Modernism – Flashcard
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The years that encapsulate Modernism are:
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1914-1939
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean by the "dying fall"?
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That was the term he used for those people who try so desperately but never achieve what they want.
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What is a great description of The Valley of Ashes?
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A junkyard of burned up dreams.
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F. Scott Fitzgerald always showed sympathy for what kind of person?
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Those who were shut out by the powerful and the rich.
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In The Great Gatsby, why was Myrtle so violently killed?
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To show the mutilation of others that the powerful were capable of.
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In The Great Gatsby, how did F. Scott Fitzgerald show the rich facing the consequences for their actions?
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He didn't. He showed someone else paying the price for their behavior.
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In The Great Gatsby, what did George Wilson represent?
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The sullen resentment of a peasant - the proletariat.
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The years of World War I were...
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1914-1918
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Which Amendment was the one for Women's Suffrage?
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19th Amendment (1920)
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Which Amendment was the one for Prohibition?
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18th Amendment (1920)
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What were the philosophies of Modernism?
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- The fragmentation of American culture and families - The re-examination of all parts of human existence - The belief that humans can recreate their world (embraced change) - Loss of faith in the American Dream - Interest in the human mind
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What states must you know for the era of Modernism?
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Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Hawaii, and Alaska
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What are the 28th - 32nd Presidents?
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28. Woodrow Wilson 29. Warren G. Harding 30. Calvin Coolidge 31. Herbert Hoover 32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
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What year marked the beginning of the Great Depression?
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1929
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What year was the first radio broadcast?
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1920
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald name the 1920's?
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The Jazz Age
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What was the point of the Scopes Monkey Trial?
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To teach evolution in public school science class.
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Why was Mahatma Gandhi relevant to American history?
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Because his peaceful resistance was inspired by Henry David Thoreau and he, in turn, inspired Martin Luther King Jr.
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What were the literary trends of Modernism?
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-Bold experimentation in style and form - Rejection of sentimentality - Representation of a hero who is flawed but shows grace under pressure - Imagism over symbolism - Questioning / challenging convention
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Who were some of the notable writers of the Modernism time period?
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F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Virginia Woolf, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston
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Who were some of the notable poets of the Modernism time period?
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William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, T.S. Elliot
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Why did World War I begin?
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Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist
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How did World War I end?
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It ended with a truce - the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1918
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What strategies did World War I propaganda posters use?
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Appealing to: - women's sense of empowerment - patriotism - contribution to victory - glorification of the war effort - every act that benefits the country is valuable
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What year was the Seneca Falls Convention that helped lead women toward the right to vote?
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1848
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Who were two primary leaders of the Women's Suffrage Movement?
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony
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What is Charles Lindbergh famous for?
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Completing the first transatlantic solo flight by airplane between New York and Paris
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What was the name for the architectural style famous in the 1920's?
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Art Deco
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What is the day of the stock market crash called that denoted the beginning of the Great Depression?
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Black Tuesday
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What 3 elements contributed to the natural occurrence called The Dust Bowl?
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Drought, erosion, and wind
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What was The New Deal?
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Governmental programs that sought to stimulate demand and provide work and relief for the impoverished.
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Who were members of the Lost Generation?
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Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T. S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound
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What ideologies did the participants in The Lost Generation share?
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lost values, lost belief in the idea of human progress, and a mood of futility and despair leading to hedonism
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What were some of the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance?
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It was a move toward sophistication in African Americans' writing. It mirrored the change from rural to urban life, however, several of the Harlem writers made powerful use of folk idioms. They also debated the place of the African American in American life.
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What are the distinct musical components of Jazz?
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blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythm, and improvisation
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In what places did Jazz get its start?
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Saloons
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What is the literary genre to get its start from Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis?
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Stream-of-consciousness
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Nothing changed so much in the 1920's as...
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the American woman
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What were some of the names Walter Winchell called New York City?
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Baloney Boulevard, The Hardened Artery, The Big Gulch, The Grandest Canyon, The Big Apple
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How did Broadway slang make its way to the populace?
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Through radio and then syndicated newspapers
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Average per capita income for American farmers in 1929
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$273
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Percentage of Americans who owned stock at time of 1929 crash
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Less than 1%
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How did Billie Holiday lose her life?
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Through substance abuse at age 44
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How many lives were lost during WW1?
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20 million (117,000 American soldier deaths)
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Years Great Gatsby was written in
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1923-1924
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TRUE/FALSE: The Gilded Age was part of modernism?
