EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE

WEEK 13: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE (1)

The Contemporary Period (1945 to present)
The United States, which emerged from World War II confident and economically strong, entered the Cold War
in the late 1940s. This conflict with the Soviet Union shaped global politics for more than four decades, and the
proxy wars and threat of nuclear annihilation that came to define it were just some of the influences shaping
American literature during the second half of the 20th century. The 1950s and ’60s brought significant cultural
shifts within the United States driven by the civil rights movement and the women’s movement. Prior to the last
decades of the 20th century, American literature was largely the story of dead white men who had created Art
and of living white men doing the same. By the turn of the 21st century, American literature had become a much
more complex and inclusive story grounded on a wide-ranging body of past writings produced in the United
States by people of different backgrounds and open to more Americans in the present day.
Literature written by African Americans during the contemporary period was shaped in many ways by Richard
Wright, whose autobiography Black Boy was published in 1945. He left the United States for France after
World War II, repulsed by the injustice and discrimination he faced as a black man in America; other black
writers working from the 1950s through the 1970s also wrestled with the desires to escape an unjust society and
to change it. Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man (1952) tells the story of an unnamed black man adrift in, and
ignored by America.
The American novel took on a dizzying number of forms after World War II. Realist, metafictional, postmodern,
absurdist, autobiographical, short, long, fragmentary, feminist, stream of consciousness—these and dozens more
labels can be applied to the vast output of American novelists. Little holds them together beyond their
chronological proximity and engagement with contemporary American society
The Beat movement was short-lived—starting and ending in the 1950s—but had a lasting influence on
American poetry during the contemporary period. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl (1956) pushed aside the formal,
largely traditional poetic conventions that had come to dominate American poetry. Raucous, profane, and deeply
moving, Howl reset Americans’ expectations for poetry during the second half of the 20th century and beyond.
In the early decades of the contemporary period, American drama was dominated by three men: Arthur
Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Edward Albee. Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949) questioned the American
Dream through the destruction of its main character, while Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) and Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) excavated his characters’ dreams and frustrations. Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf? (1962) rendered what might have been a benign domestic situation into something vicious and cruel. By
the 1970, the face of American drama had begun to change, and it continued to diversify into the 21st century.

The Gift of the Magi is a short story by O. Henry, published in the New York Sunday World in 1905 andthen
collected in The Four Million (1906).
Summary of the “Gift of the Magi”
The story begins on Christmas Eve, with Della lamenting the fact that she’s only saved $1.87, despite months of
pinching pennies at the grocer, butcher, and vegetable man. She flops down on their shabby couch and cries,
while the narrator goes on to introduce the young couple, Della and Jim Dillingham Young. The narrator then
describes their apartment, remarking upon its cheapness—8 dollars a week—and lack of a working doorbell.
 EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
Della tops crying but is still at a loss for how she might buy a Christmas present worthy of Jim. She suddenly
remembers the pier-glass—a sort of thin mirror between the windows of the apartment—and stands before the
glass, releasing her hair to fall to its full length. Here, the narrator describes the couple’s most prized
possessions: Della’s long, brown hair that falls below her knees and Jim’s gold watch that was passed down
from his grandfather. He compares these items to King Solomon’s treasures and the queen of Sheba’s jewels.
Della runs downstairs onto the street, where she finds a hair shop run by a Madame Sofronie. After a brief
exchange during which Madame Sofronie evaluates Della’s hair, Della sells her long locks for twenty dollars.
Della spends the next two hours looking for a perfect present for Jim. She decides finally on a simple platinum
chain for Jim’s watch, comparing the watch’s lack of ornamentation and value to Jim’s personality, which is
equally quiet and valuable.

Trees
BY JOYCE KILMER

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.
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WEEK 14: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE (2)
Popular Literature
Popular literature includes those writings intended for the masses and those that find favor with large audiences.
It can be distinguished from artistic literature in that it is designed primarily to entertain. Popular literature,
unlike high literature, generally does not seek a high degree of formal beauty or subtlety and is not intended to
endure. The growth of popular literature has paralleled the spread of literacy through education and has
been facilitated by technological developments in printing. With the Industrial Revolution, works of literature,
which were previously produced for consumption by small, well-educated elites, became accessible to large
sections and even majorities of the members of a population.

