Comparing The Great Gatsby And Their Eyes Were Watching God

There are three main prerequisites for a text to be American Literature. It must pertain to events in American History, it must include ideas or beliefs that throughout history have become closely associated with the U.S, and it must make use of American colloquialisms and an American dialect. A text's accumulation of all of these essential traits, through its style and essential themes, is what makes it uniquely American and allows it to distinguish itself as a defining example of American literature. The texts Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Catch-22 all exhibit these traits in their unique ways. Their methods of accumulating all of these essential traits into one great work, allows these four texts
The novel features Janie, a young black women, as the main character. Janie’s experiences in the American south during this time period help to shape the novel's themes of class and appearance. The American south during this time period saw many successful black men who committed with one another for popularity. In the novel, Joe Starks uses Janie to enhance his appearance and his social status among other successful black men. The setting serves as the basis for the theme of class, as the setting illustrates the class differences between wealthy Joe Starks and middle class Tea Cake. The novel’s setting pertains to the economic boom that many Black communities enjoyed during the 1920s and the resulting individual rivalries that occurred as a
The novel’s setting in a 1920s Black southern community serves as the basis for this ideal. In the novel, Joe Starks is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born into slavery, but through hard work he had acquired enough money to buy himself freedom. As a freeman, Starks gradual progressed the societal ladder becoming a businessman and eventually, the mayor of Eatonville. As an individual who went from the lowest level of society to the highest through hard work and dedication, Joe Starks fully embodies the American