INTRODUCTION Modernity or the Modern Age is often used to refer to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period which saw the rise of imperial and socialist empires as a result of the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. This period was witness to the societal shift from feudalism to capitalism and was marked by industrialization, rationalization, secularization, the nation state and forms of surveillance. Modernity in America came about in the early 20th century. The American people culture began to be greatly influenced by money-making attitudes, such that there was a loss of moral values in the obsession to acquire wealth. Thus, the American society was confronted with the problem of material success and changing cultural values – a problem that was referred to as the fractured consciousness by George Lemming. Moreover, the Industrial Revolution and the rise of imperial empires saw a massive increase in migration, both by workers seeking to find better job opportunities and by refugees fleeing oppression. Quoting Fred W. Riggs in his essay Modernity in Ethnic Identity and Conflict, “An early manifestation of modernity was the conspicuous misery of the urban poor, people attracted to expanding cities by the lure of industrial employment.” This apart, the Great …show more content…
Most of these novels were modern in the sense that they based their contents on the trends that defined the modern American novel in America - “Often stressed in America are four interrelated trends that allegedly make the modern American novel modern. Of these, the most clear-cut is a more ambitious and more daring use of subject matter. The other trends are a correspondingly freer use of language, a loss of faith in certain traditional American ideals and values, and freer experimentation with various techniques of fiction, especially those concerning the narrator and his point of
the concerns facing the nation as it moved into the modern age. The industrial revolution sparked
As technologies like steam developed industrialization was able to make use of the geography of the country. There was plenty of cheap land for farming so "American skilled workers tended to be both scarce and expensive" (Cowan 90) and it was necessary for people to create more efficient ways to work. Inventors created machines and methods that would require fewer people or people with fewer skills to compensate for the reduced labor force. This land rich environment lead to a working class that was for the most part transient. Men worked for a short time to make money to start up farms or businesses of their own. Women worked in factories to earn money to send home before they married and raised families. The American worker did not think of themselves as a permanent fixture in the factories, only as transient participant to earn what they need to move on to the next stages of their lives.
In the late nineteenth century known as the Gilded Age (or the Reconstruction period) and the early twentieth century known as the Progressive era, the nation went through great economic growth and social change. Beginning in the 1870s, there was rapid growth in innovations and big businesses. This could be because there was population growth and when there is population growth, there is a high demand for products and other necessities in order to strive in society. Many immigrants from Europe, mostly from the eastern and southern Europe, and Asia moved to American cities. Additionally, farmers from rural America desired to increase economic growth and since corporations ruled and political problems occurred, they decided to move into the cities.
In history, it seems inarguably true that when a nation advanced in power and wealth, changes will soon followed. These changes affected the political, economic and social system of that nation, and often came as an advantage for wealthy individuals, while detrimental to others less fortunate. An example of this notion can be seen in American History. After the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, America quickly surpassed Great Britain in industrial production thus became the leading nation in industrialization. However, great things do not come without a cost; the rapid technological expansion in the US would initiate the crisis of the 1890s. The crisis of the 1890s was the shift from the rural and agrarian society to a modern urban and industrial society.
At the turn of the century America entered a new age that many historians call the Progressive Era. During this time period, the American Political system changed its view on how America should be brought about. It provided a purification of the American government through direct democracy. This era included many social and political reforms, which were brought about due to monopolies, and trust corporations.
In the late 1800's, American society began to burst with cultural activity. After the Civil War and the Reconstruction, Americans were eager to return to their normal lifestyles. The period that followed, however, was quite different from what the country was used to. During the war, many pushed hard for a rise in industry, leading to an explosive industrial revolution far beyond what people had expected. America's business and economy had boomed, and, as the new century approached, many had a new outlook on life. They were eager to escape the dull regiments of both the past Victorian era and the new urban lifestyle. This was easy for the upper and middle classes, both of which were growing due to the rapid increase in industry. It was great news for entrepreneurs and business people of the time, because there was money to be made in this desire for amusement. Of course, this was not the whole story of the new Gilded Age, but it was definitely an era of growing leisure time and the business that came along with it.
Although the eras of romanticism, realism, and reason differed in many ways, they each individually influenced change in the three main components of American literature; style, theme, and literary devices.
During the creation if the current America, the narrative was, The American Dream. After the great depression, our economy was built on the backs of the industrial companies.4 The industrial revolution created a steady working class in America. Since these industrial workers were making decent wages, there was a budding middle class being
Old values and traditions would serve as a base to Transcendentalism, although a radical movement in itself. In the nineteenth century America plunged into the Industrial Revolution. In the eighteenth century, goods were produced in home system operations. The remarkable development of capitalism in Boston became evident after the French and Indian war of 1812.
America was a time of rapid growth for people all across the country. The Industrial Revolution began a few years after the Civil War with the invention of steam powered machines. From there, America faced a time of massive expansion and modern industrialized cities popped up across the United States. While there was much success across the nation, such as manual labor becoming easier and a huge population growth, the negative effects of industrialization outweigh the positives. A few of the issues that made industrialization an atrocious time for many was the racism and segregation towards immigrants and unsafe and unfair working conditions/the deprivation of a regular childhood for kids across the nation.
...s strived to create pieces of literature and art that challenged American traditions and tried to reinvent it, used new ways of communication, such as the telephone and cinema, to demonstrate the new modern social norms, and express the pain and suffering of the First World War, during the American modernism period of literature. Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen shed a new light into the African-American social groups and a new age of art, music, and literature was formed. Poets, like Pound and Elliot, shaped American poetry to fit the outlandish ruin in the First World War and the Great Depression. In novels, like The Great Gatsby, the American dream of success and hope was shattered through the stock market collapse and the Great Depression. Through all these attributes, American literature changed significantly into a literary period called modernism today.
The next theory is the modernization theory, which is the basis for the rest of the essay. The modernization theory is that since the West led the push to modernization, many components of Western culture are embedded in modern society. “As the first civilization to modernize, the West is the first to have fully acquired the culture of modernity.” This theory also heavily relies on the idea that in order to modernize, the country must Westernize and lose its traditional culture. It is then proposed that although in present day many societies are modern, it does not mean they are all the same.
History, current events, and social events have really influenced American Literature. Authors have been influenced by the world around them and that has reflected in their works. This can be seen throughout the many eras studied in this class. It can also be seen in all types of literature such as playwrights, fiction, non-fiction, and poems. It can also be seen in all of the different writing styles such as, realism, modernism, and post modernism. It is important that American Literature has been influenced this way because Authors have shown us their personal views and insight to situations one would not get out of a history textbook.
From 1920-1926, a series of novels, including Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, formed a modern form of literature (Reynolds 6). Furthermore, these novels were based on the “Lost Generation,” and the issues that perpetually followed the Great War.... ... middle of paper ... ... The severely liberal actions of women and the insecurity of men were realistic issues of the time.
Most contemporary historians define the European early modern period from around the beginning of the sixteenth century, up until the commencements of the French Revolution of 1789. The ambiguity inherent in this apparent catch-all period is problematic, and invokes much debate and disagreement among historians. For the purpose of expediency, this paper will have its modernizing genesis in the thoughts of Mitchell Greenberg writing in the Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies. Greenberg states there was a common modernizing compulsion right across Europe during this time period ‘…marked by both a gen...