tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post933007444533085964..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Cooper's art has some defects.Amateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-32816415528411311582008-01-30T09:50:00.000-06:002008-01-30T09:50:00.000-06:00I greatly admire your persistence, I'm not sure I ...I greatly admire your persistence, I'm not sure I would have to patience to wade through this one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-69498753393031720772008-01-29T13:40:00.000-06:002008-01-29T13:40:00.000-06:00Thanks for visiting. More about Cooper today and t...Thanks for visiting. More about Cooper today and tomorrow, so I hope you return.<BR/><BR/>Two arguments: first, the word elegant never occurred to me at any point while reading Cooper. An example would be great. The grammar I don't care about, and I bet Twain didn't either.<BR/><BR/>Second, those margins are pretty big! They include "Moby Dick", "The Scarlet Letter", "Little Women", and a shelf of Henry James. I don't think Twain himself was much of a tiptoer.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-1181802643706844572008-01-29T12:32:00.000-06:002008-01-29T12:32:00.000-06:00Twain wrote his hit-piece on Cooper because he har...Twain wrote his hit-piece on Cooper because he harbored a lifelong jealousy and resentment of Cooper's success. Cooper, through the expansiveness of his imagination, had so thoroughly pioneered the American novel that other 19th-century writers, including Twain, were left tiptoeing around the margins. Twain never really escaped from Cooper's shadow. His most successful character, Huck Finn, is in many respects a latter-day Natty Bumppo. And in his own novels Twain himself is guilty of many of the "literary offenses" he accuses Cooper of committing. <BR/><BR/>It's true that Cooper did not condense and edit ruthlessly like Twain. He was writing for audiences that had different expectations for polite literature. Novels were also expected to fill a certain number of pages. Cooper's grammar and usage are appropriate for his day, and although Cooper himself never claimed to be a great stylist, I find his writing elegant. I hope you'll enjoy your reading!<BR/><BR/>SteveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com