1914-1950: The Modern Time Period Of Literature

America finally had the war behind it. The country was booming and the majority had a carefree attitude. People were accustom to their lives and were not prepared for what was about to happen in 1929. The new decade would be a time of great change for everyone – art included. The 1920’s would bring a rollercoaster of events to America.

Reading was a very popular thing to do back during the 1920’s. Before radio and television existed almost all people gained knowledge of the wider world and current events through books and literature. Literature contributed to society a lot more in the 1920’s than it did today. Many authors contributed to the learning and shaping of minds young and old by writing books that would define the time period. Some of these authors were F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and T.S. Elliot. They defined and shaped the 1920’s by their writings and literature.

Writers use personality traits and events to change the classical ideals. Majority of the writer's focus is to change people's attitude's. Jonathan Swift, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere, Francois-Marie Arquet de Voltaire use characterization and plot to challenge the themes of the Neo-Classical period.

American literature has been established for centuries. From the cave paintings of the Native Americans, to the novels documenting the events of World War II, time periods have greatly influenced the literature produced. The writings of the Puritans focused on God and their faith and the writings of the revolutionaries focused on achieving freedom from Great Britain. As history continued, the writings of each time period remained relevant and inspired by that time period. In the 1920s, women were becoming liberated.

The age of literary modernism in America allowed a break in traditional literature, especially with the concepts of religious, political and social views. This creation of difference was influenced by the changing of lifestyles in America. Modernism made its first appearances during the twentieth century. American’s were facing conflicts that were tearing at the seams of a traditional lifestyle. World War I, a decrease in patriotism, and racism shaped modern literary works.

We can decide how “American” a piece of writing is by seeing if it is written about America or makes reference to America. Also, was it written by an American? America contains people of so many different backgrounds, cultures, etc. America’s values and morals have changed over the years. If you read American literature, you can see how much it has changed. You can also learn about the history of America. The language has changed from formal and now is more modern. The form has changed over the years. Some of the writings like the poems were very deep that it can be difficult for somebody in this age to decipher the poem. They are very deep and had meaning, but the meaning may not be even close to what we think without doing some research

Prejudice. Stereotypes. Discrimination. Racism. These standards are four of many injustices that fuel the world today. They play a major role in much of America’s history and even more so in its literature. A historically significant event that demonstrates these characteristics is the integration of the Little Rock Nine in 1957 at Little Rock, Arkansas. The Little Rock Nine were the first nine African-American students to be integrated into a public school, and were subject to a whole country worth of hatred and cruelty while attending. Aspects of this event in history are similar those in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee for they

Literature is normally influenced by the time period in which it was written; whether it is war, poverty, or any other social movement. People write about the events that took place, or they just describe the time period, in like what many writers did during the Romantic Movement. Whether it is intentional or subconscious, an author cannot help

Realism, Naturalism, and Regionalism are just a few examples of the many styles of writing that exist. Each style of writing deals with a specific time period. Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”, Henry James’s “Daisy Miller”, and Mary E Wilkins Freeman’s “The Revolt of Mother” are just a few examples of the literary works that represent these time periods. These literary works are perfect examples of the specific time periods each writing style was popular among certain authors. These stories allow readers to compare the modern times that we live in currently to the period these authors were in. They also allow the reader to branch out and be different.

American literature 1865-1914 is an American literary time period that began in 1865 and ended in 1914. This time period was flourished by three distinct features and the first of these features is: The Aftermath of the Civil War. It is estimated that a total of 620,000 Americans were killed in the Civil War, and for what? At the time, we were an America that was divided by one huge issue that ran supreme and it was slavery and the unequal treatment of African Americans. At this time the nation needed to figure a way to unite the North who were against slavery and the South who were for slavery. As Abraham Lincoln says in our Bedford Anthology of American Literature: “No one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man, we simply must begin with, and mould from, disorganized and discordant elements,” (4). He is saying that we must not start a new, but rather we need to start from what we had and mould and shape our country into one. Prior to the Civil War, America was not a whole, it was ruled by states’ rights and was divided on countless issues, and when referring to America, people said the United States are… It wasn’t until under President Lincoln, and concluding the Civil War that the United States began to be referred to as the United States is.. Honest Abe, brought our nation together as one, but the racial tension that remained was something one man can never fix. The literature around this time period was dominated by ideas and feelings circled

AS time passed on literature got evolved into various constituents such as naturalism, realism and modernism. People really believed in what they stood for and began bending literature based on their free will. What they found was right, was written down and published. People in the present generation has their desire towards

The 1920’s and the 1930’s was a time period of change in literature. Authors with different views on writing sprung forward and shared their writing. Many significant events happened during the 1920’s and 1930’s to influence writers of that time. The 1920’s was a period of booming economy and wealth in the american world. The end of World War I signaled an era of new ideas and thoughts and people began to express their views more freely.

Before the 20th Century, literature was pretty straightforward; the narrators were reliable, the timelines were linear, and the perspective was clear, but then somebody got the idea to mix it up. This is how we got books such as The Great Gatsby and one of our class texts, Orlando. For some, this was a startling and uncomfortable transition from what used to be considered the, “normal” format which was very up front in terms of structure and voice. Others found it to be more exciting and, while it was still weird and unsettling for those people, it forced people to think more about what the books were trying to communicate, instead of just being handed the message; they had to work for it. This has become one of the leading reasons that societies are encouraged to read; if you read a book that forces you to think, your mind becomes stronger and this promotes an increase in intelligence and creativity.

Literature is an imitation of societal values and is thus a reflection of the human experience of a time period. Written works emphasize the elements of culture, by means of characters, particular events, setting and theme, specific to the time period in which it was composed. Furthermore, literature mirrors the troubles or hardships of society and projects the core values that define said society. Thus, as culture has changed over time, literature has remained a critical facet in representing time periods of the past. Essentially, the culture of a time period is manifested through writing in the projection of society’s values, symbolism of the center of community and literature itself.

Early American literature may be said to begin with the Colonial period. John Smith and John Winthrop are two examples of the types of writing at this period: the former kept a romantic journal of his adventures in the New World; the latter kept a journal (or history) of life in New England, where religious matters were of utmost importance. The Puritans had come seeking a life free from religious persecution (which, they ironically brought with them however, as their descendent Nathaniel Hawthorne would show in The Scarlet Letter).