Pondering the definition of America leads to a global variety of descriptions.

To countries with limited fortune, America is a nation of opportunity and prosperity. Those living in oppression view America as a nation of freedom and power. Other countries view the United States as a land of self-absorption and corruption. What do Americans see in America? As the melting pot society, it is assumed that we have all of these opinions in the immigrated and native citizens of our country. Literature serves as a way to express opinions and share experiences, fiction or non-. There are numerous types of themes in American literature; one of the most interesting is the emphasis on ignorance. Gender roles, social classes, idealism, and self-indulgence are just a few of the disguises in which ignorance manifests. The authors to be discussed, Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, Hamlin Garland, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Lorna Dee Cervantes, were born and raised in America. They tell stories through the eyes of their various ethnic and economic backgrounds. It is intriguing that the authors lived through different periods of time in this country, yet have the same basic focus on American ignorance. The emphasis on gender roles appears in Editha by William Dean Howells. Written in 1905 through the context of the war, Editha is a young, nave girl who persuades her fiance, George, to fight in a war he has no belief in. George is a pacifist and feels that fighting in the war is not a reasonable way to solve problems. Editha has opposing views; she believes he cannot be considered a real man unless he enlists in the army and goes to fight against the opposition. In her eyes, men are the strong and mighty ones; they must be loyal to their country, as well as their women, and become heroes. The man I marry must love his country first of all, and be able to say to me, 'I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more.' There is no honor above America with me, says Editha in a note to her lover. The phrase she cites is from a poem by Richard Lovelace about entering war, a scenario she certainly hopes for. Succumbing to gender roles is a form of ignorance in that Editha persuades George to do something against his beliefs simply because that is what is expected of him, and he follows through. She had noticed that strange thing in men; they seemed to feel bound to do what they believed. He was not drafted into the war, Editha bullied him into it because he did not want to be seen as a coward. Gender roles vary from one culture to another, however in Chinese culture we find a congruent patriarchal theme. Maxine Hong Kingston paints the picture of a strictly male-dominated culture in China in No Name Woman, the story of her pregnant aunt who committed suicide after being disowned by her family. Her husband had been gone in America for years, so her gestation was an obvious act of adultery and the village eventually raided her home. Her mother emphasizes that Kingston's aunt was shameful and a mortal disgrace as an example to keep Kingston from marring the family name. Having grown up in America during the liberating period of sexual revolution, Kingston cannot fathom the severity of the situation or comprehend why the aunt is not considered the victim; however, she has learned an important fact about the country family mother emigrated from. Women in the old China did not choose. Some man had commanded her to lie with him and be his secret evil. Living in America her whole life, she realizes the ignorance of her family's cultural traditions. While Editha reveled in the idea that males were the dominant, heroic sex, Kingston's story alerts readers that this ignorance exists to a whole other degree in foreign cultures. Women are severely undervalued in China and it is an inherent characteristic of their culture and even their language. Kingston tells us that a synonym for marriage in Chinese is 'taking a daughterin-law.' This kind of dominance over women makes them the inferior sex, when Kingston has grown up to believe in gender equality. Inequality comes in many forms, a common one even today is lifestyle and social-class differences. This has always been, and seemingly always will be, a reigning issue of ignorance in America. In Mark Twain's A True Story...Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It, there is a clear distinction made between the main characters. Almost immediately we find contrasting relationships between Mister C., the white, weathy employer, and Aunt Rachel, the black, poor employee. We understand that Mister C.'s ignorance as his narration of the story begins with

