America! America!
God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to
shining sea!
-America the
Beautiful, Katherine Lee Bates
The growth of American Literature was further
developed in the era of American Romanticism.
In this period, stirrings of national consciousness appeared more and
more strongly with the emergence of a truly American literature. During this time, as Americans began to
understand the meaning of being "American", they also began to grow
culturally. This paralleled the time
when, the world as a whole was experiencing a change in ways of thinking: there
was a move from
classical ideas to romantic ones. This change was taking place
in all areas of culture around the world, including the arts, education,
philosophy, and even science, but it was clearest in literature. Romantic literature became the vessel of
thought for most of the American writers at this time. Among them was James Fenimore Cooper, whose
contributions of American literature is unarguable, as his novels were the
quintessential representative of American romanticism.
America produced many renown authors during the
age of American romanticism. During this
time, writers, such as: Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, Edgar Allen
Poe, and James Fenimore Cooper emerged.
Romantic writers emphasized intuition, an inner perception of truth that
is independent of reason. To discover this truth, Emerson wrote in The American
Scholar (1837), a man must "learn to detect and watch that gleam of light
which flashes across his mind from within." The main key to this inner
world is the imagination. Man's imagination leads to expression. Our expression
makes each
of us a unique
human. Romanticism became the way of 'expressing' for this generation of
writers.
Among the giants of this time, Cooper achieved
more worldwide fame than Irving or Bryant.
The creation of the famous Leatherstocking saga has cemented his
position as America's first great national novelist and his influence pervades
American literature. In his thirty-two
years (1820-51) of authorship, Cooper produced twenty-nine other long works of
fiction and fifteen books. He is widely
read in Europe, where his Leatherstocking Tales contributed to the romantic
notion of American frontier life. "English novelists such as Joseph Conrad
and D. H. Lawrence praised his work; American writers have been of differing
opinions. Herman Melville admired Cooper's sea tales; Mark Twain questioned his
knowledge of wilderness survival and ridiculed his handling of character and
dialogue (Encarta.)"
Although Cooper's
writing ability may be perceived in modern standards as dubious. Cooper's talent found expression through
indigenous materials. His greatest
monument to American literature is seen in the Leatherstocking tales. Natty Bumppo, the main character of the
pentology contains all the trappings of the American hero. These included "youth (or childlike
qualities); innocence; a love of nature and a distrust of town life, [and] a
corresponding uneasiness with women (Arpin, et al 120.)" The setting of his stories represented an
unspoiled America we cannot return to, explored by an ideal character we cannot
attain to. His characters achieve
difficult goals in circumstances beyond their control. They do so with unerring adherence to their
principles.
Cooper's books, are often sought after for his
exciting stories. As Brookhiser states
in his essay, "readers went to
Cooper not for his sociology but for his hero, Natty Bumppo (62)." Interestingly enough, Brookhiser goes on for
a length to convince the readers that Cooper's sociology is the most vital
component of the stories. Further
stating that Cooper's books helped to define Americans, through morals, "ethical
earnestness". Also meditating the
thought that the Leatherstocking tales reflects people by "the poetry of
action, that tension of the soul between the hero each of us aspires to be and
the transgressors we too often are."
It is hard for modern day readers to appreciate
Cooper's works for what they are. By
today's standards, these novels may not be great literature, but they are an
important part of the history of American literature. Readers should remember that when Cooper was
writing these stories, they were very popular with the readers of the period.
Those readers found the adventures and return to nature very exciting. The Romantic period celebrated man's freedom
with nature, virtue found in innocence, and intuitiveness over the rational. Cooper's books best exemplifies these traits,
and spread the word of America to many people.
Through his informative and entertaining tales, he fascinated multitudes
of people, and is so important to American literature, that it is impossible to
think about it without him.
Critics of Cooper often lambaste him by his
unperfected writing style, use of words,
unrealistic situations, etc. Many
of these are caviling, Cooper was (and still is) beloved by readers through his
many fictions. His achievements
include: the first successful American historical
romance in the vein of Sir Walter Scott (The Spy, 1821); the first sea novel
(The Pilot, 1824); the first attempt at a fully researched historical novel
(Lionel Lincoln, 1825); the first full-scale History of the Navy of the United
States of America (1839); the first American international novel of manners
(Homeward Bound and Home as Found, 1838); the first trilogy in American fiction
(Satanstoe, 1845; The Chainbearer, 1845; and The Redskins, 1846) and the first
and only five-volume epic romance to carry its mythic hero - Natty Bumppo -
from youth to old age (Reuben 3). With
these in mind, it is impossible for one to declare that James Fenimore Cooper's
works had no literary value. It is
because they did, his works are the among the enduring legacies of American
romanticism. James Fenimore Cooper was
an author, more importantly a romantic, whose tales have become bedtime
stories, whose influence is still felt today.
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