What deserves the Title

There shouldn't be a strict formula for the classification of Major American Authors because it would restrict creativity for those aspiring to attain the title. With that said, some loose guidelines for the selection process are given by the following argument.

Major American author: how can this title be systematically given based on the background of a writer, and the content and significance of their writing. Noting the books that were chosen for this class, they need strong historical references. Slavery was a hot topic in America for a long time. It led to the United State's only civil war and is still a touchy subject today. The way slavery was instituted and organized in the States was also unique because slave owners bred the slaves. It makes sense to give an author this distinction if they can write about this time period well, for the sake of capturing this solitary case of slavery. Additionally, it must address a problem with American society, make it known to the reader, shed some light on it, and possibly present some ideas on how to improve the situation. If the book makes people aware of a corruption, there will likely be a call to action. Slavery is yet again a great example of this criteria. The injustice and immorality involved with suppressing a group of people based on the color of their skin is an obvious violation of human rights, and thus a good problem to appeal to the ethics of the American people via writing. Authors who have the power to persuade readers to overturn these problems in society should earn this title.

But after all these are just considerations, what it really comes down to is how the reader receives the book. If they can find their own personal values in it, then the book will probably be a favorite of the reader. When a majority of people favor the book, and the author is American, the obvious result is that the writer is a major American author.

There is one author that eludes these guidelines entirely, but she is still deemed major. That author is Gertrude Stein. Her autobiography does not make the United States a better place to live and the only history lesson the reader may receive is the kinds of styles of art and artists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. So why was she major? This just goes to show that there is in fact, no formula for the distribution of this title and any author can attain it if they are clever enough.