World War I: Hedonism In The United States

The Jazz Age was a period of radical behavior and care free living. This new music structure started the crazy decade that would change American life. “In the US during the 1920s, jazz was far more than a new musical style or genre”. A Focus on culture, fashion, and mostly freedom became huge. “The Jazz Age became a touchstone for a wide range of social and cultural issues.”1 Also the freedom during the period allowed for many different ethnicities, including African Americans, to gain freedom within society. This new music

The 1920s, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great change and a time of powerful enthusiasm in many areas of society. The world had just finished the biggest war in history, the First World War, and the United States was left almost unharmed by the war. The United States was able to experience a decade of peace and success following the war. During this decade, America became the wealthiest country in the world (Trueman, 2000). The people in the United States went through a colorful period during the twenties. However, at the same time the 1920s was also a very rebellious and difficult time for many. The culture of the 1920s has influenced the culture of America’s society today.

The American Dream is a commonly known theme among the general population today. It states that with the right amount of work any US citizen can obtain success in their lives. This idea was popularized around 1930 with James Truslow Adam’s book “The Epic of America” bringing about the idea that there is opportunity for everyone in America if they can work hard enough.3 This idea of the American dream however began much earlier than the 20th century. Rather it began in the west in the 1800s as US citizens gained the ability to cross the frontier and begin completely new lives, whether those lives became advantageous or not. According to the American Dream the western settler’s level of work, not race or gender, would determine whether or not he or she became successful. However this was not the case. The American Dream of the 19th century is disparate from the one known today. Unlike Adam’s “American Dream” of the 1930s, this western “American Dream” was heavily skewed towards white male, US citizen obtainment. This was because the main drive of the western frontier was for white male US citizens to profit from the newly obtained land and keep it for themselves thus fulfilling their new “American Dream.” In the mid19th century, economic opportunities existed in the Western Frontier of America, allowing people to go and accomplish their dreams if they had the motivation, but those opportunities were prohibitive for women, nonwhites, or non US

The First World War was the fundamental element that led to the economic boom; World War I represented the greatest explosion in investment, production, trade, science and technique in the whole of human history and it put its stamp on political developments in all the different parts of the world. World war I led to a number of things such as the civil rights movement, the economic boom and eventually the great depression both of which made a great impact on America at the time. The economic boom raised a lot of social standings when it came to money but people that grow up with money their whole lives would still look down on them even if they had more than they do. The Civil rights movement during the 1920s made things a lot different for

The Jazz Age was a cultural tectonic shift that took place in America during the 1920’s, or "the Roaring Twenties”, from which both jazz music and dance emerged. This movement was coupled with both the equally phenomenal introduction of mainstream radio and the conclusion of World War I. Although the era ended as the Great Depression victimised America in the 1930's, jazz has lived on in American pop culture.

During the years of 1914-1945 Americans experienced both the best and the worst times in American history. For example, Americans had to deal with two world wars, the great depression, and the great dust bowl, which all caused a great amount of deaths, and have all made a major change in the US economy both good and bad. An important person during this era was Eisenhower, due to the fact that he was president of the united states during a crucial part of the cold war, was the commander of allied forces in Europe, and Africa during WWII, and was the Supreme Commander of NATO. Furthermore, an event that had a major impact at the time on Americans was WWII. It was a gruesome event that took the lives of roughly 60 million people, 6 million of

After the devastation of WW 1, the United States and major European countries became wealthier and saw greater prosperity, but because of their actions during that time they fell into what is now known as The Great Depression. After the war industrialization was everybody's best friend. Cars became better, Cities were filled, women gained the right to vote and business and manufacturing industries expanded. From 1920 to 1929 the people in these countries lived in an industrialized era, were they danced to the popular sounds of jazz bands, and girls became more flexible with their short movable dresses and short hairs, while the men spent more money on bear and cigars than on food. This was a time were people did everything they could to forget

Wealth and power are drivers that turn the gears of American society. The constant struggle for these sought-after commodities has beneficial and harmful aspects. The American dream is perhaps one of the most influential ideas that acts as the bed rock for achievement and success. But new found or inherited wealth can be a blessing and a curse if not properly utilized. In society, class, popularity and power are all highly valued and actively pursued by many people. Without structure and support, a individual will lean on these values for happiness.

