Download The Harlem Renaissance and Modernism

THE HARLEM
RENAISSANCE AND
MODERNISM
1910-1940
What do you know about this time period? Take 2-3
minutes and list all things that come to mind.
WORLD WAR I -1914-1918
 Greatly influenced writers
In Farewell to Arms Hemingway writes, “Words such as glory, honor,
courage, or hallow were obscene.”
 Machine guns, poison gas, airplane bombers, submarines
 32 Nations were involved and over 20 million deaths were attributed
to this war.
 Idealism was replaced with hedonism, political corruption and ruthless
businessmen.
JAZZ AGE -THE ROARING
20’S
 Americans were disillusioned with traditional values and sought
happiness in news ways.
 Spending money
 Leisure
 Rebelling against elders
 F. Scott Fitzgerald referred to the period as “the greatest, gaudiest
spree in history.”
NEW ROLES FOR WOMEN
 1920- 19th amendment allows women to vote
 Flappers emerged casting aside old dress and values. They
embraced short skirts, short hair, jazz music, disdain for “acceptable
behavior.”
 In 1930 ten million women had entered the workforce gaining
independence and freedom from social constraints.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
 The Stock Market crash of 1929
 25 percent of Americans were unemployed
 The 1930’s dust bowl/drought left even more hungry and in despair.
 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a New Deal program. This
offered relief to the hungry, homeless, agriculture business, etc.
 The massive spending and production on WWII ultimately brought
economic relief.
CULTURAL INFLUENCES
 Media- American life is being shaped by media for the first time.
New goods were being advertised changing luxuries to necessities.
(toasters, makeup, cars, etc.)
 Mass production- Brought goods and services quickly to
Americans. Identity is lost with machines and production lines.
MODERN LITERATURE AND THE HARLEM
RENAISSANCE
Poets began to explore:
 the changing norms in society
 The uncertainty of the individual
 Perceived crumbling social order
 Loss of idealism (Many were expatriates living in Europe)
 Loss of Individualism
POETRY
 Imagism recreates images without commenting or interpreting
them.
 Objectivism- allows objects to speak for themselves
THE SHORT STORY GAINED
FAME
 Mass publication made them readily available
 Short attention spans
 The need for publication to fill its pages
NEW THEMES
 Wealthy and attractive people living empty lives
 Harsh brutality of industrialization
 Confusion
 Alienation
 Greed
HARLEM RENAISSANCE
 Black farmers migrate to urban areas such as Harlem
 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) is formed to create equality. They also published journals
showcasing the writing of W.E. B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson,
and Charles S. Johnson, Langston Hughes and more.
 This sets a center stage for artistic, musical, and literary talents to
merge and comingle drawing on their traditions and urban awareness.
H A R L E M R E N A I S S A N C E C O N T.
 Many voices and styles- classical style, the pulse of Jazz rhythms,
militant, etc.
 Despite the differences, all of these writers shared the deep pride
in their heritage and cultural identity.
 The seeds planted in the Harlem Renaissance continue to influence
and inspire today.