Required Reading:  Why Our American Classics Matter Now, by Andrew Delbanco

In reading this book I must admit that I have mixed to adverse feelings about a lot of the books that were included as classics.  All of that, of course, suggests that considering something as a classic is far from a straightforward task and that there are some problematic elements to what is viewed as a classic.  Yet the author is right that such books deserve to be read closely and critically, not least because our literature speaks to our own cultural corruption and to some of the repeated problems dealt with by Americans with regards to our culture and literature.  Admittedly this book is by no means a complete look at American classics, and not all of the books included here are ones that I would think highly of, although it must be said that I have read most of them, being a classicist in my own tastes.  In a way, therefore, I agree with the author that the books the author praises are required reading, but I don’t think that they are required reading in a straightforward sense of approval, but rather that we read about the struggles of America through appreciating its classic literature.

This short book of about 200 pages is divided into twelve short chapters.  The author begins with a preface and then begins his discussion of American classics by looking at the writings of Melville (1), whose work I consider highly overrated, and Thoreau (2), which I also find overrated.  After that the author spends a chapter talking about Uncle Tom’s Cabin (3) and its influence and the two Lincolns (4), the one of history and the one of myth, and their similarities and differences.  The author then talks about Henry Adams (5) and his reflections on the end of a world, as well as the short and unhappy life of Stephen Crane (6), best known for “The Red Badge Of Courage.”  The author queries whether Kate Chopin was a feminist (7) and discusses Dreiser’s melodramatic fare (8).  After that the author ponders the question of what Edith Wharton would think (9) given her unconventional life but fondness for tact, after which he discusses Ellison’s Native Son (10) and the political incorrectness of Zora Neale Hurston (11).  Finally, the author closes the discussion with a praise of reading for pleasure (12), after which the author closes this book with the customary acknowledgements and index section for this short volume.

There are undoubtedly some great books here.  Yet just as obvious as the presence of books that deal with problems of sexuality and race, which seem to be characteristically American problems, are the absence of a great many books that are equally obvious American classics.  There is, for example, a distinct absence of poetry (no Whitman or Dickenson, for example), a limited amount of history (no Tuchman or Bailyn), no American drama, and even the novels and short stories included fail to include Hawthorne or anyone after the 1930’s.  It is unclear whether the books here form the author’s view of the canon of great American literature, or whether these books are merely chosen as examples of the characteristic concerns of American culture throughout our history that are discussed in these books.  If America’s classic literature is something that is often neglected in discussions of the repertory, this book is deeply incomplete and was short enough that it could have been lengthened to be more inclusive without any difficulty whatsoever.  If we should take classic literature, even the classic literature of our own nation, with a high degree of seriousness, we should have a good idea of the full scope of what aspects of America’s literary culture are in fact great and are, in fact, required reading.