Thoughts thus far

Thus far in the semester I have been really excited about our readings. Before I began this class I had not read many pieces by American writers let alone many of the writers themselves. Now having read a variety of authors I found that I really enjoy Mark Twain on an entirely different level, and that Walt Whitman provided this world with some great pieces. What I also found that I enjoy is the humor of many of these authors and how the realist authors describe romanticism. Before I read much American literature I did not know if I preferred romanticism to realism or the gothic side of literature because I never really understood the differences. I enjoyed some pieces from all the classes I took and never really analyzed the background of the writing. Then I read a lot of Mark Twain’s work and found that his humor and how he blatantly expresses his opinion is refreshing. Although I do not always agree with him, and believe it would be hard to hate basically every writer of his time, I find that how he goes about developing a piece is so unique. It makes me wonder a little more about his history with writing before he became an accomplished writer. Did people criticize his works publicly? Did he attend a school where writing was a focus? Did he read a lot growing up? My questions I find could be endless simply because I am curious at how he was able to develop such a specific humor and gain the confidence that people knew what he was talking about when he mentioned a name or used a piece from another author. I actually envy having the confidence to write pieces without fear of criticism or writing incorrectly. I am further interested in reading the other authors and seeing how they influenced the history of writing and how our generation is impacted by the pieces they provided. I believe it is important to understand how literature has grown, not just in a person’s own country but also in the world, and how it has affected cultures and ideas, and people from generation to generation. It must have been an interesting time to be an author of a major literary movement.