American Lit between 1914 - 1945. Understanding the times when this literature was written will help you understand the WHY of the literature.
Source: American Literature Anthology
This document discusses American literature after World War II. It provides background on the social and political effects of the war, including McCarthyism and censorship. It then focuses on the Beat Generation writers of the 1950s who rebelled against social conformity through nonconformity, Eastern spirituality, and spontaneous prose. The major Beat writers discussed are Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. The Beat Generation influenced 1960s counterculture and music and helped liberate literature from censorship. Other postwar novels of the time are also briefly mentioned.
This document provides an overview of the history of American literature from the colonial period to the present. It summarizes some of the key authors and works from each period, including early colonial writings by John Smith and Benjamin Franklin, influential works during early nationhood by Jefferson and Madison, the development of a unique American style with Irving and Cooper in the early 19th century, and the rise of major literary movements like Realism with Twain and James, Modernism in the early 20th century, and the Beat generation following World War II. The document traces the evolution of American literature as it developed its own identity and traditions over time.
The document provides a timeline of major eras in American literature from the Puritan era in the 1600s to the contemporary era. It includes the key authors, works, events, and movements that defined each era, such as Puritan writings in the 1600s, Revolutionary works in the 1700s, Romanticism and Transcendentalism in the 1800s, the Harlem Renaissance and World War I/II in the early 1900s, and the Civil Rights movement in the mid-1900s. The document is organized by era for easy navigation of American literary history.
The document discusses how two major 19th century American literary currents - frontier humor and local color (or regionalism) - merged in the works of Mark Twain, using exaggeration and tall tales of colorful frontier characters to capture regional dialects and experiences. It also outlines how writers like George Cable, Thomas Nelson Page, Joel Chandler Harris, Mary Murfree, Sarah Jewett, O. Henry, and others contributed to the tradition of local color regionalism in American literature through focusing on distinctive regional settings, dialects, and minority experiences.
This document provides an overview of the history of American literature from the colonial period through the 20th century. It summarizes key authors and works from each time period, including colonial writings by John Smith and Benjamin Franklin, early US works by Thomas Jefferson and Washington Irving, 19th century poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, realism in Mark Twain and Henry James, and modernism in F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck. The document concludes with a brief discussion of post-World War II literature and the Beat generation.
This document provides an overview of major American literature movements and authors from the 17th century to the modernism era of the early 20th century. It discusses Native American oral traditions, the religious works of early Puritan settlers, and the emergence of genres like histories, autobiographies and poems. Key eras covered include the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism and Modernism. Major modernist authors profiled briefly are Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. The document also mentions poets Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and Carl Sandburg, as well as the Harlem Renaissance literary movement
The document outlines several major movements in American literature from 1825 to the present. It discusses the historical context, main ideas, genres, styles, and examples of works for each movement. The movements covered include the American Renaissance from 1825-1865, Transcendentalism from 1840-1860, Realism/Naturalism/Regionalism from 1865-1914, Modernism from 1900-1950, the Harlem Renaissance from 1917-1937, and Postmodernism from 1950 to the present.
This document discusses American literature after World War II. It provides background on the social and political effects of the war, including McCarthyism and censorship. It then focuses on the Beat Generation writers of the 1950s who rebelled against social conformity through nonconformity, Eastern spirituality, and spontaneous prose. The major Beat writers discussed are Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. The Beat Generation influenced 1960s counterculture and music and helped liberate literature from censorship. Other postwar novels of the time are also briefly mentioned.
This document provides an overview of the history of American literature from the colonial period to the present. It summarizes some of the key authors and works from each period, including early colonial writings by John Smith and Benjamin Franklin, influential works during early nationhood by Jefferson and Madison, the development of a unique American style with Irving and Cooper in the early 19th century, and the rise of major literary movements like Realism with Twain and James, Modernism in the early 20th century, and the Beat generation following World War II. The document traces the evolution of American literature as it developed its own identity and traditions over time.
The document provides a timeline of major eras in American literature from the Puritan era in the 1600s to the contemporary era. It includes the key authors, works, events, and movements that defined each era, such as Puritan writings in the 1600s, Revolutionary works in the 1700s, Romanticism and Transcendentalism in the 1800s, the Harlem Renaissance and World War I/II in the early 1900s, and the Civil Rights movement in the mid-1900s. The document is organized by era for easy navigation of American literary history.
The document discusses how two major 19th century American literary currents - frontier humor and local color (or regionalism) - merged in the works of Mark Twain, using exaggeration and tall tales of colorful frontier characters to capture regional dialects and experiences. It also outlines how writers like George Cable, Thomas Nelson Page, Joel Chandler Harris, Mary Murfree, Sarah Jewett, O. Henry, and others contributed to the tradition of local color regionalism in American literature through focusing on distinctive regional settings, dialects, and minority experiences.
This document provides an overview of the history of American literature from the colonial period through the 20th century. It summarizes key authors and works from each time period, including colonial writings by John Smith and Benjamin Franklin, early US works by Thomas Jefferson and Washington Irving, 19th century poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, realism in Mark Twain and Henry James, and modernism in F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck. The document concludes with a brief discussion of post-World War II literature and the Beat generation.
This document provides an overview of major American literature movements and authors from the 17th century to the modernism era of the early 20th century. It discusses Native American oral traditions, the religious works of early Puritan settlers, and the emergence of genres like histories, autobiographies and poems. Key eras covered include the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism and Modernism. Major modernist authors profiled briefly are Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. The document also mentions poets Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and Carl Sandburg, as well as the Harlem Renaissance literary movement
The document outlines several major movements in American literature from 1825 to the present. It discusses the historical context, main ideas, genres, styles, and examples of works for each movement. The movements covered include the American Renaissance from 1825-1865, Transcendentalism from 1840-1860, Realism/Naturalism/Regionalism from 1865-1914, Modernism from 1900-1950, the Harlem Renaissance from 1917-1937, and Postmodernism from 1950 to the present.
