From Depression to Cold War 1930 s

From Depression to Cold War 1930 s – 1960 s

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.