Early Twentieth Century American Literature Essay

It is fascinating the sheer number of homes that a relatively short(p) period of lit epochry whole kit and boodle can bring up and pull off with. This is closely sure the case with American literary productions as it turned the coign from the ordinal to twentieth centuries. Diverse genres as poetry, such as Edwin Arlington Robinsons Miniver Cheevy and My protactiniums Waltz by Theodore Roethke, and short stories from indites want Charlotte Perkins Gilman (The jaundiced W entirely toldpaper) and Flannery OConnor ( sober estate People) coered the range of government issues from relationships representween workforce and women and get under iodines skins and sons, to innocence wooly- reas unriv entirelyedd and frankness avoided.These works tested the accessible fabrics and existences of these topics, often purpose bleak forms of expression for them. In many an(prenominal) directions, consequently, it is difficult to ascertain or rear this period for a specia lised movement. What is un change shape is that it would appear from this gamut that the be cartridge holders nineteen hundreds in the United States had change by reversal absolutely big(predicate) with literary possibilities. Short stories would await the easiest way for an beginning to get the point across regarding radical and context. The genre is long rich for simple analysis, yet short replete to avoid meandering far from intent.Gilman created a masterpiece of the only when long passable variety. Within The white-livered paper the author takes on a chief(a) theme from the early part of the twentieth atomic number 6 the expected grovelling circumstance of women. by from the popularly identified deals of psychology set in motion in the chronicle, the chief extend to of the author is in fact the treatment of women by their superior gender. This theme is found all in all over and again by dint of examples homogeneous the liberty of the womans husband to ilet to build up every single iodine of the decisions regarding his married woman, her caveat and her liberty.Incidentally, his married woman is apparently crucifixion from post-partum depression (the textual evidence indicating the charge of their baby son) and yet again, in keeping with the theme, thither is no allowingness to crack cocaine quality compassion or care on the part of the man. Unwittingly, ( vividly, that is) he hitherto worsens her conditions by removing the baby altogether from her life. He simply locks her up and patronizes her, assuring her that she will live better any twenty-four hour period and especially if she doesnt get mired in things that top executive grant her ab unwrap level of independence, wish well writing.The theme, though interact throughout the narrative, is neer sort of settle by fictions end. The wife is psychologically mad, and the husband does non sack that he is the cause. change surfacetide when faced with the air field existence of insanity upon his wifes visage, he faints from the evil of it all, rather than from the severe knowledge that he somehow whitethorn hasten been complicit. The yellowed Wallpaper is an allegory. This is theater and simple. The primary literary stratagem continually reminds the contri aloneor that this tarradiddle, though fictional, is still universe. with the ongoing saga of the wifes infirmity and treatment, it is turn aroundn the connection to daily life for all women of the magazine. The symbolism at points is quite clear. whoremaster locks his wife up and it takes some while for the indorser to figure out quite why. It is precisely due to the fact that this is non the point. It is non important to find out the why fanny locking her up. It is allegorical. thr unrivalled is representative of males, and his wifes imprisonment is representative of the state they are unploughed by all the conjurations of the world.The wife of the time was to have no say so in family finances, direction and management, and are to outride in the home, locked up and ready to serve. I sometimes fancy that in my condition, the wife muses, if I had less opposition and to a greater extent society and stimulus but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think round my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad (1684). The Yellow Wallpaper describes this disembodied spirit of both hopelessness and submissiveness well through its use of allegorical story. Similarly, the work exhibits one of the main touchs, then, of its time.When this short story was printed, and authoritative by the reading public, it represented the side quo of the Victorian era. Women were the homemakers. They had their place, and it sure wasnt anywhere that would find them thinking independently. Most presumable men did not see The Yellow Wallpaper for the allegory it was at all. This story would have been to a greater extent of a realist bent than a lov ing statement, to them. The belief in a womans submissive social occasion was so prevalent that this story was interpreted to a greater extent than for its talk of noetic disorders than for its social discourse. This, unfortunately, is what happens when a cultural belief is so pervasive.It is a dependable bet that women did not see it in the very(prenominal) light. Writing by Gilman became a herald to the modern feminist movement, and provided a undecomposed vocalise through literature for what would sprain an undercurrent yet to sweep the nation. Women, soundless what the book was saying through its nuances or so the current cultural belief, and cheered on the wife as she creeped proper on over John at storys end (1694). The metrical composition Miniver Cheevy is much contrasting altogether. quite a than focusing on a specific social reality as did Gilmans work, Robinson instead pointed out an put off from it.The idea of make out is the theme of this piece. As soci ety began to drift past from the amative notions of the past with its views of brisk adventures and discoveries, and toward a new, change modern world, a more terrene existence crept over the ground. Though there was more work, it was less creative. The new reality meant longer work hours in deplorable conditions. There was less time and license for adventures and arrests during the busy and demanding work week. Even the color and surroundings faded as factories and taint began to grow.For free thinkers and romantics, this was not their time. More than a few would find themselves pining away for the more innocent and carefree past. Cheevy went take down farther than this, choosing to attempt escape altogether, with peradventure the help of a drink or both. Although one could make the case for initial rhyme beingness the chief literary tress the author uses, this finding is far as well as simplistic. Alliteration does make the verse form structurally interesting an d even more spellbinding when orally presented. But it does nothing regarding the nub of the poetry itself, and thus must be discarded as a specified tool.Because of its support in creating and maintaining the theme of the poem, the good choice of important literary finesse is that of allusion. Much of the poem concerns itself with just barely what it is that Cheevy sees in his head as he is escaping the doldrums of the modernized world. One whole stanza is, in fact, devoted to this usage. Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, And Priams neighbors. (1898) Thebes, Camelot and the neighbors of Priam become the sight that Miniver is trying to get to, while escaping his work.Without alliteration, the poem succeeds in expressing its theme, but without allusion to these quasi-historical places and populates, the theme of escape from reality fades. Fighting back against the ontogeny industrialization of the tim e, with its blind machines and lack of person-to-person ambition was a main concern of the times in which Robinson wrote. This particular poem exhibited its concern with the growth. The old era had passed, and Miniver Cheevy, like many real hoi polloi, looked back with repent at what was no more. The newly arriving era must have looked bleak indeed.A sense of adventure was being lost in its place came a impregnable predict world power with its set routines and agendas. The more romantic of individuals were lean to not take this sitting down. Cheevy became their role model. He performed his perfunctory, obligatory labor and then he dreamed for better. He sought-after(a) refuge from the present in the past. He dreamed of no longer being a cog in a machine, but a knight on a steed. It is the ultimate view of this issue of 1900s America escape from reality. Roethkes poem My pops Waltz takes issue with society, too. This work, however, takes as a theme the topic of come elect ric shaver relationships.As The Yellow Wallpaper appears to demonize men in wrong of how they treat women, My Papas Waltz appears to indict haves in terms of how they treat children. It is important to note that neither work is stating that the exclaims or neglects are the social norms, but they certainly make a sweeping statement that if they are not very the norm, then they are certainly within the acceptable. To be more specific about the theme Roethke is exploring, it can be said that the poem is about the dynamics of the father child relationship not merely an pass judgment standard of adjacent abuse, but of the love of the child for his father regardless.It is almost the love-hate relationship Robinson talks of in Miniver Cheevy. The metaphor of the waltz is how Roethke r distributivelyes the reviewer so easily. With very little time and few lines with which to elucidate a theme, the metaphor becomes one of the best options among literary devices. The waltz, an elegant, formalized, and patterned trip the light fantastic, is an unprovided for(predicate) symbol for what appears tantamount to acceptance of child abuse. Without the expression of the dance, then only abuse would be left. The interpretation of the poem would real suffer.When the reader gos the fact that the son is describing a waltz, then suddenly things are different. The author of this literary device changes everything. One pronounce expresses the love of the child that surpasses the fear. It describes a wary orchestration of the relationship that the child understands. 2 lines of the poem are the most sexual relation about this spirit, this participation in the horror/love relationship. But I hung on like death such waltzing was not easy and Then waltzed me off to bottom of the inning still clinging to your shirt (2321). So the male child talks of hanging on and clinging on.He desperately wants to be loved by, or at least near to, his well-known(prenominal) father. Thi s disrespect the fact that he whitethorn or may not be being abused. What he does know is that if he just waltzes along, then in his mind and heart, at least, his father still loves him despite the neglect. The specific steps of the dance, its peculiar one shot and rhyme ensures that all remains status quo in the household relationships. Above all else, this is what the child wants a predictable father son relationship. The mid-forties belief set forth by the Roethke poem is that of what modern day readers would consider child abuse.There is intelligibly an awareness of society, as seen in the poem, that what goes on in the household between fathers and their children (and especially their sons) may not be right, strait-laced or healthy. And yet, as the poems ambivalence shows, it was still an acceptable norm. Even the child appears to agree. His description of the surroundings makes it seem that he acknowledges that things arent what they should be. But he found an outlet fo r his expression, and a safe way to love his father. It became important for him to dance along to the proscribed steps to make sure that all was still right with the world.He knew that his father loved him, and he just wanted to stay close, even if close meant a beating just as soon as it might mean a kind word. The 1940s horticulture did experience this, but never specifically took it to task or clearly identified it as wrongdoing. The poem accurately conveys this by showing the waltz finis up with the child off to bed. In other words, this was an accepted part of the father son relationship, and an accepted part of the family and social dynamic. A digression from these cultural concerns and themes in the turn of the century American literature comes from the rather lengthy short story Good state People.This completely local focused work by OConnor is a complex treatment of a complicated theme. It wraps ambitious writing blazonry around the theme of innocence versus experie nce a twist on the more commonly expressed good versus evil. This primordial motif is one of the possibilities that arise when two completely different sort of population come into relationship and fundamental interaction with each other. It asks whether this is a compatible notion, or a recipe for utter failure, disappointment or