Civil War and American Literature (General Perspective )Mecnun Genç
The Civil War had a significant impact on American literature. Before the war, writers like Emerson and Whitman addressed issues like slavery. During the war, writers sought to describe the nature of war, like Bierce and Aldrich in their works about battles. After the war, literature took on a more realistic style as sentimental writings declined. Writers addressed the crisis of faith caused by the war and the growing role of women in society as gender norms changed. The war was a defining moment that transformed American literature in its themes and styles.
The American Literature: A Throwback to the Rich History of Now the Most Powe...Alphred Jann Naparan
This document provides an overview of American literature from its origins to the early 20th century. It discusses how American literature was shaped by the history and development of the United States. Major periods and movements are covered, including the Age of Faith, Age of Reason, Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism. Key authors from each period are mentioned such as Anne Bradstreet, Benjamin Franklin, Edgar Allan Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain. The document also discusses how Native American literature predates colonization and focuses on nature, as well as the Civil War's influence on the demand for a "truer" type of literature.
The document summarizes major eras and movements in American literature from the Puritans to modernism. It discusses how Puritan beliefs influenced their nonfiction writings focused on religion. The Age of Reason valued logic and reason over faith. Romanticism rebelled against this and found inspiration in nature. The Transcendentalists believed people could find meaning through nature. Realists aimed to accurately depict ordinary lives. The Modernists broke traditions and used symbolism. The Harlem Renaissance influenced perceptions of African Americans through its focus on black experiences. Stream of consciousness writers questioned traditional beliefs during the Great Depression.
This document summarizes major literary periods and trends in American literature from the Colonial Period to the Contemporary Period. It covers Native American literature, captivity narratives, slave narratives, and spiritual autobiographies in the Colonial Period. The Romantic Period celebrated individualism, nature, imagination and emotions. Realism and Naturalism emerged after the Civil War depicting everyday life and how environment influences people. Modernism used complex styles and forms. Contemporary literature explores fantasies and extremes in styles like Beat Generation, Southern Gothic, and Post-Modernism. Famous authors are listed for each period.
The American Revolutionary War caused major changes to American culture and literature. Several famous authors emerged during this time, including Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and Thomas Paine, who wrote patriotic pieces calling for independence and support of the revolutionary cause. Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet "Common Sense" and his "Crisis Papers" were especially influential in inspiring colonists to continue fighting. While much revolutionary-era writing is lost, the documents that remain provide insight into the patriotic spirit and struggles of the time.
This document provides an overview of the major periods and events that shaped American literature from 1700 to the present. It discusses how literature was influenced by events like the Revolutionary War, Constitution, and Industrialization. The major periods discussed include Rationalism/Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Modernism, Harlem Renaissance, and Contemporary. Key authors that emerged during these periods include Voltaire, Emerson, Dickinson, Whitman, and Hughes who were influenced by the social and political changes occurring in America at the time.
American literature developed a distinct voice in the early 19th century as writers like Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Harriet Beecher Stowe began establishing a national literary tradition focused on uniquely American settings and subjects rather than European influences. This period, known as the American Renaissance, saw literature break away from European traditions and create works rooted in the nature and culture of the new nation.
This document provides an overview of American literature from the Native American period through the present day. It summarizes the major literary periods and movements, including Colonial, Revolutionary, Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. For each period, it outlines the dominant themes, styles, and representative authors. It also discusses some of the overarching themes in American literature like individualism, the American Dream, cultural diversity, and tolerance.
This document summarizes and provides quotes from several famous American writers, including Jack London, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It provides biographical details and highlights some of their most notable works. For Jack London, it discusses his life, career returning from the Klondike and working as a journalist, and popular novels including The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Martin Eden. For the other writers, it briefly outlines their lives and important works like Moby Dick by Herman Melville, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and works by Edgar Allan Poe and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
American Literature: Prose BEGINNINGS: THE 1500S AND 1600SAnisa Asharie
American literature in its early centuries consisted primarily of exploration narratives, histories of settlement and religion, reflecting the growth of the colonies. Native American oral traditions predated European settlement and addressed similar purposes to biblical stories. Early works included letters and maps from explorers like Vespucci and Columbus. By 1600, accounts of discoveries had been published by Raleigh, Hakluyt, Harriot and White. Histories recorded events like John Smith's leadership in Jamestown and his claimed rescue by Pocahontas, while religious writings debated doctrine and sought to understand indigenous peoples. The Salem witch trials of 1692 saw 20 executed for alleged witchcraft. Figures like Roger Williams and Thomas Hooker established religious freedom and new settlements
The document summarizes American literature from 1700-1800, known as the Enlightenment and Revolutionary period. It describes the expanding population diversity and declining Native American population. Important ideas of the time included Isaac Newton's principles of reason, John Locke's views on human sympathy, and democratic principles with less emphasis on religion. The American Revolution was inspired by Enlightenment ideals and writings like Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis." The new nation struggled with pursuing equality and happiness while still allowing slavery and mistreating Native Americans and women. Representative works from this period include Patrick Henry's speech, Olaudah Equiano's slave narrative, and Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.
Modernism in American literature occurred between 1914-1945. This period saw experimentation in poetic form from influential American poets like Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Langston Hughes. Pound championed new poetic approaches and was a link between the U.S. and Britain. Eliot had a revolutionary impact with his poetry and essays. Hughes incorporated blues, spirituals, and folkways into his poetry and published numerous black anthologies.
This document provides an introduction to American literature by discussing the context of the world at the beginning of the American era, including developments in geography, religion, astronomy, and government in the 15th-17th centuries. It also outlines some key traits of the early American character like a sense of frontier, risk-taking, and diverse cultural influences. Finally, it questions what exactly constitutes American literature and discusses debates around canonization.
