There’s no doubt that history is full of discrimination, and the literature and art from years ago reflects normalized societal behaviors that are now deemed unacceptable in the modern world. The Literary Canon is known as the group of classic books and authors that every American student studies at least once in their schooling. However, due to recent “cancel culture,” many things that these iconic historical authors have done, said, or written, has been brought to light. Many people are debating if we should continue promoting work that was written by racists, homophobes, and misogynists, or if we should deem it unacceptable for future generations.
In order to be a more intellectual consumer of literature, one must form their own opinion of each author's individual artistic style. Gen Z has a hard time solely appreciating the art from artists, as they can’t stop from hearing rumblings of the heinous things they did in the past, or even in the present. The Duke Chronicle claims that “Cancel culture is concerned more with how we should disregard the artists and write them off when they make mistakes than with how those mistakes can be used by the artists to create art that is inclusive. Unrelenting criticism ignores the artist’s limitations and weaknesses and instead demands perfection from them.” This flawed system in which society fails to turn certain cancellations into a learning experience rather has the damnation of an artist’s career because of an expectation to be completely good and mastered in societal expectations. The Chronicle argues that we should try to turn the mistakes into a positive, how can the artist learn from their wrongs and make their work more inclusive?
One such author who is emerging in popularity with younger generations, but is also being “canceled” due to racism in her writings, is Sylvia Plath.
Plath lived in America in the 1950s, a time where women were largely oppressed and segregation still flooded the streets of the country. Most of her work is increasingly becoming more relatable today because of her yearnings for more in life and her struggles with mental health, which ultimately led to her young death. Teenagers today, even myself, find ourselves within those themes. Always wanting impossibly more than the county lines past our small town, to explore millions of different experiences and meet thousands of new people all in our own lifetime.
What horrifies Plath the most is “being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising, and fading out into an indifferent middle age.” In this way, Plath describes her looming sense of dread and fear of living a life full of simplicity. Her language appeals to teenagers especially due to their inability to make choices for themselves.
Plath is successful in speaking to most young women attempting to find their footing and passion in their blossoming lives. However, many “BookTok” creators are calling out Plath and her fans for disregarding blatant racism in her book The Bell Jar.
The main character of the novel, Esther, describes Mexicans as “ugly” and calls them a slur. Being Hispanic myself, reading these remarks from one of my favorite poets caught me off guard. The casual tone of the racism in her prose is surprising to most younger readers, since that isn’t what they grew up to accept or even tolerate.
However, most books with a dated timestamp seem to get away with these casual descriptions of prejudice because of the period when they were written. But dismissing acts of discrimination because the author lived too long ago to “know any better” only sets up younger generations with that excuse for themselves. It sets not only America back, but nations back generations.
Many people claim to separate the art from the artist, but if something doesn’t sit right with you while reading a piece of literature—old or new—call it out. Speak up or else the wheel will keep turning, the cycle never ending.
CITATIONS:
Ju, Sophie. “Separate the Art from the Artist - a Reflection of the ‘Cancel Culture.’” The Chronicle, Duke Chronicle, 9 Dec. 2022, www.dukechronicle.com/article/2022/12/120822-ju-art-cancel-culture.
Plath, Sylvia, and Karen V. Kukil. The Una
bridged Journals of Sylvia Plath: 1950-1962 ; Transcribed from the Original Manuscripts at Smith College. Anchor Books, 2020.
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