American literature: history, themes, and major works

American Literature

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Hemingway's the Snows of Kilimanjaro is a troubling account of a man who struggles with himself and with his sense of failure, just before dying. The context and the setting of the story are extremely symbolic: Harry, a former writer, dies while he is on a safari in Africa, because of his mere negligence of an untreated wound in his leg that gets infected. Harry is thus oppressed with a general sense of failure, both because of his present helplessness and his absurd death and his entire past, which he surveys now with bitterness and disappointment. As his own self-evaluation and flashbacks indicate, Harry has failed both as a human being and as a writer, by swerving away from his own ideals and by wasting his talent in a life which has been full of luxury but empty of meaning. Thus, he is, first of all, an artist who suffers because of his own lack of discernment. He has simply made the wrong choices, by marrying a wealthy woman that he never loved, for the sake of material comfort only. Secondly, Harry is extremely self-critical as it can be deducted from his bitter self-evaluation at the end of life. Notably, he has planned the safari in the attempt to redeem himself, but he has been denied a second chance. Thirdly, another important characteristic of Harry is an idealist, even if he has failed to live like one. This is evident in his utter despise for everything which is "easy" to obtain and which does not strain the mind or the spirit sufficiently. Thus, Harry is a complex, dramatic character who, on his death bed, becomes his own judge, bitterly condemning himself.

Babylon Revisited

Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited is a modernist story that emphasizes the negative aspect of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, as it was called. Essentially, the text is structured around two major themes: money and family. Starting from the given historical reality of the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald draws a virulent critique of American pragmatism and materialism. At first sight, the story seems to be concerned with the disastrous effects that the great stock exchange crash has caused in the lives of many Americans at the end of the twenties. However, the emphasis is actually on the even greater harm done by the debauchery and extreme consumerism manifested during the prosperous Jazz Age. This is evident in Charles' story: he has indirectly caused the death of his wife by locking her out of the house during a storm, and then his little daughter who has been taken away from him. Trying to get his girl back, Charles clumsily promises her material benefits once more, indicating thus that he is not accustomed to offer anything else but money. As Fitzgerald hints, the luxurious Twenties with their economical boom brought material comfort but at the same time a lot of unhappiness caused by a reversal of values in society. Making and spending money had thus become the true coordinates of life, replacing the traditional values, like spirituality or family. I think that the themes that Fitzgerald expounds on are still valid in our present-day life. For instance, consumerism has affected my life as well as that of the people around me, and I feel that the material pursuits sometimes stand in the way of healthy human relationships.

Modernism in Babylon Revisited