This document provides an overview of American literature from Native American oral traditions through the 20th century. It summarizes key authors and works from each time period, including Anne Bradstreet as the first American poet, Benjamin Franklin's autobiography and almanacs, Thomas Paine's influential pamphlets, Edgar Allan Poe's poems and stories, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Walt Whitman's free verse poetry, T.S. Eliot's modernist poem "The Hollow Men", Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Emily Dickinson's poems, John Stein
The document provides biographies of several important figures in early American literature: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, and Thomas Jefferson. It then discusses the origins and interdisciplinary nature of early American literature, noting strengths at Washington University in African American literary traditions, Puritanism, transatlantic sentimentalism, and the role of religion in literature and culture. It concludes with short summaries of two early American novels: The Adventures of Alonso and The Power of Sympathy.
Overview of Early American Literature (English 244)Ariadne Rooney
This document provides an overview of the major periods and genres of early American literature from the beginnings to 1900. It summarizes that Native American oral traditions were the earliest literature, followed by explorers' accounts. The Colonial period was dominated by Puritan religious writings. The Revolutionary period focused on justifying the American Revolution. Romanticism emphasized emotion and individualism. Realism portrayed life realistically during turbulent times like the Civil War.
Modernism was an artistic and cultural movement that started in the early 20th century in the United States, with its core period between World War I and World War II. Key aspects included a focus on form and structure in visual arts, with artists drawing influence from primitive styles and innovations. Modernism also challenged traditional beliefs and institutions. By the 1930s, modernist ideas had entered popular culture through advertising and visual symbols. Notable American modernist artists and architects mentioned in the document include Jackson Pollock, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Richard Neutra.
Major Periods in English and American LiteratureJesullyna Manuel
This document provides an overview of the major periods of English and American literature from Old English to the present day. It summarizes the key characteristics, influences, and notable authors of each period, including Old English, Middle English, the Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romantic, Victorian, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. The periods reflect changing philosophical perspectives and styles over time as well as the influence of historical events like the World Wars.
The document provides an overview of the transformation of America between 1865-1914 through territorial expansion, industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. It discusses how the closing of the frontier, completion of the transcontinental railroad, Spanish-American War, and influx of immigrants shaped American society and culture during this period. Literature of this era reflected these changes through the emergence of realism and naturalism as dominant styles focused on accurate depictions of contemporary social issues and human behavior governed by external forces.
During the period from 1865-1914, the United States underwent a transformation from a largely rural, agricultural nation to a more urban, industrialized one. This was driven by territorial expansion across North America and abroad, large-scale immigration from Europe, and rapid industrialization. Literature of the period largely took a realistic or naturalistic approach, reflecting new urban and industrial settings as well as social issues like wealth disparity. Realism aimed to present truthful depictions of life, while naturalism saw human actions as shaped by biological and environmental factors beyond one's control.
Civil War and American Literature (General Perspective )Mecnun Genç
The Civil War had a significant impact on American literature. Before the war, writers like Emerson and Whitman addressed issues like slavery. During the war, writers sought to describe the nature of war, like Bierce and Aldrich in their works about battles. After the war, literature took on a more realistic style as sentimental writings declined. Writers addressed the crisis of faith caused by the war and the growing role of women in society as gender norms changed. The war was a defining moment that transformed American literature in its themes and styles.
The American Literature: A Throwback to the Rich History of Now the Most Powe...Alphred Jann Naparan
This document provides an overview of American literature from its origins to the early 20th century. It discusses how American literature was shaped by the history and development of the United States. Major periods and movements are covered, including the Age of Faith, Age of Reason, Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism. Key authors from each period are mentioned such as Anne Bradstreet, Benjamin Franklin, Edgar Allan Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain. The document also discusses how Native American literature predates colonization and focuses on nature, as well as the Civil War's influence on the demand for a "truer" type of literature.
The document summarizes major eras and movements in American literature from the Puritans to modernism. It discusses how Puritan beliefs influenced their nonfiction writings focused on religion. The Age of Reason valued logic and reason over faith. Romanticism rebelled against this and found inspiration in nature. The Transcendentalists believed people could find meaning through nature. Realists aimed to accurately depict ordinary lives. The Modernists broke traditions and used symbolism. The Harlem Renaissance influenced perceptions of African Americans through its focus on black experiences. Stream of consciousness writers questioned traditional beliefs during the Great Depression.
This document summarizes major literary periods and trends in American literature from the Colonial Period to the Contemporary Period. It covers Native American literature, captivity narratives, slave narratives, and spiritual autobiographies in the Colonial Period. The Romantic Period celebrated individualism, nature, imagination and emotions. Realism and Naturalism emerged after the Civil War depicting everyday life and how environment influences people. Modernism used complex styles and forms. Contemporary literature explores fantasies and extremes in styles like Beat Generation, Southern Gothic, and Post-Modernism. Famous authors are listed for each period.
The American Revolutionary War caused major changes to American culture and literature. Several famous authors emerged during this time, including Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and Thomas Paine, who wrote patriotic pieces calling for independence and support of the revolutionary cause. Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet "Common Sense" and his "Crisis Papers" were especially influential in inspiring colonists to continue fighting. While much revolutionary-era writing is lost, the documents that remain provide insight into the patriotic spirit and struggles of the time.
This document provides an overview of the major periods and events that shaped American literature from 1700 to the present. It discusses how literature was influenced by events like the Revolutionary War, Constitution, and Industrialization. The major periods discussed include Rationalism/Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Modernism, Harlem Renaissance, and Contemporary. Key authors that emerged during these periods include Voltaire, Emerson, Dickinson, Whitman, and Hughes who were influenced by the social and political changes occurring in America at the time.
American literature developed a distinct voice in the early 19th century as writers like Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Harriet Beecher Stowe began establishing a national literary tradition focused on uniquely American settings and subjects rather than European influences. This period, known as the American Renaissance, saw literature break away from European traditions and create works rooted in the nature and culture of the new nation.
This document provides an overview of American literature from the Native American period through the present day. It summarizes the major literary periods and movements, including Colonial, Revolutionary, Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. For each period, it outlines the dominant themes, styles, and representative authors. It also discusses some of the overarching themes in American literature like individualism, the American Dream, cultural diversity, and tolerance.
