Literature from North America

By Rhoda Mae Corda

Just like the case of other national literatures, North American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For more than a century, America was merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent where a few mission-strapped souls ventured westward. After a successful rebellion against the motherland, America became the United States, a nation. By the end of the 19th century this nation extended southward to the Gulf of Mexico, northward to the 49th parallel, and westward to the Pacific. By the end of the 19th century, it had taken its place among the powers of the world – inevitably becoming involved in two world wars, alaong with the problems of Europe and East Asia. Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as well as changes in ways of thinking and feeling, wrought many modifications in people’s lives. All these factors in the development of the United States molded the literature of the country (GIles, Blair, and Dickstein 2017).

The themes identity and differences were chosen for this chapter as these are topics that are universally easy to relate with. On the other hand, the themes bullying and the American Dream are themes that may not necessarily be unique to North America, but are considered to be of biggest concerns to its people, yet easily relatable to most teens, regardless of background.

“It Is Important To Be Something” by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza (2015), “Twin Study” by Stacey Richter (2007), “The Bully” by Roger Dean Kiser (2014), “Mango Poem” by Regie Cabico (2014), and “This is America” by Donald Glover (2018) were nominated as these poems and short stories best reflect the different themes selected for this chapter.