Michelle Hornick
Myths, tales, and legends are essential parts of the literary history of America, particularly the early 19th Century. Myths, tales, and legends, although not always widely accepted as "classic" literature, are integral pieces in mapping out the growth of American literacy. The development of American culture, as well as literature, has been shaped by the myth genre. As expressed in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, "These 'myths' and 'legends' serve a variety of functions in the society: they can offer an explanation of its physical and cultural origin; justify its hierarchies and other public arrangements; explain its beliefs, its rituals, its standards of morality and value; express its hopes as well as its fears" (1261).
The myths, tales, and legends of the early 19th century express the accepted beliefs at the time which they were written or passed down. They voice deep psychological ideas and social conflicts. While the origins of the tales are not always known, it is obvious that the tales become shared parts of the entire culture. Characters are created to express unfilled desires of the culture, such as the "strong but silent cowboy" or the "savage Indian." "The creators of such characters were, in effect, posing them as embodiments of what they saw as significant social values, and they generally set against other figures who embody alternative values" (1261). These stories, whether they began with actual people and events or not, were passed around from town to town, city to city. Each teller of the tale has his own interpretation of the facts and his own slightly amended version. There can be several versions of one particular myth, but the message or moral is still the same. Certain cultures will take and embellish the myths they deem essential to the development, and they will discard others. The myths are not expected to completely plausible. They are a drastic change from the "fire and brimstone" sermons of the Colonial Period and the 18th century. They provide and escape from the religious and ceremonial works of literature previously accepted by American society. They are unique blends of fact and fancy, reality and ideal. They are the beginnings of American fiction.
Some examples of these myths, or early American fiction, the Tales from the Hispanic Southwest are derived from many oral narratives passed down from generation to generation. Besides being highly imaginative and entertaining, the Southwest Tales are cuentos morales, or morality tales. "Los tres hermanos" (The Three Brothers) is an example of one such morality tale. "The main goal of this tale is to instill a complex religio-social sensibility in young listeners" (1271). This is a bedtime story that is still told today. The story is this: The eldest of three brothers leaves his parents in search of a job and money. Along the way he encounters people in need of food, water, and shelter, but does not help. The second brother follows in the same fashion. Finally, the third brother leaves in search of his brothers. The third brother, however, is extremely generous and offers all of his time, money, food, and services to the strangers. As the story unfolds, we find that the strangers are Jesus and his mother, Mary. The third brother's kindness and generosity are rewarded with a favor and the promise of heaven. The other, selfish brothers must face the consequences of death and probable (certain) damnation. The moral is very simply: treat others as you would like to be treated.
Other legends include "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." These two stories offer entertainment as well as commentary on life in upstate New York . "Rip Van Winkle" especially offers political satire masked in the form of entertainment. "Rip" allows the reader to focus on issues of war and progress while conveniently providing laughs at a "hen pecked husband." When Rip falls asleep in the mountains to escape his nagging wife, he awakes twenty years later, and he finds that things seemed to have changed. However, they have really remained the same. For example, his son, Rip Van Winkle, has taken his place as the town slacker, and his daughter now replaces his wife as the woman who will take care of him. King George's portrait is replaced with George Washington. "Rip Van Winkle" has unfolded into a story told for pure enjoyment. It is usually regarded today as a children's story, although it once served as Washington Irving's commentary on responsibility of citizens and the perception of change in a society. This story reflects Irving's childhood "in transitional America, a national culturally unsure of itself and deeply divided as to how democratic it should be " (1285). Just as "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," originally shared because it emphasized society's views of child rearing ("Spare the rod and spoil the child"), is now mainly reserved for camp fires and Disney films.
James Fennimore Cooper is usually considered America's first novelist of stature (1326). Cooper's tales helped to develop and shape the "'frontier novel'" and the "American 'historical novel.'" "Cooper had interrogated America's beliefs, its history, and its institutions in the Leather-Stocking tales" (1327). He uses the Battle of Fort William Henry, during the French and Indian War , as a backdrop for The Last of the Mohicans. Cooper's novel laid the foundation for other American novels. The stereotypical descriptions of the Native Americans and the colonists became a tool for fighting prejudice and racism; he created Leather-Stocking, whose outlook on nature and human society contrasted sharply with that of the settlers (1261). Cooper spells out the truth for the American public to look at and see themselves.
Edgar Allen Poe sets the stage for the American Horror genre. His tales of the morbid and grotesque provided a fantastic escape for readers. The stories created unbelievable worlds which could hardly be imagined. "The Raven," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Mask of the Red Death," and "The Tell Tale Heart" have become symbols of murder, mystery, and suspense. Scarcely a Halloween goes by when which these stories are not told. However, there is some resistance to ranking Poe among the great American authors. This is due to two reasons: " 'his subject matter seems bizarre and eccentric, even at time grotesque, and thus 'outside' the main currents of American thought.' Second, his philosophy of a supernal realm of perfect beauty and understanding, which underlies several of the stories and poems, seems, to some, soft-minded and adolescent" (1363). Those, though, are perhaps two of the best reasons to include Poe. He aides in making American literature, grotesqueness and all, unique. His stories and tales have added a whole new dimension to literature. "Poe has opened up entire aesthetic areas for subsequent authors, critics, poets, painters, and composers" (1363).
The Humor of the Southwest also served a very important function in the development of the American Novel. Jones states,"As writing , it crossed the border with orality, coming from storytelling and in turn shaping the telling of tales... It straddles the line, too, between 'popular' and 'high' literature; it appeared...in Mark Twain and William Faulkner" (1457). It is in the Humor of the Southwest that we have the "missing link" between myths, tales, and legends, and classic literature. Southern and western dialects, which are depicted and often acted out in the oral renditions of the tales, paved the way for Mark Twain and his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Familiarity of dialects and different speech patterns became an authentic way to spread the Southwestern tales. Consequently, Huck Finn and its use of Black English Vernacular is read, enjoyed, and accepted as the first American novel to use dialects. Many contemporary novels which use dialect such as Alice Walker's The Color Purple owe their success to the dialect tales of the Southwest.
The tales and the authors mentioned are some of the most popular
legends in American history. They have been enjoyed by past generations of
Americans, and they will continued to be enjoyed by many more. The have
been shared, altered, forgotten, remembered, and shared again. The have
influenced American culture, American Literature, and American people.
They have made a profound impact on what can be considered American
ideals. Their role has been to great for them to be regarded as insignificant or
simply entertainment. They must be considered as valuable and remarkable
parts of American Literature.
Send comments on this work to: Portfolio
Research Study