The Moderns

1
The Moderns
1914-1939
2
Notable Works of Literature

• Robert Frost (Poet)
• T.S. Eliots poem The Waste Land
• F. Scott Fitzgerald publishes his novel of the
  Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby
• Langston Hughes (Poet)
• John Steinbeck publishes The Grapes of Wrath

3
Political and Social Milestones

• The Great War 1914-1918 (WWI)
• Womens Suffrage (Womens right to vote)
• The Great Depression (1929)

4
The American Dream Pursuit of a Promise

• America as a New Eden a land of beauty, bounty,
  and unlimited promise. Such ideals are reflected
  in the novel, The Great Gatsby
• A Belief in Progress optimism is justified by
  the ever expanding opportunity and abundance that
  many people had come to expect...life will keep
  getting better and that we are always moving
  forward.
• Triumph of the Individual the independent,
  self-reliant person.

5

The Moderns

• Life during the early part of the twentieth
  century was marked by tremendous change-
  political, social, psychological and spiritual.
  Each decade seemed to bring new upheaval, and
  each upheaval requires a new adjustment in
  attitude. These changes were reflected in a new
  period in American literature, called modernism.

6
Tenets of the American Dream

• America is a new Eden, a promised land of beauty,
  unlimited resources, and endless opportunities.
• The American birthright is one of ever-expanding
  opportunity. Progress is a good thing, and we can
  optimistically expect life to keep getting better
  and better.
• The independent, self-reliant individual will
  triumph. Everything is possible for the person
  who places trust in his or her own powers and
  potential.

7
Elements of Modernism

• Emphasis on bold experimentation in style and
  form, reflecting the fragmentation of society.
• Rejection of traditional themes, subjects and
  forms.
• Sense of disillusionment and loss of faith in the
  American dream.

8
Elements of Modernism

• Rejection of sentimentality and artificiality
• Rejection of the ideal of a hero as infallible in
  favor of a hero who is flawed and disillusioned
  but shows grace under pressure.
• Interest in the inner workings of the human mind,
  some things expressed through new narrative
  techniques, such as stream of consciousness
• Revolt against the spiritual debasement of the
  modern world.

9
Political Highlights

• In 1917, the United States enters WWI on the side
  of the Allied nations
• Women win the right to vote when the Nineteenth
  Amendment is passed in 1920
• The stock market crash of 1929 ushers in the
  Great Depression.

10
Philosophical Views

• Marxism which embraced socialism as the desired
  social structure, takes hold in Russia and finds
  some support in the US
• The science of psychoanalysis encourages
  exploration of the human subconscious and the
  meaning of dreams.

11
Social Influences

• Speak-easies and jazz clubs spring up during
  Prohibition. The underground social scene becomes
  popular.
• During the 1920s many young women flout
  tradition and become more independent in thought,
  dress, and attitude.

12
Popular Entertainment RADIO

• The most popular form of entertainment during the
  1930s.
• By 1933, two thirds of American households owned
  at least one radio.
• People relied on radios for news, as was
  demonstrated in the War of the Worlds broadcast.

13
Popular Entertainment MOVIES

• To get Americans minds off the hardships of the
  Depression, Hollywood produced slapstick comedies
  and romantic musicals.
• The cost of going to the movie was relatively
  inexpensive and each week millions of Americans
  flocked to watch cartoons, newsreels, and
  romantic names.

14
Writing Assignment

• In 1929, Gertude Stein, a leading modernist
  literary figure among the American refugee in
  Paris, declared, Everything is the same and
  everything is different. Apply her remark to the
  American dream of the early twentieth century,
  and then apply it to today and tomorrow. Note the
  ways in which the American dream remains in the
  same and ways in which it has changed.