The Effect of Cultural and Historical Situations on American Literature

Europe had a fair amount of influence on the United States at this time. In addition to influencing American literature, theatre, music, fine arts, and fashion, European immigrants help shaped American life by bringing their traditions and cultures to the United States. In the 1870’s a new literary movement called Realism was on the rise in America. Three American authors wrote

American literature is not only written by American authors, but is influenced and reflects on the nation’s past and truths, whether good or bad. sAdventures of

Think about life hundreds of years ago, think about their literature, and what their writings were based off. Society has a significant impact on art, music, and literature. Over the years American literature has evolved. This evolution is a reflection of history. Time periods reflect changes in society, politics, and religion. Each time period has a distinct characteristic. The evolution of literature is shown by

Writers have always been straightforward and always spoke their mind to get a point across, which is why American Literature has always been so powerful whether it be from this from the 16th century to this current era. Authors have always found a way to express their very own feelings and opinions and have it published therefore possibly change the outcome. The majority of the successful authors had many different styles, techniques to get their word out to the public. Being truthful, has always put American Literature ahead of everybody and have always kept the expectations high of these American writers. Many of the famous Authors who’s name still come up to this day, have always been realistic in their writings, which then makes him/her a reliable source. They don’t hide any facts from the public, they tell the whole hard truth, so the public can see what they are

American literature has evolved greatly from the Native Americans to 1870’s. American literature has changed, it teaches us how we have become more independent ourselves. The World on a Turtle’s Back, a myth, The Scarlet Letter, a book in a puritan setting, and A Rose for Emily is a southern gothic story. American literature would not be the same today without these forms of writing. The teachings from these are passed down generation to generation.

American History, it has done so much in time that has affected how we live life today and how we interpret things. American Literature reflects that and all it has left us with. Throughout the stories and passages we’ve read this course all of them have left a impact on how and why the writers wrote about what they did. It was all because of American History which later went on and fathered American Literature. American Literature has made society how it is today and painted a vivid picture of how American’s and people live and many of these writers had that in mind when they took these notes.

Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries, the era that people discussed the most. Some would say it is because that time period was not far from us, but I would say it is because it was the time that the spirits and moral standards changed drastically. In the late nineteenth centuries, industrial revolution boosted the development of the society, and various movements about different rights happened. In the early twentieth centuries, people experienced World War I, and the lost generation also attracts people. It is reasonable to say that those two parts of history affected American’s psyche a lot. Thus, it is meaningful to compare and analyze the two works about the WWI.

There are many authors that have made a great impact on their time period and the world today. Each author has a unique writing style due to the way that each individual was raised. For example, some authors may advocate slavery, but other authors were raised to believe slavery was a horrible mistreatment of others. Thus, whichever bias was believed by each author was reflected through their writing. Opinion after opinion, writers in America still had an influential voice. Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought From Africa to America,” Henry Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government,” Frederick Douglass’ “A Parody,” and Fanny Fern’s “Male Criticism on Ladies Books” share a similar theme of injustice inferiority to others and bias; however, on the contrary, they differ in the seriousness

American literature has been evolving since the dawn of the Puritan exploration and colonization in the early 1600s. From John Smith's books and descriptions of Native American life to the revolutionary ideas of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, literature has had many forms and has taken many ideas across time to interpreted by scholars of today. The early Americans were very successful in creating a style of literature that has a complete web of genres to be examined, as well as some genres being sourced more than others. These distinctions only help to prove the diversity of American literature from 1607 to the present day.

A common theme throughout American literature was the loneliness and alienation of people in society. Discrimination and hatred of others ways played a major role in the way people treated one another. The realism time period displayed an obvious separation of men and women. During the realism period, war and the cruelties of it played a major role in society, while the modernism time period displayed a major separation of whites and blacks. These feelings of alienation and loneliness are expressed into American literature today.

Americans have been using literature for many years to connect to the world around them. In the play ¨The Crucible¨ by Arthur Miller he connects the play to the time period of Mccarthyism. Similarly, ¨Winter Dreams¨ by F. Scott Fitzgerald connects the time period of the Roaring 20s to his life. ¨Ambush¨ by Tim O'Brien connects the short story to the Vietnam War. Americans were able to react to the time period that they were in or went through with the literature that they wrote.

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.

“A Tale Intended to be After the Fact…” is how Stephan Crane introduced his harrowing story, “The Open Boat,” but this statement also shows that history influences American Literature. Throughout history, there has been a connection among literary works from different periods. The connection is that History, current events, and social events have influenced American Literature. Authors, their literary works, and the specific writing styles; are affected and influenced by the world around them. Authors have long used experiences they have lived through and/or taken out of history to help shape and express in their works. Writing styles are also affected by the current trends and opinions of the period they represent. By reading American

Now that you have the basic idea on each of the time periods, we at Poetic Justice hope you can put to use some of your newly acquired knowledge. By knowing the literary movement in which an author is writing in,

Throughout the duration of this class, I had the opportunity to encounter a great deal of fantastic examples of literature. The stories were as similar as they were different, each one with a unique premise but somehow also reflective of one another. Perhaps it is be accident, or more likely it is because the stories are a part of the fabric of our nation and the American condition. The stories are of their respective times while also being able to fairly and accurately critique American society, culture, and values. From capitalism to America’s changing thoughts on morality throughout the decades, the writings were introspective to the story of our nation.