The boundary between artistic and popular literature is murky, with much traffic between the two categories
according to current public preference and later critical evaluation. While he was alive, William
Shakespeare could be thought of as a writer of popular literature, but he is now regarded as a creator of artistic
literature. Indeed, the main, though not invariable, method of defining a work as belonging to popular literature
is whether it is ephemeral, that is, losing its appeal and significance with the passage of time.

The most important genre in popular literature is and always has been the romance, extending as it does from
the Middle Ages to the present. The most common type of romance describes the obstacles encountered by two
people (usually young) engaged in a forbidden love. Another common genre is that of fantasy, or science
fiction. Novels set in the western frontier of the United States in the 19th century, and called westerns, are also
popular. Finally, the detective story or murder mystery is a widely read form of popular literature. Popular
literature has also come to include such genres as comic books and cartoon strips.

Classic Poetry
Much debate surrounds the definition of classic poetry. To be properly called a classic, something must exhibit
both high degrees of quality and staying power. Poems that are included in the classic poetry list generally have
both of these characteristics. Often, poets who lack staying power but exhibit a high degree of talent have their
poems re-introduced to the list of classic poems long after they are deceased.

A poem is generally not described as "classic" until several decades have passed since it was originally penned
and released to the public. Adequate time must have elapsed for the poem to have demonstrated its staying
power. If high school seniors are still assigned to analyze the poem 50 to 100 years after the poet has passed
away, it is a good sign that it is a classic poem.
In the past, the addition of non-Western poetry to the classic poetry canon has been impeded by language and
cultural differences. Thankfully, modern academics have taken care to include a diverse assortment of poems in
the classic category. Long-standing classic poems survive the effects of time and cultural shifts. Anthologies of
classic poetry now contain representative writings from all corners of the globe, in translations of many
languages, and from a variety of eras of human history. In fact, some famous Chinese poems dedicated to
cultural deities date from 1000 BC.

Different rhyming schemes and linguistic structures are found among examples of classic poetry. These are
often influenced by the original language in which the poem was written. Translations often offer an inaccurate
picture of the original structure or intent behind the poem in question. Efforts are being made to include notes
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with all translations in order to further explain the process and attempt to explain as much of
the connotation and denotation of the words as possible.

Though there is no definitive list of classic poems, there are many poets whose works can be found in almost
every poetry anthology that is sold and studied in the world. For example, one of the most widely read poems is
Dante's Inferno. William Shakespeare's sonnets are among the classics as are the love sonnets of Pablo Neruda.
Some of the other names include Emily Dickinson, Lord Byron, Ogden Nash, as well as Wilfred Owen, Lewis
Carroll, and even Queen Elizabeth I.
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

WEEK 15: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE (3)

