The Literary Offences Of Fenimore Cooper - 2047 Words

The definition of art has been debated time and time again, but there is still not a concrete line drawn between what is defined as art and what is not. However, there are certain works of art that set the example for what other works of art should contain. Specifically, according to Ernest Hemingway, an American author from the early twentieth century, â€Å"all modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since†. In other words, Hemingway stated that Mark Twain had laid the foundation for modern American writers who strive to create works of art through literature. Twain directly refers to how a work of literature should constitute art in his essay â€Å"The Literary Offenses of Fenimore Cooper† where he criticizes Deerslayer for not reaching the requirements of literary art that Twain describes. He stresses the idea that everything in th e literary work should â€Å"accomplish something and arrive somewhere†, have correct and definite personage that makes sense, care about the characters in the story, and have proper diction. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he successfully applies the appropriate aesthetic and literary values that he holds literature to in his essay on the violation of literary art in Fenimore Cooper’s Deerslayer through his purposeful portrayal of Huckleberry Finn and his endeavors. Mark Twain’s aesthetic and literaryShow MoreRelated Mark Twains Personality Revealed in His Writing Essay2171 Words   |  9 PagesMark Twains Personality Revealed in His Writing Literary artists refuse to be categorized, defined, and completely fathomed by any standardized paradigm, but a writers work exhibits his or her personality traits. Though authors are incapable of being defined by mere personality traits, literary accomplishments, and literary criticisms, an authors personality can be used to sketch a limited definition of his or her literature. Mark Twains literature manifests his personalitys candor, graphicnessRead More Examining Mark Twains Work to Determine If He Was Racist Essay4909 Words   |  20 Pagesversion of Mark Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays Twain picked up the ugly habit of depicting the corrupt American as ‘colored’ or ‘slavish’ in the 1880’s (Ladd 101). Although this type of speech was in vogue within the ‘eastern literary establishment’ of that time Twain’s adoption of their terminology is unsuitable for contemporary dialog. I cannot defend those statemen ts effectively without the ability to read them in context but Twain could’ve been alluding to the colored politiciansRead MoreA Mirror For A Flawed Society2115 Words   |  9 Pagesreality. Finn’s status as one of the first novels in the American realist style contrasts the previous works of that time from Romantic European style, which often exaggerates the virtues and aspects of the main characters. In Twain’s Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences, he argues that Deerstalker â€Å"has...no seeming of reality,† in accordance with the book’s romantic style and he urges readers to re-examine Deerstalker and the books like it as he writes concerning the characters,â€Å"by their acts and words