In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, most literary works revolved around the dismissal and concept of progress with an evident desire to retreat back to the pure and simple lifestyles of the earlier ages. This is a prime example of how events, our history, and our society can affect our literature. Literature is greatly intertwined with our history, society, and lives. Literature has changed over time, has a major impact on our society, and affects us, as people. Literature has changed over time. “The “death of print” has been much heralded over the past decade, precipitated by the rising accessibility of devices like tablets and smartphones that have made the electronic medium cheaper and more universal (1).” Literature has evolved …show more content…
For example, during the Great Depression, a hard time for many, people were seeking distractions from their troubles, and such brought on a focus on escapist and humor themes. Furthermore, as mentioned previously, literary pieces focused on the lack of progress and the want of a simpler, more pure lifestyle as was once had. Literary periods have come and gone; romanticism, for example, filled with poetry and idealisms, with artistic expression that wouldn’t have been as tolerable in earlier times, or naturalism, which found expression almost completely in the novel, concerned with searching and discovering the causes for a person’s actions or beliefs (2). Literature has changed and developed, just as our society and our history have. Literature has had a major impact on society, and, also our history. Literature has reformed and shaped civilizations, changed political systems, and has exposed injustices (3). Our literature has changed and developed as we have, keeping up with our society. “...literature is crucial for the advancement of society (3).” With literary works, we can convince others to view things a certain way, share our opinions, and more. Literature is greatly intertwined with our society and everyday lives, and they would not be the same without it. Literature plays an irreplaceable role in our
Literature; it has compelled us, entertained us, educated us, and drove us to madness. It has served as life instruction, by using the characters as the lesson plan. It is sometimes blunt, sometimes ugly, and in Truman Capote’s case, is so gruesome that we do not dare forget it.
It could be said that tragedies serve as Humanity’s catalysts of thought. When we line up literary eras with wars, the shifts in eras are always marked by some war- especially in America. The Romantic period was broken by the dawn of the civil war, and took a little magic from the world of writing. Writing shifted to realism, which was the polar opposite of romantic thought. When the First World War broke out, the modernist movement overshadowed realism. Similarly, the Second World War produced postmodernism. Should there be another horrible tragedy, the view will shift similarly. Whatever the implications may be, tragedies seem to change how us humans think and act. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he tells the story of a group of schoolboys
In “Why Literature Matters” the author, Dana Gioia, argues that literature is very important in today’s society. He talks about the decline of reading over the years and the effects it has on different companies and communities. Gioia uses many persuasive techniques, such as evidence, jingoism, and diction, to try and persuade the reader that literature is important.
Literature has played a large role in the way we perceive the world and it can affect the way in which we think about things. Edgar Allan Poe along with Mark Twain are two of the most influential authors that our world has ever seen. Their descriptiveness and diction has had a huge impact on their readers for centuries. Poe’s gothic style of writing was very enthralling and suspenseful; it left you wanting to know what was going to happen next. Whereas, Mark Twain was a very humorous author that intended to amuse all that read. The descriptiveness that was incorporated by these world-renown authors is tremendous.
The time period has largely influenced the works of Faulkner. Through out the 1900's the traditional form of writing began to expand and evolve. Experimentation and individualism became morals and were thought to affect all authors of the time period. This general time period experienced a spectrum of cultural shocks. The first of the drastic changes of society was World War 1, which was supposedly the “War to End All Wars.” However, this war was so gruesome that it affected society as a whole and sunk the nations into a period of unknown fate. Authors such as Faulkner lived for these moments to have the ability to build on the depression and write stories such as, “A Rose for Emily.” The time period experiences drastic advancements and changes that greatly influence the content of the story.
The Modernist Fiction period took place during the 1920’s and revolutionized the American way of life in literature, economically, and socially. There was a national vision of upward mobility during this time that represented the American Dream. The upward mobility was seen through the consumerism and materialism that dominated this decade economically. Popular novels of this time reflected the mass consumerism in the lives of those wrote them. During the American Modernist Fiction period, Americans became increasingly materialistic throughout the roaring twenties; therefore, the American Dream was to obtain upper class status through the possession of material goods, which was reflected in many of this period’s works.