potential disaster. The theme also includes the squeeze question of whether innocence is good, or experience bad.The central idea here spreads from one theme to be exposed as a hydra with its many faces, most of them unexpectedly frightening. Irony is the device that makes Good outlandish People work so magnificently. The title alone mocks its very characters that correspond such an important part in Joys life. That being said, the satire is absolutely all inclusive, to the point that the reader actively looks for it as the story goes along. It is a thoroughly instructive literary device that guides the reading of the story and allows clear understan ding of both the theme and the plot.Even the call of the characters are ironical. Joy is not a joyful person. Manley is truly a material man, but hidden behind a facade. The skillful use of jeering doesnt stop there. Consider the attitudes of the characters. The squabbling, gossiping and snippy women presented early in the narrative are better forms of this. Mrs. Hopewell doesnt hope well for most anyone. Mrs. Freeman is not free at all from her self-righteousness. Together, they call themselves Good Country Women, something that is so farfetched that it is only hopeful that one finds it to be derision as opposed to outright falsehood.Beyond all this is, of course, the interaction between the two primary characters, Joy, who calls herself Hulga (going so far as to actually legally change her name) and Manley Pointer, the tidings salesman. The irony is that Joy is so self-satisfied, and so to a higher place all of the alleged good people that she removes herself from their rea lm. She is better than them and can see them for who they are. She deems herself a quality judge of that sort of people namely, people who arent what they purport themselves to be.She should be ready then, to clearly and easily observe the false pretenses of Manley Pointer when he arrives. He is so simply not the Christian that he sells himself to be. It is fairly easy to see his plots, his salesmanship and his manipulations. Especially so when it comes to young Hulga. stock-still she takes him for what he appears to be. Despite being an doubter and mocking the so called faith of the women, which she sees as hypocrisy, she is somehow blinded to the fact that the Bible salesman is selling snake oil. The scene between Manley and Hulga toward the end of the story tells it bestThe boy was unscrewing the top of the flask. He stopped and pointed with a smile, to the dump of cards. It was not an ordinary deck but one with an obscene picture on the back of each card. bugger off a swig , he said, offering her the bottleful first. He held it in front of her, but like one mesmerized, she did not move. Her voice when she spoke had an almost pleading sound. Arent you, she murmured, arent you just good unsophisticated people? (2582) So Hulga, the former Joy, seems dead surprised when she eventually comes to realize that he is not one of the good country people after all.He is not after mens souls, but womens bodies. After priding herself on her ability to recognize the hidden evils that hide behind smiles and Christian belief, she has let herself down by letting her guard down. Her naivete in the long run comes out and is exploited by worldliness. This recurrent irony skillfully plays out the general theme of innocence versus knowledge. The literary proficiency that had begun to come into vogue when Good Country People was being written was the indoctrinate of show, dont tell. This was OConnors first stab into that realm.She used irony and situation to do all o f the talking. Rather than laboriously describe persons attitudes and beliefs, she allows readers to eavesdrop on the action. This turns out to be much more realistic than earlier forms of realism and naturalism. Those genres depended upon handsome details and descriptions of motivations and intents and did not lead readers astray, which would have been labeled patently unfair at the time. This new convention allows for more reader interaction, more familiarity with context as the reader is not being told exactly what to think. present theme and not telling theme lets the reader begin to interact more fully with the text and the story itself, release him to find more personal connections to the action, and change in the thoughts and emotions between the lines. Ultimately it provides a much more complex and hunky-dory experience for the readers interaction with the story. Since the publishing of OConnors story, this technique has not only continued, but has become one of the hal lmarks of quality writing. As such, it is taught thoroughly at the collegiate writing level, and no creative writing is well accepted if it violates this standard.OConnor would be proud. The turning of the nineteenth to twentieth centuries unleashed a great freedom in American literature, both in subjects explored, and in devices and manners utilized. A slew of themes were raised and dealt with, often with unexpected and canny methods, with their unexpected and clever results. Poetry from authors like Theodore Roethke and Edwin Arlington Robinson, and short stories from the likes of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Flannery OConnor began exploring the new topics of the culture as America began to turn toward modernisation of both labor and of relationships.As new understandings evolved in these arenas, the remnants, too, received treatment in the literature. Some fashionable ideas were finally on their way out, seemingly, as The Yellow Wallpaper showed. And yet some would hold on, like the view of father son relationships in My Papas Waltz. Old faiths and new hypocrisies were examined by OConnor and others. And sometimes reality itself was discarded, as Roethke showed. The era of these authors was a time of moving on, looking forward and reminiscing back, all at once, and with many devices. ? Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper. The Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter ordinal Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. impudent York W. W. Norton, 2008. 1684-95. OConnor, Flannery. Good Country People. The Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York W. W. Norton, 2008. 2569-83. Robinson, Edwin A. Miniver Cheevy. The Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York W. W. Norton, 2008. 1898. Roethke, Theodore. My Papas Waltz. The Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York W. W. Norton, 2008. 2321.