8 Naturalism in am. Literature. (London)

The term naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings., naturalism implies a philosophical position: for naturalistic writers, since human beings characters can Be studied through their relationships to their surroundings. Themes: determinism, violence, and taboo as key themes. The conflict in naturalistic novels is often "man against nature" or "man against himself" as characters struggle to retain a "veneer of civilization" despite external pressures that threaten to release the "brute within."

Jack London. Collection of stories “ The Son of the Wolf», different short stories.

His works are combination of realism, romanticism and naturalism.

London`s first works were all based on his dramatic experience of the life in the North.

London`s social works beginning of the 20-th century. «Martin Eden»-it is an autobiographical novel which traces all the life stages and hardship of London.

9. American novel of the 1930 (Steinbeck, Dreiser)

In the 30s the situation changed drastically because of the Great Depression (not only in America but in the whole world). The living standards dropped very low. There was a rise of proletariat movement in America. One of the best books on the 30s was John Ernest Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath" - a story a family in Oklahoma which is a victim of the natural disasters & the economic crisis. They have to move to California -a sort of "promised land". And the author depicts their sufferings very well. The writers of that day tried to reflect the everyday life of common people, they showed people's search for the "promised land». Theodore Dreiser: All his novels deal with the notion of the American Dream. Dreiser showed the other side of the so called "from rags to riches». He tried to draw the reader's attention to the fact that the very system in the USA makes a person sacrifice his humanity for the sake of achieving this Dream of Success. And this money worship is usually accompanied by moral fall & degradation."

15 Multiculturalizm in u.S. Literature

Multiculturalism is a term which came into usage after the idea of a "melting pot" was criticized by minorities as both assimilationist and white-dominated. The social idea of a multiplicity of racial and ethnic identities, unique yet also hybrizing greatly influenced artistic and intellectual production after the war. It is associated with identity politics and aesthetic productions generated after, and inspired by, civil rights movements of the 1950s and 60s. For our purposes here, a multiculturalist is any person of color, white ethnic, or biracial person whose work is largely oriented around issues of race and/or ethnicity. Multicultural writing after World War II is often defined by autobiographical or pseudo-autobiographical work (e.g. Carlos Bulosan and Maxine Hong Kingston), and by a growing investment in the idea that racial and ethnic minority voices are a crucial element in United States literary history and culture.