My Perspective on American Literature

I have always considered myself to be a creative writer. I excell in the descriptive, and enjoy writing stories that paint a picture not only for myself, but for my reader. I was very challanged by this class because not only did I have to read the works of other readers of different time period, but I had to analyze their thoughts and feelings not only for my own time period, but for the one that they were written in. Many of the thoughts and beliefs read about were shocking to me, from the degredation of the Indian, to absolute intolerance of religion and the rights of other human beings. These beliefs were the norm of the day, yet by todays standards they seem barbaric. I learned alot about the history of our country through the writings of those who lived through its founding, much more than from the facts gleaned in the history classes I have taken previously. I would certainly recommend this class to all people as an excellent learning experience about our past, and the literary history of our great country. I believe that my favorite writers had to be Cotton Mather, and Benjamin Franklin, two totally different men who were absolutely fascinating. My least favorite to read were those of the slaves who while inspiring people who rose to the challanges of their lives, horrified me that our country could condone such barbaric practices as slavery. In all this class has inspired me to read the accounts of others, to really analyze those writers and their time periods, and I feel it will make me a better person, and a better writer for understanding those who came before.