American Literature and the Great Depression
When one considers how the Great Depression affected American Literature, John Steinbeck tends to stick out, if only because his fiction generally discusses the same themes and anxieties that has come to define the Great Depression in the public consciousness. Indeed, Steinbeck's Grapes Of Wrath, a realist novel which follows the Joad family as they travel west after they losing their farm to the Dust Bowl, is frequently considered the quintessential encapsulation of the thematic and stylistic effects the Great Depression had on American Literature. Somewhat less considered, though no less crucial to understanding the effects of the Great Depression on American Literature, is the influence the Great Depression had on the careers of black writers, and particularly those who were a part of the Federal Writer's Project, the New Deal program support writers during the Depression. By considering Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath alongside Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men and Richard Wright's Native Son, one is able to better appreciate how the legacy of the Great Depression in American Literature is not solely one of darkness, despair, and the death of the American Dream, as seen in Steinbeck's work, but also, through the work of authors like Hurston and Wright, looks forward toward the potential for a world better that the world of the Depression or even what came before.
Like Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright, John Steinbeck participated in the Federal Writer's...
There was little support for an Equal Rights Amendment, largely due to the belief that there were other problems to solve first, but the mindset of women was well set for what would be their need in the workforce during World War II. However, while large numbers of women worked during the Depression, scholars often see their status slightly decreasing because the American Federation of Labor, for one, did
Great Depression was an immense tragedy for Americans. It was the beginning of involvement of government in the economy. After a decade of prosperity and optimism, the United States of America was thrown in despair on October 1929. The whole stock market got crashed and the Great Depression began officially. That day is known as Black Tuesday. There was no hope of the recovery of stock prices. Masses of Americans
Great Depression has had a significant effect on society as a whole and it has also provided inspiration for creative minds who acknowledged the suffering that it generated. Many American writers saw the events accompanying the economic crisis from a firsthand perspective and their artistic personalities thus came to shape their perception of these respective happenings. Literature actually provided a way out for individuals who suffered financial deficit, as
Great Depression -- Randall E. Parker Albert Hart: Albert Hart's interview in this book opens with a description of his influence on the American economic machinery (72): his highly influential book, Debts and Recovery 1929 to 1937 " ... painstakingly documented and analyzed changes in the structure of the internal debts" of every detail of the U.S. economy, according to the book's author, Randall Parker. The interview also began with
Great Depression Although there are few Americans alive today who actually lived through the Great Depression, the event exacted an enormous toll on the country's and ultimately the world's economy in unprecedented ways, and some contemporaries questioned whether recovery was ever possible. To determine the facts, this paper reviews the literature concerning the Great Depression to identify is causes, including the financial, ecological and speculative reasons for the crash of
Great Depression of the 1930s and the current status of the United States. Great depression of the 1930's and current economic status of the U.S. The research paper compares and contrasts the great depression of the 1930's and the current economic status of the United State of America. It first of all makes a general overview of each of these two different periods and then focuses on certain specific aspects during these
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now