This document summarizes and provides quotes from several famous American writers, including Jack London, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It provides biographical details and highlights some of their most notable works. For Jack London, it discusses his life, career returning from the Klondike and working as a journalist, and popular novels including The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Martin Eden. For the other writers, it briefly outlines their lives and important works like Moby Dick by Herman Melville, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and works by Edgar Allan Poe and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
American Literature: Prose BEGINNINGS: THE 1500S AND 1600SAnisa Asharie
American literature in its early centuries consisted primarily of exploration narratives, histories of settlement and religion, reflecting the growth of the colonies. Native American oral traditions predated European settlement and addressed similar purposes to biblical stories. Early works included letters and maps from explorers like Vespucci and Columbus. By 1600, accounts of discoveries had been published by Raleigh, Hakluyt, Harriot and White. Histories recorded events like John Smith's leadership in Jamestown and his claimed rescue by Pocahontas, while religious writings debated doctrine and sought to understand indigenous peoples. The Salem witch trials of 1692 saw 20 executed for alleged witchcraft. Figures like Roger Williams and Thomas Hooker established religious freedom and new settlements
The document summarizes American literature from 1700-1800, known as the Enlightenment and Revolutionary period. It describes the expanding population diversity and declining Native American population. Important ideas of the time included Isaac Newton's principles of reason, John Locke's views on human sympathy, and democratic principles with less emphasis on religion. The American Revolution was inspired by Enlightenment ideals and writings like Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis." The new nation struggled with pursuing equality and happiness while still allowing slavery and mistreating Native Americans and women. Representative works from this period include Patrick Henry's speech, Olaudah Equiano's slave narrative, and Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.
Modernism in American literature occurred between 1914-1945. This period saw experimentation in poetic form from influential American poets like Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Langston Hughes. Pound championed new poetic approaches and was a link between the U.S. and Britain. Eliot had a revolutionary impact with his poetry and essays. Hughes incorporated blues, spirituals, and folkways into his poetry and published numerous black anthologies.
This document provides an introduction to American literature by discussing the context of the world at the beginning of the American era, including developments in geography, religion, astronomy, and government in the 15th-17th centuries. It also outlines some key traits of the early American character like a sense of frontier, risk-taking, and diverse cultural influences. Finally, it questions what exactly constitutes American literature and discusses debates around canonization.
This document provides an overview of American literature from Native American oral traditions through the 20th century. It summarizes key authors and works from each time period, including Anne Bradstreet as the first American poet, Benjamin Franklin's autobiography and almanacs, Thomas Paine's influential pamphlets, Edgar Allan Poe's poems and stories, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Walt Whitman's free verse poetry, T.S. Eliot's modernist poem "The Hollow Men", Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Emily Dickinson's poems, John Stein
The document provides biographies of several important figures in early American literature: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, and Thomas Jefferson. It then discusses the origins and interdisciplinary nature of early American literature, noting strengths at Washington University in African American literary traditions, Puritanism, transatlantic sentimentalism, and the role of religion in literature and culture. It concludes with short summaries of two early American novels: The Adventures of Alonso and The Power of Sympathy.
Overview of Early American Literature (English 244)Ariadne Rooney
This document provides an overview of the major periods and genres of early American literature from the beginnings to 1900. It summarizes that Native American oral traditions were the earliest literature, followed by explorers' accounts. The Colonial period was dominated by Puritan religious writings. The Revolutionary period focused on justifying the American Revolution. Romanticism emphasized emotion and individualism. Realism portrayed life realistically during turbulent times like the Civil War.
Modernism was an artistic and cultural movement that started in the early 20th century in the United States, with its core period between World War I and World War II. Key aspects included a focus on form and structure in visual arts, with artists drawing influence from primitive styles and innovations. Modernism also challenged traditional beliefs and institutions. By the 1930s, modernist ideas had entered popular culture through advertising and visual symbols. Notable American modernist artists and architects mentioned in the document include Jackson Pollock, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Richard Neutra.
Major Periods in English and American LiteratureJesullyna Manuel
This document provides an overview of the major periods of English and American literature from Old English to the present day. It summarizes the key characteristics, influences, and notable authors of each period, including Old English, Middle English, the Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romantic, Victorian, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. The periods reflect changing philosophical perspectives and styles over time as well as the influence of historical events like the World Wars.
The document provides an overview of the transformation of America between 1865-1914 through territorial expansion, industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. It discusses how the closing of the frontier, completion of the transcontinental railroad, Spanish-American War, and influx of immigrants shaped American society and culture during this period. Literature of this era reflected these changes through the emergence of realism and naturalism as dominant styles focused on accurate depictions of contemporary social issues and human behavior governed by external forces.
During the period from 1865-1914, the United States underwent a transformation from a largely rural, agricultural nation to a more urban, industrialized one. This was driven by territorial expansion across North America and abroad, large-scale immigration from Europe, and rapid industrialization. Literature of the period largely took a realistic or naturalistic approach, reflecting new urban and industrial settings as well as social issues like wealth disparity. Realism aimed to present truthful depictions of life, while naturalism saw human actions as shaped by biological and environmental factors beyond one's control.
2130_American Lit Module 2 _Modernist ManifestoLisa M. Russell
The document discusses modernist manifestos from several early 20th century authors. It provides excerpts from manifestos by F.T. Marinetti, Mina Loy, Ezra Pound, Willa Cather, William Carlos Williams, and Langston Hughes. The manifestos declare the authors' artistic convictions and independence, calling for breaking traditions and presenting art through suggestion rather than enumeration. Marinetti's manifesto glorifies war and destroying museums, while Loy calls for absolute demolition of traditional lies.
The document summarizes key cultural developments in the United Kingdom during the second half of the 20th century. It discusses the transition from modernism to postmodernism in literature. It also describes the formation of the influential Royal Shakespeare Company theater group and the Young British Artists art collective. Additionally, the document outlines trends in music during this period like the Beatles advocating peaceful revolution and the Rolling Stones symbolizing rebellion. It analyzes fashion changes across different decades as well as the influence of counterculture movements like hippies.
