Generally, nineteenth century passages may feature the build-up of wealth on the Eastern seaboard, often introducing social concerns that mirror those of Europe.

A date early in the twentieth century may foreground the rise of realism and or the work of the first significant generation of writers from Continental Europe (eg Dreiser and Cather).

The twenties may feature angst at the legacy of the First World War and/or hedonistic lifestyles during the economic boom.

The thirties are likely to mirror economic depression.

The literature of the South is likely to revisit the Civil War and possibly the legacy of slavery

Pre-1880 - The Frontier
The idea of moving West to make your fortune from the land was one that had developed way before the beginning of our time period.

1880 Literary Trends
Romanticism stories were often about an individual who
was tested by circumstances, then overcame them
Naturalism - later in 19th century and 20th century - exploring how our genetic makeup and physical surroundings drive human behaviour causing people to act in a certain way

European concerns - depicted middle and upper classes, manners and social ettique, concerned with the place of women

1917-1929
ww1 - not neutral anymore
capitalism, jazz age, post war, prohibition, roaring 20s, atheism

1929-1940 - Dust Bowl
period of bad storms which devastated the formly prosperous prarie land, ruining crops and livelihoods
The Great Depression- economic recession, out of work
migration away from the Great Plains for work

1929-1940 Literature of Recession
concerned about effects of Great Depression on peoples lives
greater intrest in invisible or marganilised lives, damaged lives
racial inequality

The Prairie - James Fenimore Cooper - influences Cather and Steinbeck. Romanticises the landscape around you; individualism - making yourself through the land

The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) and Moby Dick (Herman Melville) -symbolism

Protagonist who overcomes hardship through rugged individualism

Mark Twain - Huckleberry Finn criticises romanticism in the south. Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and the Judge - actions criticise romanticism as they are revealed as naive

Grapes of Wrath - portrayed negatives of capitalism. Banned in one county.

The Portrait of a Lady (James) - and American woman who wants to escape her marriage

The Age of Innocence (Wharton) - New York aristocrats; based on Wharton’s childhood

American Dream - desire to impose oneself onto the universe, making themselves subject to agony

Immigration/America as a 'melting pot' - clashes of culture

A society 'on the move' - progress, people desperate to get somewhere else