The implications of the pairings also move in a counter direction, however. The Last of the Menu Girls which share an elegiac view of an American past. The critical thinking set in motion by the pairing leads the teachers to focus on what binds the works together. There is a danger, however, if we come away from the study of multicultural literature with only this simple truth. Truth may be simple, but great literature rarely is.
American literature reflects two very different impulses.
On the one hand, it presents us with overarching myths of America and the American experience, myths that bind us together. It reflects democratic ideals that celebrate the values of community and commonality. It encourages us to walk together a common ground. But many of our characteristically American works of art are written in the spirit of inquiry and questioning. They challenge the myths that no longer match the actualities of experience.