Photograph from "Chimera" by UNC at Chapel Hill Intermediate/ Advanced Photography Spring 2010
(p45) © Michael Gurganus 2010
The criteria for my definition of a major American author before the start of this course is as broad when compared to, and based on, my photographic art itself: interpretation of the work on its own merits and looking for the meaning beyond just a figurative representation. This will render a broad based set of questions that would yield specific answers of more importance, in determining what defines a major American author. After June 11th, only one month of class, the answer remains basically the same but with the assigned works to consider.
The sheer volume of readings that were assigned could be see as overwhelming, even for a conventional semester class. Consider the fact that in a single summer session, the assignment was the complete reading of two novellas, one complete and one partial reading of novels, seven poems read for class discussion (and several others read for understanding of the authors) and four short stories. However, the volume of reading was actually not as overwhelming as one might think. It was the quality of the material presented that made a difference, being able to appreciate the time and location values the readings presented and the meaning beyond simple figurative narrative to understand the importance the author saw in writing these pieces, not only initially for readers in their respective time periods, but also for readers in the future.
Is it good to be strong? Is it bad to be weak? Those were two questions that were explored in the novellas "The Heroic Slave" by Frederick Douglass and "Benito Cereno" by Herman Melville. Both novellas explored these questions and revealed some answers that were as surprising as other answers that were predictable. Both explored the question concerning the justification of slavery and why it was important to abolish the practice in the United States. The qualities of strength and weakness, from the development of the characters to the meaning of their actions or lack of actions, were consistently demonstrated throughout these two works. While the character of Madison Washington is considered to be heroic in both words and deeds, Benito Cereno could be considered a polar opposite. His inaction is tied to the most basic of human traits, self-preservation, but does it make him weak or a victim of circumstance. One theme that ties these two works together, as well as other works that were read, is one of identity and the search for truth in the characters identity. Where Washington was established as a man with a message of hope for freedom, Cerano was a deceptive man who would not reveal the truth until he could freely speak. These two novellas, when read together and discussed in comparison and contrast, leave few comparable works of the same time period by similar authors that could be substituted to invoke the necessary transition from cause to effect.
Writing from different viewpoints was the association when examining the Civil War works associated with Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Many different personal qualities, most of which are inaccurate, are usually associated with Dickinson, whose poetry was covered in the class. The same misunderstanding can also be said of Whitman, the poet that chose to write intensely powerful poems during the same time frame. Dickinson uses a unique method of punctuation, capitalization, and metaphor to convey the impact of the war on the women of the north, where they were isolated and insulated from the conflict while their southern counterparts often had the effects of the war in their own front yard. Whitman, on the other hand, was a volunteer nurse at a Union army field hospital. He saw the effects of the war personally, while writing in a new form at the time called free verse by associating the symbolism of different aspects of his unique vantage point with how he wrote his observations and reactions. Both poets were similar in the methods they used, such as the use of simile, irony and symbolic representations of religion, military and historical events to go beyond simple figurative language. The poems covered in class used no conventional rhyme or structure, but relied on the reader having the ability to look beyond the simple writing to gain a greater meaning behind the words themselves. Also, the grouping of some words, or lines, with others often lead to "clues" about some specifics, imagined or real, that assists the reader's analysis further.
Why these authors and writers are important justifies the reasoning and need for coursework involving major American authors. In the broader strokes that define the components of a liberal arts education, they present examples of looking beyond the literal words to find meaning for the individual and how it relates to the class as a whole. It forms a baseline to enable readers to explore the possibilities that these works define, often enabling a relative dialogue among people from different backgrounds and education. One of the most important aspects that are presented involves the mutual respect for interpretation and analysis of not only the meaning, but also why the author chose to use their respective methods to relay their message with intellectual responsibility. When all of these aspects are examined in their proper context, it serves the student in a way not necessarily found in a number of introductory courses.
Recommendations could involve the complete reading of "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison by reducing the entire reading of "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" by Gertrude Stein in a similar fashion to match the reading of "The Education of Henry Adams" by Henry Adams. It would be unfortunate for a student to miss the importance of Stein's style, as it demonstrated a new innovation in writing during that specific time. The novellas should remain as the lead-in readings and since Herman Melville's style is covered in "Benito Cereno," perhaps substituting poems from Whitman’s "Leaves of Grass" to compare and contrast with Dickinson's Civil War poetry would be appropriate. The short stories should remain, with the addition of perhaps one more relative short story to replace "Battle Royal."
Interpretation of the work on its own merits and looking for the meaning beyond just a figurative representation remains as a definition in my own outlook of a work by a major American author. I would enjoy looking at more works to gain some inspiration for my fall advanced photography classes, since the analysis of a poem does have some equivalence with critiquing photography. As the boundaries of my photography are modified, so should the reading I am doing to assist the creative process.
Michael
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