All people have their own views of what it means to be an American. One’s vision typically revolves around the values of society and the situation that the people are placed in. Suffering leads to a dream of success, while suppression leads to a dream of change and independence. Pieces of literature from American history show that Americans are willing to overcome adversity when faced with it, using idiosyncrasies between themselves and their environment to grow and make themselves stronger. Some Americans do this by fighting a society that oppresses them, whereas others strive for a better life by making plans and pushing themselves through difficult times.
Americans are able to continue on through hard times and make plans to allay their …show more content…
Another realist piece of literature that displays a struggle and a search to make life better, therefore overcoming societal standards is Stephen Crane’s The Men in the Storm. The homeless men that the story centers around show perseverance through their willingness to stay outside through the storm, working together to solve their problems. Crane states “The wind drove it up from the pavements in frantic forms of winding white, and it seethed in circles about the huddled forms, passing in, one by one, three by three, out of the storm” (Crane). The pertinacious men are able to persist through hardships, such as the crowded atmosphere and fights among them, until they are able to get out of the storm. This perseverance is indicative of American values throughout history. In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, Katherine Porter depicts Granny as one who struggles in her early life, and later uses her past experiences as reference for her current struggles. Granny, in her old age, tries to fix her family’s lives before she dies. She does this by explaining to her living family, as well as the family that lives inside her mind, that she is able to repair their lives. Porter states “Riding country roads in the winter when women had their babies was another thing: sitting up nights with sick horses and sick negroes and sick children and hardly ever losing one. John, I hardly ever lost one of them!” (Porter 25). Granny’s experiences as a young woman shape her into what she becomes as an elderly woman, myopic about the world and set in her ways, yet still striving to make her world better. Although she does not succeed in her goals, Granny’s perspicacity symbolizes the will power of the American
Americans are able to continue on through hard times and make plans to allay their …show more content…
Another realist piece of literature that displays a struggle and a search to make life better, therefore overcoming societal standards is Stephen Crane’s The Men in the Storm. The homeless men that the story centers around show perseverance through their willingness to stay outside through the storm, working together to solve their problems. Crane states “The wind drove it up from the pavements in frantic forms of winding white, and it seethed in circles about the huddled forms, passing in, one by one, three by three, out of the storm” (Crane). The pertinacious men are able to persist through hardships, such as the crowded atmosphere and fights among them, until they are able to get out of the storm. This perseverance is indicative of American values throughout history. In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, Katherine Porter depicts Granny as one who struggles in her early life, and later uses her past experiences as reference for her current struggles. Granny, in her old age, tries to fix her family’s lives before she dies. She does this by explaining to her living family, as well as the family that lives inside her mind, that she is able to repair their lives. Porter states “Riding country roads in the winter when women had their babies was another thing: sitting up nights with sick horses and sick negroes and sick children and hardly ever losing one. John, I hardly ever lost one of them!” (Porter 25). Granny’s experiences as a young woman shape her into what she becomes as an elderly woman, myopic about the world and set in her ways, yet still striving to make her world better. Although she does not succeed in her goals, Granny’s perspicacity symbolizes the will power of the American