplish
anything, and it arrived in the air. The criticism provided by Twain in the work shows that
he was an American writer as they are based on real things that can happen in life.
Additionally, Booker T. Washington qualifies to be an American writer as he used
socialist realism to fight for African-Americans’ rights. Washington existed in the post-
reconstruction era south, and during this time, it was challenging for black people. Racial
segregation was widespread during this time, such that black people had no right to vote,
education, and access to jobs. During this time Ku Klux Klan started to advocate for their
2. civil rights. This led to Washington delivering his most famous speech on 18th September
1985, where he told Whites that African-Americans needed self-improvement, whereby
common labor should be dignified and glorified. Additionally, Washington felt that it was
better for blacks and whites to remain separated as long as the black community had access
to education, economic progress, and justice within the U.S judiciary. This speech led him to
have a rivalry with W.E.B. Du Bois rejected his demands on the address (Washington 1763).
All these Washington’s beliefs and rivalry with W.E.B Du Bois qualified him to be an
American writer as he was writing about what was happening to him and people of his
race. In Native American Assimilation and a Reemerging Tradition, Francis Parkman
shows that he is an American writer of social realism to narrate the behavior of tribes of
people after colonization. He tells about the first group of people who get easily assimilated
and forget about their culture and shift to the colonizers’ practices. The second group he
describes is the Indians, who demonstrate great strength in continuing their cultural
practices after colonization (Parkman 1322). This group is strictly unwilling to change
regardless of being forced by their colonizers. Additionally, in the same reading, President
Andrew Johnson is realistic as a leader during the era when people were brought
assimilated to Christianity. In the reading, he sent a message to Congress demanding
immediate execution by the sword for people who rejected civilization (Johnson 1322).
Parkman and Johnson are writing about realities during the realism period, making them
American writers. Naturalism Naturalism refers to thought made to glorify nature
and exclude spiritual and supernatural elements with close adherence to the spirit in
literature. Towards the 19th century, American writers shifted from realism to naturalism
because it was more advanced. Additionally, naturalism was progressive as it was more
detailed than realism to suggest inescapability forces of heredity, environment, and social
conditions that shape human character. The main reason for shifting was to bring new ideas
to convince the reading public with something new and modern. For an individual to qualify
to be an American writer during the naturalism period, they should have been influenced by
Charles Darwin’s evolution theory. In addition to influence, there were determinism,
objectivism, pessimism, and a surprising twist at the end of the
story. See https://onlyassignmenthelp.com/tag/psychology-assignment-help/ Edith
Wharton is considered an American writer due to naturalist traits in her writing. She was
born during Civil War into New York’s aristocracy and lived through turbulent changes in
the American society of the late 19th and 20th centuries (Wharton 1747). Due to the skills
she acquired as an anthropology and philosophy student, Wharton presents literary
situations and characters that show America’s changing social customs shifting from a
mercantile society to an industrial one. Wharton’s keen sense of observation character
sheds light on the human moral experience. Additionally, she has characters who are
usually tragic figures for those who seek freedom but are incapable of changing forces that
hinder them from their fates. Further on, Wharton has the role of social historian that
depicts the likelihood of environment and heredity to suppress and capture individuals
pursuing self-determination. Her precise observation of society and the focus on its
deciding influence on the course of human existence places Wharton in a unique position
leading to being a naturalist. Writing assignment help has many ideas about this topic.
3. Jack London is considered one of the greatest and most popular naturalists among
American writers. He was among the first writers to shift to realistic fiction and realism in
American literature. His qualification to be an American Writer was due to his profound
influence from Darwin’s works of constant struggle in nature and the survival of the fittest.
For instance, in his novel The Call of the Wild, he ultimately shows philosophical naturalism
(London 1838). The novel’s plot involves previous domestication and a pampered dog
called Buck, whose ancient instincts return after numerous events. To show naturalism’s
character, the environment plays a crucial role in the novel. The analysis of the book reveals
that the environment controls the life of dogs and wolves. This is a clear indication that
London has a deep understanding of the environment through expressing naturalism. Due
to naturalism expression in the novel, London qualifies to be an American writer in that era.
