History is definitely a complicated and complex subject for countless individuals. Some people struggle with being able to relate to, understand, and learn about history, especially when learning about it through traditional means. But what people don’t realize is that we are exposed to aspects of history in several different ways. We don’t just have to learn about the past through reading non-fiction text, but also through the historical fiction genre, or even people’s autobiographies. However, how different is the learning experience between reading a non-fiction text and a fictional one? How are non-fiction historical texts and books categorized as historical fiction similar? The two books I’ll be discussing are Water for Elephants, an historical
History is a vast never-ending story, to which new experiences are added to every day. It’s important to recognize that not everyone is able to learn history a certain way, nor does everyone have the resources to. While Water for Elephants and The Great Depression both expose the reader to the hardships of the Great Depression era, they choose approach the history in different ways to draw in and interest their intended audience using the differences in genres. It’s important to note that the differences in these genres creates a unique learning experience for both readers and may lead to readers developing exceptionally diverse opinions on learning history. For example, someone who may have been turned off by the scholarly tone of The Great Depression may find themselves more interested than ever before in history by reading Water for Elephants. Personally, I enjoyed reading Water for Elephants more simply because the words flowed better, making it much easier to get through the story, while The Great Depression often had chapters where Watkins used language that made the book seem to drag on forever, thus making a lot of the information difficult to fully absorb. However, I do feel like I learned more about the more economical aspects of the Great Depression with Watkins book, while Gruen’s novel gave more insight into the social elements, and how certain individuals living during the Depression managed to find entertainment and a somewhat stable place, even if it was not at all permanent. When examining these books, it becomes clear that these different methods that are used to reveal and explore the history of the 1930s allow the books’ readers to learn about the topic in a way that interests them
The Great Depression is one of the worst time for America. Books, cartoons, and articles have been written about the people during the Depression and how they survived in that miserable period. For example, the book Bud not Buddy takes place in the time of the Great Depression. Bud is a ten year old orphan, who was on the run trying to find his dad. There are many feelings throughout the book like sadness and scarceness. There are many diverse tones in the book about what people were feeling at the time.
In the fictional story the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of a woman tormented by the townspeople for committing adultery. With fiction the author can paint a story in any way to deliver the right emotion to the audience. However, nonfiction must stay to the actual facts of the story. Typically, nonfiction stories contain eye-opening details that wouldn’t be believable if written as fiction. For example, the story of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were 2 olympic ice skating athletes trying to win gold. Tonya Harding had someone try to break Nancy Kerrigan’s legs so that she couldn’t compete. It is unbelievable as nonfiction, but as fiction it would seem too far out there to
“Fiction is the truth inside the lie” (Stephen King). Figment of imagination helps improve brain connectivity and responsibilities which enables the brain to escape to a world of illusion. In a world of imagination students explore conflicts within the book. Anecdotes play a significant role in building the strategies used to deal with real world events. Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani, discusses how mistakes from the past has an impact on your life and may alter your future. Books intended to be read so that we as people can have a different mindset and perspective on things rather than just our own.
The Great Depression, which began with the stock market crash of 1929 and lasted for the next decade, was a time of desperation and disorientation in America. In an effort to bring the country back on its feet, President Roosevelt initiated the Farm Security Administration (FSA) project. Photographers were hired and sent across the United States to document Americans living in poverty, and Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans were two of those photographers that were sent out. Along with their partners Paul S. Taylor and James Agee they started their projects which were approached through two different methods. Agee and Evans project Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and Lange and Taylor’s project An American exodus: A Record of Human Erosion, are two similar, though different types of work. Both projects are of the poor tenant farmers in the south and the sharecroppers living during the Great Depression during the 1930s. The first difference I noticed is the way the pictures are presented in the two projects. By this I mean how they are taken and how Evans and Lange chose which ones that were to be included in the books. A second difference is that Agee and Taylor had two different writing techniques and these are the biggest differences between the two books.
“Roman Fever” and “Hills Like White Elephants” are two stories that on surface seem very different from one another, but through careful analysis the two are quite similar. Their similarities are mainly evident through the significant use of the dialogues in the both stories. “Roman Fever” has a third person omniscient narrator which the author allows to know the inner private thoughts of both characters, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley. In contrast, “Hills Like White Elephants” is composed in a third person limited narrative where very little is known about the thoughts of both Jig and the American. At first Ernest Hemingway’s short story can clearly be viewed as the most ambiguous out of the two. With its simplistic style, written mostly in straightforward dialogue which leaves the readers to contemplate over the ultimate outcome of the story and forces them to ...
