The Greatest Generation During World War II And The Great Depression

In the article “The Greatest Generation: The Great Depression and the American South,” Jeffrey DeRoven analyzes the economic struggles of the American South during the Great Depression in order to figure out why some people refer to people from that time period as the “greatest generation.” Below, this paper overviews DeRoven’s thesis, purpose, stance, audience, usage of literary techniques as well as logos, pathos and ethos, logical fallacies, and ultimately concludes with an opinion suggesting that DeRoven’s analysis is mostly sound and useful, but limited in proving his thesis.

The book “The Greatest Generation”, by Tom Brokaw, is about the men and women who were born in the 1920’s and how they are what he deems to be the greatest generation thus far. He believes this generation is so tremendous because of the fact they did not demand respect for what they did and went through. Though may sacrificed as much as their lives, they do not think higher of themselves. Even through all their struggling they managed to have enough strength leave everything behind and fight for their country. I believe Tom Brokaw is correct when he says they are there greatest generation. People then would support the war and the men who fought in it, whereas nowadays there are just as many people against war, fighting, and the men and

Modernism began around the late 1800s or early 1900s, with artists and writers in Europe producing many extraordinary and influential works. This period spans many events, including both World Wars and the Great Depression. World War I appeared to be a major event that helped to start Modernism; this was because of the destruction and ruin that came from it and events that followed. This poem is consistent with the values of Modernism because of alienation, time, and self- consciousness; however, it continues to resonate with readers today because isolation, change, and insecurities are things that humans may face.

“Growing up in a time when all you worry about is if your family will be able to make it through to the next day is definitely a very scary and difficult time to live in” (Vonder Haar). My great-grandpa had this to say to my grandpa about growing up during the great depression. For many people in America from the 1930s to 1940s, life was a constant struggle. The people living in the Midwest, especially St. Louis, knew much too well how difficult it was to live through the great depression. When great-great grandpa first came to St. Louis from Germany he purchased a farm. From that point on, my family struggled to maintain the farm that would still exist today. Many people were affected by the great depression. Throughout the time period before

In Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation, the author portrays ordinary people of a certain generation as having qualities of greatness and heroism. He tells stories of average people that lived inspiring lives through many hardships, and declares today’s society as the beneficiary of their challenging work and commitment. Brokaw’s generous and proficient use of imagery helps to persuade the reader to believe that the people of “the greatest generation” are, indeed, heroic. He defines the strength and resilience of “the greatest generation” by what they were able to confront and overcome.

The fallout after the World War 1 and the Great Depression saw the emergence of a literary preoccupation with the idea of fragmentation, and a 'cubist application ' to literature as a means of representing the 20th Century 'modern ' reality. Authors, poets, artists etc saw; cubism, expressionism and fragmentation as the best vehicles to depict the incomplete, broken lives of their subjects. With both modern and post modern literature making a conscious break away from previous realism, 20thC literature employed and explored subjectivism, whereby the author turned from the typical external reality to the inner consciousness of a character or subject, to reflect a motif/ theme as a whole. Modernist literature did so by exploring fragmentation in terms of narrative, how a character was constructed, the formation of passages and chapters, and how events unfolded. This typically surmounted to the creation of a sense of a chaotic universe, metaphysically unfounded, laced with the subconscious fears of characters and notions of alienation.

The Great Depression brought many changes to the United States of Americas but the New Deal allowed for the protection of the entire nation. At first political leaders like Herbert Hoover, felt that the depression was only temporary and failed to comprehend the depth that the nation was in. Women and minorities began losing their jobs faster than men but soon when white men were walking down the streets searching for an opportunity. When Roosevelt took office in date he would address the depression head on; saving the nation from imploding from the many violent strikes and protest around the nation. When Roosevelt created the New Deal he created Governmental organizations and programs that would not only help the white male in urban areas but the entire nation.

The author, Tom Brokaw; a part of of The Greatest Generation, has plenty of experience around the military. His fathers, Red Brokaw, was the typically role model for his son. “Between the ages three and five [Tom Brokaw] lived on an Army base in western South Dakota and spent a good deal of my time outdoors in a tiny helmet, shooting stick guns at imaginary German and Japanese soldiers” (XVII). In addition to his father being an inspirational imagine in his childhood, it also included memorable images of the Fourth of July and the moment after his father returned home from the service. The military was all around Tom Brokaw and inspired him to honor the veteran’s lives as well as sacrifice during the war. From a young age good morals and values were influencing Brokaw, much like many other members of The Greatest Generation.

