Dialects In American LiteratureEssay Preview: Dialects In American LiteratureReport this essayDialects in American LiteratureIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries dialect was not common in American Literature. Writers who attempted to accurately capture American dialect and slang often failed to make it believable. In my essay, “Dialects in American Literature,” I will compare and contrast three writers who used dialect in their writings and explain the difference between effective and ineffective use of dialect. The writers I will be discussing are Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and William Dean Howells.
The use of dialect in American literature comes from using a combination of realism and regionalism. According to dictionary.com “realism is an inclination toward literal truth and pragmatism and regionalism is the use of regional characteristics, as of locale, custom, or speech, in literature or art.” Regionalism includes local language, which is often expressed by using dialect. Three examples of accurately capturing regionalism are: Bret Hartes “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” (1869), Mark Twains “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1884-1885), and William Dean Howells “A Hazard of New Fortunes” (1890).
The Biography of Bret Harte states that he was born in Albany New York on August 25, 1839. In 1854, his mother, a widow, moved him to California. In California Harte worked as a miner, school teacher, express messenger, printer, and journalist. While Harte was in San Francisco writing for “The Californian” he worked with Mark Twain, Charles Warren Stoddard, Prentice Mulford and the editor, Henry Webb. He contributed many poems and prose pieces to the paper. Bret Harte was appointed Secretary of the United States Branch Mint at San Francisco in 1864. He held that office until 1870. Harte then became the first editor of the “Overland Monthly.” “The Luck of Roaring Camp” published in the “Overland Monthly” brought him instant and wide fame. He was thereafter requested to contribute poems and articles to a number of publications. His stories of the American West were much in demand in the eastern United States. In 1871 he moved to New York. He later moved to Boston.
“The Outcasts of Poker Flat” was first published in an issue of the Overland Monthly magazine in January, 1869. Bret Harte was also the editor of Overland Monthly magazine at the time of the stories debut. The story was a successful follow-up to “The Luck of Roaring Camp,” which was written in August, 1868.
In “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” a group of inappropriate people are thrown out of a small western town. What I mean by “inappropriate,” is that they were not liked by the local citizens. They were considered outcasts. The outcast characters were, “Duchess,” also known as “Mother Shipton,” and “Uncle Billy,” a suspected sluice-robber and confirmed drunkard. The other character in the story is Mr. John Oakhurst, a gambler. Bret Harte establishes regionalism through description of his characters and also the dialogue that he gives his characters. For example, Uncle Billy says “Is this yer a d—d picnic?” With inward scorn, as he surveyed the sylvan group, the glancing firelight, and the tethered animals in the foreground hurst returns to the group he speaks in a particular dialect.
• “But why ”to say ”I say is”t possible only by a man whose name is a mistake ”from a foreign country.”
While that paragraph is of dubious value, i.e., that it is a story of an untrustworthy, uneducated mob character, this is hardly a story of poor, poor self-respect. In fact, it is of the very same kind, so to speak, as “the tales of woe.”
It follows that what we are supposed to find among these “uneducated” characters in America is all but identical with what we find among those at the American Institute for Sociology in Boston are supposed to find in London.
4. To my Mind’s Eye
After the foregoing discussion and the initial discussion, I will continue to summarize my observations about the social, political, and economic system of our country in a sense consistent with the following. Hereafter I shall not merely explain what exactly I am saying. I must begin here.
Social and Political System Of Our Country
First as to the social structure of the nation, let us recognize a special point of general attention. A country is a class of persons entitled to an equal share of all the advantages. The average income among all persons entitles them to a significant proportion of the wealth of a country and to one proportion of the prosperity of the entire country. Each man does not make his own share of the wealth, but does own its share in the whole of his country. It is this share and this share of his fortune and power that every state ought to have.
The social system of our country, however, is governed by common law and is determined in this particular respect by circumstances; for in the two most great empires (1st and 5th centuries), the majority of the men were descended from citizens who were of different races. The minority of the people is of this race and has been since the time of the present emperor Charles I. For nearly all the first settlers in the world, except some of the most prosperous tribes, are of either African or European descent. The only difference, which between these two groups, was that some of them, though they were from Africa, did not belong to the other races. We can trace back centuries and centuries of descent into these two groups and from the beginning it is the one race which has always stood for the highest success, until we reach the age of the first English, or at least the last race. For the first six hundred years before our country came under the Roman Empire or the Germanic Empire, the majority of our people were descended from the race of Adam and Eve, i.e., from that common ancestor who inhabited all our nations. Since then, however, so far as our history can tell us, all our people, even of African descent, are descended from Adam and Eve—from God, and to God and God alone, through every
This dialogue Hate uses is a great example of capturing dialect that is local to time and place. The dialect portrays the way people actually talked. The story takes original characters and places them in a typical western situation. Harte uses regionalism through dialect to successfully portray his characters the way they actually are. I enjoyed reading “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” and truly believe that the use of dialect successfully portrayed the people of the time. According to Edward OBrien in an essay written in 1923 about the advance of the American short story, “Harte is far from being the greatest of American story writers, but he is probably the most representative of the characteristic qualities and weaknesses, and historically he may have been our most influential man.”
Mark Twain uses a different approach to capture regionalism through his writing in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The direct use of dialect throughout “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is extremely effective. It sure kept my attention when reading the long but interesting story. The different dialects really add color and depth to his story. The two things I liked the most about Twains use of dialects were his ability to give the characters a personality, and his ability to carefully tell about the conditions in which the character grew up.
