City Life Presented by: Various Artists
MAGGIE A GIRL OF THE STREETS Written by Stephen Crane (we talked about him earlier ) Stephen Crane grew to maturity during the GILDED AGE Created the modern industrial economy During the 1870s and 1880s, the US economy grew at the fastest rate in its history. Huge booms in transportation (rails increased 567%) and communication. LED TO HUGE GAINS IN MONEY!!
Huge Gains in Money (for some - And not for others ) Businessmen of this era gained huge amounts of money.» Rockefellers, Mellons, Carnegies, J.P.Morgan, Vanderbilts These businessmen were accused of being ROBBER BARONS people who earned their money through immoral or illegal ways; however, much of this resentment was due to jealousy and envy. RICH CLASS life (OPULENCE) is highlighted as glorious and ROMANTIC (ism), but there was an ugliness behind the scenes -ADDITIONALLY, this time period is also known as the era of AMERICAN PHILANTHROPY a time period in which the rich businessmen donated tons of their own money to help build buildings and found great projects or charities/organizations to help people.
The end of the Gilded Era The term gilded refers to the process of gilding an object with a superficial (skin deep) layer of gold just for decoration/ show -Applies to rich class life (ignores average or lower class people) Ends in 1893 Panic of 1893 a deep economic depression lasting until 1897
Romanticism Shifts into Naturalism/Realism WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON Clean favored, and imperially slim. RICHARD CORY And he was always quietly arrayed, 1897 And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said, "Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked. And he was rich yes, richer than a king, And admirably schooled in every grace: In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head.
Stephen Crane First published when he was 21 years old Maggie: Girl of the Streets (1893) Red Badge of Courage (1896) Considered too risqué, Crane financed its publication himself. Set in time period of Industrialism, in NYC s Bowery neighborhood in lower Manhattan
CRANE WASN T BUYING IT Crane lived in New Jersey and New York -He knew the truth Life wasn t all RICH and ROMANTIC there was much more REAL out there (and Natural)
Realism Realism is a mode of writing that gives the impression of recording or reflecting faithfully an actual way of life. The term refers, sometimes confusingly, both to a literary method based on detailed accuracy of description and to a more general attitude that rejects idealization, escapism, and other extravagant qualities of romance in favor of recognizing soberly the actual problems of life
Naturalism Naturalism was an aesthetic movement of the late 19th to early 20th century. The movement was inspired by the principles and methods of natural science, especially Darwinism, which were adapted to literature and art. In literature, naturalism extended the tradition of realism, aiming at an even more faithful, pseudoscientific representation of reality, presented without moral judgment. Characters in naturalistic literature typically illustrate the deterministic role of heredity and environment on human life.
Tenement Life http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15595/15595-h/images/imagep031.jpg
Washboard Jungle New York Tenement Yard c.1900-1910 www.shorpy.com/node/4394
a dozen gruesome doorways gave up loads of babies to the street and gutter. --Maggie,
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1. What do you notice FIRST? 2. What do you notice SECOND? (What seems hidden unless you look at the picture more closely? 3. WHO or WHAT seems to have POWER in the painting? 4. What do you think the artist wanted you to see?
CRANE KNEW THE TRUTH AND HE SHOWED AMERICA A CITY LIFE LOADED WITH POOR, DRUNKEN, AND DESPERATE PEOPLE. THERE WAS AN UGLILNESS BEHIND THE GOLD EXTERIOR OF THE WORLD. THE RICH WAS ONLY A FAÇADE AND ROMANTICISM WAS FADING OUT REALISM AND NATURALISM WERE TAKING HOLD.
Second wave IMMIGRATION (appx 1870 1890) Southern Europe TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY THE BOOMING BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRY. MEAT PACKING INDUSTRY AND UNSANITARY WORKING CONDITIONS Unfair working conditions and expectations. What is The American Dream for an immigrant living in America in the 1890s/1900s?
Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) Muckraking The Jungle Published in 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act (1906) and the Meat Inspection Act (1906) Published more than 90 books Socialist