AMERICAN LITERATURE CONTEXT Flashcards
(History of going West) - Before 1860, few people moved West to try to settle on the Great Plains, the ________ soil and harsh ________________ discouraged them along with…
- Before 1860, few people moved West to try and settle on the Great Plains, the poor soil and harsh climate discouraged them (along with the fact that they were officially ‘Indian Territory’).
(History of going West, After 1865, thousands of settlers moved to the Plains)
- Freed Slaves :
- European Immigrants :
- Younger Sons :
- Freed slaves went there to start a new life as free men, or to escape economic problems after the Civil War.
- European Immigrants flooded onto the Great Plains, seeking political or religious freedom, or simply to escape the poverty in their own country.
- Younger sons from the eastern seaboard went because it was a chance to grow their own land.
—- They were followed by other Americans, such as tradesmen and government officials who hoped to make their living from the farmers who had been moved onto the plains.
(History of going West, Factors encouraging people)
- The Homestead Act, 1862 :
- Railroads :
- The Homestead Act, 1862 : Allowed homesteaders to claim 160 acres of land for free if they lived for free if they lived and worked on it for 5 years. The prospect of free land was very attractive to people who could never have afforded a farm back home.
- Railroads : In order to encourage railroad companies to build the transcontinental railways, the government gave them a 2-mile stretch of land either side of the railroad which have the companies profit if they sold it. They offered massive sale campaigns, offering a ‘settlement package’.
(History of going West, Factors encouraging people)
- Manifest Destiny :
- Tall Tales :
- Manifest Destiny : The idea grew that white Americans were superior, and that it was America’s manifest destiny (obvious fate) to expand and encourage ‘the american way of life’ on the Great Plains. The writer Horace Geeeley, who popularised this idea, advised Americans, ‘Go West, Young man’.
- Tall Tales : Once the population of an area reached 60,000, it could apply to become a state of the USA. Local governments could therefore encourage publicity campaigns, which claimed that farmers in the Wear could grow pumpkins as big as barns.
The 1920s was a time of…
1920s was a time of mass consumerism and relaxed morals.
Term ‘American Dream’ was coined in…
- The aspiration belief that…
Term ‘American Dream’ was coined in 1931 by Adams.
- The aspirational belief that any individual, regardless of their origin or background, has the opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work.
2/4/25 19:15!!!
Hebert Hoover stated that he believed that there should be a…
Hebert Hoover stated that he believed that there should be ‘a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage’.
Boom, increase in consumer goods, e.g. as in 19_____ there were ___ million cars and in 192___ there were ____ million cars on road.
Boom, increase in consumer goods, e.g. as in 1919 there were 9 million cars and in 1929 there were 26 million.
Women in New York gained the vote in 19_____.
- Feminine values of…
Women gained vote in New York in 1917.
- Feminine values of domesticity, piety, purity and subservience were expected.
Veblen (Economist and Socialist) created the phrase…
‘Conspicuous Consumption’ which is that act of displaying ostentatious wealth to gain status and reputation in society which was a huge part of 1920s.
Top ___% of the country owned ____% of wealth.
Top 5% of the country owned 33% of wealth
Fitzgerald :
- Some believe he based ___________ on himself, like ___________ he was not from a particularly…
- He fell in love with a girl when… it has been suggested.
- He wasn’t allowed to Mary her as her father stated…
Fitzgerald :
- Some believe he based Gatsby on himself, like Gatsby he was not from a particularly wealthy family.
- He fell in love with a girl when he was young, Ginerva King, it has been suggested that she was the real inspiration for Daisy Buchanan.
- He wasn’t allowed to marry her as her father stated “poor boys shouldn’t think of marrying rich girls”.
(Good Phrase) ‘Fitzgerald’s 192___ _______________ novel…’
- e.g. characterisation of…
‘Fitzgerald’s 1925 modernist novel…”
- e.g. characterisation of vehicles reflects modernist anxieties around the advancement of technology.
(Good Phrase) ‘Steinbeck’s 193___ _____________ novel’.
- e.g. he employs it in the novel to depict the…
‘Steinbeck’s 1939 realist novel’.
- e.g. he employs it in the novel to depict the harsh realities of life during the Great Depression, focusing in particular on the experiences of the migrant workers.
- Descriptions of landscape and economic hardships.
The Roaring Twenties :
- Also known as the… which was coined by… describes the…
- Culture of…
- Significant influx of…
- Shift in…
- Also known as the Jazz Age, coined by Fitzgerald to describe the superficial and decadent culture that encapsulated the 1920s.
- Culture of excess.
- Significant influx of wealth through new business ventures, which challenged the established hierarchy, e.g. New Money vs Old Money.
- Shift in gender roles, with women exerting their independence and participation in workforce e.g. Jordan Baker.
Steinbeck :
- He lived in Oklahoma with a… writing up these experiences in a series of newspaper articles entitled…
- It has been suggested that _______ __________ reflects Steinbeck’s own views on society.
- He lived in Oklahoma with a farming family and made the journey with them to California, writing up these findings in a series of newspaper articles entitled ‘The Harvest Gypsies’.
- It has been suggested that Jim Casy reflected Steinbeck’s own views on society.
(The Great Depression) :
- There was widespread…
- Environmental issues such as…
- Large landowners…
- GoW also explores the inadequacy of…
- There was widespread unemployment across the nation and many families struggled to make ends meet.
- Environmental issues such as the Dust Bowl exacerbated economic hardships.
- Large landowners exploited migrant workers, paying low wages and providing inadequate living conditions.
- GoW also explores the inadequacy of government relief programmes.
(Black History, may be useful for Section A)
- Harlem…
- Jim Crow Laws…
- The ‘Great Migration’ in 19_____s was the…
- Harlem Renaissance Era, an unprecedented period of creativity in all fields of the arts, notably jazz. Brought black Americans positively to the head-lines.
- Jim Crow Laws : laws passed legalising segregation on the railroads.
- The ‘Great Migration’ in 1910s was the migration of Black people to the northern and western industrial towns (where it was more accepting), over 6 million fled.
New Money vs Old Money
- New Money : Made their fortunes in…
- Old money : Families have…
- ‘New Money’ : Made their fortunes in the 1920s boom and therefore have no social connections and tend to overcompensate for this lack with lavish displays of wealth.
- ‘Old Money’ : Families have fortunes dating from the 19th century or before, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility.
American Dream :
- That hard work can…
- Those seeking…
- TGG portrays this shift as a symbol…
- Gatsby’s failure does not prove the folly of the American Dream—rather it proves…
- Most of the other characters are…
- That hard work can lead one from rags to riches—has been a core facet of American identity since its inception.
- Those seeking wealth and freedom.
- TGG portrays shift as a symbol of the American Dream’s corruption. It’s no longer a vision of building a life; it’s just about getting rich.
- Proves the folly of short-cutting that dream by allowing corruption and materialism to prevail over hard work, integrity, and real love.
- Most of the other characters are empty beyond just their lust for money.