Although Edwin Arlington Robison was a famous poet, he qualifies to be an
American writer as some of his work was about personal life. Unlike other poets, Robison
dared to write about his doomed sense of life (Robison 1805). Additionally, in one of his
most famous poems Richard Cory, he evaluates the world-warping pitfalls that involve
knowing other people’s minds. In the poem, a chronicles sequence of assumptions made by
a tragic chorus comprised of the impoverished residents of a tiny hamlet, perceiving and
speaking collectively. Further on, the poem narrates that the locals are envious of Cory’s
affluence, gentlemanly demeanor, and “human” affability. Finally, they implicitly project
stability and contentment onto someone who, much to their surprise, returns home “one
quiet July night” to “place a bullet through his skull.” This is a precise fulfillment of
determinism characteristics making Robinson an American writer. Modernism In the
early 20th century, western countries experienced intensified advances in science and
technology, leading to unprecedented progress. Additionally, World War I destructions and
great depressions caused widespread suffering in America. All these contradictory impulses
revolve around the modernism period, which is usually a radical break from the past. This
break was characterized by destruction because it led to the loss of faith in traditional
beliefs and structures. Due to contradictory impulses in the modernism period, it is
considered one of the most productive and richest in American literature. Literary
modernism allowed writers to express themselves more practically than realism and
naturalism. During this period, for individuals to be American writers, they possessed
characteristics such as experimentation, individualism, multiple perspectives, free verse,
and literary devices. The south writers of Cultural Portfolio: The Southern Renaissance
qualify to be American writers as they possess some of the characteristics contained in
modernism. Before the renaissance, Southern writers focused on historical romance, such
as the lost cause of the confederate states of America. Historical romance aimed to glorify
the heroism of the confederate army and civilians who were present during the Civil War
and World War I. However, after the Southern Renaissance, they shifted to addressing three
significant themes in their works. The first theme was the burden of history, whereby many
people still remembered military defeat, reconstruction, and slavery. The second was to
concentrate on the conservative culture of the Southern primarily to ensure that an
individual would exist without losing their sense of identity in the religion, family, and
community. The final theme was to approach the troubled history south concerning racial
4. issues. This shift of their works depending on themes made them pose the characteristic of
experimentation leading to south writers of the Cultural Portfolio: The Southern
Renaissance to be American writers. Additionally, Zitkala-Sa had modernist characteristics
such as experimentation, individualism, and multiple perspectives. First, the
experimentation characteristics are identified in The Representative Indian, where her
central theme is despondency and Isolation; she felt like an outsider in a school populated
with whites. Secondly, individualism is the Coming-of-Age story where she starts by
narrating about herself as a young girl leaving her family to go to the east in school. The
story continues by saying what she expects as she will be living in school. Finally, multiple
perspectives are in the collection of Indian stories where she uses first-person perspective
with numerous characters to show changing world (Zitkala-Sa 1850). All the characteristics
depicted by Zitkala-Sa in her works make her an American writer. The author of Native Son,
Richard Wright, qualifies to be an American characteristic of the modernism movement.