IV. LESSON PROPER
4.1 Nonfiction Literary Genre
Just as a painter might choose particular colors, brushes, subjects, techniques, and styles to work with, authors
of the type of writing called literary nonfiction also choose artistic ways to present information. They may take
facts from history, the lives of real people, or any other topic based on real events and write creatively to
transform those facts into a narrative. The artistic tools used by writers of literary nonfiction include a
unique organizational pattern and figurative language (for example, metaphor and personification) that are
more often seen in literary texts.
 EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
Using these artistic devices, nonfiction writers elevate their work beyond “just the facts” to instruct, motivate,
and profoundly influence people.
What types of writing fall into the category of literary nonfiction? Speeches are one good example. Usually
when someone gives a speech, it is intended for some specific purpose such as to inform the audience or
persuade them on an issue. To create a maximum impact, the writer should incorporate artistic devices
rather than just reciting a list of facts.
Other types of literary nonfiction, also known as creative nonfiction, include biography, travel writing,
interviews, memoirs, personal essays, nature writing, and more.
4.2 “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for
freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation
Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had
been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their
captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still
sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the
Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years
later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.
And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the
magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory
note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as
white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are
concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check
which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient
funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will
give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to
engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real
the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit
path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock
of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's
legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-
three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now
be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest
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nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will
continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something
that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the
process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our
thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on
the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical
violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all
white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize
that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably
bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be
satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be
satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the
highways and the hotels of the cities. **We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a
smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood
and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only."** We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in
Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not
satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty
stream."1
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come
fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left
you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the
veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to
Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back
to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply
rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave
owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering
with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the content of their character.
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I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips
dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys
and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the
rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be
able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith,
we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for
freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's
pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
4.3 “I Have a Dream” can be held up as a masterful creative work in itself; its dramatic structure coupled with
its image-laden content render a remarkably moving piece of American literature that when read even outside of
its original context still strongly resonates today.
What examples of figurative language can be found in the text? (For example, “seared in the flames of
withering injustice”; “manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination”; “whirlwinds of revolt”;
“oasis of freedom and justice”; “symphony of brotherhood.”
How do these enhance the overall impact of the speech? What oratorical devices does King use to add vitality
and force to his speech? (For example, use of refrains such as “I have a dream,” “let freedom ring” and “we can
never be satisfied”; multiple shifts in sentence lengths; dramatic shifts in tone, such as from enraged to
 EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
cautionary to hopeful; use of questions as well as exclamations, such as “when will you be satisfied?” and “I
have a dream today!”)
In what specific ways does King call forth his experience as a preacher to lend persuasive power to the speech?
(For example, he uses several images that call to mind both the plight of black Americans as well as the Old
Testament Hebrews under the oppression of slavery — “the manacles of segregation” and the “chains of
discrimination”; the final line of the speech invokes “the old Negro spiritual” and is steeped in
Biblical influence — “Free at last, free at last; thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
Examples of Literary Terms in the “I Have a Dream Speech”
• Alliteration
The repetition of sounds makes the speech more catchy and memorable.
In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has
nothing for which to vote. No, no…
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the content of their character.
• Allusion
By using a classic American President’s speech and a famous African-American spiritual as bookends to the
speech, he is demonstrating the equivalent worth of both cultures.
The speech begins with “Five score years ago…”, a reference to the Gettysburg Address and ends with the
“words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'”
• Anaphora
This term describes the most famous part of the speech: King’s repetition of “I have a dream.” I have a dream
that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-
evident: that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave
owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering
with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the content of their character.
One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the
chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a
vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of
American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.
• Assonance
Like alliteration, assonance adds an element of musical poetry to the speech.
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We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.
• Extended Metaphor
King equates light with freedom through the speech. Here are two examples:
This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared
in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
In the 3rd and 4th paragraph, King plays with the extended metaphor of extending a check.
In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check… (This check metaphor continues) A musical
metaphor:
With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of
brotherhood.
There are many more metaphor examples. Could you find them all?
• Metonymy
These places are not chosen at random. They represent locations that were filled with racism at the time. For
instance, the KKK had just resurged in Stone Mountain.
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
• Hyperbole
We could call this example hyperbole, because King is using lots of “alls” and “every”s. But this hyperbole
belies a seriousness; he believes that true justice will only come when every person believes in freedom for all.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every
hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black
men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing.
• Parallelism
If you ever want to jazz up a crowd, use some parallelism in your sentences. It will make people ready to
fight…peacefully, of course. It also makes the lines memorable, and perhaps represents the equality of the
people fighting together.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to
Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and
will be changed.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to
stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
• Personification
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King is casting American society as a person who has done African-Americans wrong. He believes that people
who are fighting for civil rights aren’t fighting a person, but rather a system.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are
concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check
which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
• Simile
This simile demonstrates the power of justice and righteousness, as well as the belief that equality is a natural
thing. It’s also one of the most famous lines of the speech.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness
like a mighty stream.
• Synecdoche
By representing people as bodies or flesh, King is reminding his audience of that the problems they’re currently
facing are related to their skin color.
We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the
motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough
places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

WEEK 16: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE (4)

Characterization
Characterization is a writer’s tool, or “literary device” that occurs any time the author uses details to
teach us about a person. This is used over the course of a story in order to tell the tale.
Aristotle first defined characterization in the 15th century, speaking of the importance of
plot over character in Poetics, “Tragedy is representation, not of men, but of action and life.” What he
means here is that “tragedy” (or drama, meaning a story) is not centered on the thoughts, and histories, and
dreams of the characters. The story is centered on what happens to them (the plot), so writers employ
characterization to relay information about those thoughts, histories, and dreams, without drifting away from
the action.

