Literature that Changed America Essays

Literature that Changed America Essays Literature that Changed America Essay Literature that Changed America Essay Every now and then a piece of literature will come around and change the world. Maybe it will start a revolution or shine light on an important issue, no matter what there will be a transformation in culture. Only looking back into retrospect can one recognize how much of an impact has been actually left by pieces of significant literature. Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair are among just a few pieces that have radically changed and shaped the American Society. By January 1776, the colonies were in open conflict with Britain. They werent fighting in self-defense or to protect their property, but for independence. It took a hard reversal to move Americans from proclaimed reliability to announced rebellion, and it came from asubstantial part in Thomas Paines Common Sense. Thomas Paine was born in London, England into a quaker family. He was not well educated but was able to master reading, writing, and arithmetic. His early life was filled with many hardships including not being able to keep a job and the unfortunate death of his wife during childbirth. At a time when nothing in his life was going in the right direction, he met Benjamin Franklin. Franklin soon advised Paine to move to America and convinced him to become a writer. In 1774, Paine emigrated to Philadelphia, and after only one year he became co-editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine. After the Battle of Lexington in 1975, â€Å"Paine argued that America should not simply revolt ag ainst taxation, but demand independence from Great Britain entirely† (â€Å"Thomas Paine Biography† 2). And on January 10, 1776, he put this idea to work and published a 50 page pamphlet titled Common Sense. In this pamphlet, he explains why the people must stand up against King George III and the British Parliament. Due to how unfair they treated the colonies, Paine thought it was time to revolt. After studying the tension be