American Literature

War has always been a common subject matter in literature especially during the post-war era. Due to the prevailing stigma which was brought by the pains and miseries of the war, authors found it difficult not to depict and present the existing depression during their time. A possible manifestation of this is Nash Candelarias El Patron which tells the story of a young man whose identity is torn between his commitment and valuation of his family and his urge to join the army (Anaya and Marquez 41). Readers of this story may easily perceive the concept of family life as the main theme of the story however, by digging deep into the characters struggle, one will observe that the more interesting feature of this story is the concept of lost identity and individualism which was portrayed through the character of the main protagonist. The Mexican-American culture has always been related to close family bonds, the main reason why the concept of family life also appears dominant in this story. But more interestingly, Candelaria speaks about the struggle of a young man in pursuing either his familys security and happiness versus his own dreams of being part of the army. Clearly, this depiction implies that the same struggle may occur among on any other persons search for contentment which depends of his or her family and his or her dreams.

On the other hand, another interesting theme is employed in John Barths Lost in the Funhouse. Although the title may not easily give it away in the beginning, as readers go through each scene in this story, it can be perceived that a lot of sexist symbols and messages were actually embedded in the lines of each character. Sex has always been a controversial subject matter in literature, and this depiction of Barth proves that such theme also makes literature more intriguing. Barth was able to make the concept of sex the main ideal of the funhouse as the characters describe   the shluppish whisper, continuous as seawash round the globe, tidelike falls and rises with the circuit of dawn and dusk  (Barth, qtd. in Galens 175). This work makes it clear that in some ways, language actually serves as a metaphor for sex (175).

While the abovementioned stories deal with the themes of identity and sex, John Updikes Separating talks about consequences of the so-called, the midlife crisis. In this story, the main protagonist suffers from a struggle between giving in to his desire to be happy with another woman, or to stay in a marriage which he already considers as a life within  four knife sharp walls  (Updike 279). Apparently, to some, the identity crisis actually does not start early on their lives, but evidently during the midlife when there is usually marriage already as well as children. The depiction of this theme in this story is very significant as it presents a realistic possibility of being torn between ones happiness versus ones commitment   which apparently appears a very serious issue.

Lastly, Annie Proulxs The Half-Skinned Steer tells the tale of how a man was able to shape his life by erasing some parts of his memory that pulls him back to his distressed past. Mero, the protagonist of the story has a past which is rather traumatic and miserable. This is where the most predominant theme of the story enters memory. Memory is one of the most complex concepts when talking about the intricate processes of the human psyche. In this story, this theme was effectively employed by presenting the will and urge of Mero to erase his memories so as to start life anew. The most interesting feature in this story is the depiction of how Mero, himself, was able to force amnesia into his own mind. This was evident in the part of the story where Mero even forgot his habit of eating meat. He eventually became a vegetarian when he forced himself to forgetting the fact that he was actually a cattle slaughterer in the past. The depiction of this theme has been stirring and interesting as it seemed to imply how powerful and amazing the human brain works.