Importance of Characterization
Modern storytelling usually emphasizes characterization even more than classical literature. This is because
characterization is a major tool in the plot-driven narrative. They can quickly connect the reader to the
character, without taking them out of the action. When you’re busy moving characters from one place to
another, making things happen to them, it’s clumsy to suddenly stop, get inside of Tom’s head, and drift around
with his thoughts for a while. On the other hand, no one is going to truly care about a story if they don’t care
about its characters, whether by love or hate or even just amusement or pity.
So, it’s very useful to balance these two areas of development. Plot and character should be
developing side by side and rely upon each other, which reflects the human experience. After all, how much of
our own “plots” are related to our decisions (our character), and how much of it is totally random and
disconnected from what we do?
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Examples of Characterization
The way a character speaks can inform us of their background and personality, like how educated they are,
or what they consider to be important. Even the way other characters speak to and about our characters is a form
of characterization.
· Example 1
In the Harry Potter series, Dobby refers to Potter as “the noble Harry Potter,” or “good Harry Potter,” which
shows us how the house elf adores the young wizard. It might also be a hint of how Dobby would show
affection for other people he admires.
· Example 2
The way a character reacts to a certain scene also teaches us about them. For example, a character who snubs a
beggar has is different from a character who opens their wallet and hands over a wad of hundreds, and still there
are more differences from a character who works directly with the homeless population in a city.

Types of Characterization
Direct/Explicit
This is clearly informative, and often uses the narrator, the protagonist, or the character
themselves. The narration, “Clara had always been a smug, wicked little princess,” is a form of direct or explicit
characterization, as is the line of dialogue, “Nicholas will never stop until he gets what he wants! He’s crazy!”

Indirect/Implicit
This more subtle method of characterization relies on you, the reader, to decide for yourself what it means.
Indirect or implicit characterization uses behavior, speech, and appearance, as well as the opinions of other
characters. Although other characters can be used to make direct
characterization (“Nicholas is crazy!”), they can also be used to make indirect characterization about
themselves.

Figuring out what it all means is most of the fun, and it’s the reason fans of certain books, shows, and movies
can argue about whether or not a certain character is good, or evil, or in love. They’ve interpreted the
characterization differently.