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False
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Years of the Gilded Age
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1877-1900
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TRUE/FALSE: Charlie Chaplin was the "champ"
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False: he was the "tramp"
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Which of Chaplin's films got him kicked out of the U.S?
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The Great Dictator
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What was the Charleston?
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A provocative form of dance that was considered "immoral"
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Who was F. Scott Fitzgerald named after?
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Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star Spangled Banner
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Which publication made F. Scott Fitzgerald famous overnight?
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This Side of Paradise in 1920
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TRUE/FALSE: F. Scott Fitzgerald met Ernest Hemingway
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True
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True/False: F. Scott Fitzgerald died from prostate surgery on December 21, 1940
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False: He died of a heart attack
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What was 'The Breakers'?
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One of the "Summer Cottages" built in Newport representing the development in industrial growth.
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What did modernists believe about the assurances once provided by religion, politics, and society?
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That they no longer sufficed. This belief intensified after World War I, when it seemed to many that history itself was coming to an end and that modern life was horrific, chaotic, and ultimately futile.
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How did T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound differ in their outlook on Modernism?
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T. S. Eliot expressed a deep sense of loss and despair. Ezra Pound envisaged the possibility of a new society to which artists would contribute meaningfully. He, and others believed that art would replace religion in providing coherence, guidance, and insight into the human condition.
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How did myths play a role in Modernism?
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For some writers, there was a fresh sense of the possibilities of ancient myths and this led to a revaluation of the meanings of myth.
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How did those writers who were in opposition to the relevance of myth feel?
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Gertrude Stein, Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, and Ernest Hemmingway, were less convinced by the relevance of myth, believing that the creation of meaning and coherence was the task of the writer, performed in opposition to false and damaging external impositions of order.
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How did the belief in the importance of the artist contribute to the style of works at the time?
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This overall sense of the serious responsibility of the artist helps to account for the large projects in which many modernists engaged, for instance the long poem or the epic.
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When Alice Guy Blache wanted to try making movies, what was her profession?
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A secretary to Leon Gaumont
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Alice Guy Blache was the first...
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- woman film director - the first woman to write, direct, and produce films - the first woman to own her own film production studio - the first person to write narrative into film - the first to sync sound to film
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Alice Guy Blache made how many films in her lifetime?
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Over 1,000
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What was the name of Alice Guy Blache's film production studio that she owned in New Jersey?
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Solax
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Who was Billie Holiday?
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One of the most influential jazz singers of all time.
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What was Billie Holiday's nick name and what did it mean?
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Lady Day - to embody her sophistication and grace in song
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What did Billie Holiday's father do?
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He was a jazz musician as well.
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Why did people credit Holiday's singing for its quality?
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Because she was able to synthesize the styles of those who came before her in a way that others would not want to follow. Her singing expressed an incredible depth of emotion that spoke of hard times and injustice as well as triumph.
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What was Holiday's successful song "Strange Fruit" about?
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Her anger over the lynchings of her ancestral people
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How did Billie Holiday die?
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From heart and liver failure due to substance abuse.
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What were some of the tragedies that Billie Holiday had to face?
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She was raped at the age of 10 and sent to a reformatory for allegedly seducing her attacker. By 13 she had followed her mother in to prostitution.
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What awards did William Faulkner win?
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a National Book Award, 2 Pulitzer Prizes, and 1 Nobel Peace Prize (he was also nominated for another)
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Where did William Faulkner set all his novels?
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Yoknapatawpha County the fictionalized version of Lafayette County, Mississippi
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What level of schooling did William Faulkner attain?
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He never got his high school diploma
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What did William Faulkner and Mark Twain have in common?
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Faulkner became known for his faithful and accurate dictation of Southern speech. He also boldly illuminated social issues that many Americans writers left in the dark, including slavery, the good old boys club, and Southern aristocracy. (as did Twain)
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What did William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald have in common?
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They both were screenwriters for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
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Why might readers have been confused by Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury?
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Because the first 20-30 pages open within the mind of a deranged character. Later this was understood to be an innovative and complex contribution to his theme.
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What did people praise for Faulkner's common theme?
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He focused on people's ability to endure.
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What were some of the accolades Robert Frost received?
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4 Pulitzer Prizes, a Congressional Medal of Honor, and over 40 honorary degrees
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On what did most of Robert Frost's work concentrate?
