Introduction

Just like the other works of literature around the world, American literature was founded and moulded from the history of the country that produced it. Additionally, for more than a century and a half, America was just a combination of colonies that was dispersed by the sea and borders of the continent of North America. After, successful revolt with the motherland, America formed the United States as a country. Before the end of the 19tl1 century, the United States had already taken over its position among the superiors of the world. Therefore, in the amid the growth of the industry and science, the thinking and the feeling of people shaped the literature of the nation. Consequently, this is where the literature of the American began, including drama, fiction and poetry. Ideally, the talents of the American 's earliest patriots and advocates in  literature is evident in works like those of Dubois,Washington and Sandsburg.The American literature is characterized by movements like Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism and modernism; these movements are a clear description of how America literature was characterized by environment and time, moreover; these exemplary works of literature reaffirm what it means by being an American.

Realism and Naturalism

Realism was the period after Romanticism in American literature. The movement existed in the middle of the 19ct1 century. According to the realists, they assisted the people by exposing negative political and bad social vices. Relatively, realism was a broad movement in American Literature and was able to survive up until the 19ct1 century. The book by Booker T Washington illustrates life during the Realism and Naturalism era. He describes how rice and technology had made them slaves among slaves. Washington addresses slavery and the rise of Aflo-American literary Realism (Washington 2017, p 701). Moreover, Washington discuses racism and the struggle for education in a coloured nation full of injustice.   Realism was characterized and required that artists and writers focus on the now and here. "one must be of one's own time" this was the central notion of the movement.

Realism is also considered as an arty aspect of the political, social climate in late 1830 and 1840.The new climate aimed at increasing awareness of the large gap between the poor and rich caused by the industrial revolution. Individuals had become worried about the working and existing conditions of locals and factory workers. This is the reason why In the book of Up from slavery by   Washington addresses how they were treated in the rice and cotton factories. Others started strategies aimed at improving the lives of the minor classes and trying to the rich and poor. These work a lot of literature during these times were similar in that they focused on contemporary life engagement, through increased surveillance on the lives of others in the community. Most of the works in the period of realism used words like truth, honesty, and naivety to signal the new, advanced and democratic art. Moreover, realism formed the foundation for new artists; it was the one to replace the old romantic in the United States. The peak of realism in the American literature came during the time the United States was in a civil war in the year 1865. Ideally, realism was a literary movement that was found in almost every corner of the United States. The literary movement formed the foundation of regionalism and a fictional form of travelling in literature. It is well known that Literary realism was prevalent in Europe like the works of Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Gustave Flaubert and literature. Naturalism was much similar like realism and aimed at promoting equal treatment of the peasants. Ideally, naturalism was greatly influenced by philosophy and other literary, methods, including social determinism and existentialism. Referring to characters in naturalistic novels where, social class, emotions, morals and passion were portrayed as lessons to the society.

The modernist period

Modernism turned out to be the most dominant and arty movement during the 20tl1 century. The term modernism refers to the cultural expressions, techniques and social thoughts that emerged with old traditions after political wrangles in Europe during 1800.  Majority of modernist writers created works that represented not only a moment or region but also the universal at large. Conferring with the literature of W.E.B Dubois, in the book the souls of Black Folk, the book is centrally centered in history, politics and race in relation to African American. He clearly articulates his work with an allusion to the book of genesis which was both a perfect style in the past and in the current generation. Moreover, in his works, he uses pronouns personal testimonies and third person setting to address racism, he wishes if it was possible for men to be both Negro and American (Bois 2017 p 920). Such applications in his literature works makes his works exemplary in the history of American literature by making the book a world instrument where Americans can refer to while studying human affairs. Moreover, each chapter in the book of Dubois serves its purpose the first chapter sets a spiritual tone on the entire book as he addresses unreconciled wrangles in African American lives after the civil wars with the hunger to be engaged in modern culture of American. He argues that the theme of freedom had been blocked by a 'veil' of prejudice as he extends this theme Freedmen's Bureau history in the reconstruction era of the former slaves. Similar to the issues of Washington Dubois addresses the need for higher education by the blacks as he provides a poignant eulogy of his dead infant son who succumbed to diphtheria in the year 1899 as a case of human sorrow' of the black.

Conferring to the book "A Raisin in the Sun" by Hansberry who reviews DuBois strategy, her work is centered to the economic, social conditions and education to the African Americans (Nowrouzi et al,. 2015 p 2269) She was greatly influenced by Dubois and thus DuBois's opinion on racism was greatly embedded on Hansberry works. Both of them were great friends with childhood interactions and that's why the works of Hansberry reflects much on Dubois literature.

