American Literature

Gertrude Steins The Making of America Being a Familys History of Progress  deliberately invites readers to have its narrative imposed on them, rather than the other way around.  In analyzing how meaning breaks down and is twisted by individuals into the scarecrows necessary to ward of their own demons, Stein is exploring what makes us at once both unique and collective. Overall, she emphasizes that the whole of humanity is greater than its parts but that, ironically, the history of American identity lies in ignoring the parts altogether.

Almost exactly halfway through the text, Stein gives a hint as to the larger purpose of the work categories that once to some one had real meaning can later to that some one be all empty.  It is queer that words that meant something in our thinking and in our feeling can later come to have in them in us not at all any meaning (440). History, Stein asserts, is undeniably caught up in wordsthe basic articulation of the human experience.  However, the foundation to the historical enterprise is not built on solid groundshifting meaning indicates that using certain experiences as historical touchstones to help individuals (and, indeed, the country) find its lost way is useless whereas once there was substance, now everything is simply empty. It is also interesting that Stein links experience and emotion so clearly together, noting that the changes occur in both thinking and in feeling. As Stein elaborates on shortly thereafter, the human experience is rife with individuals desperate to shape the narrative of their own histories, twisting vices into virtues and turning virtues into vices.  The most insidious truth about the emptiness of words and meaning is that, on a micro-level, it affects all individuals.  One cannot ponder the making of America without analyzing the Americans themselves, who would be at an utter loss to truly describe the making of themselves.

Stein continues the theme of emptiness and substance (and the malleability of how individuals define each state), claiming that many then have it in them that their weakness is a virtue in them. There are very many of this kind of them then. Johnson when he forgets his emotion, the emotion he had when he was friendly or loving or fighting, Johnson when he forgets his emotion and declares it to have been all the other ones doing attributes his having yielded to this indulging in loving, fighting, friendly action, to the weakness in him of always yielding.

She speaks of those who give into their base desires, and then seek to place the blame on others.  In this way, Stein explicitly criticizes the abuse of intellect, setting up a kind of binary where rational thought represents real meaning and virtue, and simple desiresoutbursts of idare empty and a weakness.  However, the interesting part of her analysis is that she does not revere one status over another she does not advocate forsaking desires in order of rationality and logic.  Instead, she seeks to illustrate the continuum of human experience.  Again, the making of America must concern what makes Americans, and the true substance of individuality is in the complex interplay between the logical and the passionatethe Apollonian and the Dionysian.  When someone has one aspect without the other, they are holloweither an emotionless shell of cold logic or a passionate primate, unable of higher reasoning.  It takes a true union between the two, according to Stein, to really define the American experience.

She finalizes the seal on this notion of a continuum soon after
And they are right all of them, all these things, each thing in each one, are characteristics in each one but they all think that one characteristic is the whole of them, they all of them forget the other things that are active in them, they all have it in common that in remembering anything they all forget the emotion they had then in them and so it must have been the other persons fault it happened, anything. (442)

In this way, she brings the notion of micro- and macro-contributions to America as a country into full light individuals are a multitude of experiences, thoughts, and emotions, but they willingly attribute these to other people in an effort to impose their own narrative on their lives those who think of themselves as righteous, for instance, are that much more likely to attribute a passionate dalliance to the sinful temptations of their lover rather than admit to any kind of moral culpability.  The reasons for this, Stein asserts, are rather simple it would disrupt the image of themselves that they try so hard to project to the world.  However, the dark irony of this is that these failed attempts at a kind of self-unity actually serve to divide America as a country all of the dark aspects of an individual that they are unable (or unwilling) to see in themselves instead gets projected onto their chosen Other.  This is the origin of all schism in the country, according to Stein those who are unable to see individuals as a collection of (often disparate) traits and instead give them easy labels merely serve to divide the country by differences when it should really be united by the same continuum of human thought and emotion that links us all.  All of which is viciously cyclical, of course individuals dividing the country in such a manner also divide themselves, as they are unable to actualize into three-dimensional beings when all of the unwanted dimensions are projected onto other people.

Gertrude Steins narrative certainly lives up to its themeshe does not simple discuss one individual, or one family, but expands the scope of her story to encompass everyone.  The final pages discussing David Hersland explicitly reaches out to all readers, noting that he was one completely needing being one understanding every day being living that day (879).  She cleverly interrupts the discussion of his desires (such as needing, understanding, and living) with the word being, implying that David had finally learned to experience life, as opposed to simply living it.  This is the challenge put forth to all readers, building on what she had written earlier in the story simple desire is not enough to truly experience life.  However, neither is rational thought an abstract understanding of what makes life worthwhile is worthless when life is not truly lived.  However, when the two concepts can be married togetherwhen one can be needing and understanding and living at the same time one can (transcendentally) just be, then one has united passion and thought, desire and rationaland only then, does one understand the building blocks of America and, indeed, Americans.