As the 250th anniversary of our beautiful United States of America approaches, now is the best time to read some of the literature that captures the spirit of America. I remember taking American literature in ninth grade of high school. I read The Last of the Mohicans in one day because it was so action-packed. Later on, I would reread some of these classics, such as Moby-Dick, in college, learning to appreciate how they portray our history and show the beauty of American nature and the courageous spirit of the whalers, trappers, homemakers, and others who built America. Here is a list of the books that I have read that I feel are bulwarks of American literature.
Colonial
From the beginnings of America to around 1830, the Colonial period shows the foundation of American government and culture. Many of these books are actually very accessible, probably because the writing style tended to lean more factual rather than romantic and eloquent.
The Poems of Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet, a Puritan mother of eight who moved from England to the Massachusetts colony in the 1600s, was the first published writer in the North American colonies. Her poetry usually expresses themes of faith in God despite hardship, or love for her husband and children.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Easy-to-read and just the slightest bit sarcastic, the Autobiography tells of Franklin’s early days, escape from his apprenticeship, and accomplishments working as a printer in Philadelphia.
The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson
While not as interesting as Benjamin Franklin’s story (I think it was not as well-written), Jefferson’s account of his life is still an excellent read to understand the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence.
The Poems of Phillis Wheatley
Wheatley’s poetry is lyrical and simply beautiful to read aloud, addressing topics such as her faith or even blessing King George III when he repealed the Stamp Act.
The Declaration of Independence
The document where it all started, the Declaration of Independence should really be read by every American.
The Constitution
If you haven’t yet read the Constitution and you’re a citizen of the U.S.A., I highly recommend reading it so that you know what the media is yapping about when they say something is “constitutional” or “unconstitutional.”
The Bill of Rights
Pick a favorite from the list, but at least read all of them and have the first ten memorized.
Washington’s Farewell Address
Washington almost prophesied many of the issues the United States would later have in this speech. He also demonstrated himself to be a humble man and an excellent leader.
Romantic
The Romantic period of American literature ran from around 1830 until the brutality of the Civil War put an end to it. Many of these works show a deep connection with nature, flowery writing, and separation from the damaging influences of society. Protagonists in Romantic novels often must find their way independently, as the American concept of the “self-made man” came to be prevalent. This time period was also when the American novel began to arise, with books such as Moby-Dick or The Last of the Mohicans showing uniquely American themes.
Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown
While this Gothic novel was technically published in the 1790s, its tale of horror and the supernatural seems to better belong in the Romanticism era. Clara Wieland narrates the story of strange voices and tragedy in her family.
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
A foolish man falls into a drunken sleep before the American Revolution and wakes up an American citizen. He must navigate a world twenty years in the future and try to find his family. I would argue this story is one of the first American “fairy tales.”
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The smitten Ichabod Crane tries to win the heart (and money) of the lovely Katrina Van Tassel. However, he must compete with the wild Brom Bones and beware the legend of the Headless Horseman.
“Evangeline” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
When Evangeline is separated from her love, Gabriel, she must travel the beautiful landscapes of America to find him again. Truly an American epic full of loss and romance.
“The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Another epic Longfellow poem about an Ojibwe warrior, Hiawatha, his childhood, love, loss, and conversion to Christianity.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
This book was so exciting that I read it in a day. Cora and Alice Munro are escorted by the native Magua to their father’s fort. However, danger lurks behind every tree as their party must survive the forests of New York amidst the chaos of the French and Indian War.
The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper
The fourth book of the Leatherstocking Tales, The Pioneers continues the tale of Natty Bumppo and Chingachgook. Set on the frontier of New York, the novel explores the departure of Native American tribes as Chingachgook comes to the end of his life.
Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe
While Poe is probably best-known for his poetry, his short stories are also full of adventure, drama, and the horrific.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
After Hester Prynne is caught in adultery, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter on her breast as punishment in her judgmental Puritan town, though she refuses to give up her lover. However, as the years pass, Hester grows in virtue and charity to the poor, while the man who sinned with her is consumed by guilt because he did not confess.
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hepzibah Pyncheon lives in a mysterious house that was built on land seized from its owner, who was slain as a witch. When her despicable cousin Judge Pyncheon returns and threatens to have her poor brother imprisoned, Hepzibah discovers secrets from the Pyncheons’ past and the Pyncheon curse.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
The record of Thoreau’s life in the woods alone. He examines the merits of solitude and living simply. The book also includes beautiful nature descriptions and commentaries on society and government.
“Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau explains his beliefs about government and the dangers of democracy, as well as his reasoning for not paying taxes due to the government’s protection of slavery.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
This whaling epic tells the story of Captain Ahab, a man obsessed with slaying the famed white whale Moby Dick. Ahab’s obsession might sink the ship and everyone on it. Truly, this book could be the Odyssey of American Literature. It also features everything you need to know to start your own whaling journey, with detailed descriptions of sperm whales and discussion of how to slay and process them.