This document provides an overview of American modernism between 1910-1945. It discusses how modernism in literature emerged in response to industrialization and the rise of big business in the late 19th/early 20th century. Major modernist authors like T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound rejected cultural traditions and sought new influences. The 1913 Armory Show in New York introduced Americans to modern art like Picasso and Kandinsky. Modernist works were fragmented and difficult to access initially. World War I furthered the disillusionment of the modern era through new technologies of destruction.
All Things Bright And Beautiful_The Victorians giuniper
The Victorian era in Britain was a period of both progress and hardship. It saw rapid industrialization, which led to immense wealth but also overcrowded and unsanitary cities with high rates of poverty, disease, and crime. Children often worked long hours in dangerous factories and mines. While thinkers like Adam Smith advocated for free market policies, writers like Charles Dickens drew attention to the grim realities of industrial life in their works of social protest. During this time, the novel flourished as a genre and poets explored themes of doubt, morality, and the human condition through dramatic monologues and vivid imagery. Overall, the document discusses the key social, economic, and cultural developments of the Victorian period in Britain.
The Victorian era in Britain spanned from 1837 to 1901, corresponding with the reign of Queen Victoria. It was a period of immense social, economic, and cultural changes driven by industrialization and imperial expansion. Literature of the time reflected these changes through genres like the novel, which gained prominence and dealt with themes of class, gender, and the tensions between religion and science in an increasingly industrialized society. Major authors of the Victorian period included Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Thomas Hardy, and Oscar Wilde.
Never or Always -- Still Victorians_ Correctionsgiuniper
The Victorian era in Britain was a period of both progress and hardship. It saw the height of the British Empire, powered by the Industrial Revolution which transformed the economy but also led to overcrowded and unhealthy cities with high rates of poverty and child labor. While economic theories advocated for free markets and limited government intervention, the realities of urban and industrial life exposed social issues that authors sought to illuminate through novels, poetry, and plays addressing themes of social injustice, poverty, and the complex new modern world. Literature emerged as an influential force for social reform and commentary on the political and economic changes shaping Victorian society.
Animal Farm Essay | Essay on Animal Farm for Students and Children in .... Animal Farm Essay (A Grade) | English - Year 11 SACE | Thinkswap. Animal Farm - GCSE English - Marked by Teachers.com. Animal Farm Essay | PDF | Muammar Gaddafi | Political Theories. Animal Farm Analysis Essay Free Essay Example. Animal farm essay help. George Orwell and Animal Farm.
This document discusses debates around the concept of "Americanization" from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It presents quotes from Frederick Jackson Turner, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Beveridge, José Martí, Helen Hunt Jackson, and Jane Addams that discuss different perspectives on what it means to become American and the assimilation of immigrants. The quotes reflect both support for immigrants becoming fully assimilated into American culture as well as concerns about maintaining heritage and identity.
Describe two (2) examples of how either black slaves or white abolitemersonpearline
Describe two (2) examples of how either black slaves or white abolitionists used literature or the visual arts as a form of protest against slavery. Compare this to a modern example of art used for social protest.
Describe the key motives involved in the increased presence of Westerners in India, China, and Japan in the 1700s and 1800s. Identify the key factors that led to Britain's successful imposition of its presence and trade policies on China, despite communications like those from Emperor Ch'ien-lung (i.e., Qianlong) and Commissioner Lin Zexu (i.e., Lin Tse-hsu). Argue for or against the British policies regarding China in the 1800s, using analogies from our own modern times.
Read, listen to, and watch the sources for the opera composers at the Websites below and in this week's Music Folder. Describe the major influences that Verdi, Wagner, or Puccini exerted upon opera in terms of making it more innovative, realistic, and even controversial. Next, consider Wagner and this dilemma: Wagner's brilliance is clear because his works remain some of the most popular and admired productions in our own time. Yet, he was a blatantly antisemitic and held notions of racial purity, traits that have stained his artistic legacy. (This was compounded by the later celebration of Wagner's music by Hitler and the Nazis). New York Times writer Anthony Tommasini wrote of Wagner in 2005: "How did such sublime music come from such a warped man? Maybe art really does have the power to ferret out the best in us." So, consider the issue of whether we should or can separate the artist from the art, whether we can appreciate the art but reject the artist. Or whether we should reject both the person and his or her art. Identify one (1) modern musician or artist where this dilemma arises.
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Brief introduction to the history of English. It's a very educative introduction as it highlights points for easy understanding for students.
Furthermore it's a complete research summary that contain simple language that can be understood by every student. I therefore recommend that students to look into this. The period are arranged systematically for attractive surface for students to maintain focus when learning.
This Presentation is a part of group presentation. This presentation is on the poet W. B. Yeats and his poems. This is presented in The Department of English, M.K.B.U.
This document provides an analysis of W.B. Yeats' poem "On Being Asked for a War Poem." It summarizes the characteristics of the 20th century including imperialism, social unrest, anxiety, and art for art's sake. It then discusses Yeats' writing style, the themes in his poems, and analyzes his poem "On Being Asked for a War Poem" through its rhyme scheme, figures of speech, and Yeats' decision not to directly write about politics in his poetry. In conclusion, it states that Yeats' autobiography is reflected in his poems through Irish cultures, traditions, and history.
This document provides an introduction to W.B. Yeats' poems, including characteristics of the 20th century, Yeats' writing style and themes, and analyses of his poems "The Second Coming" and "On Being Asked for a War Poem." It discusses the political, social, and artistic influences of the 20th century including imperialism, social unrest, anxiety, and an ideology of "art for art's sake." It also provides background on Yeats and overviews of his two poems through discussing their themes, literary devices, and historical context.
