Fiction
is “literature written in prose that describes imaginary events happening in
the lives of the characters involved”. It is a fabricated narration of events
that involve characters. Fictions are literary works based on imagination
rather than on facts. Certain fictions are more than just stories as they
contain hidden meaning, that deal with social, political or religious issues.
Examples of fiction are ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen,
and ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens.
The
authors who write fiction have more in mind than just story-telling. They aim
to educate people, entertain them, show them a way to escape from the miseries
of life, build hope by showing them that the world can be different, and warn
them about their mistakes. Fiction enlarges our universe, experience, and
wisdom. Fiction is a good vehicle for writers to convey their political, social
and religious ideas. It is not just a medium to point out the drawbacks and
follies in a society or a nation but also suggests solutions to those
problems.
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Analyzing
fiction in the light of the above definition, we can say that British fictional
traditions are much older and can be traced back to the early 18th century.
Fiction as a true literary genre came to the fore in British literature with
the publication of ‘Robinson Crusoe’ in 1719. There had been prose
narratives before Daniel Defoe attempted to write the first true fictional
account of an individual's experiences but none of them passed the test of true
fiction. On the other hand, American fiction started in 1789 with the
publication of William Brown's ‘Power of Sympathy’ which is
considered as the first truly American novel which narrates the story of Thomas
Harrington, who has fallen for a woman named Harriot, against his father's
wishes.
To
say that British fiction is better than that of American authors or vice-versa
would be to judge the quality of work based on the nationality of the
authors, which is wrong. Authors from both nationalities have produced works of
great quality and merit. Although British fictional traditions are older than
the American ones, and owing to its huge pool of authors and the attention
their work received worldwide, it has produced the largest number of fictional
works. However, American authors like Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Harper Lee
and others have stood up to the task of producing fiction worth reading.
Upon
closer observation, the fictions of the two countries differ from each other in
various ways. A few of these differences are given below.
Differences
in language can be seen when reading novels by British authors and their
American counterparts. British authors are inclined to use Classical British
English having rich vocabulary. On the contrary, the language of American authors
is modern and simpler. British fictional work is not easily understandable
owing to its complex vocabulary and language. On the other hand, American
authors tend to use easily comprehensible language.
A
difference exists not just in the use of vocabulary by authors of the two
nations, but also in the use of grammar. Certain linguistic elements differ in
the works of American and British authors. American fiction authors contract
certain words to make them short by excluding certain alphabets as evident from
the use of words such as favor, color etc. The Americans also prefer to use -iz
to end certain words rather than -is as the British authors do. Examples are
analyze, summarize etc.
Similarly,
British authors use more passive constructions in storytelling than their
American counterparts, who tend to use sentences having active voices.
British
fiction writers tend to describe minute details of people, events and
landscapes. Reading British fictional works give the readers the feeling that
they are themselves a part of the story. The detailed accounts give them a
sense of belonging to the story. They easily identify themselves with the
protagonists and other characters.
American
authors differ from their British counterparts in style and themes. The British
authors mostly wrote about British ideals, values, romances, culture and
mannerism, while the American writers chose to write about puritanical ideals,
revolutionary and patriotic concepts and social issues.
British
authors like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen have written works that deal with
class-related issues and the attitudes and behaviour of the nobility. Tom
Jones, a masterpiece by Henry Fielding is a microcosm of the British nation at
the time. It is a commentary over everything that the British society had, such
as conventional morality, double standards, its highway robbers, its nobility
etc.
Charles
Dickens Great Expectations describes the gap that exists
between the upper and lower class of the British society and the upward
mobility of its protagonist 'Pip'. It is a realistic novel that portrays
British society and its people as they were at the time. The corrupt criminal justice
system is brilliantly depicted through the struggle of 'Abel Magwitch'. This
novel has everything that the British culture and society had, from romance to
crime.
Howards
End by
E.M Foster narrates the class conflict of the time and the debate that was
going on between the British socialists and capitalists. Howards End is
an exploration of the social, economic, and philosophical forces at work in
England during the early years of the twentieth century by narrating the lives
of three families: the Schlegel family who represent the idealistic, socialist
and intellectual upper class; the Wilcox family who represent the conventional
innovative capitalists and conventional nobility; and the impoverished Bast
family, that believe in hard work.
American
authors, before the independence of their country, focused on teaching
puritanical ideals, morality and religion. Their focus shifted towards themes
like patriotism, revolution and nationalism when nationalistic fervour engulfed
the nation and they wanted a divorce from their mother country. American
fiction also incorporated historical events such as the war of independence,
the civil war, the great depression, and the world wars. A plethora of fiction
narrating the plight of the people of colour under slavery and the racism they
faced afterwards have been written. Feminist fiction describing the
discrimination against women and their struggle against a male-centred power
system also came to the fore after the launch of the feminist movement in the
United States.
American
authors, as mentioned earlier have extensively used fictional work on themes
such as world wars, the disenchantment of the people with the superficial
progress of their country after the war, and slavery. Ernest Hemingway in his
fictional works A Big Two-Hearted River, The Sun Also Rises and A
Farewell to Arms has used his literary genius to tell the readers
about the destruction that the first world war had brought upon the earth.
Being a part of the war himself, he thought of fiction as the best vehicle to
convey his feelings about the war and its repercussions. William Faulkner
fictional works such as Absalom Absalom!, and The Sound and
Fury give the readers an insight into the post-civil war American
society. These novels depict the plight of the Southern nobility and their
decay after the end of the civil war. Tonny Morrison’s Beloved is
a passionate criticism of the way slavery operated before and after its formal
abolition.
American
fiction is far more realistic than British fiction and it is often accused of
pessimism. Realism in American fiction started to feature from the time of the
civil war to the end of the century. Rebecca Harding Davis, Henry James, Mark
Twain, and others devoted their skills to writing fiction that gave an accurate
representation of American lives in various contexts. Multiple changes took
place after the civil war such as the strengthening of democracy, increase in
literacy, rapid industrialization and urbanization, increase in population, and
the rise of middle-class that together provided a fertile ground for literary
realism as people wanted to understand these social, cultural and political
changes.
The
short story as a type of fiction originated in the United States when authors
like Nathanial Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain etc made very good use of
their talent to create scary, frightening, penetrating and humorous stories. At
the time, English readers were more interested in reading novels of literary
giants such as Charles Dickens. Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be the pioneer
of modern short stories and the man who held the key to American Romanticism.
He invented detective stories. He refreshed and re-discovered the genre by
combining the elements of horror and romance. Nathanial Hawthorne, a famous
dark romanticist wrote multiple short stories in which the theme of human
weakness and hidden sins are frequently featured. He believed that humans by
nature were sinful which drove them to self-destruction. For him, the road to
hell is paved with good intentions.
American
fiction writers lay more emphasis on the characters and plots, while British
writers seem to concentrate on wit. They give preference to themes and styles
over characters and plots.
Nature
as an intervening entity features more frequently in American fiction than in
British fiction. For Nathanial Hawthorne, nature is not an analgesic agent
which soothes both physical and emotional pain. For him, nature is not a safe
haven that shelters people when they run away from the miseries of the world.
Nature for him is something to fear; it represents unchartered waters and
unknown territory where anything can happen.
The article is written by Asif Abbas, a member at the School of Literature.
