THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (1945-PRESENT)
INTRO
Beginning in the 1940s, America was in the business of peace-making. After playing a major role in World War II, America helped to establish the United Nations. Being the biggest power in the world after WWII, many countries looked at America as a symbol of peace and freedom. The peace did not last long because soon after WWII, America entered the Cold War against that Soviet Union in 1950. Along with the war against the USSR, the United States also struggled with the growing fear of Communism.
Americans still had a feeling of confusion after the second world war. They were not totally sure what to do after the devastation of war. Similar to Realism and Naturalism in a sense, many people lost faith in the general kindness of humanity. On the other hand, there were many Americans who were proud of their country following WWII. This mix of nationalism and skepticism is what defined the Contemporary Period, as authors attempted to go against the times.
Authors such as Arthur Miller and J.D. Salinger openly opposed such conformity in their works during this time period. One of Arthur Miller’s most famous works, The Crucible, tells the story of the Salem witch trials. Miller used these events to write an allegory about the fear of Communist and McCarthyism. With a similar message, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In the Rye told the story of a man who searched for something “pure” in a troubled world. Both Miller and Salinger’s works provide clear examples of the Contemporary Period’s attempt to go against the current of society.
In hopes to address pressing issues as Miller and Salinger did, Harper Lee attempted to bring attention to the racial prejudices in the South with her novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Through the eyes of an eight year old girl, Lee paints Racism as unnatural and unfair which is greatly ignored. Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for her brilliant novel which really made people rethink the Civil Rights movement.
After WWII, The United States was once again a world power. Yet, Americans were left with a combination of nationalism and skepticism. Authors such as Arthur Miller, J.D. Salinger, and Harper Lee used their literary brilliance to address pressing issues at the time and instill a sense of goodness in Americans once again.
Americans still had a feeling of confusion after the second world war. They were not totally sure what to do after the devastation of war. Similar to Realism and Naturalism in a sense, many people lost faith in the general kindness of humanity. On the other hand, there were many Americans who were proud of their country following WWII. This mix of nationalism and skepticism is what defined the Contemporary Period, as authors attempted to go against the times.
Authors such as Arthur Miller and J.D. Salinger openly opposed such conformity in their works during this time period. One of Arthur Miller’s most famous works, The Crucible, tells the story of the Salem witch trials. Miller used these events to write an allegory about the fear of Communist and McCarthyism. With a similar message, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In the Rye told the story of a man who searched for something “pure” in a troubled world. Both Miller and Salinger’s works provide clear examples of the Contemporary Period’s attempt to go against the current of society.
In hopes to address pressing issues as Miller and Salinger did, Harper Lee attempted to bring attention to the racial prejudices in the South with her novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Through the eyes of an eight year old girl, Lee paints Racism as unnatural and unfair which is greatly ignored. Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for her brilliant novel which really made people rethink the Civil Rights movement.
After WWII, The United States was once again a world power. Yet, Americans were left with a combination of nationalism and skepticism. Authors such as Arthur Miller, J.D. Salinger, and Harper Lee used their literary brilliance to address pressing issues at the time and instill a sense of goodness in Americans once again.
HARPER LEE
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. She grew up with four brothers and sisters in Monroeville, Alabama. Her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is loosely based on her life and one will notice many similarities. Lee, like Scout Finch, grew up as a tomboy. Also, both Lee’s father and Atticus Finch were Alabama lawyers and members of the Alabama state legislatures. A difference between the two was that Lee’s father owned part of a newspaper, but Atticus only read newspapers. Lee’s mother, on the other hand, was thought to have a bipolar disorder and never left the household. Harper Lee’s best friend growing up was Truman Persons, later known as Truman Capote. Although the two had completely opposite interests, Harper looked out for Truman. However, they did have difficult home lives.
In high school and college Lee focused on developing her writing skills. She attended Huntingdon College, an all female college, in Alabama. Lee stood out from her classmates and transferred to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa to study literature further. Soon after, in an attempt to become more social, Lee joined and later became the editor of her school’s paper. She entered the UAT law school as a junior, but stressed to her family that writing was her passion, not law. Consequently, Lee moved to New York to pursue writing.
