From Depression to Cold War 1930s – 1960s Age of: Economic Crisis World War II Global Responsibility Unease about Nuclear Conflict Historical, Social, and Cultural Forces The Depression stock market crash bank failures unemployment The New Deal public employment – public works and the arts Social Security Act Persistent Racism African Americans, Jews, Native Americans segregation and violence The Dust Bowl drought and poor farming methods on the Great Plains winds blew topsoil as far as the Atlantic Coast Farm Security Administration (migrants) Soil Conservation Service World War II and the Cold War Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) United States vs The Soviet Union Cold War – massive buildup of armaments (nuclear weapons) Big Ideas: Return to Regionalism Life in the City The United States and the World The New Regionalism John Steinbeck and migrant workers toughness & optimism in face of hardship and discrimination a belief in the ability of ordinary people to defeat despair William Faulkner & Yoknapatowpha County, Mississippi burden of the past complexity of human relationships (rich and poor, white and black, traditional and modern) Flannery O’Conner & Southern Gothic characters faced with forces that threaten to change their lives and beliefs forever Life in the City urbanization of America (by 1920 urban population exceeded rural population) cultural life vs slums and poverty E. B. White and New York City Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (racial & social stereotypes of African Americans) Bernard Malamud and Brooklyn (urban Jews) Gwendolyn Brooks and Bronzeville (poverty and racism on south side of Chicago) Suburbia (the American dream vs cultural wasteland) United States and the World The “good war” and the home front USA role in victory – changes in US economy Tension on the home front racism (race riots) and ethnic animosities (Japanese) The Holocaust The Cold War capitalism vs communism John Steinbeck 1902 – 1968 Born and raised in Salinas, California Went to Stanford University but left to do various odd jobs Wrote about: The Great Depression society’s forgotten people (especially migrant farm workers) Characteristics of his writing: strong sense of social justice strong characters who struggle to survive & preserve their dignity tragedy Wrote: The Pearl The Grapes of Wrath (Pulitzer Prize 1940) Of Mice and Men “Breakfast” Won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 Literary element implied theme (review – under theme) William Faulkner 1897 – 1962 “Count No’count” – dropped out of high school and college Name was spelled Falkner but was misspelled by a printer (adding the u) which he kept A “new regionalist” – the South (Mississippi) Created Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi Believes that “man will prevail” Wrote in an experimental new style of fiction which included: Repetition Multiple points of view Stream of consciousness Creative sentence structure and punctuation Won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950 Wrote: The Sound and the Fury “A Rose for Emily” Literary element: Foreshadowing (review) Eudora Welty 1909 – 2001 Lived her whole life in Jackson, Mississippi Was a writer for the Works Progress Administration (wrote articles about construction and art projects for them) A “Southern Gentlewoman” (wrote about Southern values and complicated history) Wrote: “A Worn Path” Literary element: description – (review) a detailed portrayal of a person, a place, an object, or an event. Good descriptive writing appeals to the senses through imagery. Eudora Welty’s description of Phoenix Jackson in “A Worn Path” is a good example of description. Richard Wright 1908 – 1960 At 8 years old, witnessed the lynching of his uncle by a group of white men Wrote about: racism, violence, injustice, poverty, and despair experienced by African Americans Moved to Paris in 1947 Wrote: Uncle Tom’s Children Native Son Black Boy (autobiography) Literary elements: Autobiography (review) flash-forward – An interruption in the chronological sequence of a narrative to leap forward in time. Richard Wright uses this device in his autobiography, Black Boy, when he describes a visit to his father that occurs many years after the time of the story. Flannery O’Connor 1925 – 1964 From Georgia Attended Iowa Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa Writing is classified as “Southern Gothic” (eccentric / grotesque characters living in small Southern towns) Died at 39 of lupus Wrote: “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” Literary element Dialogue – conversation between characters in a literary work. Dialogue can contribute to characterization, create mood, advance the plot, and develop theme. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1882 – 1945 Married to Eleanor Contracted polio in 1921 Elected to New York State Senate Governor of New York President of the United States 4 times New Deal World War II Died of a stroke a few months before the end of the war Wrote: “War Message to Congress” December 8, 1941 Literary Element Oratory (review) Author’s purpose (review) Elie Wiesel 1928 – A Holocaust survivor – at 15 sent to Auschwitz – Birkenau – Mother and younger sister sent to gas chamber – Father died at Buchenwald Called “conscience of the Holocaust” Spoke at dedication of U.S. Holocaust Museum “For the dead and living, we must bear witness.” Became a U.S. citizen Won Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 Warned against “danger of indifference” Wrote: Night “All Rivers Run to the Sea” Literary element: Narrator – the person who tells a story. The narrator may be a character in the story or outside the story.