How to Write the American Novel
By
User:bkeating9 @timeAndDate(1306252744)
There is a moment in the 1998 film ''
Anthony Hopkins's character, the aging head of a large communications company, describes the reason he first got into the business of bringing people the news. Hopkins's character prefaces his explanation by saying, "I knew I wasn't gonna write the great American novel." This moment, though trivial within the arc of the film, speaks volumes about the aspirations of eager minds, and about the central importance of the novel in the American artistic tradition.
The novel, more so than any other literary or artistic formhas become wholly representative of our American national identity. Authors like Melville, Twain, Fitzgerald, Faulkner and Hemingway have created lasting tales that emerged from the fabric of our collective American history. Like many other traditions, artistic and otherwise, the novel was imported to our young nation and then made entirely our own.
The novel is a reflection of the self and the time in which you lived. To be able to unearth a common link that binds us all as a nation of strangers farthere is perhaps no more valiant aim than to pen words with the power to connect us all.
Building Foundations
There is of course no one way to write the American novel, let alone a great American novel, and I believe it would be futile and arrogant to suggest a simplified formula for producing indendiary works of fiction. However, one way to arrive at a point of deep personal discovery, which I believe is a step in the right direction towards great writing, is to read classic examples of literature, in this case American literature. Below I shall provide a brief overview of some of the most beloved American novels organized chronologically.
Literary Movements