I absolutely loved reading Water for Elephants; it is probably one of the best novels that I have read in my life time thus far. I would say that this novel is one for all ages but it contains some foul language and some content that’s more appropriate for a mature reader. One thing that I liked is that each chapter had a different photo from many different circuses. For example, one of the photos is an elephant, or the entertainers or pictures of the big circus tent (Gruen 238, 70, 48). Another thing that I utterly enjoyed about Gruen’s novel was her transitions; every few chapters she would flip- flop back and forth between twenty-three year old Jacob and ninety-three year old Jacob. Here’s an example of this, “I give up on rage, which at this point has become a formality, and make a mental note to get angry again in the morning. Then I let myself drift, because there’s really no fighting it. The train groans, straining against the increasing resistance of air breaks. After several minutes and a final, prolonged shriek, the great iron beast shudders to a stop and ...
Mintner, David. "The Fate of Writing during the Great Depression". A Cultural History Of the American Novel. http://ocean.st.usm.edu/ ~wsimkins/minter.html>. 19 June 1997. (5 May 1999).
Wells, Colin. "A Lesson Before Dying." Literature and Its Times Supplement 1: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss. Vol. 2: The Great Depression and the New Deal to Future Times (1930s -). Detroit: Gale, 2003. 249-258. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Generally speaking, the two most frequently used genres in literature are fictional and non-fictional. Having said this, fictional and non-fictional literature are distinct regarding their purpose as well the literary devices they use. Literary devices are specific language methods which writers use to form text that is clear, interesting, and unforgettable. Fictional literature, for instance, is something that is made up; however, non-fictional is factual. Furthermore, non-fictional works of literature such as literary essays usually convey a message using literary devices that differ than those used in fictional literature such as short stories, which are meant to amuse its readers. Literary essays uses literary devices such as description,
The Era of the Great Depression was one of both desperation and hope. Americans were desperate for a change, desperate for anything to come along that may improve their situation, yet hopeful that the light at the end of the tunnel was near. For many of those living in poverty during the 1930s, the “radical” leftist movements seen throughout the country appeared to be alternatives to the sometimes ineffective programs of FDR’s New Deal. Two such programs, Huey Long’s “Share Our Wealth” plan and Upton Sinclair’s End Poverty in California (EPIC) were fairly popular, mainly for their appealing alternatives to the current New Deal programs and ideals. Though the two movements were similar in some sense, both had different visions for the recovery of the American people.
There were many events that led to the Great Depression. Every event affected the people worse and worse over time. The Great Depression started in the early 1930’s during Hoover’s presidency. However, before the Great Depression life was great, there were many new technologies that made life more advanced. Nobody expected such a horrible event to occur during the time of the “Roaring 20’S.”
... the hard time would get better and that prosperity would soon come. Additionally like movies and radio, music was a huge part of the distraction of the hard times that American’s faced during the depression. The people enjoyed the popular music of the 1930’s, which was “Swing” music. Swing music was played by big bands and was the highest on the music charts. In literature during the 1930’s many featured working-class heroes trying to make it in America. One of the most classic American literatures today is John Steinbeck, The Grapes Of Wrath. This explained that instead of achieving the American dream, the Joad family faced struggling times. In English classes all over America, the Grapes of Wrath is read to teach students of the effects and history of the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Culture during the 1930’s shaped our culture and how we live day to day.
The Great Depression is seen as one of the most sorrowful and desolate times in the history of the United States. This time was the longest period of recession ever seen by this nation so far. It lasted from 1929 to 1939, over ten years of complete confusion and despondency within the people. Many Americans were affected greatly by this tragic time and sacrificed much of their lives so that they and their families may have the chance to live. This act of desperation can be seen throughout the movie, The Cinderella Man, where a professional boxer, Jim Braddock, becomes crippled by the depression, both economically and spiritually. The observer can see this through the explicit cinematography of the movie and depiction of the Great Depression made by the director. However the director left out a key aspect of the happenings of the depression, the stock market crash. Perhaps, this catastrophic event was irrelevant to the plot and message of the movie, but it is important to the actual Great Depression of the United States. Furthermore, the nation of 2010 is well on its way to repeating history. There are frightening similarities between that dreadful time of the 1930’s and the present that should not be overlooked, or the United States might condemn itself back into that horrific state it has so long tried to avoid.
During the Great Depression receiving an education was becoming more and more difficult for southerners. From not being able to afford the required supplies needed, to not being able to pay the tutions, many people found it nearly impossible to attend school. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee shows how the lack of education in society during the Great Depression affected Southerners lives, not allowing them to change their futures for the better.
The View of American Society in the Depression Years in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men