Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Snapshot of the Period These years saw great transformation. The North and South fought for power. We went from an agricultural nation to a modern industrial power. Each had notable strengths. This happened in the years leading up to the Civil War. When it was all over the North had won, the Union was held, and slavery was abolished. It was a DEVASTATING cost! Historical Background (1850-1914) Prelude to War Brother Against Brother Americans Go West The Frontier Disappears The Electric Society Painful Growth and Electric Change The Civil War left the nation physically, economically, and emotionally devastated. Riding the railroad, Americans moved West and annihilated the frontier. The Age of Electricity transformed every day life. Cities, with all their pleasures and problems, expanded rapidly. What Literary Forms Did Writers Use to Discuss Social and Political Issues During This Period? Spirituals Life Stories Fiction and Journalism How Did Popular Literature Reflect the Era’s Social and Political Issues? Rags to Riches Twists and Turns The West and the Wizard How Did Social and Political Issues Lead to Realism and Naturalism? The Common Life Naturalism Writers focused on creating portrayals of real life ordinary people. The belief that forces far more powerful than any individual shaped individuals. They showed characters in a honest and factual way. Nature, blind fate, heredity and chance determined lives. Theme: Human endurance in the face of overwhelming natural forces pervades. What Elements of Physical Environment Affected Northern Writers’ Attitudes? Industry Urban Life How Did Expressions of Place Show Up in Literature? Local Color Urban Sophistication What Literary Elements Contributed to an American Style? Settings and Plots Dialogue and Style Humor What Roles Did Writers Play in Shaping American Identity? Writer as a Realist Writer as a Naturalist In the first half of the century Romanticism dominated. These writers were detached. After the horrors of the Civil War there was a rise in a more objective attitude toward the world and human affairs. They were influenced by Darwin, Marx, and Zola. Hard fact took more of a role. They believed that heredity, environment, and social conditions determined people’s actions. At the Dawn of the Twentieth Century, What Did Literature Reveal About American Attitudes? Pragmatism Loss of Idealism Democracy Science