While in New York City, life was not as easy as she thought it would be. Harper Lee was employed at Eastern Airlines and for the British Overseas Air Corp (BOAC) to make ends meet. Yet, when Lee met Broadway composer and lyricist Michael Martin Brown and his wife Joy, things began to look up. Mr. and Mrs. Brown gave Lee a whole year’s worth of support so that she could write her novel for Christmas of 1956. They even got a publisher and Maurice Crain, an agent, on board. Plus, with the help of editor Tay Hohoff, To Kill A Mockingbird was completed in 1959 and published shortly after, in July of 1960.
Harper Lee’s first novel was an instant success. To Kill A Mockingbird tells the story of a young girl, who goes by the name of Scout, growing up in the intolerant society of Alabama. With brother Jem and cousin Dill, Scout learns about racism, intolerance, and other life lessons along the way. The major climax of the story is when her father Atticus, a lawyer, goes to trial in defense of an African American man who is accused of rape. Yet, in the South, a black man’s word does not carry much weight against that of a white man. To Kill A Mockingbird is a brilliant coming-of-age story set in the prejudice South during the 1940s. It earned Harper Lee the 1960 Pulitzer Prize and many other accolades. It was circulated by the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Literary Guild, and Reader’s Digest. Just two years later, a film was produced and received eight academy award nominations.
Following the success of her novel, Harper Lee retreated from the spotlight, finding it rather unpleasant. She decided to only published one novel. Most recently in 2014, Lee signed a deal to allow eBook and audio versions of To Kill A Mockingbird to be distributed through HarperCollins. Thus, her brilliant novel can be shared more widely than ever before.
In high school and college Lee focused on developing her writing skills. She attended Huntingdon College, an all female college, in Alabama. Lee stood out from her classmates and transferred to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa to study literature further. Soon after, in an attempt to become more social, Lee joined and later became the editor of her school’s paper. She entered the UAT law school as a junior, but stressed to her family that writing was her passion, not law. Consequently, Lee moved to New York to pursue writing.
While in New York City, life was not as easy as she thought it would be. Harper Lee was employed at Eastern Airlines and for the British Overseas Air Corp (BOAC) to make ends meet. Yet, when Lee met Broadway composer and lyricist Michael Martin Brown and his wife Joy, things began to look up. Mr. and Mrs. Brown gave Lee a whole year’s worth of support so that she could write her novel for Christmas of 1956. They even got a publisher and Maurice Crain, an agent, on board. Plus, with the help of editor Tay Hohoff, To Kill A Mockingbird was completed in 1959 and published shortly after, in July of 1960.
Harper Lee’s first novel was an instant success. To Kill A Mockingbird tells the story of a young girl, who goes by the name of Scout, growing up in the intolerant society of Alabama. With brother Jem and cousin Dill, Scout learns about racism, intolerance, and other life lessons along the way. The major climax of the story is when her father Atticus, a lawyer, goes to trial in defense of an African American man who is accused of rape. Yet, in the South, a black man’s word does not carry much weight against that of a white man. To Kill A Mockingbird is a brilliant coming-of-age story set in the prejudice South during the 1940s. It earned Harper Lee the 1960 Pulitzer Prize and many other accolades. It was circulated by the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Literary Guild, and Reader’s Digest. Just two years later, a film was produced and received eight academy award nominations.
Following the success of her novel, Harper Lee retreated from the spotlight, finding it rather unpleasant. She decided to only published one novel. Most recently in 2014, Lee signed a deal to allow eBook and audio versions of To Kill A Mockingbird to be distributed through HarperCollins. Thus, her brilliant novel can be shared more widely than ever before.
