Dime Store :: essays papers

Dime Store I Can’t Hear a Damn Word You’re Saying â€Å"‘Those who deprecate the free supply of such ficticious works as the public demands, are generally in favor of the entire exclusion of fiction of a sensational cast, a course which will unavoidably result in alienating from the library the very class most needing its beneficial influence’† (Denning, 49). It is obvious here that William Fletcher attached more significance and importance to dime novels than most â€Å"serious intellectuals† did in the late 1800’s. In fact, most people, particularly in the middle class, thought dime novels were vulgar and that they caused young children to imitate the actions of the likes of Buffalo Bill and Deadwood Dick. But both the production and the popularity of dime novels (especially) among the working class suggest that something more profound than cheap entertainment compelled them to read these works of fiction. Contrary to what many literary scholars and those in the middle class believed--and perhaps as indicated by the various reactions to them, these plotlines and characters were appealing to the working class on more than just one level. The rate at which dime novels were produced is astounding. â€Å"William Wallace Cook began by receiving a title and synopsis for a serial, and would then write, adapt and revise installments to meet the ever-changing specifications of the publisher. Almost all the accounts tell the story of novels written at exceptional speed in marathon sessions, and all emphasize the sheer quantity of writing† (Denning, 21). It was not uncommon for authors to write entire pieces in one week or less, some not bothering to edit their work. Many admitted that their motivation for writing stories at such a pace was money, but most maintained that the material contained in their stories was not immoral or vulgar, but rather, useful. It is interesting to note here that, while the adverse reaction against dime novels eventually became a reflection of the class that was supposedly reading them, the authors themselves were not from the working class. In fact, the dime novel â€Å"was a commercial product of a burgeoning industry employing relatively educated professionals--writers who also worked as journalists, teachers, or clerks† (45). The judgments passed on those reading the dime novels was limited to the working class; but the very material that was thought to be immoral was invented in the minds of middle class people.