Verified Document

Great Depression Has Had A Significant Effect Thesis

¶ … 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 they could escape society's problems into the pages of a book that could provide them with a whole new point-of-view regarding the depression and concerning their personal identity. One of the principal negative consequences triggered by the Great Depression was the fact that the American Dream was no longer attainable in an environment dominated by poverty. American writers got actively engaged in writing in regard to the crisis and did not hesitate to paint a true portrayal of conditions in the U.S. during the event. Progress was no longer the concept sought for by most Americans, as they came to replace it with survival. As a consequence, individuals started to search for a way out and most people were willing to do anything in their power in order to be affected by the depression as little as possible, considering the horrific conditions that they lived in at the time. Even with the fact that reading was not exactly the most constructive method of recovering from the situation that they were in, individuals expressed particular interest in literature relating to the financial crisis. They most probably considered that they could gain a better understanding of the event if they were to see it from the perspective of someone who saw it as inspiration material.

Many writers came to acknowledge the importance of their role in the American society as a result of watching the Great Depression and the damage that it caused. "Like the Great War, the Great Depression forced a similar radical reassessment of the role of...

Taking this into account, one might be inclined to associate suffering with creation, considering that a great deal of artists produced remarkable works as a result of focusing on the depression and on its effects. In addition to wanting to emphasize the gravity of the event, many writers wanted to alert the population concerning the faults of capitalism, an ideology previously thought to be the most effective to have ever existed. It was practically as if these individuals were finally provided with the opportunity to condemn the strategies of a corrupt system and took advantage of it. It was practically impossible for someone to criticize them at this point, considering that they acted similar to correspondents who told a story as objectively as possible but without hesitating to involve their point-of-view into the writings.
It practically seemed that American literature experienced much progress during the Great Depression and that writers were ready to write more serious texts, works that they expected to have a significant effect on their readers and that they wanted to contribute to the general change that literature was going to make in order to remedy conditions in the country. While some might be inclined to consider that drama was one of the only concepts that could be associated with the event, other writers actually turned to using comedy as a means to condemn American leaders and to highlight the suffering of Americans. Writers realized that they were among the only ones holding power over ideologies in the U.S. And came to focus on providing the masses with education in regard to the attitudes that they needed to employ in order to improve conditions in the country (Solomon 124).

U.S. writers and intellectuals in general considered that the Great Depression stood as proof that they needed to employ much thinking in regard to the political ideology that they wanted to…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography:

Andrews, William L., Smith Foster, Frances, and Harris, Trudier, "The Concise Oxford Companion to African-American Literature," ( Oxford University Press, 2001)

Burt, Daniel, S. "The Chronology of American Literature: America's Literary Achievements from the Colonial Era to Modern Times," (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004)

Solomon, William, "Literature, Amusement, and Technology in the Great Depression," (Cambridge University Press, 2002)

Yannella, Philip, R., "American Literature in Context After 1929," (John Wiley & Sons, 2010)
"Great Depression, great creativity," Retrieved April 7, 2012, from the Temple University Website: http://news.temple.edu/news/great-depression-great-creativity-0
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Great Depression Angela Thomas the Great Depression
Words: 1171 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Great Depression Angela Thomas The Great Depression was a pivotal time in the history of the United States and as a result, American business, banking, agriculture and society were drastically altered. It is commonly believed that the crash of the New York stock market at the end of October 1929 caused the Great Depression, but in reality this turbulent period of American history was brought on by a number of factors. And

Great Depression of the Early
Words: 3857 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

In fact, from 1923-1929 corporate profits rose 62% and dividends rose 65%." (McElvaine R.S. p. 39) This is further evidence not only of the inequality of general wealth distribution, but also of the severe imbalance that was to create havoc in the economy. This dilemma was also further exacerbated by the fact that the Federal Government encouraged this situation. For example, President Coolidge signed the Revenue Act of 1926, which

Great Recession V Great Depression
Words: 1288 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Depression V Recession The Great Recession of 2009, which in economic terms lasted two quarters but for many people stretched out quite a bit longer, was billed as the worst economic event since the Great Depression. This provides us with an opportunity to examine the two events, their respective time periods, and what sort of similarities and differences we can determined between them. The 1920s were known as the roaring twenties, and

Great Depression of 1929 Vs.
Words: 3030 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

These two factors would cause the economy to experience a sudden erosion of economic stability. At which point, a new Administration would begin: massive spending and enacting various regulations to address the causes of the Great Depression. This would help to provide stability to: the economy and it created a foundation for placing some kind of support in the different economic structures (i.e. banks / the stock market). What

Great Depression Today's Global Economic
Words: 2664 Length: 9 Document Type: Thesis

The excessive use of margin had encouraged speculation. Poor governance on the part of banks and brokerages allowed for a market failure where investors were not making rational decisions, resulting in a bubble. A variety of new taxes were created to offset Roosevelt's social programs. The American psyche had been scarred by the abject poverty of such a wide proportion of the population. There was palpable fear and desperation. This

Great Depression and the Current
Words: 1578 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Second, margin accounts are now regulated. There are margin call limits nowadays which prevent individuals and institutions from assuming too much risk in the stock market. Banks also limit margin borrowing. A person has to fill out a special application in order to open a margin account and demonstrate knowledge of stock trading before such an account is opened. Thirdly, banks that are big are not permitted to go

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

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