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20th century and 21st century in the USA
Main characteristics:
1. Romanticism ➡ Nihilism
2. No experience of God
3. Man kills god ➡ subjectivity ego
4. Man as creator ➡ Science / Technology
5. Modernism replaces romanticism
6. 1910s-1920s: World War I
7. 1930s ➡ Depression Years ➡ Social Protest
8. 1950s-1960s ➡ Isolation/ Individualism
9. 1970s ➡ Postmodernism society
10. 1980s ➡ Digital culture
The first recognition from Europe to America as an important country in the world was in
WWII. A traumatic experience for Americans because they're whiny babies. Reality was not
perceived as objective, it was perceived as individual. This impressionistic view of the world
is still present.
Modernists were also social protesters. The Jazz Age was an explosion of a new way of life.
After the First World War there was the presence of minorities. Black people began to be
recognised because of music.
Ernest Hemingway was wounded in the front, which was important for him. He spent most of
his life in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, making him an international writer.
Gertrude Stein was a key figure in the 20th century. Her technique was one of the most
radical. She posed for Picasso
The fall of the stock market in 1929 was the start of the so-called “depression years”.
In the 1940s the atomic bomb was released, which affected millions of lives
The Second World War affected the American mind. It was such a horrible experience, in
which many people died. This brought about a sense of disillusionment.
Because of the victory over the Nazis, America received money from Europe. This brought
about the so-called “new capitalism”. Individualism was established with the appearance of
suburbs, with individual houses
In the 1950s people were happy with capitalism
Philosophical paradigms: Nietzsche
,Because of this, there were big changes in life. It was very radical, a complete move to
another paradigm never seen before. For the first time, literature was not an extension of
Romanticism, this movement was left behind. A new kind of literature emerged, going
beyond Romanticism.
There is a difference between subject and object. Reality was not objective, it was perceived
by individuals. Because of this, they were able to change the concept of God. He still exists,
but is outside this reality
Nieszche said that man has become God. He introduces the concept of “ego”. “Cogito ergo
sum”, there is a certainty about reality. Everything else but the subject has turned into
objects, including God.
God before this was the creator of everything, and since men are replacing God, they have
become the new creators. Before this, God decided what was right and wrong, and now
mankind does that. Everything is put into doubt, everything depends on the individual.
Founding of a new conscience by Nieszche. If there is no god (that matters at least), man
wanders into nothingness. Shit gets dark, they get depressed.
People were able to propose moral values.
Men as creators:
- science. Albert Einstein playing around with mathematical formulas
- the humanization of nature. We are able to manipulate nature. This brings about
practical elements and objects, such as the automobile. Everything is possible.
This process continues throughout the 20th century
Nihilism is a thing now. This movement represents the idea that man is the reason for their
reality.
Sigmund Freud
- Father: daughter
- Mother: boy
- Child: language: society
He came to understand most of his fucked up traumas through his theories. He has two
theories:
- relationship with children and their parents. A boy loves his mother and a girl loves
his father.
- when the child starts to speak, around three years old. This is an entrance into social
life. Their lives are led by what they say. But language is led by institutions. They
have lost their freedom and subjected to social rules
Literature:
,New intellectual paradigm in the 20th century that determines literature. Many writers
participated in the war. This is the first time when people became disillusioned with life.
Idealism disappeared. Cynical materialism appears.
Alcohol spread over the nation until it was prohibited, which brought crime. Charleston was a
dance involving rapid movement, leaving behind classical music. The age of youth. Short
skirts and revolutionary morals. Crime was booming.
Everything came to an end with the stock market crash, and there was a new generation of
writers who exposed the sins of that generation ?
American writers experimented with the forms, open endings, and punctuation. Everyone
became enthusiastic about being able to experiment freely. Their books were full of satyre.
Most of them were expatriates living in Paris, like Hemingway or Faulkner. A lot of new
movements: impressionism, cubism, racism, surrealism.
The writers of the 20th century felt alienated from the rest of society
The depression years
1930s. A new way of writing. Economic difficulty for everyone, everyone suffering. Many
difficulties for living conditions. Pessimism, alienation, nationalism, political views. Literature
was a social protest against those conditions. Pamphlets.
Psychological literature
Rejection of capitalism and interest in the human mind
Early 50s late 40s: America is more disillusioned because of manipulations of politicians.
They moved to the right and christian religion.McCarthy was an example of this. Against
materialism.
60s: The mind has to face a new reality. In 1963 Kennedy was killed. This sparked many
theories and the next year the new act of the Civil Rights Act was passed, which recognised
minorities.
1966 students opposed registering at their universities. This was the root of other
revolutions.
1967: Women’s liberation movement. Women organized and defended their rights
1969: Ecology movement (usually present in late capitalistic societies)
The 1960s represent another change into society. A time for fighting. The lyrical qualities of
literature disappeared. They were more interested in analyzing what was true
1980s to today the USA has been
- Roland burthen: The death of the author. Texts don't have an author because this guy
said so. The texts are made by the reader
- michel foucault: we inherit the information from our ancestors, we are not free.
- Jacques Derrida: in a text it is impossible to reach the truth of that text
, No truth, we are all conscious of our ego and we distrust everything
In the 21st century the techniques are modified, there are new trends. New artistic
expression, more difficult to discern what art is.
Not a single subject but multiple
REALISM
1. Science, patriotism
2. Realistic movement
a. past and present as discontinuous
b. no relevance of the past
3. Aim of realist literature
a. visible, palpable
b. writers cannot borrow from others
c. writer as reporter
4. America: agrarian regionalism
a. instinct
b. doubts about religion
c. link between environment and behavior
Emerged in the 19th century in France and Russia
Video:
Realism: The realists emphasized the importance of representation of reality as it was,
rather than focusing on how they wanted things to be, they focused on how they were. They
did not fixate on the past. Ordinary people and their ordinary lives
Naturalism: How their characters are controlled by their environment and their reality.
Heredity
Stephen Crane was fit in both of these movements. His first novel was Maggie: A Girl of the
Streets. This work is associated with naturalism because it shows Maggie’s environment and
her heredity (family) determined her life. He used graphic language heard on the streets. He
was criticized because of this.
He became more well known with his book Red Badge of Courage. This book is more
associated with the realist movement. The main character is a boy who has been filled with
ideals about war, and he prepares to go fight in the battlefield. Psychological realism, what is
going on in the main character’s mind
The Open Boat is based on a real life situation that happened to him, when he went aboard
a steamer and it sank. It is unclear whether it is a naturalist or a realist work.
American critics were concerned about the origin of Realism, since it emerged in Europe.
National conscience about America. This was a period after the Civil War. For the first time
all the states were joined together. Industrialism was another aspect that separates America
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