McElroy - Week 4 - What was the American Renaissance?sivartmac
The American Renaissance was a period in the 19th century led by authors Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Henry David Thoreau. Emerson was a leading figure of Transcendentalism and wrote works like Nature that turned away from religion. Longfellow was America's greatest poet who wrote about nature and anti-slavery themes. Thoreau was a political activist who questioned government in works like Civil Disobedience and emphasized living simply in Walden. These authors explored themes of non-conformity, spirituality, nature, and politics.
2130_American Lit Module 3_Tennessee WilliamsLisa M. Russell
- Tennessee Williams was born in 1911 in Mississippi and raised in a complex family situation, being alienated from his abusive father and closely attached to his sister
- He dropped out of college but later returned to graduate at age 27, after which he moved to New Orleans and reinvented himself
- There he wrote his most famous play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which dramatized the conflict between a fragile southern belle and her brutish brother-in-law and highlighted themes of fading southern gentility and repression.
This document outlines the main literary periods in English literature and provides brief descriptions of each period. It discusses the Old English period, Middle English period, Elizabethan era, Victorian era, Modernist period, Postmodernist period, and Postcolonial period. For each period, it mentions some of the major writers and historical context. It also includes review questions to test understanding of the periods.
Similar to 2130_American Lit Module 2 _Introduction (20)
The document discusses the four basic sentence patterns and eight punctuation patterns that can be used to punctuate all possible sentences. It explains that sentences can be broken down into subject-verb, subject-verb-object, and other patterns. It also provides examples of when to use commas with introductory fragments, essential vs. nonessential fragments, and the FANBOYS conjunctions. The goal is to show how just eight punctuation patterns can be used to punctuate any sentence structure.
The document discusses the four basic sentence patterns and eight punctuation patterns that can be used to punctuate all possible sentences. It explains that sentences can be broken down into subject-verb, subject-verb-object, and other patterns. It also provides examples of when to use commas with introductory fragments, essential vs. nonessential fragments, and the FANBOYS conjunctions. The goal is to show how just eight punctuation patterns can be used to punctuate any sentence structure.
Ralph Ellison was born in Oklahoma in 1914 and attended Tuskeegee Institute on a scholarship where he studied music and played trumpet. He moved to New York City in 1936 where he met novelist Richard Wright and began writing his novel Invisible Man in 1945, which was published in 1952. Invisible Man tells the story of an unnamed narrator who feels invisible in society due to the color of his skin and explores themes of individualism, identity, and racism in America.
This document discusses several poems by Robert Frost including "The Gift Outright", "Home Burial", "After Apple-Picking", "'Out, Out—'", "Desert Places", "Design", "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", "The Road Not Taken", "The Oven Bird", and "Directive". It analyzes Frost's exploration of themes like mortality, the absence of God, and human powerlessness. It provides quotes and brief descriptions of these poems that reflect on these themes.
Henry James was born in 1843 to a wealthy Manhattan family and moved to Europe as a teenager for his education. He settled permanently in England in 1876 and wrote novels influenced by realism, including Daisy Miller about a young American woman in Europe whose free-spirited manners clash with social expectations. James explored the differences between American and European cultures and sensibilities in his works. His stories often featured Americans traveling to Europe or expatriates returning home grappling with questions of identity and morality.
This document discusses different types of modifiers - misplaced, dangling, and squinting modifiers - and provides examples to illustrate each. A misplaced modifier is one that is not placed next to the word it modifies. A dangling modifier does not logically refer to any word in the sentence. A squinting modifier seems to modify two words at the same time, causing confusion. The document provides examples from student essays that demonstrate misplaced and dangling modifiers, resulting in humorous or nonsensical meanings. It encourages readers to check their own writing for these types of errors and provides practice examples to correct.
This document discusses sentence fragments, comma splices, and fused sentences. It defines each type of error and provides tests and examples to identify them. It then explains different ways to repair each type of error, such as attaching fragments to nearby sentences, adding missing words, using coordinating conjunctions or punctuation to join independent clauses, or separating clauses into individual sentences.
How to write using the Jon Franklin outline when writing a narrative essay. This is used for my ENGLISH 1101 Class at Georgia Northwestern Technical College in Calhoun, GA
Axes is an acronym that provides a framework for developing and structuring arguments. It stands for Assertions, Examples, Explanations, and Significance - the key components of an argument being the point of view being asserted, evidence supporting this view, justifications for the view, and a discussion of why the view matters.
it describes the bony anatomy including the femoral head , acetabulum, labrum . also discusses the capsule , ligaments . muscle that act on the hip joint and the range of motion are outlined. factors affecting hip joint stability and weight transmission through the joint are summarized.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Main Java[All of the Base Concepts}.docxadhitya5119
This is part 1 of my Java Learning Journey. This Contains Custom methods, classes, constructors, packages, multithreading , try- catch block, finally block and more.
This slide is special for master students (MIBS & MIFB) in UUM. Also useful for readers who are interested in the topic of contemporary Islamic banking.
Thinking of getting a dog? Be aware that breeds like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds can be loyal and dangerous. Proper training and socialization are crucial to preventing aggressive behaviors. Ensure safety by understanding their needs and always supervising interactions. Stay safe, and enjoy your furry friends!
This presentation was provided by Steph Pollock of The American Psychological Association’s Journals Program, and Damita Snow, of The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), for the initial session of NISO's 2024 Training Series "DEIA in the Scholarly Landscape." Session One: 'Setting Expectations: a DEIA Primer,' was held June 6, 2024.
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty, In...Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty,
International FDP on Fundamentals of Research in Social Sciences
at Integral University, Lucknow, 06.06.2024
By Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
বাংলাদেশের অর্থনৈতিক সমীক্ষা ২০২৪ [Bangladesh Economic Review 2024 Bangla.pdf] কম্পিউটার , ট্যাব ও স্মার্ট ফোন ভার্সন সহ সম্পূর্ণ বাংলা ই-বুক বা pdf বই " সুচিপত্র ...বুকমার্ক মেনু 🔖 ও হাইপার লিংক মেনু 📝👆 যুক্ত ..