The dawning of the 1920’s in America left a need in the citizens’ hearts to return to a state of normalcy after the devastating effects of the Great War. However, the new era of isolationism spawned a cultural revolution that can only be described as anything but “normal”. Heavy losses over seas left Americans turned off to problems occurring outside of United States borders. As the citizens’ averted their eyes from the problems of the world, they were left to focus their attention of forming the spectacular sense of moral freedom of the decade. The economy flourished as well.Wall Street became an enormous success as the introduction of credit dazzled the American people. The colossal factories which had supplied weapons and war machinery now churned out the automobiles, radios, and abundant excitement which would go on to define the era. The isolationist attitude also led away from the idea of the “whole” and people found themselves focusing on their own needs and wants, which emphasized the adolescent nature of the United States. The post-war, isolationist minds of Americans in the roaring twenties focused on the dream of total freedom as they strove towards liberation in their daily lives, and were represented by the authors of the modernist fiction era.

The term “American Dream” is one of the triggers that lead to the shores of the USA many thousands of immigrants, it had a deep meaning for them, and it was first introduced to us by an American writer and historian James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book called “The Epic of America”, where he gives the definition of the term how he said “The American Dream”, by saying

The years following the United States involvement in World War I brought about social change and great fortune. The 1920s, also known as the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, was a time of economic prosperity, automobiles, consumerism, music, film, fashion, and literature. All of this created a new American popular culture.

The American dream begins in Early American Literature it is presented in Olaudah Equiano’s narrative. Equiano wanted to be a free man after being taken into slavery, although it wasn’t all kicks and giggles. "Hitherto I had thought only slavery dreadful; but the state of a free negro appeared to me know equally so at least, and in some respects even worse, for they live in constant alarm for their liberty, which is but nominal." (122 Equiano). He says that the trials of

The term “American dream” is relatively new and can stand for different connotations depending on the context. It was created by James Truslow Adams and written down in his book, The Epic of America, which was published in 1931. He states that the American dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”(Adams). However, the basis for the foundation can be traced back to the sixteenth century Puritans. The Puritans did not call it the American dream, but their attitude towards religion and work ethic is similar to the term. They believed that for every single person there was a destiny. James Truslow Adams was a writer and stated that “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”(Adams). America

During the eighteenth century, America had transformed from a simple homestead into an ornate country. Within the bustling empire, the wealthy were able to live lavish lifestyle that inspired the idea of the “American Dream.” The

Dreaming is essential for the human spirit, the reason homo sapiens sapiens wiped out the neanderthals was because we could believe in something bigger than ourselves. Even when our dreams are far from fruition, we as humans still believe in them as it is in our nature. S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders and in John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men have certain characters that possess dreams that they believe in and work towards, whether they’re achievable or not. Many unique personalities such as Crooks the stable buck, Dallas Winston, Curley’s Wife, Darry, and other characters in both books are disenfranchised from a notion henceforth referred to as “The American Dream”. “The American Dream” is a very vague phrase. However, it can be amounted to being a lower-class citizen (frequently an immigrant) and then moving to America. Then (in America) they get a stable job with good income, buy a house, have a family, and live happily ever after. The frequency and large application for the term “The American Dream” is what initially drew a large amount of immigrants in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s because it was viewed as the land of freedom and most importantly, opportunity. “The American Dream” can be, and is a widely used phrase but in this essay shall be used to refer to many characters’ own hopes and dreams for their future. Characters in Of Mice and Men and in The Outsiders are frequently disenfranchised and held back from ‘The American Dream’ by an aspect out of their