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Practice Discussion

Practice Discussion

Q 4. Why does Irving feel--apparently--that an American writer must write to an English audience as well as an American audience? Why is an American audience "not enough" or not sufficient? You might consider this in psychological, cultural, literary-historical, historical, or its political dimensions (or others). Or the Freudian-Oedipal, even. Why not just become an English author? (A review of a recent book on Henry James great novel A Portrait of a Lady may suggest that for a full century, this question was not an idle or insignificant, although it might seem so to us, two hundred years later. For the review of a new study of Henry James great and famou novel of a young American girl who goes to Europe, see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444405804577560893567974700.html?KEYWORDS=Portrait+of+a+Lady). Note: There are so many great American novelists--like Melville or James or Faulkner or Twain--and the American public is an influential market, so Irving's questions about audience 200 years ago may be difficult to understand. If you think of this in terms of an entrepreneur exploring a new "market" for a new commodity or service (if any of you are business majors), this metaphor or comparison may help a bit in understanding Irving.

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According to Irving writing must reach both the English and American readers and should not be limited to Americans. One takes the pain and spends time on writing something worthy and if it does not reaches as much as large number of the audience then the writing’s worth cannot be counted or fulfilled. He thinks his writing from the perspective of a product that has to be sold in the market. In his preface, he has talked about it and his life struggle also paints a picture that he wrote some of his work for the money that was a need for him at that particular time of his life.