“The Greatest Generation” is a term used to describe the generation who were the children of the Great Depression and who became the adults of the Second World War (Brokaw). There may be strong reasons why other generations may be considered great. The generation born during the war undertook the task of putting a man on the moon. This is perhaps the most important of all human endeavors. They are certainly worthy of being considered great but not the greatest. In fifteen years America and indeed the world endured the crushing poverty of the Great Depression and the costliest war in all of human history. The enormous struggles and accomplishments of this generation is what makes it the greatest.

In today’s day and age when people think of country music they imagine the classics, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Strait and many more. When people think of a redneck, they imagine a diehard country boy, who loves his country with a confederate flag in one hand and a beer in the other. But that is our generations take on these two words. The real question here is what did those two words mean to the people who came up with them and defined them. It couldn’t have been easy. It was no surprise that people were still recovering from the Great Depression and the more recent recession. Families were left destitute, men were working factory jobs for less than minimum wage, if that, and people had just about given up hope. In the time of

In today’s day and age when people think of country music they imagine the classics, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Strait and many more. When people think of a redneck, they imagine a diehard country boy, who loves his country with a confederate flag in one hand and a beer in the other. But that is our generations take on these two words. The real question here is what did those two words mean to the people who came up with them and defined them. It couldn’t have been easy. It was no surprise that people were still recovering from the Great Depression and the more recent recession. Families were left destitute, men were working factory jobs for less than minimum wage, if that, and people had just about given up hope. In the time of turmoil and pain, these people of the 1970’s found a way to give themselves something to believe in. The songs that the artists wrote, sang and performed gave these individuals something to believe in and something to look forward to. One day they knew they could have that dream. Sure, not all of the country music at the time was upbeat and about the future. It dwelled on the past like the Great Depression and when Americans lost everything, but it made the people of the 1970’s want to work that much harder to make something of themselves. People were determined to take a stand and make a change. The development of “redneck” and “country” culture came from the idea of a better life for the people of America in the 1970’s. This occurred with

Before World War I, the United States was in a period of isolationism, and a determination to stay out of European wars and affairs, while trying to maintain its status as one of the world’s biggest superpowers, militarily and economically (“United States Before”). America was just exiting the Gilded Age, which was an important time of growth and prosperity. Despite this, the American economy was in a small recession when entering the war, which was reversed by a 44 month period of growth caused by production for the war (NBER). This 44 month period helped the economy expand, and furthered the strength of the country. It also furthered the confidence of American businesses and the government which contributed to the attitude that caused overconfidence and helped to spread the Great Depression.

From 1929 to 1945, two catastrophes occurred: the Great Depression and World War II. American political leaders established a cause-effect relationship between economic collapse and total war, based on these two events, which defined their policy approach in the post-war period. In the 1930s, American leadership, and most importantly, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came to view economic decline, political radicalization, and instability as forming a vicious cycle that led to utter chaos and war. Although FDR did not know the future consequences of the economic fallout, he did know that breaking the cycle was of systemic importance. FDR’s policy platform, known as the New Deal, disregarded the historical wariness for government intervention and boldly connected economic security to freedom. Essentially, he attempted to push the American system to its limit in order to save it. Even with conservative elements constantly attempting to restrain his initiatives, FDR expanded his focus in the latter years of the 1930s to include international affairs as war broke out in Europe, Africa, and Asia. FDR and other government elites openly talked about the responsibility America had to build a new world order.

The Roaring Twenties is known as a time of prosperity due to consumerism and mass-production from the years 1920 to 1929. This era in American history could be considered one of the most excessive times to date. Because of the United States’ triumph in World War I, the country had its first involvement of being a world power. The increase of consumer goods greatly impacted the U.S. economy during this time of success. Also, the start of the airline industry along with the expansion of automobile manufacturers helped profit banks. Several Americans became dependent on the newly developed methods of payment, which eventually became the American standard way of living. The quest to achieve this ideal lifestyle also known as the American Dream led to a severe shift in the nation’s economy. Through both fiscal and monetary policy along with laissez-faire tactics, the Roaring Twenties ended with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, which was the precursor to the worst economic decline in history, The Great Depression.

After the Great War (1914-1919) came the “Roaring Twenties” followed by the Great Depression (1929-1939). After World War I America experienced the greatest economic growth in its history. Its economic expansion was due to how undamaged it was after the war. It became the richest country in the world at that time. The people enjoyed life as it were back then until the US experienced the largest economic downturn in history when the Stock Market crashed on 29th October 1929. It began in the summer months of 1929 when the US economy began experiencing a small recession where consumers began spending less and unsold goods began piling up, thereby slowing down production. While this was happening stock prices continues to rise reaching levels that could not be justified by anticipated potential earnings. This occurred for a few months until October 24th 1929 when the stock market crashed and America faced the Great Depression a few days after on October 29th 1929 . So what were the contributing factors of the Great Depression? These include: