Early American Lit Essay, Research Paper
American Literature consisted of many well known writers. These writers wrote excellent pieces of literature which are widely read today. These writers wrote about some aspect of American life, and they depicted America very well. Some of these writers are Stephen Crane and Robert E. Lee. Lee wasn’t exactly a writer, but he wrote a good piece of literature which really showed the peoples attitude during this time.
War was a major topic in American Literature. During this time America was just developing and many wars occurred. The wars affected the people and their everyday lives because many of their loved ones were dying. The Americans didn’t like war and they were tired of sending their people out to war. Two authors that conveyed this war time really well were Stephen Crane and Robert E. Lee.
Stephen Crane depicted the attitudes of Americans at that time really well. In his poem “War Is Kind” he shows us how tired Americans were of war. This poem is very strong and emotional because he gives us mental images of how horrible war is. In this piece Crane keeps repeated “war is kind”. These three words really show how he and other Americans felt about war. He is not saying that war is good. He is saying this in a sarcastic way. For example, he talks about how peoples loved ones are dying. And then later he says “Do not weep. War is Kind.” In this poem he really shows us that Americans were really tired of war.
In the “Letter to His Son” Robert E. Lee also depicts his attitude, as well as other Americans, towards war very well. Many Americans hated war, but still some were very patriotic. Robert E. Lee was definitely one of them. In this letter he talks about how he hates war but he will fight for his country if he has to. Many Americans at this time felt this way. Americans at this time were very patriotic, and were willing to do anything for there country.
These two authors were very good at conveying America and its people at the time. Stephen Crane showed how people were scared of war. Robert E. Lee showed how patriotic Americans were. If I had to explain a person what American literature was, I would tell him that war was one of its major topics. American literature is very unique.