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Rural life using colloquial speech
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At whose inauguration did Robert Frost read a poem?
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John F. Kennedy
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After moving to England, Frost found a publisher for his poetry. Who reviewed his work?
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Ezra Pound
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At what college did Frost teach on and off for 45 years and bears a library in his name?
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Amerst
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What did Ernest Hemingway work on in high school that paved the way for his future work?
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The school newspaper
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Instead of going to college, what did Ernest Hemingway do?
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Went to work on printing the town newspaper which influenced his literary writing style. He learned how to write brief, straight-forward sentences. Later, he became a war correspondent which provided him fodder for his work.
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How did moving to Paris aid Hemingway's work?
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He became an artist among the group called the Lost Generation. Fitzgerald introduced him to his publisher, Scribner, who published Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.
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What accolades did Hemingway earn?
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a Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize for Literature
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What was unique about Zora Neale Hurston's home town?
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Eatonville, Florida, was the only Florida town founded by African Americans
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Finish the following Hurston quote: "Dead dreams dropping off the heart ...
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like leaves in a dry season."
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Finish the following Hurston quote: "There is something about poverty...
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that smells like death."
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What is the novel for which Zora Neale Hurston is best known for?
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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In 1912, Pound helped create a movement that he and others called
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"Imagism,"which was a push to set a more direct course with language, shedding any romantic sentiment.
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What T.S. Eliot poem did Ezra Pound edit which many consider to be one of the greatest poems produced during the modernist era?
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"The Waste Land"
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Who spearheaded a successful campaign to free Ezra Pound from confinement for his pro-Fascist broadcasts in Italy during World War II?
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Robert Frost
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For what was Gertrude Stein known?
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- Being a famous patron of the arts - Nurturing young writers at the turn of the 20th century - Having a salon in Paris that gathered those of the Lost Generation
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Who was Gertrude Stein's partner?
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Alice B. Toklas
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About what is John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath?
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The wrenching story of the "Okies," the Oklahoma farmers, dispossessed from their land and forced to become migrant farmers in California during the Great Depression. It describes the Joad family's exploitation by a ruthless system of agricultural economics.
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How did Steinbeck show that people can survive?
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Only through unity, dignity, family, and selflessness.
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What causes the migrants' misery, according to Steinbeck?
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The people who benefit from it -- the California farmers who deliberately degrade the migrant workers to keep them powerless -- not by capricious weather or simple ill fortune.
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What states do you need to know for this era?
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Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Hawaii, Alaska
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What presidents do you need to know for this era?
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28. Woodrow Wilson 29. Warren G. Harding 30. Calvin Coolidge 31. Herbert Hoover 32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
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How did F. Scott Fitzgerald depict The American Dream in The Great Gatsby?
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The dream was of easy money, relaxed social values, and a corrupted dream.
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How did The American Dream change over time?
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It began as one of discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness and became one of materialism.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote: "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
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That Nick has been imbued with a moral compass - ethics - and that not all people have been taught right from wrong.
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Why is it important that Fitzgerald tell the reader that Nick has ethics?
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So that the reader trusts the judgement of the narrator
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From what point of view is The Great Gatsby told?
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1st person retrospective
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote: "I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart."
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Nick has been exposed to corruption and it has shaken his faith in humanity.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Tom: "who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty one that everything afterward savors of anticlimax."
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That Tom's success was "limited" to those in his immediate surroundings and his life would never get better than that. Although he could have had other successes, he chose not to. Nothing after compared to his previous accomplishment.
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What college did Tom attend?
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Yale
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote by Tom: "if we don't look out the white race will be - will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific stuff; it's been proved."
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1 - Tom's racist 2 - Tom's not intelligent 3 - Tom thinks he's intelligent 4 - Tom tries to pretend he's intelligent
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote by Daisy: "I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
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1 - Daisy is intelligent 2 - Daisy is unhappy 3 - Daisy wants her daughter to be ignorant so that she'll be happy 4 - There is no significant place in 1920's society for an intelligent, independent woman
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote: "This is a valley of ashes - a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens..."
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That the valley of ashes represents what America used to be, purports to be, and had the potential to be... but wasn't. In fact it was the opposite.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with the description of the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg?
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It was a dilapidated billboard of an eye doctor whose business failed in the Valley of Ashes and he moved away from the area. It shows that the people there couldn't even afford basic health care, and it shows that the eyes of the wealthy saw them but refused to lend a hand.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby when he had the trains halting in the Valley of Ashes even when the drawbridge was not up?
