Ian Horkan
ERH-206WX
Col. Ball
Pushing the Boundaries: A Reflection on American Literature
Throughout the history of the United States, Americans have been people who push forward. They pushed forward geographically across, the continent following the principals of manifest destiny. They pushed forward technologically, creating new and amazing inventions that would help change the world. Socially, Americans would adopt progressive and new institutions, the first of their kind. This spirit is reflected throughout American literature, where an ever-present theme of dynamic change and advancement is shown in the writings of Hawthorne, Whitman, and Kerouac.
The first example of this theme of change and advancement can be seen in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing. Hawthorne who wrote his stories in the early to mid nineteenth century, penning most of his books about his early Puritan ancestors and their life on the colonial frontier. Specifically, Hawthorne wrote in what is known as the Romantic period, where basic human emotions like love, happiness, and fear were celebrated. Hawthorne however adopted a style known as dark romanticism, a marked change from established Romantic writing, where he asserted that the basic and most prevalent human emotions were bad ones; guilt, hate, and sin. Oftentimes the frontier or the natives of the area represented the darkness, while the established settlements represented light. For example, in “The May Pole of Merry-Mount” the followers of the camp at Merry Mount are depicted as wild, pagan people. However, when the Puritan men come to bring the people of Merry Mount to civilization, they also become wild brutal, suggesting that advancing on new frontiers begets change in people. This becomes very evident in his story “Young Goodman Brown” where a man from Boston goes off into the forest and sees a black mass. As I said earlier,” This ritual leaves Young Goodman brown paranoid and distrustful, always seeing the worst in the people who surround him” (Horkan A Duality of Faith 1), as opposed to the naiveté that Hawthorne portrays as a part of Brown’s character beforehand. His adventure into the woods, or the “bounds” of Puritan settlement during that time results in a clear change in Young Goodman Brown, where he becomes more self aware and becomes more and more torn by his conscience. Coincidentally, Hawthorne wrote these stories where America was also pushing her “bounds” extending not only across the continent past the Mississippi River, but also into a new era, leaving the remaining cultural vestiges of the American Revolution behind and facing new issues they never had before. Hawthorne’s writing has influenced me to see the world in a different way, where you have to look past certain things to find a deeper meaning. Hawthorne wrote a lot with allegory and symbolism and to discover the deeper meaning of his stories you had to look past the surface of the text and read deeply into it.
A few years later another American author’s writing would reflect the cultural value of change and boundary pushing: Walt Whitman. In who’s book of poems Leaves of Grass Whitman emphasizes the beauty and goodness of nature and the natural order of things. As a result, Whitman was far more comfortable penning poems discussing risqué subjects like nudity and sex than other writers of the day. Even with poems where women talk about their sexual attraction to various men, Whitman’s book Leaves of Grass was extremely successful and earned praise from the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others. Likely one of the reasons Whitman was able to push the boundaries of what was appropriate to write about was that he related his poems to nature, specifically, the American natural environment. The poems often place emphasis on the American West and the changing frontier of that part of America. Whitman also looked to the East where I once said,” His poetry is dynamic at times with blacksmiths forging metal, policemen breaking up fights, and ships cutting across the open sea”(Horkan Finding My Own Song 1) eloquently describing the vigor and life of the Eastern cities, ones who were adjusting to the Industrial Revolution in the United States. This dynamic poetry reflected that of the East Coast in America, where industrialization brought about a massive change in culture, and a new influx of immigrants added something new to the American melting pot. Additionally, the way Whitman links the book with different poems describing different parts of America, he helps to reflect how the country was becoming less and less geographically divided, with railroads and steamships making it easier than ever to cross the vast continent. By reading Whitman I learned to really immerse myself in the literature I read. Whitman’s poems were best understood when reading them in environments like those that Whitman wrote in, and by doing that, one gained a greater appreciation for the authors work.
Another great American Author, Jack Kerouac, and his writing reflect the ever-present theme of change in American culture in his book On the ROad. On the Road details the exploits of Sal Paradise as he hitchhikes across America in the 1950s, and established many of the cultural values of the Beat Generation. The book pushed boundaries by glorifying the lifestyle and cultural values of the Beat Generation, which in the 1950s was seen as a counter-culture to mainstream America. Traditional American doctrine during this time said that you get a job; raise a family, etc., all traditional American values. But Kerouac’s novel refutes that argument, glorifying the open road and a flight from responsibilities. He enticed readers with a sorry of crisscrossing America in buses and drive-away cars, living in cheap motels and staying with questionable people all while on your last few dollars. This ran completely opposite to the values of the preceding generation, who had just come home from war about 5 years prior, and who might have disliked having what they fought for (stability and the American way of life) cast aside and a responsibility free lifestyle taken up. The Beat Generation of the 1950s would act as a foundation for further counter-culture movement in the 1960s. By reading On the Road I developed a far greater appreciation for the descriptive aspect of literature. Kerouac’s writing in the novel was so distinct, it made one feel like they were with Sal Paradise and his friends as they travelled the United States. As a reader, you could identify with the feeling of loneliness that Sal felt when his love left him, or his regret when he realized that he and Dean really didn’t spend that much time together.
If there is one enduring theme of American literature, it’s that authors have not shied away from pushing the boundaries of the day to new limits. And, since literature is a reflection of culture, maybe that is a basic part of American culture. To not stop at the end line, no matter it be real or imaginary, but push past it to new heights and new ways of thinking. Where I before thought that American culture was always subservient to the societal rules it imposed upon itself, reading these books and stories has shattered that image. What they have shown is that Americans push boundaries, and while first receiving backlash, they will usually accept it because it has become such a part of our culture.