Characterization in Literature
The way a character speaks can inform us of their background and personality, like how educated they are, or
what they consider to be important. Even the way other characters speak to and about our characters is a form of
characterization.
Example 1
In the Harry Potter series, Dobby refers to Potter as “the noble Harry Potter,” or “good Harry Potter,” which
shows us how the house elf adores the young wizard. It might also be a hint of how Dobby would show
affection for other people he admires.
Example 2
The way a character reacts to a certain scene also teaches us about them. For example, a character who snubs a
beggar has is different from a character who opens their wallet and hands
over a wad of hundreds, and still there are more differences from a character who works directly with the
homeless population in a city.
Many of the most famed manuscripts are beloved for their “strong characters,” which is another way of saying
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characterization. Harry Potter has already been mentioned and has many beloved characters such as Hermione
or Hagrid. From “The Great Gatsby” to “A Christmas Carol”, characterization is a major facet of both classical
and popular fiction.
Example 3
In “The Great Gatsby”, the location of lower upper-class characters (East Egg) compared to the location of
upper upper-class characters (West Egg) serves to characterize their financial boundary.
Example 4
In “A Christmas Carol”, Scrooge tells a charity collector that, if the poor would rather die (than go to poor-
houses), they’d better do it, and “decrease the surplus population.” This line tells us a lot about how Scrooge
sees both other people and his own good fortune.
Summary of Maya Angelou's 'I know why the caged Bird Sings'(a chapter)
Maya Angelou is a great Afro-American writer, whose original name is Marguerite. This prose is an extract of
her autobiography “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” which explores the themes
of economical, racial and sexual oppression. This piece describes her life as a black girl in Arkansas, the way
she comes out of her silence and her empowerment. As her parents divorced, Marguerite and her brother Bailey
lived with their maternal grandmother’s house with their mother. She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend at
the age of eight. She shared this with her brother and later that culprit was killed by her uncle. The traumatic
incident silenced the small innocent girl. Maya
considered herself especially her speech as responsible for his death and withdrew herself to silence. This
extract tells the readers how she comes out of the guilty feel and gains her speech after five years with the
influence of her neighbor Mrs. Flowers.
Maya, the narrator begins this part by stating about the influential person of her life Mrs. Bertha Flowers, who
was the reason to develop Maya’s love for language and speaking skill. Mrs. Flowers is an aristocrat among the
black community. Maya describes Mrs. Flowers’ superior position through her elegant
appearance and dressing style. Maya goes to the extent of describing Mrs. Flowers smile and simple actions.
The gentleness and care of Mrs. Flowers enabled Maya to understand what a human being can be. Maya
feels attracted by Mrs. Flowers and compares her with the women characters in English movies who live with
individuality. To Maya Mrs. Flowers looked more beautiful than the white heroines. Maya feels relieved as
Mrs. Flowers does not talk to white people. She believes that the white people may have superiority complex
over the black and due to it they may call Mrs. Flower as Bertha which may shatter the image of Mrs.
Flower. The fact of Mrs. Flower a black enables Maya to feel proud to be a black. This indicates Mrs. Flowers
appeal on the young narrator.
The narrator’s grandmother Mrs. Henderson has a strange relationship with Mrs. Flowers. Her grandmother
calls Mrs. Flowers as sister though they both belong to different churches. Mrs. Flower is an educated upper-
class lady lives in the hill side, away from Maya’s locality. She speaks formal English and
her grandmother responds in informal language with grammatical error. Such communication between them
especially her grandmother’s grammatical error irked the girl and at times she longs for the ground to open and
swallow her.
She narrates a life changing incident that is still fresh in her memory. One day Mrs. Flowers buys provisions
from the grandmother’s shop. When the grandmother offers someone to carry the luggage, Mrs.
Flowers calls Maya to help by stating that she wants to talk to her. Maya feels excited about this chance and
changes her household dress to a formal one. Mrs. Flowers appreciates the dress and extends her
compliments to the grandmother for stitching. As that is the first compliment the old lady receives compliment
for her work, her excitement makes her to take off the dress from Maya. Maya feels ashamed of standing half
naked in front of her favorite person. Again, she feels like getting sunstroke and dying than to face Mrs.
Flowers.
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Later they both start walking towards Mrs. Flowers’ house. On the way Mrs. Flowers tells her that she got good
feedback about Maya’s writing from school and the only trouble with Maya is her silence. She advises Maya
that language is a powerful tool for communication and it separates man from the rest of the
livings. Mrs. Flowers asks Maya to read books aloud initially. When they enter the house the sweet smell of
vanilla invited them. Mrs. Flowers says that she prepared tea cookies for Maya and asks her to eat it. Maya feels
overwhelmed with the thought of her favorite lady preparing something special for her. She compares the
special moment of drinking lemonade and eating cookies with Mrs. Flowers with having mead (an alcoholic
drink of medieval period) with Beowulf. Beowulf is a famous Anglo-Saxon hero of an epic
titled Beowulf. He is known for his bravery and considered to be a savior of people. Next Maya compares the
special moment with having a hot cup of tea and milk with Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist is the protagonist of
Charles Dickens’ famous novel Oliver Twist. Comparing the event of having cookies with Mrs. Flowers with
Beowulf and Oliver Twist tells the importance of the moment in her life as well as her interest in reading
literature.
Mrs. Flowers reads a poem for Maya and that listening melts her stiffness. Maya says that it was the best thing
that she has done in her life and speaks for the first time with Mrs. Flowers. Mrs. Flowers gives her some books
to read aloud and some cookies for Bailey, Maya’s brother. Maya is excited about her visit and returns home
happily. Her grandmother and Bailey wait to receive Maya. Maya imagines the happy expression of her brother
to receive cookies and says ‘by the way’ Mrs. Flowers gave cookies for Bailey.
Something upsets her grandmother and asks Maya to take off her dress and be ready to get beating. Initially
Maya thought it as a joke but soon she realized the seriousness. They three kneel down and pray to god to
forgive her mistakes and she even gets some beating from her grandmother. Now she understands that she has
committed some unforgivable mistake. That day evening the grandmother tells the reason as Maya has used the
word ‘by the way’. The word way means Jesus and one cannot use god’s name in useless way. Bailey tells her
that the white people, whose god is Jesus as well use the word ‘by the way’ casually in their conversation.
Grandmother rejects his argument by stating that white people use hateful words before god and no need to
consider them seriously. This indicates the Afro-Americans faith in religion.
This prose piece enables one to understand the socio- economic condition of the black community in America.
Most of them live in poverty driven condition and have great faith in Christianity though they are
converted one. It also presents the transformation in the life of Marguerite from silent phase to active phase.
The title is apt for her autobiography as one can understand the Maya Angelou is the caged bird. The title of
the book is taken from her favorite poet Dunbar's poem "Sympathy". For Angelou, the image of a caged bird
serves as a metaphor for her own life. She compares her personal struggles including racism, abuse, oppression,
and poverty with a cage. As a caged bird, she tries to get the attention of the public regarding the injustice she
and her community faced through her poetry.