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Fitzgerald was not going to allow the wealthy classes to avoid taking responsibility for the poverty that engulfed the majority of America. He wanted to show that the wealthy saw and knew about the problem but refused to act.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with his description of Wilson's Garage?
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- There were 3 stores = martyrdom of the working poor - There was a storefront for rent = people's businesses failed there - There was an all night diner = the working poor were working shift work, round the clock to make ends meet (or try)
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with his description of Myrtle's Manhattan apartment?
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- She tried her best to mimic the wealthy - Her attempts pathetically failed - Her attempts only served to show how far from that class she actually was - The mention of Versailles parallels the class division of America to that of Europe - The mention of Versailles compares Myrtle's extravagance to Marie Antoinette's
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby when he had Old Owl Eyes proclaim that Gatsby's books were real?
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He was shocked because most of the nouveau riche merely had cardboard facades that looked like a library. They were imitating the Old Rich, not authentically being the Old Rich. Gatsby, however, spared no expense to create the detailed presentation of a member of the highest social class.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Gatsby: "I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd."
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- Gatsby, by the end of the story, was 33 - the age of Christ when he was crucified. Thus, making Gatsby a martyr - Gatsby's presentation was dichotomous in that there were 2 competing identities at work.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Wolfsheim: "finest specimens of human molars."
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Fitzgerald wanted to show the vicious, dangerous, violent associates Gatsby was surrounding himself with.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby when he set the season as winter when Gatsby headed off to war?
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That marked the death - the end - of Gatsby's and Daisy's chance to be together.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby when he said Daisy looked "as lovely as the June night" the evening of her marriage to Tom?
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Summer is the season of passion - love and anger - which she felt about her new marriage.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with his description of Tom's car crash in Santa Barbara?
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- the chambermaid wasn't named = her disposability / lack of individuality / lack of importance as a person - Tom's choice of a lover in a much lower social class = his desire to control - Tom and Daisy's escape to France while leaving the chambermaid with a broken arm foreshadows the death of Myrtle and the wealthy's irresponsibility
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Gatsby's dream: "the colossal vitality of his illusion."
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Gatsby's dream of entering into the highest social class had taken on a life of its own. His dream would never become real because of its implausibility as well as the enormity of his illusion.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Gatsby: he "sprang from his Platonic conception of himself."
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He created himself as if he had no biological parents, as if he were asexually spawned. With no biological parents, this equates him again to Christ as a martyr.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about West Egg: "a world complete in itself, ... second to nothing..."
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West Eggers were consumed with their new wealth and status and had no conception that the egregious flaunting of wealth made them a preposterous spectacle to the Old Rich.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Tom and George: "there was no difference between men, in intelligence or race, so profound as the difference between the sick and the well."
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He was showing that George was truly heart sick over the fact that he was losing Myrtle but what Tom felt was the fear of losing control.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Daisy: "her voice was full of money."
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Similar to Mark Twain's quote: :"Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person." Daisy has learned to mask her feelings and intentions with the surface sound of her voice. The musicality of her voice hides her manipulations.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Daisy: "the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away."
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That the dream was already dead before he even reunited with Daisy. It was dead the night he left for the war.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about Gatsby: "he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself"
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From Gatsby and Daisy's first meeting.... he lied to HER!
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote: "Gatsby shouldered the mattress and started for the pool."
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The image reflects Christ's journey toward his crucifixion which equates Gatsby with a martyr.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote about George Wilson: "where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air"
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Those of the valley of ashes needed dreams to live. Reality was so rotten that only the hope for something better kept them going.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote: "the holocaust was complete."
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The sacrifice of Gatsby, George, and Myrtle - those originating from the working poor - was complete. They all died because of the actions and lack of accountability of the rich.
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What did F. Scott Fitzgerald mean in The Great Gatsby with this quote: "tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther"
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Human beings will always strive for the unattainable, dream for the impossible. We have corrupted nature, the earth, others, and ourselves with the frailties of our nature.... and this will not change.
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What does Fitzgerald do differently in The Great Gatsby from writers in the past?
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He uses dialogue to aid in characterization. His characters speak realistically - in questions, answers, assertions, and replies.
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How does Dan Coleman portray the difference of speech between the West Eggers and the East Eggers?
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West Egg communicates with "raw vigor" and East Egg uses polite "euphemisms" to obscure their true meaning.