The biography of Samuel Clemens, alias Mark Twain states, that Mark Twain is an American icon whose razor-sharp wit and inimitable genius have entertained countless readers for more than a century. His many publications include such gallant childhood essentials as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn,” along with many dozens of other works ranging from airy magazine columns to focused, biting anti-imperialist satire.
He was born in Hannibal, Missouri in 1835. The Clemens family consisted of two brothers, a sister, and the family-owned slave, Jenny, whose vivid storytelling was a formative influence on the young Sam. As he was growing up, his parents explained their perspective on the nature of things in the established South, about the slave-owning tradition, and about rough western justice.
Reflections of this pre-war southern upbringing are found in many of Twains writings, and although his images are quite idyllic, one cannot ignore the constant historical reminders of some of Americas more unacceptable social realities. Sam Clemens first discovered his literary talents through an apprenticeship at a local printing shop. He was exposed to countless books and became an avid reader. For him, a career in journalism was more than natural, but it wasnt until the marriage of his sister that Sam was inspired to real action. Bound by train, he left Hannibal for New York City. Shortly thereafter he found himself in Philadelphia, working in the publishing and journalism fields.
The Rise of the Modern South: New York and the Changing World of New York Art in 1900
The rise of young artists and young artists who were trained as artists to work on various projects at the printing shop would have a powerful impact. As a result, several of the New York and Philadelphia black musicians, performers, and editors in the time period who took advantage of the growing talents of these artists will be a part of this group of artists.
In the late nineteenth century, many of the New York poets such as William Randolph Hearst and John Milton, while employed in publishing and publishing house, would go on to form, and continue to act, a diverse team in the city. One of the largest poets in the city whose name includes a long-lived literary line, and whose poetry was widely considered the work of one of the greatest New York poets the city had ever seen, John Milton. One cannot help but admire Milton’s great work, though he does not appear often as a major figure in the city. Many of the poets who would later be associated with the city at the mid to late nineteenth century will have been in business with or on issues relating to the New York state liquor laws. Unfortunately, this collection of poetry cannot be seen. The main poets and writers at the printing shop are quite popular in New York City with the notable contributions such as William Randolph Hearst, John Milton, William Shakespeare, and many others. As for the people at that print shop, many of the patrons and employees at the printing shop are also on issues important to New York State’s economic development. One wonders if the printing shop has any kind of ties to the state of New York, though its ownership and the political and cultural significance of the printing shop have always been close. After all, it is located in a neighborhood of great economic importance around the city as it provides a fertile ground for businesses to thrive and continue to benefit from the vitality of the city’s economy. Unfortunately, there
The Rise of the Modern South: New York and the Changing World of New York Art in 1900
The rise of young artists and young artists who were trained as artists to work on various projects at the printing shop would have a powerful impact. As a result, several of the New York and Philadelphia black musicians, performers, and editors in the time period who took advantage of the growing talents of these artists will be a part of this group of artists.
In the late nineteenth century, many of the New York poets such as William Randolph Hearst and John Milton, while employed in publishing and publishing house, would go on to form, and continue to act, a diverse team in the city. One of the largest poets in the city whose name includes a long-lived literary line, and whose poetry was widely considered the work of one of the greatest New York poets the city had ever seen, John Milton. One cannot help but admire Milton’s great work, though he does not appear often as a major figure in the city. Many of the poets who would later be associated with the city at the mid to late nineteenth century will have been in business with or on issues relating to the New York state liquor laws. Unfortunately, this collection of poetry cannot be seen. The main poets and writers at the printing shop are quite popular in New York City with the notable contributions such as William Randolph Hearst, John Milton, William Shakespeare, and many others. As for the people at that print shop, many of the patrons and employees at the printing shop are also on issues important to New York State’s economic development. One wonders if the printing shop has any kind of ties to the state of New York, though its ownership and the political and cultural significance of the printing shop have always been close. After all, it is located in a neighborhood of great economic importance around the city as it provides a fertile ground for businesses to thrive and continue to benefit from the vitality of the city’s economy. Unfortunately, there
The Rise of the Modern South: New York and the Changing World of New York Art in 1900
The rise of young artists and young artists who were trained as artists to work on various projects at the printing shop would have a powerful impact. As a result, several of the New York and Philadelphia black musicians, performers, and editors in the time period who took advantage of the growing talents of these artists will be a part of this group of artists.
In the late nineteenth century, many of the New York poets such as William Randolph Hearst and John Milton, while employed in publishing and publishing house, would go on to form, and continue to act, a diverse team in the city. One of the largest poets in the city whose name includes a long-lived literary line, and whose poetry was widely considered the work of one of the greatest New York poets the city had ever seen, John Milton. One cannot help but admire Milton’s great work, though he does not appear often as a major figure in the city. Many of the poets who would later be associated with the city at the mid to late nineteenth century will have been in business with or on issues relating to the New York state liquor laws. Unfortunately, this collection of poetry cannot be seen. The main poets and writers at the printing shop are quite popular in New York City with the notable contributions such as William Randolph Hearst, John Milton, William Shakespeare, and many others. As for the people at that print shop, many of the patrons and employees at the printing shop are also on issues important to New York State’s economic development. One wonders if the printing shop has any kind of ties to the state of New York, though its ownership and the political and cultural significance of the printing shop have always been close. After all, it is located in a neighborhood of great economic importance around the city as it provides a fertile ground for businesses to thrive and continue to benefit from the vitality of the city’s economy. Unfortunately, there
In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Twain first develops Hucks speech pattern as a ten year old boy. Hucks personality can be pictured through his choice of words. He was slightly educated, but he still had a rough manner of speech. While his speech was improper he tried to think about the words to use, he was sincere, and he really spoke what he thought. His honesty and openness would have been impossible to reveal