আমাদের সবার জন্য খুব খুব গুরুত্বপূর্ণ একটি বই ..বিসিএস, ব্যাংক, ইউনিভার্সিটি ভর্তি ও যে কোন প্রতিযোগিতা মূলক পরীক্ষার জন্য এর খুব ইম্পরট্যান্ট একটি বিষয় ...তাছাড়া বাংলাদেশের সাম্প্রতিক যে কোন ডাটা বা তথ্য এই বইতে পাবেন ...
তাই একজন নাগরিক হিসাবে এই তথ্য গুলো আপনার জানা প্রয়োজন ...।
বিসিএস ও ব্যাংক এর লিখিত পরীক্ষা ...+এছাড়া মাধ্যমিক ও উচ্চমাধ্যমিকের স্টুডেন্টদের জন্য অনেক কাজে আসবে ...
Introduction to AI for Nonprofits with Tapp NetworkTechSoup
Dive into the world of AI! Experts Jon Hill and Tareq Monaur will guide you through AI's role in enhancing nonprofit websites and basic marketing strategies, making it easy to understand and apply.
25. Visit the StudySpace at:
http://wwnorton.com/studyspace
For more learning resources,
please visit the StudySpace site for
The Norton Anthology
of American Literature.
This concludes the Lecture
PowerPoint presentation for
American Literature
1914–1945
An Introduction
Editor's Notes
During the period of literary history that falls between 1914 (the beginning of World War I) and 1945 (the end of World War II), the United States grew and changed in radical ways. U.S. participation in World War I signaled a massive development in foreign policy and integrated the United States into the world of international politics more than ever before. The aftermath of the war also had a major impact on domestic affairs. For example, American women’s efforts to win the right to vote—which came in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution—were “given a final push by women’s work as nurses and ambulance drivers during the war” (NAAL 4). But even though (or perhaps because) World War I had made the United States a major player on the world scene, in 1924 a draconian immigration law was passed that “prohibited all Asian immigration and set quotas for other countries on the basis of their existing U.S. immigrant populations, intending thereby to control the ethnic makeup of the United States” (NAAL 4). During the same period, the American landscape was transformed by the internal migration of two million African Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the Northeast, West, and Midwest.
Another aftereffect of the war that was both international and domestic in nature is the rise of the international Communist movement. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the birth of the Soviet Union, American leftists looked to socialism and communism as models for the labor movement in the United States. Many Americans were intensely suspicious of European-style socialism, and the first Red scare of the twentieth century took place during this time, a generation earlier than the McCarthyism that took hold following World War II. The stock market crash of 1929 and the decade-long Great Depression that followed it were also events both international and domestic in scope: As unemployment in the United States reached a high of twenty-five percent during the Depression years, international trade dropped off by fifty percent.
All of the various changes and developments that took place in the United States between the two world wars are evidence of “the irreversible advent of modernity” (NAAL 6). The aspects of social and political modernity that are laid out in the previous slide have their counterpart in literary modernism, which is better defined as a series of conflicts rather than as a homogeneous set of characteristics. “One conflict centered on the uses of literary tradition. To some, a work registering its allegiance to literary history—through allusion to canonical works of the past or by using traditional poetic forms and poetic language—seemed imitative and old-fashioned. To others, a work failing to honor literary tradition was bad or incompetent writing . . . A related conflict involved the place of popular culture in serious literature. Throughout the era, popular culture gained momentum and influence. Some writers regarded it as crucial for the future of literature that popular forms, such as film and jazz, be embraced; to others, serious literature by definition had to reject what they saw as the cynical commercialism of popular culture . . . Another issue was the question of how far literature should engage itself in political and social struggle. Should art be a domain unto itself, exploring aesthetic questions and enunciating transcendent truths, or should art participate in the politics of the times?” (NAAL 6).
Thomas Hart Benton’s 1931 painting City Activities with Subway provides a great shorthand for understanding the radical social changes that took place during the interwar period. Discuss with your students what they see in this painting that reflects these changes (for example, the urbanization of America, greater independence and sexual freedom for women, advances in technology, and so on). As explained in the “Changing Times” section of the volume introduction—and in the following slides—three of these major changes are in the areas of gender and sexuality, race, and class.
Suffragists Audre Osborne and Mrs. James Stevens.
As mentioned earlier, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution officially gave women the right to vote. Unofficially, the amendment also opened up new arenas for women to explore—politically, sexually, artistically, and socially.
December 11, 1926, Chicago, Illinois. These two young women illustrate the era's penchant for both fun and recklessness by doing the Charleston on a rooftop ledge at Chicago's Sherman Hotel. Their playful posturing also bespeaks the risks that women were taking in an era of greater opportunity.
1920s, Greenwich Village, New York. A young woman hangs a poster to advertise the Greenwich Village Halloween Ball, at which Paul Whiteman (the “King of Jazz”) is to perform. Like the previous photograph, this image captures the newfound sense of freedom and possibility that many women were experiencing following the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
An audience at Harlem's Cotton Club, a popular nightclub, watches a performance. April 18, 1934.
The increasing mainstream popularity of African American artists, writers, and performers in cities like Chicago and New York during the interwar period is a complex phenomenon to account for, stemming from a movement toward racial equality on the one hand and an escalation in racially motivated violence that contributed to the Great Migration of two million African Americans from the South on the other.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Bement Miles Pond Company. A general view of the plant and some of its workers.
“Class inequality, as well as American racial divisions, continued to generate intellectual and artistic debate in the interwar years. The nineteenth-century United States had been host to many radical movements—labor activism, utopianism, socialism, anarchism—inspired by diverse sources. In the twentieth century, especially following the rise of the Soviet Union, the American left increasingly drew its intellectual and political program from the Marxist tradition” (NAAL 8).
The Industrial Workers of the World attracted working-class men and women frustrated with low wages and long hours. It also attracted writers, artists, and intellectuals who were sympathetic to socialist movements across the world.