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According to Dan Coleman how does Gatsby try to affect Daisy's dialogue?
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Gatsby tries to drag Daisy down from a suspended state and into the world of things - of the physical things he has accumulated - in an attempt to win her
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According to Dan Coleman, how does Daisy's persona affect other people?
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"By being promising, Daisy becomes the screen onto which her admirers can project desires that she can always refuse to take seriously."
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According to Dan Coleman, how does Daisy's speech affect Nick?
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Nick believes in a truthfulness/ a reason to fiction, while Daisy has no reason to remember her stories after she's finished telling them.
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According to Dan Coleman, how does Tom use language?
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"not to represent the world, but to decide it through the act of talking about it."
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Where do the characters of The Great Gatsby live?
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West Egg - Gatsby & Nick East Egg - Daisy and Tom Valley of Ashes - George & Myrtle Wilson Manhattan - Wolfsheim Minnesota - Henry C. Gatz
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Jay Gatsby's real name is:
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James Gatz
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What was the name of the millionaire who hired James Gatz to be his assistant?
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Dan Cody
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What does Jordan Baker do?
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She's a professional golfer who cheats.
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What are some of the items on James Gatz's boyhood schedule?
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practice elocution and pose, study needed inventions, dumbbell exercise, be better to parents, save money, no smoking, no wasting time, bath every other day
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What are the years of the Gilded Age?
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1877-1900
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Was the Gilded Age a time of opulence?
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For some... for few.
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The Breakers was a "summer cottage" owned by the Vanderbilts. How did they make their fortune?
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Steamships and the New York Central Railroad = transportation
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The Elms was a "summer cottage" owned by the Berwinds. How did they make their fortune?
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Pennsylvania coal industry
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It's not just that the wealthy of the 1920's were wealthy, but they flaunted it. What were some of the things you could find at the Berwinds' residence?
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Renaissance ceramics, 18th century French and Venetian paintings, and Oriental jades, classical Revival gardens, marble and bronze sculpture, a park of fine specimen trees and a lavish lower garden featuring marble pavilions, fountains, a sunken garden and carriage house and garage.
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Mr. Vanderbilt built another "summer cottage" down the street from The Breakers for his wife. How did their children spend their free time?
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William K., Jr. was a prominent figure in pioneering the sport of auto racing in America; and Harold was one of the finest yachtsmen of his era who successfully defended the America's Cup three times
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Where were The Breakers, The Elms, and the Marble House located?
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Newport, Rhode Island
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What were the various terms associated with the 18th Amendment?
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Prohibition, the Temperance movement, the Volstead Act
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What were the enforcers of prohibition called?
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dry agents
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What were saloons called?
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Speakeasies - because you had to speak easy to the doorman to be let in
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What was bootlegging?
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the importation, manufacture, and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
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What is the name of the finest American political cartoonist in the 1920's?
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Rollin Kirby, who was awarded 3 Pulitzer Prizes. His high-hatted figure became the national symbol of Prohibition.
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What is another name for Alphonse Gabriel Capone?
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Scarface
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What did Capone's business card say he did for a living?
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A used furniture dealer
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Where did Capone's crime ring operate?
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He started in Brooklyn but then moved to Chicago and becoming Chicago's most notorious crime figure.
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For what did the federal government finally arrest Capone?
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Income tax evasion and sent him to the notorious island prison Alcatraz.
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What character did Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr play in movies?
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His principal character was "The Tramp": a vagrant with the refined manners and dignity of a gentleman who wears a tight coat, oversized pants and shoes, a derby or bowler hat, a bamboo cane, and his signature toothbrush moustache.
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Was Charlie Chaplin just a director?
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No, Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually scored his own films.
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For what was the dance the Charleston named?
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Charleston, South Carolina
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Why did the Charleston become popular?
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It was danced by flappers in speakeasies and was considered quite immoral and provocative.
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What Broadway show featured the dance and the song The Charleston?
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Runnin' Wild
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What is F. Scott Fitzgerald's home town?
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St. Paul, Minnesota
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After whom was Fitzgerald named?
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Francis Scott Key
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Where did Fitzgerald go to college?
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Princeton, however he joined the army in 1917 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry
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Who did Fitzgerald meet while he was in the army?
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Zelda, his future wife
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What was the first novel Fitzgerald published that made him an overnight success?
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This Side of Paradise
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Why did Fitzgerald and Zelda run away to France?