Billy Budd by Herman Melville
Billy Budd, impressed into the Royal Navy, is well-liked by his fellow sailors. However, the jealous officer Claggart accuses him of attempting mutiny. The following events demonstrate the brutality and tragedy of the British navy at the time.
Realist
After the Civil War’s brutality destroyed all romantic notions of the innate goodness of humanity, Realism became the theme among American writers until World War I and its aftermath would destroy that notion as well. Books written during this area try to reflect the nature of humanity. Authors such as Mark Twain or Sarah Orne Jewett wrote about what they knew, often including dialect to immerse the reader in the country and culture.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The four March girls: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, grow into women amidst the Civil War and learn many important lessons, facing grief and joy throughout the book.
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Jo March runs a boys’ school with her husband, the two of them helping to form the characters of numerous young lads, even the most hardened and troublesome boys.
Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott
The adventures of Jo’s sons, both by blood and adopted. The lads of Jo’s school go out into the world to face adventure in the Wild West, unrequited love at home, or success in their careers.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer, a mischievous boy growing up near the great Mississippi River in Missouri, gets into numerous scrapes, including witnessing murder, attending his own funeral, and getting lost in a cave.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
After Huckleberry Finn’s abusive father arrives, Huck runs away with the enslaved Jim. As they travel down the Mississippi to freedom, they experience many adventures, such as murderous thieves, a blood feud, and two scammers who will endanger Jim’s freedom.
Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
After the enslaved Roxy switches her son with master’s child to save him from slavery, the two boys grow up in very different lives. One becomes educated and dissolute, wasting his father’s money treating everyone with selfishness. The other grows up abused and uneducated as a slave. But when a crime is committed, the truth will be found out.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
After Hank Morgan wakes up in medieval England, he must successfully scam its inhabitants into believing him a wizard so that he can bring King Arthur’s court into the 19th century while avoiding the vengeance of Merlin.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
The eloquent memoir of the famed speaker and thinker, Narrative is one of numerous autobiographies written by Douglass. As a former slave who taught himself to read, Douglass writes about his childhood, escape to freedom, and the beginning of his rise to fame as a great speaker and abolitionist.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Lily Bart, a poor orphan who survives off the charity of her relatives and friends, must navigate the high-born, ostentatious society in which she lives. Lily must find a wealthy husband to maintain her excessive lifestyle, but her options are limited and she faces the consequences of living above her means.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
In the midst of the Gilded Age excesses, wealthy Newland Arthur rethinks his marriage to the beautiful, sheltered May Welland when he meets her worldly cousin Countess Ellen Olenska. As his relationship with the Countess grows, he must choose whether to remain faithful to his wife or throw his marriage away for a delusion.
“A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett
A little girl in Maine, Sylvia, must choose whether to betray a white heron to win the favor of a hunter, or to protect this animal of her beautiful forest home.
Short Stories of O. Henry
O. Henry is the king of the short story twist. His short stories range from the humorous “The Ransom of Red Chief” to the touching “The Gift of the Magi.”
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The spoiled dog Buck gets sold away to Alaska, where he faces the unforgiving frontier and has many adventures before returning to the wild.
Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Washington’s story of his life and his philosophy on how former slaves could make their way up in the world. His writing is clear and his ideas are eloquently expressed.
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Wilder recounts growing up on the American frontier, from the big woods of Wisconsin to the prairies of Kansas to a town in South Dakota. These books show the difficulty of life as a pioneer, as well as the grit of the people who dared to venture away from their homes and families to settle a new land.
The Poems of Emily Dickinson
Dickinson was an odd bird, but her poetry is thoughtful and sometimes quirky all at once.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman was about as American a poet as you can get. His poems are somber and patriotic and deeply revealing of the beauty and issues in our nation.
Modernist
After the deaths of millions of young men in World War I, modernist writers often had themes of disillusionment or hopelessness. Hemingway and Fitzgerald both address the meaninglessness they felt after returning from war. Many authors also experimented with new styles such as using more simplistic writing instead of the eloquence of years before. There are also a few books here that are sub-movements of Modernism, such as the Southern Renaissance (my favorite movement of this time period).
The Poems of Robert Frost
Robert Frost, one of my favorite poets, writes poems that often capture village life, farming, and nature in the northeast.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Jay Gatsby returns with newfound wealth to try to win his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. He throws extravagant parties to remind Daisy of what she has lost when she rejected him after he was deployed in World War I. This book captures the utter meaninglessness of the dissolute 1920s partying.
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
This novel of the American frontier could probably also fit into Realism, due to its realistic portrayals of Nebraska. Cather writes of the lives of a Bohemian immigrant family, specifically its eldest daughter, Ántonia, through the eyes of Jim, the grandson of farmers in the area.
