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4 pages/≈1100 words
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Style:
MLA
Subject:
Literature & Language
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Essay
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English (U.S.)
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American Lit Essay. Literature and Language Assignment.

Essay Instructions:

Please write 1000 words (300 for part 1, 700 for part 2) in total for this assignment. Read the passage attached and (1) explain how the author’s argument critiques the traditional notion of American lit and provides an alternative definition of it; (2) discuss the validity of the author’s claim by analyzing the representations of “America” in TWO texts you read in this class (I’ve attached a list of all the texts we’ve read, choose two of them for your argument). Use specific examples from the two texts to support your argument.
Please check the attached files.

Essay Sample Content Preview:
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
American Literature
(Part1)
Introduction
What makes American literature “American”? It probably derives its name from the unique history behind the foundation of the great nation of America. Every schoolboy is aware of the 14th-century stories regarding the discovery of the "New World." It would be impossible to know of these stories without the literary accounts of people from that period. Gregory Jay seems to indicate that American literature is tendentious towards the views of the high society, and he further gives his stand on what it should be (Gregory 264-281). However, his stance can be challenged by considering the works of writers, Scott Fitzgerald and James Baldwin.
The American
The author demonstrates that American literature focused on a particular class of Americans. The nation was composed of several people of varying cultures, beliefs, and status. However, American literature seems to be dominated by higher class white males. Certainly, this narrow group of representatives cannot adequately represent the actual substance of the nation. Gregory shows that the upper-class white male became a mouthpiece for the women, natives, Asians, and African Americans (Gregory 264-281). Consequently, this caused American literature to be highly expurgated. Only a particular perspective of "the American" was put across. It is safe to say that the voices of homosexuals, non-white people, and those with ulterior religious beliefs did not have the same platform. Apparently, the literature portrays a shallow version of the real American story.
Multiculturalism
Writing should portray recognition and respect for all cultures and beliefs within America, according to Gregory Jay. Every American should count as "American," irrespective of their beliefs, race, or sexuality (Gregory 264-281). The idea of American literature should express the nation’s diverse cultures and how they flourish together. Probably, this would encourage its present inhabitants to appreciate their differences a lot more. The word “American” should invoke thoughts of a community of multiple languages, ethnicities, and beliefs thriving side by side. Thence, Gregory argues that there is far more to America’s past than its literature manages to bring to the light.
(Part 2)
Sonny’s Blues
This novel by James Baldwin tells a story of an African American school teacher and his brother Sonny. The teacher reads in the newspaper about his brother’s arrest for drug use (Baldwin 1). The author does an impeccable job of highlighting the struggles of young African Americans. His brother did not understand Sonny's struggles with drug use, and that is as it is today in American society. Most people do not understand the elevated drug use among African Americans. The black people are immediately called out as the criminals, dismissing the possibility of them being victims of social injustice. Notably, this novel accurately portrays this underlying issue in American society in the 20th century and, to some extent, even today.
James Baldwin’s novel brought out the struggles of black people in music in the 1950s. It was a time when African Am...
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