German is better than you
From the time I knew I wanted to go to grad school to study 20th C. American lit, I was told 'you must take Spanish!' My response was always, no, I'd rather take German. I think German literature and philosophy was more influential on the 20th century than Spanish lit and philosophy was. They always said, well, your funeral.
Now that I'm reading this long 20th century, I have a tally of German/Spanish I've come across in it:
Dreiser - not finished yet, no German so far, but Minnie's husband is Swedish
DuBois - German epigraphs (mostly Schiller) and he occasionally quotes German in the text; no Spanish (nor any other languages except English and some Latin)
Masters - I don't recall any languages other than Engilsh, except for some Latin
Johnson - some French, as part of the book takes place in Paris; the protagonist goes to Germany, too, but I don't recall any German; no Spanish
Sinclair - this is an odd case because Jurgis, the main character, is Lithuanian and speaks no English at the opening of the book; Sinclair is careful to put some Lithuanian in the book; I don't recall any German, but Jurgis knows immigrants from all over north-eastern Europe, including Germany - and, Spanish immigrants in the Chicago stockyards in 1904? nein
Stein - Stein herself was half German and grew up speaking a mix of German and English; the Good Anna is German and speaks German-inflected English, but I don't recall any actual German words; not finished yet, but I doubt there's any Spanish to be found in this one
Anderson - some Latin I think; possibly some German as it takes place in northern Ohio; definitely no Spanish
Toomer - don't recall anything but English, though most of this book is written in Southern American, which is something of its own language
Lewis - Dr. Kennicott speaks a mix of German and English to the immigrant farmers who live outside Gopher Prarie; no Spanish (Spanish settlers in rural Minnesota in 1920?)
Robinson - haven't read it yet, but I'm doubtful
Frost - not reread yet, but I don't remember any of this work containing anything but English
Cather - Cather is the most "western" author of the American modernists and in her Nebraska setting she has many immigrants from Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, and, in this novel, Bohemia; Antonia, the title character, is Bohemian and speaks little English when she arrives on the prairie; I don't recall any German words, but again, not many Spanish settlers in Nebraska in 1915
Hemingway - ah, here we do get some Spanish because the climax of The Sun Also Rises takes place in Pamplona...and yet there is more French than Spanish and even a little German in this book
So that's lots of notches for German and only one notch for Spanish among the modernists.
I get why people keep telling me Spanish is key. They're thinking about the period from 1960+ when Latino/as began writing literature in America. And they're right, this work does fall under the rubric of 20th C. American lit. But the problem with that is that Latin American literature is most often taught -as- Latin American literature, solely, in a Latin American literature class. Otherwise, contemporary American fiction is not taught much. And honestly, the influence of Hegel, Goethe, Nietzsche, Marx, Kafka, Brecht, and Schiller is so much greater than that of a Borges or a Neruda. As these books I've been reading demonstrate, there wasn't a Spanish presence in the US until the mid-century, and even then it took a while getting into literature, whereas America -was- its German, Scandinavian, Polish, and Irish immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century. And the only way Spanish got on the list I have right now is because Hemingway -went- to Spain.
So, that's my rant on why I chose to take German when everyone told me to take Spanish. I've been very surprised at how large the German influence has been in these books I've been reading. Just to say...
Now that I'm reading this long 20th century, I have a tally of German/Spanish I've come across in it:
Dreiser - not finished yet, no German so far, but Minnie's husband is Swedish
DuBois - German epigraphs (mostly Schiller) and he occasionally quotes German in the text; no Spanish (nor any other languages except English and some Latin)
Masters - I don't recall any languages other than Engilsh, except for some Latin
Johnson - some French, as part of the book takes place in Paris; the protagonist goes to Germany, too, but I don't recall any German; no Spanish
Sinclair - this is an odd case because Jurgis, the main character, is Lithuanian and speaks no English at the opening of the book; Sinclair is careful to put some Lithuanian in the book; I don't recall any German, but Jurgis knows immigrants from all over north-eastern Europe, including Germany - and, Spanish immigrants in the Chicago stockyards in 1904? nein
Stein - Stein herself was half German and grew up speaking a mix of German and English; the Good Anna is German and speaks German-inflected English, but I don't recall any actual German words; not finished yet, but I doubt there's any Spanish to be found in this one
Anderson - some Latin I think; possibly some German as it takes place in northern Ohio; definitely no Spanish
Toomer - don't recall anything but English, though most of this book is written in Southern American, which is something of its own language
Lewis - Dr. Kennicott speaks a mix of German and English to the immigrant farmers who live outside Gopher Prarie; no Spanish (Spanish settlers in rural Minnesota in 1920?)
Robinson - haven't read it yet, but I'm doubtful
Frost - not reread yet, but I don't remember any of this work containing anything but English
Cather - Cather is the most "western" author of the American modernists and in her Nebraska setting she has many immigrants from Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, and, in this novel, Bohemia; Antonia, the title character, is Bohemian and speaks little English when she arrives on the prairie; I don't recall any German words, but again, not many Spanish settlers in Nebraska in 1915
Hemingway - ah, here we do get some Spanish because the climax of The Sun Also Rises takes place in Pamplona...and yet there is more French than Spanish and even a little German in this book
So that's lots of notches for German and only one notch for Spanish among the modernists.
I get why people keep telling me Spanish is key. They're thinking about the period from 1960+ when Latino/as began writing literature in America. And they're right, this work does fall under the rubric of 20th C. American lit. But the problem with that is that Latin American literature is most often taught -as- Latin American literature, solely, in a Latin American literature class. Otherwise, contemporary American fiction is not taught much. And honestly, the influence of Hegel, Goethe, Nietzsche, Marx, Kafka, Brecht, and Schiller is so much greater than that of a Borges or a Neruda. As these books I've been reading demonstrate, there wasn't a Spanish presence in the US until the mid-century, and even then it took a while getting into literature, whereas America -was- its German, Scandinavian, Polish, and Irish immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century. And the only way Spanish got on the list I have right now is because Hemingway -went- to Spain.
So, that's my rant on why I chose to take German when everyone told me to take Spanish. I've been very surprised at how large the German influence has been in these books I've been reading. Just to say...