Death of a Salesman Expressionism is an artistic movement created in the early 20th century which sought to express human emotion through artistic media. While it may have began with painting, it quickly spread to other forms of artistic expression including poetry and literature. In the form of literature, expressionist plays were a very popular form of expressing the struggle of the protagonist against difficulties of life and cultural expectations. These plays often dramatized the emotional, or psychological, sufferings and eventual enlightenment of the main character. Expressionist dramaturgy also makes use of rapid scene changes, tremendous stage and lighting action, as well as a non-regular storyline which jumps around and often confuses the audience. However, all these elements are brought together in order to allow the audience to "ride an emotional rollercoaster" while viewing the play. One time-honored example of this type of literature is Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. This play uses the artistic mechanisms of expressionist dramaturgy...
(Weisstein, 202)
Cain (afterward coupled by Mickey Spillane, Horace McCoy, and Jim Thompson) -- whose books were also recurrently tailored in films noir. In the vein of the novels, these films were set apart by a subdued atmosphere and realistic violence, and they presented postwar American cynicism to the extent of nihilism by presuming the total and hopeless corruption of society and of everyone in it. Billy Wilder's acidic Double Indemnity
Eugene O'Neill's play, "The Emperor Jones (1921)," is the horrifying story of Rufus Jones, the monarch of a West Indian island, presented in a single act of eight scenes of violence and disturbing images. O'Neill's sense of tragedy comes out undiluted in this surreal and nightmarish study of Jones' character in a mighty struggle and tension between black Christianity and black paganism (IMBD). Jones is an unforgettable character in his
Symbolism of the 'Self' in Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" In the domain of modern literature, particularly in 20th century literature, Franz Kafka ranks as one of the most revolutionary writer, who used the techniques of expressionism and symbolism to discuss the theme of the "Self" of an individual and his/her integration in the society. Franz Kafka's experience as a writer had been influenced by his experiences in his family life and as
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