Contemporary Period

1
Contemporary Period

• 1939 - Present

2
General Overview

• This time period has multiple categories.
• U.S. - wartime atrocities to Darfur, growing
  technology etc.
• Focus on human nature and psychological effects
  of war and cultural conflicts

3
World Events

• 1945 - Atomic bombs over Hiroshima
• 1957 - Soviets launch Sputnik
• 1961 - Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba
• 1973 - Peace treaty to end Vietnam
• 1989 - Tiananmen Square China
• 2003 - U.S. invades Iraq
• 2004 - Tsunami in Asia leaves 250,000 dead

4
U.S. Events

• 1941 - Pearl Harbor
• 1954 - Supreme Court rules schools must be
  desegregated
• 1963 - Kennedy assassinated
• 1969 - Astronauts walk on moon
• 1974 - Watergate scandal
• 1986 - Space shuttle Challenger explodes
• 2001 - Terrorist attack on World Trade Center
• 2005 - Hurricane Katrina (New Orleans)

5
Major Authors

• Tennessee Williams - plays on Broadway
• Arthur Miller - plays
• J.D. Salinger - Catcher in the Rye
• Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
• John Steinbeck wins Nobel Prize for Lit
• Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
• Alice Walker, Tim OBrien, Sandra Cisneros, Toni
  Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut

6
Sub Category 1War Literature

• Firsthand accounts of war
• Insight into the physical as well as
  psychological consequences of war
• Explores themes of humanity, faith, morality
• Examples Night, Tim OBrien - The Things They
  Carried

7
Sub Category 2American Drama

• Focuses on social issues for ordinary people
• In depth exploration of the inner lives of
  characters
• Starts with realistic productions but by the end
  of the period - experimental

8
Sub Category 3Characterization (Fiction)

• Defines a characters personality
• Reveals hopes and fears of characters
• Makes characters lively and realistic
• Helps advance the plot and communicate a theme

9
Sub Category 4Autobiographical (Nonfiction)

• Exhibits reflection and introspection
• Interpretive account of events
• Understanding that readers will judge or evaluate
  the interpretation
• Explanation of the writers sources of inspiration

10
Sub Category 5Poetry Personal Experience

• Explores subjects of which the poet has personal
  experience
• Communicates ideas in an literal and figurative
  sense
• Enhances readers understanding of universal
  themes ideas

11
Sum up

• Many categories - not necessarily new ideas
  except a real focus on characters, themes, and
  writing about life experiences
• Contemporary - maybe eventually divided up??

12
Books???

• What current books are really good that fit into
  one of these categories??