For me, the inherently British story contains a one-of-a-kind
imagination. Three of my favourite authors are – or were – British. (In no
particular order) JK Rowling, William Shakespeare and Arthur Conan Doyle all
wrote pieces that inspired and entertained millions with their unique and
dazzling imaginings.
Shakespeare actually made up words. His imagination was so
overpowering that there weren’t any existing words that he could use to express
himself. JK Rowling gave us Platform 9 ¾ in our very own Kings Cross Station,
as well as spells for any occasion. And Conan Doyle, well, he gave us Sherlock
Holmes.This isn’t to say that authors from elsewhere lack imagination. John Cheever doesn’t have any problems on this front, creating all sorts of different characters in different places with different jobs. But he doesn’t quite have the imaginative ‘flair’ of the Brits. So what makes his stories uniquely American?
Am I justified to answer this question? I know so little
about America, about its little quirks and traditions. The obvious things that stand
out to me when reading Cheever are the settings, Minneapolis and New York; of
course I know they are in America. The lack of interest in the letter ‘u’ – vigor,
rigor, color; again, these are obviously American spellings.
Ask an American these same questions and they might answer
in the reverse way. Listing all the Americanisms that I cannot see used in
Cheever’s work, and say of British writers: “they sure do love the letter ‘u’”.
I grew up learning 'color' instead of 'colour', so the lack of interest in the letter u is something I definitely agree on. I liked how you balanced it with your favourite authors and talked about even though they share the same nationality, they are all uniquely different and should be treated as such. I think nationality has a different effect on both readers and writers, depending on our own identity.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you focused on British authors - mostly because we are in an Author Study class - but also because I think it highlights the fact that we have so many great British authors with their own style, genre and characters, yet they are all so quintessentially British. I also liked how you boldly stated your honest opinion on American writing, whilst many pussy-foot around and stay firmly on the fence.
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