Modernist era is tension oriented between tradition and novelty. Thus, making it new is to return to the Anglo-American and origins to unearth out what had been forsaken. Poetry requires historical context and tradition of the past and not only of the current generation. Sandburg's poems are an excellent example of works and works of literature characterized in this period.

Conferring to Sandburg poems, most of the poems are based on history and the past to reflect on the issues that happen on the present like a poem by Sandburg where he says, " I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again" moreover, (Sandburg 1865 p267)he continues to address the hunger in women and children.

The contemporary Period

The contemporary period of American literature is the period between 1945 up to date. This was the period when the United States came from World War II and joined the cold war in the year 1940. During this period of conflict with the Soviet Union, American literature was influenced up to the second half of the 2th century. During this period of 1950s and 1960s, there were substantial cultural shifts in the United States pioneered by movements of civil rights. In the earlier years of the 20tl1 century, American literature was significantly characterized by stories of long-gone men who had made art and left the other whites living continuing with the work of arts. Before the end of the 21st century, the American literature had already turned out to be complex founded under past literary writings published in the United States by individuals from diverse backgrounds and inclusive of more Americans in the current world. Despite the flourish in the American Literature, literature produced by African Americans during this period was characterized by discrimination. This is the reason why writers who wrote during the contemporary period fought with the passion to escape an unjust society. Conferring to the story of Jack Kerouac, storytelling has been an essential aspect in many cultures since the existence of human beings. Before the development of literature, oral narrations was critical for survival in society. Therefore, telling stories whether written or unwritten is necessary for the maintenance of our culture. The story by Jack Kerouac is an adventure of a writer (Kerouac 1865 p 333) and other groups of friends who travels across the country. They are in love with life and enjoy sex, drugs and jazz. This story is sidelined with the beat movement of the 1950s. The novel is an excellent example of the contemporary period of American Literature. The book has transfigured to be a classical text in the America counterculture of literature. Ideally, the book shows what it means to be an American Youth while retaining the history and freedom of the Americans. In relation to Kerouac's works in line with modern literature, Kerouac's literature utilizes the beat writing in late modern studies. His works were founded on composition and process to shoe emotionally writing culture rhymed with pathological insularity Kerouac. All these characteristics articulate together to produce a convincing and impressive writing program. Beat studies on the authorship of Kerouac brings two significant preoccupations of American literature of the 20tl1 century (Winner 2019 et al,. p132) The first one is the awareness of technology medium in the second world war and the other one is the status of American Literary resistance against gravitational pull of Joycean methods.

In conclusion, American Literature has been greatly influenced by the environment setting since ancient times. Literature is the mirror to the society and forms the pillar stones of our lives. Literature reflects on the issues that happen in the community; this is evident from the works of literature discussed in this essay. Moreover, racism, discrimination is the significant challenges faced by society; therefore, literature acts as the platform for those with no voice in the community. A good reflection on society that is clearly articulated with African American tradition is by Dubois in the book "The souls of Black folk". Following the evolvement of the American literature from all the other literary periods to the current and contemporary period, a lot of improvements has been evident form styles and the delivery.

Works Cited

• Bois, Du W.E.B from "The Souls of Black Folk" The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 1865 to present. shorter 9th ed, e-book, edited by Julia Redhead W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.pp 920-921. (954 overall page)
• Washington, T. Booker "Up from Slavery" The Norton Anthology of American Literature,1865 to present. shorter 9th ed, e-book, edited by Julia Redhead W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.pp 701-709. (735 overall page)
• Kerouac, Jack. "on the road" The Norton Anthology of American Literature,1865  to present. shorter 9th ed, e-book, edited by Julia Redhead W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.pp. 333 342 (2656 overall page)
• Sandburg, Carl. "Chicago" The Norton Anthology of American Literature,  1865 to present. shorter 9th ed, e-book, edited by Julia Redhead W.W. Norton & Company,2017. pp.267-268.  (1553 overall page)
• Nowrouzi, Tayebeh, et al. "In search of equality: a dream deferred for African Americans in A Raisin in the Sun." Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 5, no. 11, 2015, p. 2269+. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy. pgcc.edu/ apps/doc/A446637382/G LS? u=pgcc_main&sid=GLS&xid=47f8f9be.   Accessed 29 July 2020.
• Winner, Kathryn. "Visions of Cody and Media: Jack Kerouac as Late Modernist." Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 43, no. 1, 2019, pp. 132-149. ProQuest, https://ezproxy.pgcc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-corn.ezproxy.pgcc.edu/docview/2330962042?accountid=13315,     doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.pgcc.edu/10.2979/jrnodelite.43.   l.08