We recently asked a number of writers to nominate a cultural phenomenon as "the great American novel", with the caveat that the were not allowed to nominate an actual novel. This nomination comes from the fantastic Mitchell Blatt -- The Editors
Everyone between the ages of 20 and 47 knows the story of Poop Head and his tragic journey West. When I was asked to nominate my choice for the Great American Novel, I couldn’t help but think of him constantly shitting liquid for days on end. Half the company had already died when the wagon flipped over while crossing the Green River, and the rest were near starving, since they had spend all their ammo killing 4,000 pounds of buffalo in Kansas, but they could only carry 100 pounds back. They had survived by pillaging abandoned wagons and became so good at finding supplies that some even wondered how “abandoned” the wagons really were when they first came upon them. Ole Poop Head was optimistic til the end. He was really hanging in there and could almost see the border of Oregon in front of him. But it was not to be. He died of dysentery just after Fort Boise. Of course the Banker from Boston had to continue immediately without providing a proper burial. It is in these themes of life and death, of greed for wondrous riches tempted by the reality that most will never make it, that make this a hallmark of the nation’s spirit. I am speaking, of course, of The Oregon Trail.
It was a simpler time then, a time of innocence and naivety, when we thought new technologies could unleash education upon the masses, rather than dumbing us down and stealing our personal information in order to facilitate the election of a half-literate demagogue.
Mitchell Blatt is a masters candidate at the Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies. He is the author of Panda Guides: Hong Kong and editor of Bombs + Dollars. His work has additionally appeared in National Interest, Areo Magazine, Roads & Kingdoms, Korea Times, and Acculturated.
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