Thomas Pynchon is an American author, known for his deep and complex novels. Some say he is the greatest American author since World War II. Being such a private person, there are only few pictures of him in the public, and only few interviews with him. By using satire, irony, and symbolism, he showcased the moral flaws in humans at that time in society. Doing so he influenced many future writers, and artists, as well as the literature world. Pynchon is known for being part of the postmodernism movement in literature. Born on May 8th 1937, in New York, he is the descendent of William Pynchon, the founder of Springfield, Massachusetts. His long line of wealthy ancestors and family style greatly influenced his writings. He was student of the year at Oyster Bay High, and …show more content…
He is thought to have influenced many directors, writers, and artists. Specifically influencing Neal Stephenson and William Gibson. One of Pynchon’s novels Gravity’s Rainbow is considered the start of the cyberpunk genre, of which Stephenson and Gibson were very prominent authors in. Pynchon is believed to be the reason cyberpunk made its way into the literature world and grew into a popular genre. “The Bible of the 21st Century has an Old Testament and a New. The Old, written in 1973 by Thomas Pynchon, is called Gravity’s Rainbow.” In 1987, in Spin Magazine, Thomas Leary compared Pynchon's novel to the Old Testament, as if it was like the beginning of something, that without Pynchon, cyberpunk would not be the genre that it is today. He stated that the “New Testament” to Pynchon’s novel was Gibson's novel; Neuromancer. His novel was published in 1973, and cyberpunk was not viewed as a literary genre until the early 1980’s. His novel is considered to be the original cyberpunk novel, which is why some categorize it in that
The first contributor, Abraham Maslow was born on April 1st, 1908. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. His early childhood as he explains, filled with hardships and he felt unhappy and lonely. His mother was abusive and unloving, which may
Ray Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920. He had a very idyllic childhood and
Kurt Vonnegut, was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to American-German parents Kurt Vonnegut (Sr.), and Edith Vonnegut. Vonnegut had an older brother, Bernard and an older sister, Alice. Vonnegut graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis in 1940 and went to Cornell University later that fall. Though he majored in chemistry, he was Assistant Managing Editor and Associate Editor of the Cornell newspaper. While at Cornell, Vonnegut enlisted in the United States Army. The Army then transferred him to the Carnegie Institute of Technology and finally the University of Tennessee to study mechanical engineering.
He never lived up to his namesake's reputation for swashbuckling adventure on the high seas. Instead, Bradbury's great adventures would take place behind a typewriter, in the realm of imagination. Today, as an author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, lecturer, poet and visionary, Ray Bradbury is known as one of America's greatest creative geniuses.
From a young age Bradbury showed much interest into english literature. He was born in Waukegan, Illinois and spent much of his childhood growing up there. At the young age of 12 he decided to become a writer. Being a very clever and bright kid Bradburry began his writing career on butcher paper. (Jensen & Johnston 1). Bradbury spent his teenage years enrolled at Los Angeles High Schools.
William Faulkner was born on September 25th, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. He is the son of Murry and Maud Faulkner, a couple with a southern heritage. He is the oldest of four sons and although born in New Albany, grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. His mother was an avid reader but also enjoyed other arts such as photography and painting. Being that she was well educated helped William truly have passions for
Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis on November 11, 1922. His family was well off due to the fact that his father was an extremely successful architect, that is, until the Great Depression. When the stock market crashed, so did the Vonnegut’s lives. The family lost their riches, and both of Kurt’s parents became severely depressed,
Biography: Paragraph 1: Walter Whitman Jr. born on May 31, 1819 in West Hills, Long Island, New York and his mother name was Louisa Vanvesor and she was Dutch
Some of the most riveting books in not just American literature but in all of history, was written by this famous author. Twain, an American writer, is one of the major authors of American fiction. Also, he is considered the greatest humorist in American literature (Alan Gribben, np). Mark Twain was influenced by the society’s conditions he lived in, hence the incorporation of much of it in his writing.
An author’s influence is always conspicuous in their writing. Their work is swayed by major events and little things that deeply affected their lives. Historical content during that time period also inspires their writing. The fantasy and science fiction writer of the mid-1900’s, Ray Bradbury, admitted about the magician, Mr. Electrico, “I could run to him, embrace him, and thank him for changing my life and helping me become a writer” (In His Words 2). Ray Bradbury was a leading contributor to fantasy fiction during the 20th century became stirred by the influences of the effects of his personal life, magic, the speedy scientific inventions during his life, and the worldwide fear of the atomic bomb of WWII.
Cormac McCarthy was born in Rhode Island on July 20th, 1993. He was the oldest son yet was
Henry Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts to a successful pencil manufacturer John Thoreau and a strong-willed, quick-witted mother,
publish, and keep in the public eye. His stories have stayed in print for nearly
Born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1902 to a mixed-race parents, who divorced at an early stage of marriage, Langston Hughes grew up around the suburbs of Kansas then began to write poetry in high school. His father wanted him to be a mining engineer so he attended Columbia University however, he dropped out after his fresh man year to pursue his first love, poetry. His poetry had a feature combination of musical rhythms as well as cultural slang, and that lighted up the African American culture. In other words, he publicized the African American culture by using nontraditional rhythms
recognized as his greatest literature accomplishment not only for the multitude of themes and literature firsts, but also for the beauty of his writing style.