WEEK 17: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE (5)

The Novel
A novel is a narrative work of prose fiction that tells a story about specific human experiences over a
considerable length.
Prose style and length, as well as fictional or semi-fictional subject matter, are the most clearly
defining characteristics of a novel. Unlike works of epic poetry, it tells its story using prose rather than verse;
unlike short stories, it tells a lengthy narrative rather than a brief selection. There are, however, other
characteristic elements that set the novel apart as a particular literary form.
A novel is a work of prose fiction that tells a narrative over an extended length.
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Novels date as far back as 1010's Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu; European novels first appeared in the
early seventeenth century.
Novels overtook epic poetry and chivalric romances as the most popular mode of storytelling, with an emphasis
on the personal reading experience.
Today, novels come in a wide array of subgenres.
For the most part, novels are dedicated to narrating individual experiences of characters, creating a closer, more
complex portrait of these characters and the world they live in. Inner feelings and thoughts, as well as complex,
even conflicting ideas or values are typically explored in novels, more so than in preceding forms of literature.
It’s not just the stories themselves that are more personal, but the experience of reading them as well.
Where epic poetry and similar forms of storytelling were designed to be publicly read or consumed as an
audience, novels are geared more towards an individual reader.
The following traits must be present for a work to be considered a novel:
· Written in prose, as opposed to verse. Narrators may have different degrees of knowledge or different points of
view (first person versus third person and so on). While stylized novels such as epistolary novels do exist, the
key distinction here is between prose and verse.
· Of considerable length/word count. There is no specific word count that automatically makes a work a novel,
but in general, a short novel would be considered a novella, and even shorter than that would be short fiction.
· Fictional content. Semi-fictionalized novels (such as historical works inspired by true events or persons) exist,
but a work of pure non-fiction would not be classified as a novel.
· Individualism, both on the page and for the intended audience.
In the everyday vernacular, the novel has come to be associated most closely with fiction, as opposed to
nonfiction. For the most part, that association stands: not all fiction is novels, but all novels are fiction. A non-
fiction prose work that is of the same length as a novel could fall into several other categories, such as
historiography, biography, and so on.
Although a novel is typically a work of fiction, many novels do weave in real human history. This can range
from full-fledged novels of historical fiction, which focus on a specific era in history or depict semi- fictional
narrative about real historical persons, to works of fiction that simply exist in the “real” world and carry that
baggage and implications. There also are early modern works of historical nonfiction that were embellished
with unconfirmed traditions or made-up speeches for dramatic effect. Despite this, for most
purposes we can assume that, when we’re talking about novels, we’re talking about works of narrative fiction.
Types of Novel
Novels come in all styles imaginable, with every author bringing their own unique voice to the table. There are
a handful of major subgenres that tend to make up a large share of the market, although there are many other
genres (and mash-ups of genres) out there. A few of the major types of novels you might need to know about:
Mystery Novels
Mystery novels revolve around a crime that must be solved, often a murder but not always. The traditional
format will have a detective—either professional or amateur—as the protagonist, surrounded by a group of
characters who help solve the crime or are suspects. Over the course of the story, the detective will sift through
clues, including false leads and red herrings, to solve the case. Some of the best-known novels of all time fall
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into the mystery genre, including the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels, and Agatha Christie’s novels. Christie’s And Then There Were None
is the world’s best-selling mystery novel.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
One of the more popular genres of novels is science fiction and fantasy, which both deal with speculative
world building. The lines between the two are often blurred, but in general, science fiction tends to imagine a
world that’s different because of technology, while fantasy imagines a world with magic. Early science fiction
included the works of Jules Verne and continued on through George Orwell’s seminal classics such as 1984;
contemporary science fiction is a highly popular genre. Some of the best-known novels in Western literature are
fantasy novels, including the Lord of the Rings series, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter; they owe
their debt to European epic literature.
Horror/thriller novels
