As our group’s director, I began to question my choice of literature this year as our group tackled the difficult nature of literature from the early 1800’s. Conflict arose as individual concerns were voiced. The process of listening, sharing, and accepting opinions became challenging for all. In the end we survived, all the better for our journey. All the wiser as we learned about each other and our diversity.
However, the question still persisted in my mind. WHAT is an American short story and why is it important to study the genre? How do I justify the importance of studying stories that challenge our very natures?
For the answer, I turned to research and came upon this anonymous list, which provides a starting place for my answer.
It is important to realize that early American literature in particular is associated with Christian faith and Christendom’s influence on American culture. By going back in time, we experience how much early American literature is haunted by questions of faith and doubt.
As we read and compare early American authors, we deepen our understanding of the American dialogue on faith and human nature. It is this dialogue that allowed America’s founders to make provisions for the social, religious, and political freedoms that exist in our country today.
It is through our efforts and understanding of American classics that we gain a love for our fellow American human beings and all their diversity, complexity, and variety. As American citizens in the 21st century, we can read today, of yesterday, and give thanks for our tomorrows.
We are blessed to live in a country that allows us such freedom as unique individuals to express ourselves as we cultivate wisdom, learn of good and evil, and experience the call to justice. American literature, in itself, cannot make us a better person, but it can support and facilitate us in our journey as we seek our own personal understanding of our nation’s history, as we become history to those in the future.
However, the question still persisted in my mind. WHAT is an American short story and why is it important to study the genre? How do I justify the importance of studying stories that challenge our very natures?
For the answer, I turned to research and came upon this anonymous list, which provides a starting place for my answer.
- Literature is diverse in its portraits of life and its claims about the world. Why take the time to read it then? Because humanity is valuable.
- When we read, we discover common human ways of understanding.
- When we read literature, we also discover significant differences. This allows us to explore another’s message or life, even those separated from us by time and social barriers.
- Literature is full of human reactions. As we respond to and analyze these, we can gain a greater knowledge of the human psyche. At the same time, we gain a greater knowledge of our selves and our own responses.
- We don’t always agree with what we read, or we agree in part. We read literature to test the truth of a message against our worldview.
It is important to realize that early American literature in particular is associated with Christian faith and Christendom’s influence on American culture. By going back in time, we experience how much early American literature is haunted by questions of faith and doubt.
As we read and compare early American authors, we deepen our understanding of the American dialogue on faith and human nature. It is this dialogue that allowed America’s founders to make provisions for the social, religious, and political freedoms that exist in our country today.
It is through our efforts and understanding of American classics that we gain a love for our fellow American human beings and all their diversity, complexity, and variety. As American citizens in the 21st century, we can read today, of yesterday, and give thanks for our tomorrows.
We are blessed to live in a country that allows us such freedom as unique individuals to express ourselves as we cultivate wisdom, learn of good and evil, and experience the call to justice. American literature, in itself, cannot make us a better person, but it can support and facilitate us in our journey as we seek our own personal understanding of our nation’s history, as we become history to those in the future.
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