KEY AUTHORS
John Hersey - Hiroshima
Randall Jarrell - "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"
The Winchester Salvage Committee - "Junk Rally Poster"
Dr. Suess - "The Battle of the Easy Chair"
The New York Times Editorial - "Backing the Attack"
Flannery O'Connor - "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"
Bernard Malamud - "The First Seven Years"
Lawrence Ferlinghetti - "Constantly Risking Absurdity"
Charlie Todd - "Subway Birthday"
Sylvia Plath - "Mirror"
Anne Sexton - "Courage"
Theodore Roethke - "Cuttings" and "Cuttings (later)"
Gwendolyn Brooks - "The Explorer"
Robert Hayden - "Frederick Douglass"
Elizabeth Bishop - "One Art" and "Filling Station"
James Baldwin - "The Rockpile"
Toni Morrison - "Life In His Language"
John Fitzgerald Kennedy - "Inaugural Address"
Martin Luther King, Jr. - "Letter from Birmingham City Jail"
Arthur Miller - The Crucible
George Clooney & Grant Heslov - Good Night, and Good Luck
Julia Alvarez - "Antojos"
Alice Walker - "Everyday Use"
Raymond Carver - "Everything Stuck to Him"
William Stafford - "Traveling Through the Dark"
Denise Levertov - "The Secret"
Li-Young Lee - "The Gift"
Martín Espada - "Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper"
Yusef Komunyakka - "Camouflaging the Chimera"
Naomi Shihab Nye - "Streets"
Stanley Kunitz - "Halley's Comet"
Judith Ortiz Cofer - "The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica"
William Safire - "Onomatopoeia"
Ian Frazier - "Coyote v. Acme"
Anna Quindlen - "One Day, Now Broken in Two"
Sean Ramsay - "Urban Renewal"
William Harvey - "Playing for the Fighting Sixty-ninth"
Amy Tan - "Mother Tongue"
Rita Dove - "For the Love of Books"
Maxine Hong Kingston - The Woman Warrior
N. Scott Momaday - The Names
Randall Jarrell - "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"
The Winchester Salvage Committee - "Junk Rally Poster"
Dr. Suess - "The Battle of the Easy Chair"
The New York Times Editorial - "Backing the Attack"
Flannery O'Connor - "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"
Bernard Malamud - "The First Seven Years"
Lawrence Ferlinghetti - "Constantly Risking Absurdity"
Charlie Todd - "Subway Birthday"
Sylvia Plath - "Mirror"
Anne Sexton - "Courage"
Theodore Roethke - "Cuttings" and "Cuttings (later)"
Gwendolyn Brooks - "The Explorer"
Robert Hayden - "Frederick Douglass"
Elizabeth Bishop - "One Art" and "Filling Station"
James Baldwin - "The Rockpile"
Toni Morrison - "Life In His Language"
John Fitzgerald Kennedy - "Inaugural Address"
Martin Luther King, Jr. - "Letter from Birmingham City Jail"
Arthur Miller - The Crucible
George Clooney & Grant Heslov - Good Night, and Good Luck
Julia Alvarez - "Antojos"
Alice Walker - "Everyday Use"
Raymond Carver - "Everything Stuck to Him"
William Stafford - "Traveling Through the Dark"
Denise Levertov - "The Secret"
Li-Young Lee - "The Gift"
Martín Espada - "Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper"
Yusef Komunyakka - "Camouflaging the Chimera"
Naomi Shihab Nye - "Streets"
Stanley Kunitz - "Halley's Comet"
Judith Ortiz Cofer - "The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica"
William Safire - "Onomatopoeia"
Ian Frazier - "Coyote v. Acme"
Anna Quindlen - "One Day, Now Broken in Two"
Sean Ramsay - "Urban Renewal"
William Harvey - "Playing for the Fighting Sixty-ninth"
Amy Tan - "Mother Tongue"
Rita Dove - "For the Love of Books"
Maxine Hong Kingston - The Woman Warrior
N. Scott Momaday - The Names
TIMELINE
LITERARY THEMES
The main focus of the Contemporary Period was identity after WWII. The United States of America had come out of the war as a super power and this left people to ponder upon the devastation of war and lack of goodness in humanity. Arthur Miller wrote of the dangers of McCarthyism and Communism, while J.D. Salinger wrote of man’s search for goodness in a broken world, and Harper Lee wrote of the horrors of Racism and the necessity of equality. Each of these authors wrote about issues of the time period and people’s struggle after WWII.
CRASH COURSE: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD PT.1 - VIDEO
CRASH COURSE: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE PT.1 - VIDEO
CRASH COURSE: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE PT.2 - VIDEO
Information gathered from: Wiggins, Grant P. Prentice Hall Literature. Common Core ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2012. eBook.