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
After her father dies, young Alexandra Bergson must run her family’s farm and survive in the harsh Nebraska frontier. Alexandra, capable and intelligent, struggles to succeed on the land and build a prosperous home for her family.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
One of Hemingway’s easier reads, this book tells the story of an old Cuban man who goes out to catch a fish and comes back with nothing.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway recounts his experiences living as an expatriate in Paris. He interacts with other writers and creators such as the Fitzgeralds and Gertrude Stein. An excellent read to show the philosophy behind the writers of the Lost Generation.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
An American veteran, Jake Barnes, yearns after the promiscuous Lady Brett Ashley, who ignores him as she pursues other men. This book is another book to show how utterly depraved the 1920s were.
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Robert Jordan, an American volunteer with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, is tasked with blowing up a bridge. Jordan endures the horrors of the war and must face the enemy alone.
“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
The weary Phoenix Jackson must travel a long path to get medicine for her sick grandson.
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
Frankie, a slightly self-obsessed tomboy, lives under the delusion that her brother and his fiancée will take her with them once they are married. Desperate for something to happen in her town, it takes near-tragedy for Frankie to come to the harsh reality of growing up and becoming mature.
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber
Thurber humorously tells the story of Walter Mitty, a man constantly caught in his daydreams as he goes throughout his day.
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
This three-act play tells the story of a small town and its occupants in the early 1900s. Each act portrays a different stage of life: youth, marriage, and death.
Laura by Vera Caspary
A mystery and romance all in one, this novel tells the story of Laura, a murdered woman whose case intrigues the somewhat cynical detective Mark McPherson.
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
A play about the financial and mental struggles of a working man as he deals with family conflict.
Contemporary
From 1945 to the present day, contemporary literature seems to have many sub-movements that aren’t clearly defined enough for me to sort them out. However, postmodernism in general seems to have continued modernism’s theme of meaninglessness, or at least that meaning can be whatever you want it to be. Contemporary literature also emphasizes the individual quite a bit, with many stories about people’s experiences. I have not found much contemporary literature that I believe is both enjoyable to read and captures the heart of America, but here are some books that are worth reading.
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Two boys, Reuven and Danny, become friends after a baseball accident. Reuven observes the friction between Danny and his traditional father as the two boys grow up in the aftermath of World War II and its effects on American Jews.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Young Scout grows up in the segregated South. When her father, a lawyer, must defend a black man accused of rape, Scout witnesses the cruelty and injustice of racism in her town.
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Berry’s writing is so good that I almost thought this book was an autobiography. It tells the story of a small town barber and the people he meets. Truly a book to inspire Americans to seek a simpler life and a strong community.
Fidelity by Wendell Berry
Five stories of rural or small-town life that capture the people and heart of America.
Jubilee by Margaret Walker
Based on Margaret Walker’s great-grandmother’s life, Jubilee tells the story of Vyry Brown as she grows up as a slave on a Georgia plantation. After the father of her children disappears in the Civil War, Vyry must survive with a new husband and succeed in the new world of freedom and anguish.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Somewhat autobiographical, this novel follows young Esther Greenwood, whose descent into depression and mental insanity highlights the issues in the 1950s surrounding women and the shallowness of society.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
This play discusses the lives of an African-American family in Chicago as they try to move up in the world despite discrimination.
Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown
Brown tells the story of growing up in Harlem and the circumstances of the African-American community there throughout the Civil Rights era and the later tragedy of the drug epidemic.
The Poems of Maya Angelou
Angelou’s poems, mostly free verse, capture her spirit and examine themes of civil rights and women’s experiences.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The first of Angelou’s memoirs, covering her early life until the birth of her son.
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
After the United States is destroyed in nuclear war, a small group of survivors in Florida must survive and rebuild.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
During World War II, two boys, Gene and Phineas, attend boarding school together. The boys have many escapades together, but as Gene becomes envious of Phineas’s athletic prowess, tragedy strikes.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender, a despised third child in a futuristic world with a two-child policy, becomes a child soldier for the government to fight Earth’s old enemy: an alien race that has invaded the planet once before. Ender trains in an international Battle School, playing war games and defending himself against those who would bring him down.
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
After her husband abandons their family, Pearl must raise three children alone. The novel tells the story of their family conflict and the scars left on the children by their father’s abandonment and mother’s control.
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
Vance’s memoir examines Appalachian culture and the factors that go into white poverty in America. He recounts his family history and his own difficult upbringing in Ohio.
Conclusion
While this list is nowhere near exhaustive, these are the books I have read that I feel best show the spirit of America. They offer differing perspectives and philosophies by which to examine our beautiful nation.
Great list. I love seeing my two favorite Willa Cather noveis on here.
This is a really solid list—better than a lot of others I've seen! You make me want to fill in some of the gaps in my own reading for the "Colonial" and "Romantic" periods particularly.