Home

The concept of “home” is very relative—it means different things to everyone.  As I face my 15-hour drive home in a few days, I found it fitting to reflect on what my own opinions of home might be.  Everyone’s story is often heavily characterized by their home, where they came from usually reflects who they will become or are becoming.  Home is the people, the environment, the words used, the culture of a place.  Home is where I can say “wicked” and “bubbler” without being interrogated.  Home is where I have two houses that I love equally because they each contain people I love.  Home is where the winters are cold and the summers are hot but the beach is just down the street.  Home is driving onto my street and knowing what to expect around every turn.  I love and appreciate this familiarity, but also think of the day when the houses in Topsfield, MA will no longer be what I consider home in its first definition.  It will be where I grew up, still an important part of my life, but not home. 

            Sally Carol, the main character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “The Ice Palace,” wants change from her sleepy southern town.  “I want to go places and see people.  I want my mind to grow.  I want to live where things happen on a big scale.” (Fitzgerald 1824)  However, when she does move up North to live with her fiancé Harry and his family she does not like it.  She is reluctant to view Tarleton as her home, it seems to be alien to her, “This was the North, the North—her land now!” (1827)  Sally Carol begins to lose everything that made her her, including her full name, because of her discomfort with her surroundings and the way she is treated.  The spirit and playfulness she once had begins to disappear, as things like sledding are turned down by Harry as silly and immature.  There is the clear sense that Sally Carol is unhappy despite her assurance of Harry, “ ‘Where you are is home for me Harry.’  And as she said this she had the feeling for almost the first time in her life that she was acting a part.” (1829)  She becomes a character playing a character.  The cultural difference between the North and the South make her feel like an outsider; depressed, Sally Carol sees her life as two parts: the old and the new.  The new life has developed an atmosphere where she feels inferior and is not heard or understood.  The external historical conflict between the North and the South become internalized in Sally Carol.  I agree with Andrew’s comment that by “putting on a Northern performance, she dismantles the Northern presupposition of complete Southern ignorance… But she’s anxious. Initially it’s a fear that she is this ignorant Southerner, clueless and slow, but it slowly develops into a deep anxiety over the Northern misconceptions and the death of her own culture inside of her.” (Rikard) In the end, she cannot bear to let go of her old way of life because it so closely tied to who she is.    

            In Sherman Alexie’s short story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” the theme of “home” or a lack of one is prominent.  Jackson Jackson, and many of the “Interior Salish” in the Spokane, Washington area are homeless, in the literal and figurative sense (Alexie 2298).  As Jackson Jackson says himself, “Being homeless is probably the only thing I’ve ever been good at.” (2298)  Connor also points out that “meaningful community initially seems unobtainable for Jackson Jackson” (McManus).  It becomes clear as he seizes the opportunity to save his grandmother’s regalia from the pawnshop that the only thing he can cling to is his seemingly long lost culture.  His journey to win back the regalia consumes him because of his desire to be a hero, but also because of his grief for the loss of grandmother.  The grief extends to his culture as well, one that he understands on some level but cannot really claim it as his own—this becomes the importance of his connection to his grandmother. 

Works Cited

Alexie, Sherman. “What You Pawn I Will Redeem.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 2296-2314. Print.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Ice Palace.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 1818-1840. Print.

McManus, Connor.  “Community in ‘What You Pawn I Will Redeem’.” Davidson College ENG 280. 9 December 2014. Web. 10 December 2014. 

Rikard, Andrew.  “The Sweetly Rotten Southern Mythic.” Davidson College ENG 280. November 14 2014. Web. 10 December 2014. 

The Power in Telling One's Story

Something that I have always found powerful is writing about my personal experiences in the format of a short memoir, journal, poem, etc.—as long as the feelings and emotions of the experience are felt when I read it back to myself.  It is therapeutic and part of a process where I allow myself to grieve, feel sad, angry, etc. and then move on—at least to where I am able to start focusing on other things.  I think there is tremendous power in telling your story.  It is a way to share an experience and to connect with others.  The American dream post got me thinking about how many different individual experiences we read this semester.  The memoir is no new development, but it has certainly served different purposes over the years as evident by the variety of texts I cover below.  It is a format that is often true to the individual writing it, a personal story is authentic and telling of the author.  

Some of the first pieces of literature we read as a class were personal in nature.  These historical accounts did not aim to compose a compelling narrative with a strong story arch.  However, in the 17^th century narratives became extremely popular, with the captivity narrative being an important subgenre.  These fantastical stories became known for telling the “truth” although how much was changed to suit these needs is debatable.  The stories served a clear purpose, as Mary Rowlandson’s own captivity narrative, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, indicates by its title alone.  The emotional struggles she experiences, like carrying her dyeing child and being separated from her husband and children, allow her to reflect on and connect to her faith.  Everything good that happens to her, in Rowlandson’s eyes, can be connected back to God.  The spiritual lens in which she writes her story makes clear her purpose—to witness the purpose of God.  It is interesting to witness such self-interest in a very personal narrative.  Rowlandson believes she was chosen to suffer and given mercy by God, but that it is a privilege to be afflicted by such suffering.  This elevation of her person puts her in a position to compare herself to biblical figures.

