“U.S.A. is the world’s greatest rivervalley
fringed with mountains and hills, U.S.A. is a set of big-mouthed officials with too man bank accounts…but mostly U.S.A. is the speech of the people” 2. Three experimental writing techniques: 1)Biographies: about the famous Americans who emerged as “benefactors” of mankind, to indicate the energy America could produce
Novels in 1930s
Writers who made their names in 1920s
continued to produce great works Young southern writers, such as Porter, Welty and McCullers, came to the stage John Dos Passos and John Steinbeck Novels of the “hard knocks” generation, “children of the depression” Popular novels, such as Gone With the Wind(1936)
Structure
Three Parts:
chap.1—chap.10 Draught in Oklahoma Chap.13—chap.18 The Epic Trek Chap.19-chap.30 Life in California
Relationship between the novel and Bible:
2) Newsreels:
a montage of newspaper headlines,
ex of popular songs. 3) Camera Eye: representing a disembodied sensibility interpreting experience or thought in a pure stream of consciousness.
The arrangement of chapters Vs. “The Exodus”
The image of grape
1) symbol of anger Vs. “Deuteronomy”;



“Jeremiad”; “The Revelation”: “那天使就把镰刀 扔在地上，收取了地上的葡萄，丢在上帝忿怒的 大酒窖中。” 2）symbol of abundance: Rose of Sharon Rosasharn’s last selfless behavior Ma Joad: “We are the people” Image of the stillborn child
Trilogy of U.S.A.
Contents:
the trilogy presents a near-authentic
fictional history of the evolution of America which began from the Gilded Age Theme: individual physical and spiritual welfare struggling against the crushing power of “machines”, such as Army, Law, Corporation, Party, City or Communism.
John Dos Passos (1896-1970)
“Architect of History”
Chicago (1896) Harvard (1912-1916) One Man’s Initiation:1912 (1920) His political outlook
Major Works
themes
Criticism on injustice and exploitation The triumph of humanity
John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
Salinas California (1902) Stanford(1919-1925) Nobel Prize (1962)
Major Works
1929-1934: Cup of Gold (1929); The
Pastures of Heaven(1932); etc. 1935-1939: Tortilla Flat (1935); Of Mice and Men (1937); The Grapes of Wrath(1939), etc. 1940-1968: Pearl (1947); East of Eden (1952); Travels with Charley (1962), etc.
Novels of the “children of the depression”
James T. Farrell (1904-1979): 18 novels and
200 short stories Studs Lonigan trilogy: Young Lonigan (1932); The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan (1934); Judgment Day(1935) Features: naturalistic tradition; solidity of detail
Lecture Twenty-three
The 1930s•Dos Passos• Steinbeck
Social background in 1930s
A period of economic disaster and physical
wasteland The Great Depression (Oct. 24.1929) the paradox in the capital system with the result of people’s doubt about it
Writings in 1920s: Three Soldiers(1921);
Streets of Night (1923); Manhattan Transfer(1925); etc. Writings in 1930s: Trilogy of U.S.A.: The 42nd Parallel (1930); 1919(1932); The Big Money(1936) District of Columbia: Adventures of a Young Man (1939); Number One (1943); The Grand Design (1949)
John O’Hara (1905-1970):
Appointment in Samara(1934) (Julian English) Features: honest recording but in the lack of artistic control Limits of novels of the “children of the depression”: Too much time-bound and space-bound without the assertion of confidence and courage in man
Characterization: 11major characters and over 30 minor ones to illustrate the theme, such as Richard Ellsworth Savage, Mac McCreary. Style: 1. simple diction, impressive images, rhythmical sentences and parallels
Major Features of the 1930s’ Literature
Content:
Social involvement and concern
about the society Technique: the revival of naturalism and realism in addition to the influence of modernism