"Over the centuries, American authors have shaped a vast body of work, often reflecting voices that are distinctly American. From the river-raft philosophizing of a poor Mississippi Valley boy, to the 'words walking without masters' filling the journey  of a woman descended from slaves, to the border tongue blends increasingly finding a place on the page, the language of American literature has many voices and variations" ("The American Voice", 2005).

What Makes American Literature American?

American literature is a lot of different things. It is defined as the literary work produced in the area within the geographic boundaries of the United States of America, but it is also a multi-disciplined and multi-voiced conversation that can be studied in many different ways that has been developed over the years due to the rise of different ethnic and minority literatures.

American literature has a composition of people from different parts of the world, which means that it is comprised of different cultures and opinions than European literature. American literature covers a wide range of social issues, as well as the civilization of America and the trauma and tragedies from its history. Since the foundation of American values includes te rights to liberty, justice, freedom, equality, love, and family, American literature usually centers on one or more of these ideals.

Literary Canon

Literary canon is defined as "a collection of works by which the others are measured in terms of literary skill and value" ("Literary Canon: Definition & Authors", 2015). Literary canon is a term widely used to talk about what is considered the most important works of a particular time period or place, which means they can be from a certain country, a certain set of years, or even both at the same time. Whether or not a literary work will become canonized is purely subjective. The work's popularity based on the subject matter and whether or not it's interesting to the reader can determine whether it's canonized. Works can also be added or taken away from literary canons based on the attention paid to it during a certain time period. Some of the works included in literary canon include such works as "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, and "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Literary canon in the United States is always related to the prevailing social phenomenon of different times in the United States and helps categorize a society's works in an organized sequence, so that if one wanted to study the effects of the Depression they can easily find works created during that time.

The Challenges of Being an Ethnic Writer

American literature is assumed to embody the ideals of the country, so as ethnic writers enter the American literary experience they have to be aware of their audience and uphold the values and beliefs in a positive light. They could have a hard time relating to American ideals and cultural references since they're different from their own. At the same time, the writer wants to leave behind a documentation of what life was like in his particular ethnic background, and in America there has always been a struggle between ethnic pride and ethnic devaluation. Ethnic literature is made up of cultures that are distinctly non-Western, so to be an ethnic writer means taking the risk of writing about things that could possibly insult or anger other cultures. For instance, Native American writers might write about the hostile takeover of their land and the slaughter of their people in early America. African-American writers could write about slavery and other injustices that other cultures may not want to know the truth about. Ethnic

The Difference between Ethnic Literature and Traditional American Canon

The traditional canon is different from that of ethnic writers because ethnic writers present American Literature as written works of the different cultures and are only relevant to the people of those cultures and traditional canon talks about the historical events of the United States. Ethnic writers suffer criticism from conservatives, especially if their works include ideas that inspire change. For instance, the book "The Grapes of Wrath" was criticized by the government of California because the ideas about the state of affairs for immigrants was not popular. Ethnic writers typically believe that American literature can't be understood in the same way by all people since people value their cultures more than other cultures. American literature has often been considered "a continuation of English literature within the limits of what has become the United States, be people English in their speech, English to a considerable extent by inheritance, and English in the original character of their civilization" (Pancoast, 1905). The canon of traditional American literature wouldn't include many topics that could attract criticism, but would gloss over issues such as those found in "The Grapes of Wrath" and talk about subjects more English in nature.

Topics Covered by Ethnic Writers

Ethnic writers devote their time and artistry to dispelling stereotypes and telling the stories of their people. They will usually recount historical stories from the point of view of the people of their culture. The canon of traditional American literature incorporates the stories of       struggle in triumph of obtaining the American dream, and represents Americans as a unity people with common goals and aspirations. Ethnic writers might cover topics of oppression and the chain reaction of mass genocide or of fighting against those who would stereotype people for simply belonging to one race or religion different from their own. A favorite point of interest for the ethnic writer is any situation that causes a person to question their moral stance, such as the question of interracial love or friendship. The traditional American canon promotes traditional love and marriage, with the notion of self -reliance and self -prosperity. America is known for their unique perspective of innate human right to the pursuit of liberty, freedom, and general happiness and wellbeing, but few countries provide their citizens the right to happiness as part of their constitution.

American Literary Themes

In American literature, ethnic writers expand on the issues of liberty, opportunity and equality in many different ways, including writing about slavery, forced assimilation, and racism. The canon of American literature is secular and non-secular but is written mostly by white men and woman about various topics. Ethnic literature usually focuses on specific ethnicity triumphs over adversity while obtaining the liberties, opportunities and equalities of the American lifestyle. It focuses on the story of someone or a group of people who fight to obtain personal or social freedoms.

American literature is broad and dynamic, but also completely different from American ethnic literature. The social and political role of both types of literature is there, as they are both extremely important in shaping the literature of this country. The themes of liberty, equality, and opportunity are addressed by both types of literature in different ways, and therefore both types are equally important contributions.