AMERICAN LITERATURE

Ernest Hemingway
Born on July 21, 1899, in Cicero (now in Oak Park), Illinois,
Ernest Hemingway served in World War I and worked in journalism
before publishing his story collection In Our Time. He was renowned
for novels like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom
the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, which won the 1953
Pulitzer. In 1954, Hemingway won the Nobel Prize. He committed
suicide on July 2, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho.
He once said, "On the Star you were forced to learn to write a simple
declarative sentence. This is useful to anyone. Newspaper work will
not harm a young writer and could help him if he gets out of it in
time."

LITERARY WORKS:

The Old Man and the Sea

The story begins, as you might expect, with an old man. He is a fisherman who has not
caught a fish in 84 days. He is also not eating very much. The two factors are related.
We also meet a boy who is dear friends with the old man. The old man taught him to
fish when he was young, and the boy brings the old man food. Does our language
sound elementary and clipped? That’s because Hemingway’s prose is. His is just eight
million times better than ours.

So that sets the stage. We’d also like to note that the old man has a name (Santiago),
as does the young boy (Manolin), but the text always refers to them as "the old man"
and "the boy." So this old man goes to sleep dreaming of the lions he used to see back
in the day in Africa. He wakes before sunrise and does what fishermen do—get in his
boat and head out to fish.

Not too long after that, the old man hooks a really, really, ridiculously big fish. A "marlin" to be
more exact. An earth-shattering struggle of mythical proportions follows. Most of the novella
consists of this struggle, which lasts over three days. It is a battle of strength and of wills. The
old man sees the fish as his brother, not his enemy, yet he never wavers in his resolution to kill
the thing. Which, ultimately, he does.

But this is no happy ending. It’s just a happy mid-point followed by an extraordinarily sad
ending. The old man straps the fish to the side of the boat and heads home. On the way, he is
attacked by sharks, who slowly but surely eat away at the marlin while the old
man, starving and exhausted, tries to beat them off with a harpoon, a club, and finally nothing
but a simple knife. By the time he makes it back to shore, there is nothing left of the fish but a
skeleton. The old man goes to sleep and dreams of the same lions of his youth—we like to
imagine it's something similar to The Lion King.

The Garden of Eden

David Bourne and his wife, Catherine, are newlyweds spending their honeymoon on the Riviera
in the south of France. It is spring, and they enjoy the leisurely pace of the seaside town—its
history, its food, its Old-World conveniences. They are learning about each other’s habits and
eccentricities, reveling in each other’s company. Catherine reflects that she always gets hungry
after making love, which David says is only normal when one is in love. David comes up with
plans on how to spend the day, claiming that he is the inventive type. Catherine says that she is
the destructive type, warning David that she will destroy him.

The couple sits at the outdoor café, watching the people as the people watch them. They are
dressed similarly and even look alike. People often mistake them for brother and sister. There are
few other tourists, as this is before the Riviera built casinos and became such an attraction. Their
casual dress sets them apart from the natives, but Catherine’s shorts provoke disapproval only
from the local priest. They go to mass on Sundays, giving freely to the collection. The priest
therefore does not say anything about Catherine’s shorts.

Catherine decides she will write a few letters and then later join David for some fishing. The
waiter offers David special bait and promises to come later to help them. David fetches the
fishing pole and goes out alone, without any luck. At last he hooks a sea bass, just as the waiter
arrives to give him advice. David reels the fish in, walking it along the canal, drawing quite a
crowd. Catherine sees him from her window and rushes down to help. He reels it in successfully
to much fanfare from the crowd. The fish weighs fifteen pounds, so David decides to sell it since
the sea bass is too big to cook for just the two of them. The restaurant ends up cooking the fish
for the couple.

Catherine tells David that she has a surprise for him, but she will not yet...
WASHINGTON IRVING

Author Washington Irving was born in New York

City in 1783. He achieved international fame for
the fictional stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow," as well as for such
biographical works as A History of the Life and
Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Irving also
served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain in the
1840s, and pushed for stronger copyright laws
before his death in 1859. Washington Irving was
born on April 3, 1783, in New York City. The
youngest of 11 children of Scottish-English
immigrant parents William Sr. and Sarah, he was
named after George Washington, the hero of the
just-completed American Revolution, and attended
the presidential inauguration of his namesake in
1789.

Educated privately, Irving began writing essays under the pen name Jonathan Oldstyle for the
Morning Chronicle, which was edited by older brother Peter. After touring Europe from 1804-
06, he returned to New York City to practice law – through by his own admission, he was not a
good student, and in 1806 he barely passed the bar.