Despite also being written by a woman, Rebecca Harding Davis’ “Life in the Iron Mills,” takes a personal story and makes it about a larger issue.  Unlike Rowlandson, Davis is trying to send a message to encourage greater social awareness and incite social change.  She takes the reader down, “into the thickest of the fog and mud and foul effluvia” in order to illustrate class conflict in American society (Davis 909).   Although “Life in the Iron Mills” is not Davis’ story so exactly as The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is Rowlandson’s, her story contains the truth and real misery of America’s working class.  It allows the reader to connect with the “reality of soul-starvation, of living death, that meets you every day under that besotted faces on the street.” (914)  The intense descriptions of the iron mills and constant machine like imagery serve to impress upon the reader that the constant oppression of the lower classes left them so focused on acquiring their basic needs that they were blinded to the possibility of any social change. 

In Thoreau’s Walden, he lives out the epitome of the early American stereotype.  One of his first lines is “I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house I had built myself…” (Thoreau 666)  Despite the idealization of this situation, the initial part of the narrative speaks little of Thoreau’s living arrangements.  Instead he looks within to find powerful insight.  Being self-sufficient and living on his own terms are part of this powerful narrative.

Shifting to a true story, but one that is not the author’s own, Mark Twain’s—“A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It”—showcases Twain’s ability to command a true story other than his own.  The use of strong dialect, forces the reader to pay more attention once the woman starts speaking.  This dialogue increases until she completely dominates the story and the reader forgets about the narrator.  The emphasis on truth throughout the story, and even in the title blends the line between the fiction Twain is so famous for and the woman’s narrative.  Twain uses the power of telling one’s story to tell someone else’s, and in turn the story becomes even more powerful given his background and his notoriety.   

Works Cited

Davis, Rebecca Harding. “Life in the Iron Mills.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 908-935. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 169-188. Print.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excerpts from Walden.  The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 665-671. Print.

Twain, Mark. “A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 1163-1166. Print.

The American Dream

The topic of the “American dream” must come up in every 11^th grade English class based on conversations I have had with my classmates.  This, and the fact that we have discussed this subject a good deal in our own class this semester made me hesitant to pursue it on my own in one of these blog posts.  However, I realized that the “American dream” is not always as clear cut as it is presented in “The Death of A Salesman”, Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, or “Rip Van Winkle”.  Sometimes it is just an undercurrent to the more obvious theme in a piece of literature.  Discussing nature in my prior blog post made clear how much nature and the American dream are connected, so below I go into depth on a variety of other areas of the American dream.  However, before delving into the literature I want to briefly explain why the idea of the American dream is important to me.  I appreciate our home for the freedoms and opportunities it provides and this goes hand in hand with the idea.  But the American dream means so much to the evolution of the American identity and finding meaning in our past, present, and future.  I find inspiration in what value the American dream holds in our history and its transformation parallel to our evolving nation.

            J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur was a native of France but lived in New York for a good bit of his adult life until the American Revolution.  At this point his support of British rule in the colonies forced him to leave his home in New York.  His now famous letter, “What Is An American,” reveals an interesting side to this supporter of British rule.  One of his first observances of the new land is admiring the development of what was once “wild.” (Crevecoeur 376)   Like Freneau he sees the “New World” as something to be tamed.  However, the most striking thing about Crevecoeur’s letter is his comparison of the colonies to Europe.  He describes the new world as a picture of equality compared to Europe (376).  It is from this idea, and his suggestion of a completely new race, that Crevecoeur starts to form a fresh take on the colonists.  “We are all animated with the spirit of an industry which is unfettered and unrestrained, because each person works for himself.” (376)  He is at times condescending towards a good portion of Americans, “From this promiscuous breed, that race now called Americans have arisen.” (376) By calling the land the “American asylum” and painting a picture of the poor and downtrodden arriving in America and becoming full citizens there certainly seems to be an air of superiority and lack of relatability.  However, he ends on a positive note, summarizing brilliantly what we today recognize as key characteristics of the American dream and spirit, “Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world.” (378)  Crevecoeur emphasizes that these labors are a product of self-interest, getting to the heart of the self-made man narrative so common in the American storyline.  In the end, he calls the American a new man, but I would argue he does not see himself as one.  Despite his amazing comprehension of the beginning of the American character, the air of elitism and otherness sensed throughout his letter suggest he does not identify as such.  It was exactly this separation of character and purpose that allowed him to be so insightful and it is the leaving of those like him who supported crown rule that allow the realization of being an American to fully take form. 

            Also from this time period is Judith Sargent Murray’s “On the Equality of the Sexes.”  Although is does not directly address what it means to be an American, Murray proves to readers that she is everything good about Crevecoeur’s American.  Her push to explain that male and female minds are by nature equal is an early form of women’s rights advocacy (Murray 404).  Murray challenged the notion of male superiority, arguing that education and opportunity would transform the lives of women.  This seems to be the spirit of a true American.  Although Crevecoeur probably did not have Murray in mind when he was writing his letter, she fits the description perfectly. 

