How Does Literature Shape American Culture?

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American Literature: Literary or Geometry?
How does American literature shape American culture? America, a baby nation compared to many other countries, has shaped itself into one of the most politically and technically advanced places in the world. The definition of American Literature is any literary work written in, or about The United States. The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, The Narrative of the Life of Fredric Douglass and various other works of literature are all pieces of American literature that have helped shape American society.
The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in the sixteen hundreds. Hester Prynne is accused of committing adultery in her small puritan settlement but little does the town know that the father is in fact Reverend Dismmesdale. Having sent his wife ahead of him two years before hand, Hester stops her husband in the crowd as she is standing accused on the scaffolding. Hester is given a punishment in the hopes of making her ashamed; however, she turns the mockery into amazement by making the scarlet A into a beautiful piece of patch work. Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, is on the hunt from at that point to find out the child’s father but not even Pearl herself knows. The Scarlet Letter showed how early Americans concentrated their beliefs of church and home in their daily lives. Nathaniel Hawthorne words reflect the flaws in American society during the Puritan settlement. This was also the era of the Salam Witch Trials which Hawthorne’s father played a part in. The central idea reflects that suffering comes from sinning. The Scarlet Letter was the stepping stones that paved future American novels to become so successful.
The Narrative of the Life ...

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... Character of Patrick Henry . (Philadelphia) 1836, as reproduced in The World's Great Speeches, Lewis Copeland and Lawrence W. Lamm, eds., (New York) 1973. 16 May 2014.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 1984. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mocking Bird. London: Heinemann, 1960. Print.

Wirt, William. Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry . (Philadelphia) 1836, as reproduced in The World's Great Speeches, Lewis Copeland and Lawrence W. Lamm, eds., (New York) 1973. 16 May 2014.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 1984. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mocking Bird. London: Heinemann, 1960. Print.

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