Cannonical Works…

Trying to pick apart and provide a detailed and specific answer to the question: what makes a book part of the canon, or not apart of the canon, can be rather difficult. In looking at the cannonical pieces we have read thus far this year, I feel as though there are several aspects that must be included in all cannonical works; most of which involving something dreadful, such as death, forced/unhappy marriages, or a conflict that seems impossible to solve. Now, to me, these things seem as though they should not be included in something that everyone is “expected” to read. While in Lovecraft’s The Mountains of Madness, these qualities are even more graphic and apparent, and it is not considered to be a part of the canon.
This thought brings me right back to the beginning – what makes a book to be considered a part of the American Canon of Literature? In some ways I feel like its just a group of old english majors deciding what books they like the best, and this then forms the canon that our class surrounds. While I know this is clearly not the case, I feel as though it is impossible to dissect the essence of what makes up the canon of our literature, and it is just a very lucky and fortunate thing if an author’s book makes it into the canon.