Look back at the 20th century in depression and anger. The 20th century is when European theatre turned to more of realistic themed plays. The great depression is a major contributor for this. 20th century theatre is when the Great Depression plagued Europe, Because of this playwrights started to make plays on realism like John Osborn’s Look back in anger.
The great depression was not only in the U.S.A., Europe suffered from this as well because the United States was a big trading country for Europe (Pugh). Although people in Europe did not have as many people unemployed most people still had jobs (Pugh). The thing people were worried about was how far money would go (Pugh). Do to this marriage rates overall went down. But people started to marry at a younger age regardless of age (Pugh). A good thing that came out of this the crime rate went down. But some of the common laws were being ignored for example speed limits were being ignored (Pugh). Through out this depression there were periods of growth in the economy (Pugh). Newspapers were one of the worst hit areas there were nothing to report since crime went down (Pugh). So when a big event happened to follow the great depression the newspapers took advantage of this.
That big event was the Great War or WW1. Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914 (Rosenberg). Britain declared war on Germany for invading Belgium (Rosenberg). One of Germany’s U-boat sank Great Britain’s ship called RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915 (Rosenberg). In January 1917 the Germans tried to send Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico to bring them into the war but the British decoded the message and prevented it (Rosenberg). The Great War was to be ended on June 28, 1919 by the signing of The Treaty of ...
... middle of paper ...
...(Heilpein). The play is said to have a “lack of human Enthusiasm” (Trussler, 322). The Central Protagonist is Jimmy Porter (Bolt). Jimmy is a very violent individual (Bolt). But he loves his father and his father only (Bolt). Jimmy has a negative attitude towards women because of past experiences (Bolt). Because of this hatred towards girls he wants to get back at them and make them feel what he felt (Bolt). Jimmy has a internal conflict with wanting to make his mom mad he loves her anger (Bolt). The story ends with jimmy coming to terms with him self and a character named Alison starts to act like his mom (Bolt).
John Osborn was a big influence on other playwrights that are also traditionalist. But one thing is for sure is that the 20th century is a century with a depression and war that will never change but plays will always be changing in popularity and style.
The Great Depression is one of the longest and most severe economic hysterias experienced by the industrialized Western world. During the depression the political, economic, and social institutions in the U.S were in bad conditions. The government, various groups, and individuals sought ways to address the problems that Americans faced. Starting in the United States and later on engulfing nations worldwide, the Great depression that up rose in the industrialized western world, began the biggest market crash in History.
The Great Depression was a period, which seemed to go out of control. The crashing of the stock markets left most Canadians unemployed and in debt, prairie farmers suffered immensely with the inability to produce valuable crops, and the Canadian Government and World War II became influential factors in the ending of the Great Depression.
Great Depression “No one can possibly have lived through the Great Depression without being scarred by it. No amount of experience since the depression can convince someone who has lived through it that the world is safe economically.” was once stated by Isaac Asimov. The Great Depression was one of the most horrific and troubling times in American history. Many homes were affected by this tragedy and many families were injured as a result of it. Man had the opportunity to prove himself by both continuing and struggling with his family leaving them.
Great Depression was one of the most severe economic situation the world had ever seen. It all started during late 1929 and lasted till 1939. Although, the origin of depression was United Sattes but with US Economy being highly correlated with global economy, the ill efffects were seen in the whole world with high unemployment, low production and deflation. Overall it was the most severe depression ever faced by western industrialized world. Stock Market Crashes, Bank Failures and a lot more, left the governments ineffective and this lead the global economy to what we call today- ‘’Great Depression’’.(Rockoff). As for the cause and what lead to Great Depression, the issue is still in debate among eminent economists, but the crux provides evidence that the worst ever depression ever expereinced by Global Economy stemed from multiple causes which are as follows:
October 29th, 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a depression that forever changed the United States of America. The Stock Market collapse was unavoidable considering the lavish life style of the 1920’s. Some of the ominous signs leading up to the crash was that there was a high unemployment rate, automobile sales were down, and many farms were failing. Consumerism played a key role in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 because Americans speculated on the stocks hoping they would grow in their favor. They would invest in these stocks at a low rate which gave them a false sense of wealth causing them to invest in even more stocks at the same low rate. When they purchased these stocks at this low rate they never made enough money to pay it all back, therefore contributing to the crash of 1929. Also contributing to the crash was the over production of consumer goods. When companies began to mass produce goods they did not not need as many workers so they fired them. Even though there was an abundance of goods mass produced and at a cheap price because of that, so many people now had no jobs so the goods were not being purchased. Even though, from 1920 to 1929, consumerism and overproduction partially caused the Great Depression, the unequal distribution of wealth and income was the most significant catalyst.
