Do American Literature Students Have It Easy?
If you hear a student, who is majoring in engineering, remark about American literature students having it easy, then the wisest thing to do is to pretend not to hear it.
You have seen a teenager getting admired reactions after describing his first year in medicine. Reading "Moby Dick", almost 800 pages long (if it would be a hardbound copy), could be a chore to those who don't like long novels. They could settle with a Blu-ray copy of "In the Heart of the Sea" (starring Chris Hemsworth), but you wouldn't do such a thing. You aspired to be an author like Herman Melville. If you couldn't pen your own novel, then you might try your college newspaper.
No one from the English Department would complain about the coursework because they love it. You have listened to your roommate, a Math major, revealing his struggles in the coursework. A 9-to-5 battle, he repeatedly pointed out, which didn't elicit any sympathy from you. You didn't tell him about your free time outside the lecture room, often devoted to reading. There would be a bigger challenge, about not ending up as a recluse. You wonder if your tutor could relate to it.
Life may not be too glorious for the students of the English Department, probably painful to those pursuing dual degrees. The program would be a rewarding experience, though.
What the Other Students (from Other Departments) Must Know
The classics (in American literature) aren't poolside material. Hollywood may have done a decent job in giving "The Scarlet Letter" a modern spin, but Nathaniel Hawthorne won't be pleased about it. As a matter of fact, the Me Too movement should give students (of the English Department) a good excuse to read the novel again. The ideals of Transcendentalism may get lost in the era of Netflix and reality TV, but some classic titles would stand out. Holden Caulfield for instance. In other words, the English Department isn't the Mickey Mouse Club that students, coming from other departments, tell the likes of you during a gathering.
Seminars are glorified book clubs. Some students, who aren't attending lectures in the English Department, won't understand the significance of seminars. And why you spend hours in it. It's the only way to make a significant contribution on a discourse that has been going on for decades. A glorified book club, as one of your professor would quip. It should lighten up the mood, but participation is a must. You would feel good if you said something that hasn't been mentioned before. It may be an intriguing (essay) topic.
American literature students won't survive without a pencil and a highlighter. You would be the first student to admit that you couldn't read all the required titles. There would be times that you must resort to browsing, if not skimming. It won't be surprising that you could miss valuable information, which should help you understand the novel better. This is the reason why you need a pencil and a highlighter, keeping notes of certain paragraphs that are worth discussing in your assignment. It also reminds you to check out the chapters that you have skipped (to give you more time for writing and proofreading).
A good memory isn't a prerequisite to passing a course. Essay writing may sound like a walk in the park, as some students would be reminded of their application essays. But it's not. You couldn't write a good paper without reading the assigned text in its entirety. You couldn't produce a compelling argument without being mindful of your vocabulary (or lack of). The same thing applies to sentence structure (or having overlooked it). You couldn't get a decent mark if you won't proofread your paper thoroughly. You're not worried about wrong information, as you can Google it.
There are plenty of avenues to hone your writing skills. This is something that you can tell other students (from other students), hoping that they would be green with envy. You don't need to spend hours in lecture halls, as there are many ways to hone your writing skills. There could be a film festival, featuring the best in World Cinema. You may gain some insight, which should make your paper stand out. (Fingers crossed.) You might not be a huge fan of poetry, but you have nothing to lose if you attend a poetry recital. (It may rub on you a bit.) And you're reminded of Sting, whose study of the Bard's plays made a huge impact on his songwriting skills. It should inspire you more.
What the Program Taught You
You don't need to slack in the couch, wondering what Walden Pond would look like. (If you're based in Massachusetts, then you might have the time to check it out.) What you have learned would make you confident about your capabilities, writing skills included. And you know that the lecture room won't be the only place where you would shine. The other students (from other departments) would assume that you're destined for an academic career, but it should be far from the truth.