            Toni Morrison’s short story “Recitatif” challenges what we think of as a modern day American by encouraging the reader to look at two characters of two different races, but without identifying which character is black and which is white.  Their dreams, goals, and accomplishments are a part of the puzzle—but the readers’ ability to use them as clues also relies on their use of stereotypes.  It makes us realize that there are even stereotypes about parts of the American dream—who can accomplish it, what one wants out of it, and who believes in it.  As readers we use where Twyla and Roberta end up living, who they marry, and their wealth to discuss who is white and who is black.  Assumptions of race and class overlap, but so do the stereotypes surrounding the two characters.  Someone who reads this today will have different ideas about why one character might be white and the other black then someone reading this when it was first published.  This makes sense because as Morrison successfully points out race is not a clear-cut line to be drawn, in this case, between white and black Americans. 

             

Works Cited

Crevecoeur, J. Hector St. John de . “Letter III. What Is an American” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 374-378. Print.

Morrison, Toni. “Recitatif.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 2151-2167. Print.

Murray, Judith Sargent. “On the Equality of the Sexes” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 401-406. Print.

Nature

When I think of connections I have to the natural world, my first thoughts are always those of my experiences skiing in Maine at Sunday River.  My family of five has had a tiny one-bedroom condo at the base of the slopes since I was seven years old.  Growing up in what I affectionately refer to as a hectic household, the weekends we spent in Maine on the ski trails were my escape.  Over the years as I improved, I went out to ski by myself sometimes spending 5, 6, or 7 hours at a time outside before coming in.  Armed with a camelback and a few granola bars I made it my mission every year to ski every one of the 133 trails over the resort’s seven peaks.  My favorite area of Sunday River has always been Spruce Peak.  It’s a bit hard to get to, only has a few trails, and the chairlift is small and slow, but that’s why I love it so much.  It really is just you and the mountain.  It’s where I go to think, to destress, and to be free.

            Something that struck me this semester as we were studying American Literature was the evolving presence of nature in the different works the class read.  Nature and the natural world are very much connected to the history of the United States.  One of the first works we read, “How the World Was Made” is a Cherokee story which puts nature in what we might describe as a religious context.  This origin story focuses solely on the natural world, not mentioning the origins of humans and animals.  However, it does tie the natural world to the human world as “when the world grows old and worn out, the people will die.” (Cherokee 39) The spiritual tone of the piece conveys the importance of nature to the Cherokee people and its role in a higher power. 

            Philip Freneau’s poem “On The Emigration to America” also connects nature to a higher power, but in this case the higher power seems to be the Europeans arriving “to tame the soil.” (Freneau 423)  In her blog post Samantha made note of this too, “The poem may be full of faith in America, in Reason and in freedom from England, but the speaker never mentions a faith in God. In leaving God out of the poem, the speaker gives the colonists complete ownership of the land they have found.” (Gowing)  Freneau’s poem is an early example of the connection between nature and the emerging of the American spirit of manifest destiny.  He highlights typical American scenes like “fair plains” and “darksome wood”, yet also mentions the using nature for commerce, “And commerce plans new freights for thee.” (Freneau 424)  In the poem nature becomes not only the natural world but a natural process of separation from England, as immigrants come “From Europe’s proud, despotic shore” to enjoy the birth and development of the “new world.” (423)

            When reading Ambrose Bierce’s short story “Chickamauga” the themes present in Freneau’s poem celebrating America seem to be torn apart.  Nature has become a war zone pitting brother against brother in the Civil War.  Despite its subject matter the story is anti-war, exhibiting the unnatural elements of the natural world when war is present.  The author’s choice to tell the story from the point of view of a child blurs the line between real and fantastical.  Man and nature blend together as, “The very ground seemed in motion toward the creek.” (Bierce 1204)  The fact that the child is also a deaf-mute means his only means of understanding the world is through sight, and yet what he is seeing in nature he cannot fully comprehend.

            “Big Two-Hearted River” by Ernest Hemingway is also connected to nature and war, but has a different tone.  Instead of relying on nature to tell a story about war, Hemingway uses war to exemplify nature.  Nick’s journey into the wilderness leaves him alone and gives him opportunities to live in the present moment.  The autonomy and solitude he experiences is in heavy contrast to the war he has come back from.  The imagery and emotion felt with such simple languages reflects the physical space Nick is present in and his ability to keep “his direction by the sun.” (Hemingway 1876)  The allusions to the future like, “There were plenty of days coming when he could fish the swamp,” are hopeful and suggests a continuing positive relationship with nature (1886).

Works Cited

Bierce, Ambrose. “Chickamauga.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 1199-1207. Print.

Cherokee. “How the World Was Made.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 37-40. Print.

Freneau, Philip. “On the Emigration to America.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 423-425. Print.

Gowing, Samantha.  “Freneau’s America.” Davidson College ENG 280. 10 September 2014. Web. 10 December 2014.  

Hemingway, Ernest. “Big Two-Hearted River.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson, Second ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 1871-1886. Print.