The term Gilded Age refers to a time frame in history, particularly American history, from around the 1870s to the 1890s. The name was given by the prominent Realism author of the time Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Clemens. Twain gave the time period this name due to the suggested thin gold border that was used to cover and hide the major injustices that were occurring in the country. The primary issue during this period was social and immigrant inequality. The three pieces of literary works that I believe best represent this time period are “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “War is Kind”. The first novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” displays many characteristics of this time period in a few ways throughout the story. The main …show more content…
People at the time were experiencing the loss of World War I, a war in which no side won. Some themes of Modernism are sorrow, change that cannot be stopped and the idea of or feeling like an outcast. The two works that we studied in unit 2 that best represent Modernism are “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” and “Miniver Cheevy”. Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” displays the ambiguous that modern writers loved to use in their works. This ambiguous nature of the works allowed them to write a single work that could be interpreted in numerous ways depending on the person reading it and the mood that person had at the time of reading. For example when Frost writes “And miles to go before I sleep” can be interpreted as he has many years before he can die peacefully or he actually has many miles before he can sleep. The second literary piece is “Miniver Cheevy” by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Robinson’s work expresses the longing for something that is not that there and more importantly the feeling of being an outcast. Robinson states the Cheevy longed for the days of knights and that he “wept that he was ever
...ke." Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Ed. Sculley Bradley, et al. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1977. 421-22.
Huckleberry Finn – The Changes of His Character Throughout the Novel. & nbsp; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a novel about a young man's search for identity. Huckleberry Finn goes through some changes and learns some life lessons throughout his journey. Huck changes from being just an immature boy at the beginning of the novel to being a more mature man who looks at things from a different perspective now. & nbsp; At the beginning of the novel, Huck tends to have an immature side to him. There are some things in the beginning that show that Huck still has a very childish side to him. They get down on one thing when they don't know anything about it."
The Gilded Age was known as the Second Industrial Revolution because there was change in the economy, politics, and society. Most of the change was occurring because of the growth of large companies. The in the 1900s up to the 1920s, the companies started to decrease in power but not all since Henry Ford was being successful because of his automobile company that allowed the people to move more, and think differently depending on their sexuality. Even though Ford was successful, the businesses still didn’t run the people anymore, the people started to control the government more.
The Gilded Age was the spark of technical innovations and advance in America. Railroads, steel, kerosene, light bulbs, ac/dc electrical lighting, etc., were all innovations that lead to technical advances. Inventors or businessmen helped take the Gilded Age to the peek. Men impacted their time by creating theories, efficient innovations, faster transportation. Each idea was a step into the right direction.
The exact period of time in which the Gilded Age occurred is ever-debatable, but most historians can at least agree that it started within the 20 years after the Civil War ended and lasted until the early 1920s. (West) The Gilded Age itself was characterized by the beginnings of corporations and corrupt political machines. Policies such as the General Incorporation Laws allowed business to grow larger more easily, and with less red tape involved. New technology allowed faster and more efficient production, but this explosive growth of industry called for not only more resources, but new business practices and leaders as well. (Moritz 10-12)
The Gilded age and the Progressive Era are time periods that played an important role in the development of the American society. The Gilded Age is a period of American history between 1870 and 1900. This term was coined by Mark Twain in the late 1800s. By this, he meant that this period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath ("Learn About the Gilded Age"). The Gilded Age is well known for its political scandals and extravagant displays of wealth. At the same time, this was an era of major achievements in the industry and economy, which significantly changed life of American people. The Gilded Age was followed by the Progressive Era which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressive Era is well known for its economical, political, social reforms and technological inventions. In my opinion, The Gilded Age had a more significant impact upon the United States than the Progressive Era because it gave rise to new industries, created transportation and communication networks which provided the infrastructure for further development of technology in the Progressive Era.
Clemens, Samuel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Lexington: Heath, 1994. 236-419.
The Gilded Age gets its name from a book by Mark Twain called The Gilded Age: a Tale of Today. It was written in 1873, and unfortunately was not that successful. While the Gilded Age conjures up visions of ostentatious displays of wealth and decorative parties, the over all topic was politics. The book gives an extremely negative assessment of the state of American democracy at that time. Which does not come as a huge surprise coming from Twain, who famously said "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” So when faced with sweeping changes in the American economy after the Civil War, the American political system both nationally and locally dealt with these problems in the best way possible, by inevitably and incredibly becoming corrupt.
The Gilded Age was was an era that saw rapid immigration. This along with an explosion of Americans moving from farms to the cities, causing more people migrating to urban areas than ever before. The growth of cities gave rise to powerful political machines, that stimulated the economy, and gave birth to an American middle class. It was a time of highs and lows.
From the period between the 1870’s through the 1890’s, it became an era known as the Gilded Age. The term was characterized by a famous American Literature author named Mark Twain. The writer tried to point out that the term means that while on the outside society may seem perfect and in order, underneath there is poverty, crime, corruption, and many other issues between American society’s rich and poor. This era’s gild is thicker than the cheaper material it’s covering. This can be shown through the countless numbers of achievements and advances America has made during the period of reconstruction and expansion, industrialization, and foreign affairs.
Life in the late eighteen hundreds was very different from the life we know today. Not only was there more inequality, there were also more health concerns and lapses in education. Mark Twain, in his book “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” has given us a special look into the past through the eyes of a young boy. Though this book is one of, if not the most highly criticized books in the American school system, it is also one of the most highly renowned. Through the criticism, Twain has given us a golden reflective opportunity.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is an immensely realistic novel, revealing how a child's morals and actions clash with those of the society around him. Twain shows realism in almost every aspect of his writing; the description of the setting, that of the characters, and even the way characters speak. Twain also satirizes many of the foundations of that society. Showing the hypocrisy of people involved in education, religion, and romanticism through absurd, yet very real examples. Most importantly, Twain shows the way Huckleberry's moral beliefs form amidst a time of uncertainty in his life.
Mark Twain 's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884, has been an ideal representation of the era and considered a true classic American novel. The novel takes place during the Antebellum, or pre-war period, of the United States prior to the Civil War. The circumstances of this time period prompt the title character, Huckleberry Finn, to face compelling internal as well as external conflicts of society. The need for freedom versus the obligation of adhering to the hypocrisy of a "civilized" society is a significant struggle that Huckleberry Finn faces continuously throughout the course of the novel. However, the underlying theme of the novel is the conflict concerning racism and slavery against that of friendship and camaraderie,
...cal Edition, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Ed. and Trans. Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beaty, E. Hudson Long, and Thomas Cooley. New York: Norton, 1977. 328-335.
Robert Frost was known for writing his own kind of poetry, one that did not seem to fit into any particular movement or literary genre, though his poetry does sometimes contain some of the elements of modernism. He was very popular in his time, mostly because his poetry is so easy to read, containing what seems at first to be simple subjects and a relatively easy to understand language. If the reader were to look beyond the surface level of the poems, however, one could find a much deeper meaning in Frost’s poetry by exploring the different themes and motifs found throughout the poem along with a closer look at Frost’s choice in words, language, and form. This essay will trace these characteristics throughout the poems “Mending Wall,” “Fire and Ice,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”.