First, the book uses literary devices such as symbolism and imagery. The rat symbolizes
many things in the book, such as greed, disaster, and inner thoughts. On the other hand, the
author uses imagery to describe the case where Thomas kills Mary Dalton, the daughter of
his white employer. Secondly, the experimentation character is used because the book has
themes such as racism, crime and justice, communism and capitalism, anger and charity and
death, life’s purpose, and the will to live. Therefore, literacy devices and experimentation
characteristics make Wright an American writer at
https://epicessayhelp.com/tag/management-assignment-help/. The authors of poems in
the Poems and Stories qualify as American writers because they have modernism period
characteristics. The main feature identified in all the poems is the use of free verses. All the
other poems in the reading have rejected the traditional structure of poetry and adopted
the use of free verses where there is no consistent metrical pattern, rhyme scheme, and
musical form. On the other hand, the story Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston shows that he was
an American writer because he possessed experimentation characteristics. The story has
themes such as domestic abuse, Christianity, hard work vs. entitlement, and race and class
to justify this characteristic. Therefore, all authors in the Poems and Stories were American
writers. The letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. qualifies him to be an
American writer as it possesses characteristics of American literature in the Modernism
period. First, King used literary devices such as alliteration, where he repeated consonant
sounds at the beginning of words in a sentence. For example, “The nations of Asia and Africa
are moving with jetlike speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep
at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter (King
2487).” He used other literary devices were a metaphor, allusion, imagery, and
personification. The second character was experimentation, where his letter had themes
such as racism, Christianity and morality, extremism vs. moderation, and justice. Due to
these two characteristics, King qualified to be an American writer. Postmodernism The
postmodernism period occurred immediately after the end of the modernism movement. It
was mainly inspired by the end of World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the civil
rights movement, and Vietnam War. Due to this series of events writing was influenced, and
it started to display materialism, diversity, and pride seen in entire America. During this
5. period, authors began to describe new technology and daily life. For individuals to qualify to
be American writers in the postmodern period, they should concentrate on the present and
future because American Literature is still evolving. In the early stage of postmodernism,
some postmodernists conflicted with the system change and expressed their confusion,
fears, and anxieties through their art. They later became members of the counter culture
were the beats. Their main aim was to be vocal about free speech, sexual liberation,
resisting Christian ideals and industrialization harms, and political wars. During this time,
Allen Ginsberg was one of the prominent leaders. He used persuasive language, especially in
Howl, even leading other members of the beat to be forgotten. Additionally, he made his
way to the 70s counter-culture generation. Ginsberg’s profane language to touch on issues
like madness, freedom, and alienation from society made Howl a sensation when initially
published in 1957 (Ginsberg 2444). The message delivered in Ginsberg’s publication in
1957 shows that he was an American writer because he had written what was happening
then and in the future. Tony Kushner was born in 1956 in New York and raised in a
Jewish Family. In the 1960s, Kushner burst into the American theatrical scene with brilliant
exuberance and political engagement (Kushner 2738). Additionally, his play American
Angels: Millennium Approaches depicts the A.I.D.s crisis, which was common in the 1980s
and affected a group of characters living in New York during the height of the pandemic
(Kushner 2739). This play shows postmodernism of what was happening in the 1980s, and
in the future, A.I.D.s are still affecting numerous people worldwide. Kushner qualifies to be
an American writer, from appearing in acting scenes to writing a play relevant to current
and future generations. She inspired Rita Dove’s wide reading, leading to her
excelling in school. She was one of the 100 high school graduates receiving a presidential
scholarship from attending Miami University in Oxford as a National Merit Scholar (Dove
2674). Dove obtained a Fulbright to study at the University of Tübingen in West Germany
after graduation. She earned an M.F.A. at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she met her
husband, German writer Fred Viebahn. She started her writing career in 1980 with a
collection of The Yellow House on the corner. This reading was widely praised for its
historical sense combined with individual details. The book reveals the beginning of a long
and productive profession as well as announcing the development of a continuous
distinctive style. Her works, such as Thomas and Beulah, on the Bus with Rosa Parks, and
Sonata Mulattica, have postmodernist characteristics. They treat events with a personal
touch to address her grandparents’ life and marriage in the 20th century, the forgotten
career of Black Violinist, and the triumph of the civil rights era. Since her work depicts
postmodernist traits, Dove qualifies to be an American writer. Conclusion American
writers change over time depending on the period they exist. They started with realism
writers until they developed to the last stage of postmodernism. All the stages of evolution
are differentiated by the characteristics that define their writers. If individuals do not have
the factors determining the American writers in that movement, they do not qualify to be
American writers. Therefore, to be an American Writer in a particular period, an individual
had to fulfill the characteristics that defined that period.