LITERARY WORKS:

The Alhambra

The Alhambra, a Moorish palace complex that overlooks Granada, has captured the imagination
of Westerners from the age of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain in the late fifteenth century to the
present, as the continuing stream of tourists demonstrates. Robert Irwin has written a compact
companion to the history, architectural features, and enduring attraction of the Alhambra.
Although this book is in a small guidebook format, the text corrects many of the romantic myths
about the Alhambra that most tourists encounter. This book is recommended as excellent reading
for someone planning a visit to the Alhambra or for the armchair traveler.

Following an introduction that throws cold water on the myths and legends surrounding the
Alhambra, the reader is prepared to be informed about what is known about this architectural
monument. The author presents this information in four chapters. The first chapter guides the
reader through the complex of structures that make up the Alhambra. The second chapter
considers a history of the Islamic rulers and their chief ministers who contributed to the
construction of the Alhambra. In the third chapter, Robert Irwin presents evidence for the
geometrical proportions that permeate the entire structure and its decorative features. Finally, the
fourth chapter examines the way the Alhambra has been perceived by authors and artists of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Irwin begins by taking the reader on a guided tour of the remains of the Alhambra palace
complex in a chapter titled “The Fairy-Tale Palace?” He reiterates two cautionary points. First,
the surviving structures and gardens of the Alhambra represent only a fraction of what was
originally a “palace-city” with streets, a mosque, and workshops, among other things. A second
point is that, from its beginnings when Muhammad I built the Alcazaba in the thirteenth century,
it was progressively added to, remodeled, and restored. That process is ongoing as further
restoration work continues. Irwin states: “The Alhambra is not a monument that is frozen in
time; it is constantly being built and rebuilt.”

This chapter looks at structures in the order in which they were built. Only a few foundations
remain of the thirteenth century Alcazaba, and there are partial structures from the Partal Palace
built under Muhammad III (1302-1309). Therefore, Irwin's discussion focuses on the two most
famous of the Alhambra palaces, the Palace of the Court of the Myrtles (the Comares Palace)
and the Court of the Lions which, Irwin argues in the second chapter, was used as a madrasa or
scholarly center for studying the Qur’an and other aspects of Islamic law and religion. Both of
these palaces are oriented around central open courts with large rectangular pools. Irwin explains
the architectural features of the structures. He separates later reconstructions and restorations
from original features.

One strength of his discussion is to describe the architectural decoration and to recreate how
these palaces were furnished and experienced. When most people think of the Alhambra, they
picture the decorative tiles, stucco, and woodwork that adorn most of the surfaces. Many of the
walls are decorated with tiles that incorporate geometric designs and calligraphic inscriptions.
The ceiling of the Hall of the Ambassadors off the Court of the Myrtles is cedarwood marquetry
with more than eight thousand pieces comprising the twelve-sided star patterns. The
muqarnasceiling in the Hall of the Two Sisters located off the Court of the Lions is a “tour de
force of the geometer's art,” with more than five thousand prismatic stucco pieces. Irwin calls the
effect “a celestial explosion.”

In addition to this architectural ornament, the palaces were furnished with “carpets, cushions, and
hangings.” Most of the seating was on the floor, which accounts for two features. First, the
windows are lower than expected. Second, the lighting was primarily installed from the ground
up, with candles placed in candelabras. Some of the textiles from the Alhambra survive, but they
are scattered throughout collections of museums in many parts of the world. Likewise, many of
the rooms in the Alhambra have niches in which large vases were placed. Again, examples of
these “Alhambra vases” can be found in various museums....
The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” tells the story of Ichabod Crane and his hapless attempt to win
the heart and hand of Katrina Van Tasselin the context of a comical ghost story. Ichabod comes
to Sleepy Hollow, New York, from his home state of Connecticut, to be the schoolmaster of the
village. Sleepy Hollow is a small, very quiet town said to be under some kind of enchantment. Its
residents all seem to move a little slower, daydream a little more, and be more prone to believe in
the supernatural. Sleepy Hollow, maybe for that reason or maybe because its residents are almost
all descended from its original Dutch settlers, has more than its fair share of supernatural
occurrences, or at least stories of them.
Sleepy Hollow’s most famous supernatural phenomenon is the ghost of the Headless Horseman,
said to be a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a cannon ball during the Revolutionary War.
The Horseman is seen most often riding by the church, where local historians say he was buried.
He is believed to be always in search of his head. Ichabod is fascinated by this story, being
especially interested (and prone to believe) in tales of the supernatural.

