Module 10: Conflicting Ideologies

The years preceding World War I were characterized by optimism and promise. Advancements in technology had made life easier than it had ever been, providing more jobs and better lives. There were still social issues, but politicians and the government were gradually implementing reforms and addressing inequalities.

Then World War I broke out. It was the bloodiest conflict that had ever occurred. The same technologies that helped people during peace killed people in record numbers during war. The United States tried to maintain neutrality. Americans felt the war was Europe's problem and that as long as the battle was not on American soil, it was not America's problem. In 1915, a German submarine sank a British vessel called the Lusitania, resulting in the loss of 128 American lives. The incident helped to make the idea of war popular. With the help of the United States, the Great War finally ended in 1918.

The 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote was ratified in 1920. Many Americans now felt prosperous and free. The decade of the 1920s, also called the Roaring Twenties, saw the arrival of radio, jazz, movies, and fashion fads. The economy boomed and new buildings rose in every major American city. Writers and artists flocked to New York City's artistic and creative centers like Greenwich Village and Harlem.

But the high life would not last forever. In 1929, the Stock Market crashed. By 1932, one quarter of the American work force was out of work. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932. His economic policies, called the New Deal, helped the nation recover from the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it would take another world war to bring the United States completely out of its economic depression. When World War II began in 1939, Americans once again sought to remain neutral. However, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Over 2,300 Americans lost their lives, and the United States declared war. Although the war was devastating in the number of lives it took, American companies ran factories full tilt to produce enough goods for soldiers overseas, and for the first time since 1929, the economy fully rallied. America was back in full force and ended World War II using a weapon that would forever change reality: the atomic bomb.

Literature could not help but reflect these dramatic swings of American life and the American Dream. A plethora of writers from all over America pulled from the roots of American literature, their own experiences in World War I, the hey-days of the 1920s, and the depths of the Great Depression to create a new literary movement. Modernist writers, artists, and musicians searched for new ideas and styles that better suited lifestyles in the 20th century. Modernists experimented with new approaches and techniques in their art forms. This began producing a truly diverse body of literature.

The literary era you will study in this module is Modernism. As you have probably noted, each literary movement is dependent upon the preceding one. Rationalism was a reaction to the Age of Faith, Realism a reaction to Romanticism, and Modernism a reaction to all that had come before it. In this module, you will explore some of the subgenres of Modernism and the many writers whose literature flourished during this important period.

Getting Starting

What do you know about all of the world events you just read about in this introduction? A picture does indeed speak a thousand words. To be able to fully understand the events that inspired the literature if the Modern era, you should have an idea of what the times were like. Using any electronic source or software, look for images that represent each of these momentous events:

1. The growth of cities (architecturally)
2. World War I
3. The Roaring Twenties
4. Women's suffrage
5. The Great Depression
6. World War II

Choose an image that you think best represents each event. Take your time to think about each historical event. What did it mean to the average citizen? If you were alive then, how would it have affected you?

Copy and paste your six chosen images into an electronic document, label each photo with the event it represents, and submit your work to the dropbox.

 

Key Vocabulary

To view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.

 

acrid	illuminated	literary nonfiction
advent	Imagism	pauper
archaic	incomparable	persistent
circumvent	indignant	ransack
Harlem Renaissance	inextricable	solemn
hullabaloo	intent	virulent