Great American Novels

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Can't we all just get along?" -- Rodney King

   "The" Great American Novel has not yet been written, and probably never will be. Why? Because America is too diverse. It has been called a "Great Melting Pot," suggesting that all who come here adapt and become like all others already here. But that has not happened.
   America is instead a "Great Tapestry," with many regions and cultures developing and retaining their own customs, appearances and beliefs. To expect a single novel to cover all these segments in a single book perhaps is too much to seek. It's possible, of course, but while America is indeed "one nation," daily reports of ethnic, religious, cultural and racial clashes show that it is not "indivisible."
   Meanwhile, there are already several Great American Novels, each dealing with one region or cultural group, and sometimes its clashes with another group, or its efforts to mesh with a dominant group in its area.
   Here are some examples, in no particular order of merit or importance: "The Godfather," by Mario Puzo; "Gone With the Wind," by Margaret Mitchell; "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair; "Grapes of Wrath," by John Steinbeck; "Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain; "A Confederacy of Dunces," by John Kennedy Toole; "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou; "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee.
   There are many others, of course, that are candidates for this very incomplete list, just as there are many cultures that make up the Great American Tapestry.
   Each is A Great Novel, and each tells great truths about individuals, groups and cultures in various social, regional and economic areas. But all are vastly different, just as various parts of America are vastly different. No single one represents every area or aspect -- social, geographic or cultural -- of American life. Nor should we expect it to.