Ichabod is a strict teacher but not a cruel one, doling out his punishment of the rod only to those
who can handle it. Ichabod makes almost no money, and it is customary in the village for the
farmers whose sons he teaches to feed and board him in rotation. Along with this, Ichabod makes
some extra money teaching singing lessons—he prides himself greatly on his magnificent voice.
This arrangement keeps him employed and gives him many opportunities to hear ghost stories
from the farmers’ wives and eat meals with the farmers’ daughters. He also has an insatiable
hunger and a taste for the finer things.

Katrina Van Tassel, a beautiful young woman of eighteen, is one of Ichabod’s students. She is
also the only child of Baltus Van Tassel, one of the more successful farmers in the area. Ichabod
is quickly taken in by her flirtatious charms, but it is when he first visits her father’s abundant
farm that he considers himself truly in love with her, or at least her likely inheritance.
He quickly sets out to win her hand in marriage, coming by the Van Tassel farm frequently to
woo her. Ichabod is not alone in his attentions to Katrina, however. Her beauty, charm, and
wealth have entranced many other men in the village, especially the formidable Brom Van Brunt,
also known as Brom Bones. Brom is notorious for his boisterous personality, love of pranks, and
great skill at horseback riding—all of which make him something of a village hero.
Brom has already scared off many of Katrina’s other suitors, but Ichabod is harder to shake,
avoiding physical confrontation with Brom, which is Brom’s main method of intimidation.
Without that option, Brom turns to his next best skill—pranks. He fills the school house

with smoke, trains a dog to follow Ichabod around howling, and sets many other pranks to
frustrate and humiliate Ichabod.

One day, a messenger comes to the schoolhouse to invite Ichabod to a party at the Van Tassels’.
At this party, he apparently finds himself the best man in the house, and when the party is over
he stays behind. For some reason, however, Katrina disappoints him. Ichabod leaves crestfallen.
He finds the path home dark and eerily quiet. He tries to keep himself from getting too scared,
but soon after he has passed the possibly haunted Major Andre’s tree, he sees a large, dark figure
looming nearby. It does not respond to his call, but as he passes by, it starts to move and joins
him on the path riding a large, dark horse. Ichabod is greatly disturbed and tries to shake off his
pursuer, but he fails. Finally, he notices that the rider has no head on his shoulders; the head
seems to be sitting on the saddle in front of the man. Ichabod tries to get his decrepit horse to run
home as fast as it can, but he is not a skilled rider and the horse resists.

They end up by the church, the scene of most of the stories of the Headless Horseman, and
Ichabod races to the bridge where the ghost is said to disappear and not follow. Ichabod crosses
the bridge and looks back, but he sees the Horseman, instead of disappearing, hurl his detached
head at him. It knocks Ichabod off of his horse.

The next day, Ichabod’s horse returns to its owner’s farm, but there is no sign of Ichabod. A
search party finds hoof prints and Ichabod’s hat, with a smashed pumpkin left next to it. Ichabod
is never heard from again in Sleepy Hollow, although later on it seems that he is alive elsewhere
and has told his story. Some of the townspeople believe that Brom Bones pulled off a great
prank—which put Brom in the final position to marry Katrina—but the old women and local
folklore maintain that he was taken by the Headless Horseman.

References:
https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=american+literature+authors&oq=american+literature+aut
hors&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.12148j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
https://www.biography.com/people/ernest-hemingway-9334498
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/ernest-hemingway
https://www.shmoop.com/old-man-the-sea/summary.html
https://www.enotes.com/topics/garden-eden
https://www.biography.com/people/washington-irving-9350087
https://www.enotes.com/topics/alhambra
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow/study-guide/summary
REFLECTION:
In this Final Activity I realized that, first of all, there are many talented writers coming from
different countries and continent. Their literary works are somewhat resemblance of the
environment they live in and the situation of the community they are in. These authors had great
minds that are essential in creating different stories that ordinary people can read, to either
become a source of entertainment, to escape from the reality or either be informed.
Next, I was surprised that this is our final activity in 21st Century Literature and somehow
everything just flashes back from the start of the semester. There are too many memories that are
shared by everyone and I am more knowledgeable to different things, talking about literatures.
Another thing is that I learned many things in the subject, not just technically, or should I
say those things in the portal, but also the experiences with the different activities, having to
work with different people for different goals and responsibilities.
I am also amazed of the things I learned because for sure, they will be of use to me in the
near future.
And lastly, for this reflection, I would also like to thank Ms. Jen for being such a wonderful
instructor to us, I just hope that more educators like her arise in the field of teaching, as I admire
her passion, dedication and determination just to convey her intended messages and knowledges
to us students.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!