Gastonia, North Carolina, April 5, 1929. This photo shows a group of female textile strikers attempting to disarm a National Guard trooper, who had been ordered to the Loray Mills in an effort to stop the serious rioting that took place following the strike.
As evidenced in this photograph, labor struggles often turned violent, with strikebreakers (both military and civilian) brought in to end labor protests and return disgruntled workers to their jobs.
The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, (1931–32). By Ben Shahn.
“A defining conflict between American ideals and American realities for writers of the 1920s was the Sacco-Vanzetti case. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants, not Communists but avowed anarchists; on April 15, 1920, they were arrested near Boston after a murder during a robbery. They were accused of that crime, then tried and condemned to death in 1921; but it was widely believed that they had not received a fair trial and that their political beliefs had been held against them. After a number of appeals, they were executed in 1927, maintaining their innocence to the end. John Dos Passos and Katherine Anne Porter were among the many writers and intellectuals who demonstrated in their defense; several were arrested and jailed. It is estimated that well over a hundred poems . . . along with six plays and eight novels of the time treated the incident from a sympathetic perspective” (NAAL 9).
July 26, 1937, New York. “There she is, boys . . .” Attorney Samuel Leibowitz points out the Statue of Liberty to the four freed Scottsboro boys, shortly after their arrival in New York City from Decatur, Alabama.
“Like the Sacco-Vanzetti case in the 1920s, the Scottsboro case in the 1930s brought many American writers and intellectuals, black and white, together in a cause—here, the struggle against racial bias in the justice system. In 1931, nine black youths were indicted in Scottsboro, Alabama, for the alleged rape of two white women in a railroad freight car. They were all found guilty, and some were sentenced to death. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed convictions twice; in a second trial one of the alleged victims retracted her testimony; in 1937, charges against five of the youths were dropped. But four went to jail, in many people’s view unfairly. American Communists were especially active in the Scottsboro defense; but people across the political spectrum saw the case as crucial to the question of whether black people could receive fair trials in the American South” (NAAL 9).
Ford Adds to Your Pleasure. Poster ca. 1920.
“Technology played a vital, although often invisible, role in all these events, because it linked places and spaces, contributing to the shaping of culture as a national phenomenon rather than a series of local manifestations . . . The most powerful technological innovation [was] the automobile . . . Automobiles put Americans on the road, dramatically reshaped the structure of American industry and occupations, and altered the national topography as well. Along with work in automobile factories themselves, millions of other jobs— in steel mills, parts factories, highway construction and maintenance, gas stations, machine shops, roadside restaurants, motels—depended on the industry. The road itself became—and has remained—a key powerful symbol of the United States and of modernity as well. Cities grew, suburbs came into being, small towns died, new towns arose according to the placement of highways, which rapidly supplanted the railroad in shaping the patterns of twentieth-century American urban expansion. The United States had become a nation of migrants as much as or more than it was a nation of immigrants” (NAAL 10).
Brokers line up to throw themselves out of the window after the stock market crash of October 1929. Contemporary American cartoon.
One of the defining features of the interwar period is the stock market crash of 1929 and the resulting depression. “The suicides of millionaire bankers and stockbrokers”—parodied in this cartoon—“made the headlines, but more compelling was the enormous toll among ordinary people who lost homes, jobs, farms, and life savings in the stock market crash. Conservatives advised waiting until things got better; radicals espoused immediate social revolution” (NAAL 11).
These depression-era shacks in an undated photograph by Philip Gendreau fill the abandoned land in the old Central Park reservoir of New York City. Homeless squatters hit hard by the depression had few housing choices. Notice the opulent apartment buildings in the background. The contrast between wealth and poverty in New York City, and elsewhere, is underscored in this photograph.
November 16, 1930, Chicago. Notorious gangster Al Capone attempts to help unemployed men with his soup kitchen “Big Al's Kitchen for the Needy.” The kitchen provides three meals a day consisting of soup with meat, bread, coffee, and doughnuts, feeding about 3,500 people daily at a cost of $300 per day. Such social “safety nets” became increasingly important during the Great Depression.
A man walks past a farmhouse in a dust storm at the height of the Dust Bowl. Ca. 1937.
Migrant family walking on the highway from Idabel, Oklahoma to Krebs, Oklahoma. Photo by Dorothea Lange, 1938.
One social safety net was the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public works project funded by the federal government that employed out-of-work Americans to rebuild the national infrastructure. Pictured here is the Roscommon Branch Station, Michigan, October 10, 1934.
This list of the features of modern art and literature is neither exhaustive nor entirely coherent, but it’s a good place to start differentiating between the modernist literature of the twentieth century and the realism/naturalism of the late-nineteenth century. Not every work of modernist art or literature displays all of these qualities, and some work emphasizes one aspect more than the others. The works of art featured in the following slides provide a starting point for discussing the nature of modernism.
Georges Braque’s Still Life With Guitar (ca. 1918–19) provides a great opportunity for talking about modernist fragmentation. Where is the guitar in this still life? Why does Braque opt to “take apart” a guitar and represent its scattered fragments rather than depict it as a unified whole? How does it force us to think about the guitar differently by viewing it in fragments?
Pablo Picasso’s 1937 painting Weeping Woman is a prime example of Cubist art. Discuss with your students how Picasso has broken down the image of the woman into various fragments from different perspectives (for example, the left eye is from three-quarter view and the right eye is viewed straight on, while the mouth is in profile) and then reassembled those fragments. Why does Picasso do this? How is he forcing us to see this woman anew? How does this new vision of a typical subject—a portrait of a woman—reflect the concerns of modernism described on the earlier slide?
Wassily Kandinsky’s In Blue (1925) takes modernist aesthetics even further than the Braque and Picasso paintings in the previous two slides. In his effort to break down the world into fragments, has Kandinsky completely removed all reference to the natural world? Can your students identify any recognizable images (the sun? a mountain? a tower?), or is it all a mass of shapes? What is Kandinsky trying to achieve with this radical conception of the world as (nonrepresentational?) fragmentary shapes?