Thriller novels are occasionally combined with other genres, most often with mystery or science fiction. The
defining characteristic is that these novels are often designed to induce a sense of fear, suspense, or
psychological horror in the reader. Early versions of this genre included The Count of Monte Cristo (a revenge
thriller) and Heart of Darkness (a psychological/horror thriller). More contemporary examples might be the
novels of Stephen King.
Romance
Romance novels of the present day have some things in common with “romances” of the past: the idea
of romantic love as an end goal, the occasional scandal, intense emotions at the center of it all. Today’s
romances, however, are more specifically focused on telling a story of a romantic and/or sexual love between
characters. They often follow highly specific structures and are all but required to have an optimistic or “happy”
resolution. Romance is currently the most popular novel genre in the United States.
Historical Fiction
Just like its name suggests, historical fiction is simply a fictional story that takes place at some real, past time in
human history. Some instances of historical fiction involve fictional (or semi-fictional) stories about actual
historical figures, while others insert wholly original characters into real-life events. Iconic works of historical
fiction include Ivanhoe, A Tale of Two Cities, Gone with the Wind, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Realist Fiction
Realist fiction is, quite simply, fiction that eschews heightened genre or style to attempt to tell a story that
“could” take place in the world as we know it. The focus is on representing things truthfully, without
romanticization or artistic flourishes. Some of the best-known realist authors include Mark
Twain, John Steinbeck, Honoré de Balzac, Anton Chekov, and George Eliot.
Novel Structure and Elements
A novel can be structured in a myriad of ways. Most commonly, novels will be structured chronologically, with
story segments divided into chapters. However, this is not the only structural option for authors.
· Dividing Up the Story
Chapters tend to revolve around some small portion of the novel that is unified by a character, theme, or
piece of plot. In larger novels, chapters may be grouped together into even larger sections, perhaps grouped
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by time period or an overarching portion of the story. The division into smaller "chunks" of story is one of the
defining elements of a novel; a story that's short enough to not need such divisions is likely not lengthy enough
to qualify as a full-lengthy novel.
· Timelines and Points of View
Authors may choose to structure novels in a variety of different ways. Instead of telling a story chronologically,
for instance, the story may toggle between different time periods in order to maintain suspense or make a
thematic point. Novels may also switch between the perspectives of multiple characters, rather than focusing
on a single character as the sole protagonist. A novel may be told in the first person (narrated by a character) or
in the third person (narrated by an outside "voice" with varying degrees of knowledge).
· Three-Act Structure
Regardless of the time frame, a novel’s plot will often follow what is known as the three-act structure. The
opening chapters will be concerned with acquainting readers with the main cast of characters and the world
of the story, before a specific incident, typically referred to as the “inciting incident,” shakes up the status quo
and launches the “real” story. From that point, the story (now in “Act 2”) will enter a series of complications as
the protagonist pursues some goal, encountering obstacles and smaller goals along the way. At the
midpoint of the story, there will often be some major shift that raises the stakes, all leading up to the emotional
and narrative climax towards the end of the novel. “Act 3” concerns itself with this finale and the fallout.
Summary of Cofer’s “Silent Dancing”
This novel tells the story of Judith Ortiz Cofer's back and forth journey as a Puerto Rican migrant
from Parterson, New Jersey to her native land. The author weaves a recollection of her childhood memories
and her grandmother's stories to paint a picture of her experiences and culture. One of the important elements of
the book relies on is the fact that when Judith’s mother was fifteen years old, she had to face the harsh
realities of raising a child and letting her husband go off to serve the United States navy. As an inexperienced
young mother, Judith’s mother relied on her mother, mother-in-law and the other women’s support to raise
Judith during her first two years in Puerto Rico. Judith narrates her story through her inner-child's point of
view depicting how she was raised by her mother, grandmother and the occasional appearance of her father.
The story centers around stories that are told by her grandmother to the other women in the family under the
Mango tree. These stories become lessons of life for the young Judith as she grows up to become an adult
woman. Cofer also writes about other women who played a central role in her life as they taught her different
lessons about womanhood and the struggles of being a woman in patriarchal society. Moreover, Cofer writes
about her life as a bicultural and bilingual woman facing discrimination in both societies.