[she] was sitting respectfully below our level, on the stepsfor she was our servant, and colored. While this simply displays the blind racism that was prevalent in the 19th century, what appears to be most shocking is Mister C.'s glaringly ignorant question to Aunt Rachel: How is it that you've lived sixty years and never had any trouble? She pauses, and then replies Misto C, is you an 'arnest?," asking him if he is being serious or if he is joking with her. Of course she has had troubles! Aunt Rachel proceeds to tell the story of how her family was sold into slavery right before her eyes. It is suspected that Twain is the person behind Mister C. as his real name was Samuel Clemens, however Twain had written this short story as a display of the ignorance in the 1800s. In his biography, it is written that by the time he died, he no longer believed that human beings were capable of moral action. It also states the he responded to contemporary events, which leads to the conclusion that A True Story was a reaction to the growing ignorance of the wealthy white population. Similar to Twain, the poetry of Lorna Dee Cervantes displays the social disparity between white and Hispanic people. Having grown up in America, she identifies herself as an American, but is painfully aware that she is not seen in this way. In her poem, Poem, for the Young White Man... Cervantes displays her feeling of alienation from her home. Every day I am deluged with reminders/that this is not/my land/and this is my land. She shows that even though she was born here and lives here, white people make her feel like she does not belong because of her skin color. I am marked by the color of my skin/The bullets are discrete and designed to kill slowly/They are aiming at my children/These are facts. The bullets she speaks of are the psychological wounds she has sustained from the ignorance of the people around her. They are constantly making her feel like they are not good enough, as they will do to her family. The ignorance of white Americans inhibits Cervantes' feeling of freedom to be who she wants to be, yet she has every right to the same opportunities. Hamlin Garland addresses the issue of social class disparity and lifestyle difference in his short story Up the Coule. Howard has achieved the American dream: fame, success, and money. Meanwhile his poor family is back at home eking out a living with not so much as a phone call from Howard in ten years. His brother, Grant, is stuck with hard, manual labor for a very minimal wage. He is understandably angry at Howard, and treats him just so. Howard talks to his family about his salary and what kind of money he needs to live: Costs me a good deal to live, and I need about ten thousand dollars leeway to work on. I've made a good living, but II ain't made any money. Grant does not say a word, instead glares at Howard in a darkly meditative state; he has never even seen that amount of money yet his brother needs more than that to live. It is very blatant example of lifestyle differences and Garland is reflecting the ignorance of the wealthy towards the lower class. Kingston tackles lifestyle differences in No Name Women. Similar to roles delegated to each gender, there are lifestyles delegated to each culture. Kingston's mother abhors sex for any reason other than procreation, and she believes premarital pregnancy is an utter disgrace and cause to disown a member of the family. Kingston knows that sexual expression is normal in America and that premarital pregnancies occur all of the time. Her views are at the complete opposite of the spectrum; she does not fault the aunt for what happened to her, perhaps because she does not understand the severity of the situation through her mother's context. Here, both subjects may see each others points of view as ignorant. In America, we are taught to strive for the American Dream from a very young age. It is this specific idea instilled in our culture that creates Utopian ideals. Idealism in this context is the rejection of reality, denying its existence. The act of denying something that one knows exists is an act of ignorance. For example, in Howells' Editha, Editha overlooks the negative aspects of war in pursuit of heroism. She believes that George died in the name of his country. George's mother throws her son's death in Editha's face when she comes to visit. [Women think their men will] come marching back, somehow, just as gay as they went, or if it's an empty sleeve, or even an empty pantaloon, it's all the more glory, and they're so much prouder of them, poor

things. Mrs. Gearson is a realist, and telling Editha like it is. Naturally, Editha's response was that George's mother was not in her right mind to be talking the way she was. One cannot get more ignorant than that. Garland's character Howard in Up the Coule remains ignorant in his own idealism. He is somehow caught up in the idea that after a decade of rare contact with his family, he should be welcomed home with open arms. Howard acts around the family with the manner as he himself saw, of the returned captain in the war-dramas of the day. His sense of self-worth in the family's eyes is greatly inflated. Howard also seems to believe that money will solve all of his and his family's problems, that it will provide happiness and encourage forgiveness. He wants to buy the farm back for his family, but Grant is loathe to accept any money or gifts from Howard. I tell you, I don't ask your help. You can't fix this thing up with money, says Grant. Howard's dependence on money to repair situations is a prime characteristic of today's American. He is very selfish and self-indulgent in his lifestyle, two aspects of ignorance that are displayed in Editha's lifestyle as well. In sending George off to war, it seems that she could not care less about his fate. Not once does she consider that her fiance will come back as a corpse. Whether he dies or not, he will still be a hero, and for her benefit only. Her horrid selfishness is displayed in her initial thoughts about the meaning of the war. She had always supposed that the man who won her would have done something to win her; she did not know what, but something... But now, it flashed upon her, if he could do something worth to have won herbe a hero, her heroit would be even better than if he had done it before asking her; it would be grander. Editha realized that she had just thrown herself at George giving him no challenge to work for her love. The war is a perfect time for her to see if her man can make the ultimate sacrifice and put his life on the line for her. Editha is a dreadfully selfish girl, and clearly displays her dedolent ignorance in the fate she secured for George Gearson. Mark Twain, Hamlin Garland, Maxine Hong Kingston, William Dean Howells, and Lorna Dee Cervantes have all successfully conveyed their point of view on the American plague of ignorance. Our best artists are those who have a heightened awareness of the world around them. They observe the ignorance that they are constantly surrounded by and make art out of it. These authors were greatly aware of the ignorance in their own generations and cultures, and have contributed their stories to American literature to enlighten readers of such ideals and schools of thought. It is in their objectives to raise awareness of such small-mindedness and to make the world a better place by expanding our intellect.