Prior to the Great Depression the United States was flourishing with technology and consumer spending. The Roaring Twenties brought much cheer and prosperity to the economy. The invention of the automobile, radio and motion picture brought higher wages and more jobs. When families wanted to forget about their troubles for a little while, they would usually go see a movie. Some films were The Wizard of Oz, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Gone with the Wind. Music was also an entertaining way to distract you from everyday life problems. Women were dressing differently and trying to gain a better place for themselves in the work force. Their views and mannerism were also changing.
In the 19th century alliances formed, wars broke out and social life changed a lot. Pygmalion does and amazing job of pointing out all these factors. With all the challenges of the war and industrialization happening people were still able to go to the theatre and enjoy an enjoyable, educational drama.
In 1929, A Yale University Economist Irving Fisher stated. " The nation is marching along a permanently high plateau of prosperity".(5) 5 days later the stock market crashed and the worst economic downturn in American history called the "Great Depression" began. The Depression started in 1929 and would last for a decade until we entered War World II. The Great Depression affected every part of economy and no job was safe. In 1929 unemployment was at 1.5 million and by 1933 unemployment reached over 13 million which meant 1 out of 4 were out of work (3). Some who were successful businessmen before the stock market crash and now selling pencils or apples on the street corners after the crash .Many business closed their doors, factories shut down and banks failed causing homelessness, poverty and general despair on many Americans. Huge numbers of Americans had their lives upset by the Depression. Tens of thousands of migrant farm workers traveled the nation looking for employment. Farming income fell some 50 percent and people went hungry because so much food was produced that production became unprofitable. Many Americans watched their homes and life savings be lost because of the stock market. Confidence in the market was lost and without that confidence investors pulled out and the market collapsed.(4)
The Great Depression not only affected the United States but the world in general. In my estimation some the reasons for the depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920’s and the debts not paid back from WWI.
Throughout the 1920s many things changed in the United States along with other countries. When World War 1 ended, some many countries struggled economically, but the United States was not one of them. At the time America was in a happy state with good economic standing. Since the U.S. was doing so well people were able to work less and enjoy more leisure activities such as sports, music on the radio, movies and Broadway theatre. Before the 1920s theatre was mainly for the rich and was not wildly popular, as people’s money situations changed so did theatre and Broadway Theatre grew in popularity with more people coming to the U.S. through Ellis Island. Centered in New York with its large population, Broadway theatre in the 1920s was filled of
"In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which you could base hope... but as I look around about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope.” This great quote was made by former president, Coolidge. In the great depression people in cities and towns already lost too many jobs. Farmers struggles have already been happening since the 1920s, and farmers tried to do anything to save their farms. However, farmers may have been better off than city folk. The government tried to pitch in multiple times, but did not succeed as people hoped. After the great depression, people were all shaken up and scared. Also Hoover, was not very much liked during this time period either. The great depression was a terrible period, and many people often struggled to get by.
Whitley, Peggy. "American Cultural History - The Twentieth Century: 1910 - 1919."American Cultural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. .
The 19th century changed people’s perspectives on theater. Theaters grew in size, plays became more professional, and costumes became more extravagant. Theater in the 19th century was influenced by the advanced changes, technology and society. Theater had a big impact on how people viewed things.
The Great Depression of the 1930s is a period of time that was highly influenced by social memory, in that the social status you had, your gender, occupation, etc meant that you experienced the Depression differently from the next person, your account was influenced by your social groups/status. It is generally acknowledged that the Great Depression was a period of immense suffering for most. Hence the name given to the period. However, for some, the Great Depression is seen as a time in history where many prospered, and some even see a boom in the economy. The three accounts "Age of Extremes ch3", "The Dawn of Affluence, Reading 13" and "Coping: Middle- and Upper-Class Women. Reading 14" all illustrate different points of view on the Great Depression.
In the modernism there was no focus on the plot events, instead the writers focused on characters' consciousness. Ambiguity and complexity were valued at that time. Modernists often work towards open endings and used the narrative gaps. In the early modernism the technique of Stream of Consciousness was widely used to know more about the human sense. Modernism was influenced by naturalism and realism. Its social content is characteristically avant-grade (Drabble 682). Moreover, the 20th century is one of the most important periods in English drama. New ideas, terms and styles have been introduced as a result of the atmosphere. Writers on that time expressed their anger and scorn as a result of the wars and the revolutions. There were many social changes at that time and the playwrights started to tackle that in their plays (Innes