The 1920s was seen as a turning point in American history in terms of literature, art, and music. Also known as the Jazz Age, the era brought new highly visible social and cultural trends. My research question asks not only how did the writers reflect their views, but how the historical context of that time period affected the minds of the intellectuals. I am interested in this topic because I wanted to investigate the reasoning behind modern literature, and arguably the first real American style, leaving behind the romantic 19th century British influenced writing and conservatism.
The modernist style of writing is one of disillusionment, frustration and loss of hope. The modernist writers did not try to point out silver linings or brighter futures, instead they explored the depths of the sorrows of life in the time of the great depression and the long road to recovery from it. Most of these writers blamed the modernization of America for the stock market crash that brought on the great depression. Likewise, modern politics drew America into not only one, but two world wars. At the same time, modern intellectual advancements challenged or usurped traditional beliefs and values.
Can you imagine a world where literature did not exist? It’s very hard, nearly impossible. Literature plays a major role in shaping society. Literature is a word used to describe written or spoken material. Literature educates, informs, entertains and influences the reader or listener in a myriad of profound ways. Broadly speaking, “literature” is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination. Writers can change one’s beliefs, thoughts, actions, indeed their entire lives. In Northrop Frye’s The Educated Imagination, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Plato’s The Republic, the writers use literature to utter the importance literature bestows on society. The three writers state their opinions using different methods to prove to the readers that their opinions are valid. Since each author has a unique writing style, most envision their writing with a relatable figure. Some would argue that Frye’s writing style is much like that of a textbook, very instructional and factual, Lamott reminded them of a conversation with a friend and that Plato’s writing style is very informative, akin to a professor carrying on a dialogue with an inquisitive student.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, literature changed and focused on breaking away from the typical and predicate patterns of normal literature. Poets at this time took full advantage and stretched the idea of the mind’s conscience on how the world, mind, and language interact and contradict. Many authors, such as Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Twain, used the pain and anguish in first hand experiences to create and depict a new type of literature, modernism. In this time era, literature and art became a larger part of society and impacted more American lives than ever before. During the American modernism period of literature, authors, artists, and poets strived to create pieces of literature and art that challenged American traditions and tried to reinvent it, used new ways of communication, such as the telephone and cinema, to demonstrate the new modern social norms, and express the pain and suffering of the First World War.
...ad a profound affect on the way Ernest Hemingway wrote. Although he was not directly affected by the Depression, as many Americans were, it is still clear that this events of the Great Depression truly shaped the way he formed his choice of characterization and some of his plots. Often in his stories, the male protagonists “became frustrated by their inability to change the world around them”(Aldridge), which depicted struggles of the Great Depression perfectly. Hemingway often describes “the brutality and toughness of the real world”(Aldridge) in his novels. It is known that this event was one of the worst times in American history. Ironically Hemingway himself would later have his own personal "Great Depression", when he begins to spiral into a deep emotional depression. Hemingway has “seized the imagination of the American public”(Scribner) like no author before.
Literature has many purposes, and opens doors to unique worlds. Through Literature, we discover ourselves and world time and again.
The main form of literature, the book, has had a great impact upon the formation of our society today. Before the 1940’s TV had not come into being yet and there was not much else to do other than read books. Thus books formed my grandparents and to some extent my parents and, although I grew up in the generation of TV, books as literature have indirectly formed me as well.
In other words, world literature contributes much more to today’s society than many people would think, yet, how is this possible when most world literature pieces we read about today are centuries old? Well, good question, world literature in itself is history, which is then passed down and translated for generations providing insight for how people think, react, live, and love. By reading literature, we gain the education about different places, people, and cultures. Therefore, after educating ones self of world literature pieces from authors long ago. An individual or society can then take that situation, experience or etc. into consideration next time humanity run into a similar circumstance. This is not only what world literature is but in fact the core meaning behind why we need to keep the topic
After world war II the world got smaller, faster, fewer mysteries of science, geography and paradoxically less time to enjoy it. It was told that literature was better the period pre-war; however, the literature in old days was not in hand of lot of people as it is for these days. After all, every era has it own taste of literature.