Strolling in the American Literature Garden [Part 5]

Despite having a shorter history than the countries of the old continent, America has still had excellent writers who have been reflected in the past 200 years. Here is a brief introduction to some American writers, among them, some writers have won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Washington Irving (1783-1859) is considered the father of independent American literature.

Washington Irving (1783-1859) is considered the father of independent American literature, the father of the American short story (a very popular genre). He was born into a wealthy merchant family. After studying law, he went abroad for health reasons. When he returned, he worked as a lawyer but preferred writing.

His History of New York, written in 1809, was the first satirical work of value in America; his Dutch character Knickerbocker typified early New Yorkers. In 1818, after failing in his family's business venture, Irving moved to England for 17 years.

He wrote The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1820), which was popular both in America and in England; this collection of essays and short stories included Rip Van Winkle. The story has an oriental feel, although the author intended it to adapt the folk tale to highlight the differences between old and new American society, and the story is more satirical than romantic.

Irving served as an attaché to the American embassy in Spain (1826-1829). He switched to a different style in The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828), The Conquest of Granada (1829), The Alhambra (1832). After returning to America, he wrote biographies of Oliver Goldsmith and Washington. He liked industrialization, wanting to escape the present and return to a romantic and less complicated past.

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was of English-Swedish descent. His father was a wealthy land merchant. He was expelled from Yale University a few months before graduating. He then served as a sailor in the Navy. The sea was thus a subject of his writings; he later published The History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839).

Two years at sea also gave him the opportunity to indulge his passion for vast spaces and wild nature. At the age of 22, he married a farmer. At the age of 31, he began writing novels. From 1826 to 1833, he lived in Europe with his family. At the end of his life, he returned to Cooperstoron, a town founded by his father in New York State.

Cooper first became famous with The Spy (1821), written at the age of 32, which was welcomed not only in the US but also in Europe. The story tells of an American patriot who became a spy in the British army, and after decades was cleared of his name.

The Pioneers (1823), writing two years later, introduced the figure of Natty Bumppo, nicknamed Leather-Stocking or Hawk-Eyed, who had been raised by Indians from a young age to be a kind of wild man, unpolluted by civilization.

Readers demanded more stories about the man in leather stockings, so he wrote the Leather-Stocking Tales (1823-1841). The two most famous stories are The Last of the Mohicans (1826) and The Deersbayer (1841).

The Last of the Mohicans is the author's most fascinating work. The story takes place in the context of the Franco-British War in North America, before the British colonies claimed independence. Monro commanded a remote British post that was threatened by the French commander Montcalm. He called for help from another British post. A 1,500-man reinforcement group led by Heyward was sent to help him. The group also escorted Monro's two daughters, Alice, Heyward's lover, and Cora. Magua - the Indian guide.

The Huron chief, who had a grudge against Monro for having beaten him once, led Hayward, the two girls and some people on a shortcut right into the ambush of the pro-French Indians. Luckily, the Englishmen met some sympathetic Indians (Hawkeye and Uncas – the last of the Mohicans) so they escaped and reached the fort that was under French siege. The fort fell.

The English who escaped were met by the Hurons. Some were captured, including two girls. Monro and Hawkeye went to find them. Cora was taken as spoils of war and divided among them among Magua. Eventually, the English, aided by another Indian tribe, defeated the Hurons. But before Hawkeye could kill him, Magua killed Cora and her lover, Uncas. The white and Indian lovers were buried together under the pine trees. Alice returned to the land of the white men.

The Deer Killer tells the story of the young hunter Natty Bumpoo, “Leatherstocking Man.” He and his friends live with the Delaware Indians and fight against the Huron Indians with the help of the British. Natty becomes a close friend of the Delaware chief.

Cooper created the historical novel in American literature. He wrote about seafaring, about Indians, about the expansion of the frontier in the Westward expansion of America. He was the author of many adventure stories that were loved by teenagers around the world.

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