Contemporary Literature 1940 – present An introduction and historical context

Basic Definition The literature of the modern age reflects the uncertainty and anxiety brought on by the realities of war.

Overview of The Moderns Genre/Style :Novels, Plays, Poetry, experiments in writing styles, interior monologue, and stream of consciousness. Effect/Aspects :Pursuit of American Dream, Admiration for America, Optimism, and Individual Importance. Historical Context :Writers reflected the ideas of Darwin and Karl Marx, during WWI and WWII.

World War II World War II – it was a catastrophe of epic dimension, the first war in history in which more civilians than soldiers died. Writers who had personal experience with war, struggled to document and examine the meaning of war on a grand scale. Several writers examined the rampant anti-Semitism that fueled the Holocaust.

The Cold War The Cold War – America came out of WWII a world power, wielding a new weapon – the atomic bomb! The Soviet Union, once an ally, emerged as a rival superpower with equally large ambitions and a political system – communism – which many saw as a threat to the American way of life. Knowing any direct confrontation could end in nuclear annihilation, the two nations fought a “cold war”, each side racing to develop more devastating weapons.

The Cold War – continued In literature, this pervasive fear of known an unknown dangers prompted a boom in science fiction, as writers pondered what might arise if the current trends continued. The Cold War finally came to an end with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, but America was not finished with warfare. That same year US troops were sent to Kuwait for the Gulf War.

Vietnam War The major American involvement in Vietnam lasted about nine years and bred a degree of domestic conflict unseen since the Civil War. The literature of the time reflects the conflicts within the country.

Stream of Consciousness A method of writing where the author attempts to project the feelings and emotions of a character onto the reader. (allowing the reader to get into the mind of the character)

Historical Beginnings Most scholars credit Manet (a painter) with painting the very first signs of Modernism Manet began his controversial painting in the 1860’s However, Modernism took its form slowly, and never replaced Romanticism. Manet brought shock value to the art world by including nude subjects in his paintings that were not classical in nature (goddesses). Because modernism never replaced Romanticism, We have a distinct overlapping in culture which is very common in today’s society. In fact (because of the increased publishing technologies) evidence of Romanticism and Modernism is still found in today’s published works.

The Civil Rights Movement Writers have both recorded and reflected upon the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s – perhaps the most important social change in modern time.

Civil Rights continued In 1954, the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education struck down school segregation. Other Civil Rights advances followed, pushed along by black and white activists who organized protest marches, boycotts, voter registration drives, and sit-ins. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as a leader of these times. 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act.

Literature of the Time Modern American Drama – following WWII, some of the best and most influential writing was occurring within the community of the American theater. Dramatists such as Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams served as models for the liberated playwright – experimenting with stagecraft as well as modern themes often deemed provocative.

Literature Themes One of the most common themes explored by these playwrights was the “American Dream”. A general disillusionment paired with an experimental style characterized many of the works of this period. Works of the 1940s and 1950s were less sympathetic.

Notable Writers of the Time John Steinback – known for his depression era literature Elie Wiesel – Holocaust memoir Kurt Vonnegut – introduced a new style of war literature Richard Wright – race relations literature Gwendolyn Brooks – Civil Rights era works