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To escape the reputation of a party animal that he and she were garnering. He wanted to be taken as a serious writer instead. (although he did party a lot)
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What was the group named that he was part of in Paris?
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The Lost Generation
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Why did the Fitzgeralds leave France?
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Zelda had gotten involved with a French naval aviator
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Whatever happened to Zelda?
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She was in and out of mental health institutions until she finally died in a fire in one - although not before she published an autobiography.
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Whatever happened to F. Scott Fitzgerald?
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He moved to Hollywood and wrote screenplays for Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) at 1,000 / week and he fell in love with Sheila Graham. He died in her apartment.
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A terrific quote by Willa Cather that sums up Modernism is: "Men travel faster now...
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but I do not know if they go to better things."
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What was the most popular entertainment in the 1930's?
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The radio
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What was the name of the radio play that aired on Orson Welles' show?
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Invasion from Mars - a series of convincing but fictional news bulletins about a Martian invasion near New York City.
question
How many people tuned into Orson Welles' radio show based on his novel War of the Worlds?
answer
6 million!
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Was the radio show Invasion from Mars convincing?
answer
Yes! Hundreds of people clogged highways in an attempt to escape alien invaders.
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Who was behind the socialistic beliefs that powered the Russian Revolution in 1917?
answer
Karl Marx
question
Why were many Americans afraid of socialistic beliefs?
answer
They conflicted with the American system of capitalism and free enterprise.
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As an artistic movement, what was Symbolism?
answer
a form of expression in which the world of appearances is violently rearranged by artists who seek a different and more truthful version of reality.
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From whom were writers/poets of Symbolism influenced?
answer
the French
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What did Symbolists want to get rid of?
answer
religious, national, or psychological symbols that people had become dull and meaningless from overuse.
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Symbolists stressed to trust....
answer
the non rational, imagination, the mysterious, the intuitive, self-discovery
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How did Symbolists view the "modern" world?
answer
of one that suffered from increased poverty, violence, and conflict, despite advances in science and technology... and one that is spiritually corrupt.
question
What did imagists believe?
answer
That imagery alone could carry a poem's emotion and message. They wanted to rid poems of sentimentality and artificiality.
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What are the two forces in opposition within William Carlos Williams' "The Widow's Lament in Springtime"?
answer
Change and time vs loss/grief and stagnation
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What are the two forces in opposition within William Carlos Willams' "The Crowd at the Ball Game"?
answer
Individualism vs. Conformity
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In William Carlos Willams' "The Crowd at the Ball Game", who are some of the individuals victimized by the masses?
answer
Jewish people, the "flashy female"
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In William Carlos Willams' "The Crowd at the Ball Game", how does the reader know the "flashy female" is misread by the crowd?
answer
because she's with her mother
question
In William Carlos Willams' "The Crowd at the Ball Game", how does the reader know the crowd is considered "bad"?
answer
Williams uses words like "venomous" "grimly" "cut" "deadly" "terrifying" and "without thought" to describe it
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What is William Carlos Williams' statement about the dancers in "The Dance"?
answer
They are hypocrites because they're acting animalistically in the name of a religious celebration
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In William Carlos Williams' "The Dance", how does the form mimic the content?
answer
the rhythm and the rhyme scheme simulate a dance in that it seems to "go round and round"
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In William Carlos Williams' s "The Dance", how does he portray the dancers?
answer
He compares their bodies to animal parts "shanks" and their sounds to animal sounds "squeals". He says they're drunk and they're sexualized.
question
William Carlos Williams' "Tract", what does he try to teach the townspeople?
answer
How to properly have a funeral and how to properly show respect for the dead
question
Is there a double entendre to the instructions in William Carlos Williams' "Tract"?
answer
Yes, not only does he say to remove the Romanticism from a funeral - to strip it bare of adornment and get at the skeletal meaning - but he means that artists and poets and writers should do that as well.
question
How does the definition of the word tract help in understanding William Carlos Williams' poem?
answer
All the parts of the definition fit Williams' intention. Tract means a pamphlet of a declaration, expanse of land or water, limited area, system of organs and tissues, bundle of nerve fibers, and a stretch of time.
question
In William Carlos Williams' "Tract" should anyone precede the hearse?
answer
No, the dead should lead
question
In William Carlos Williams' "Tract" should people bring flowers?
answer
No, bring instead something that is closer to the interests or essence of the dead.
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In William Carlos Williams' "Tract" should people hold in their grief until they're in private?
answer
No, they should share it with others in order to show reverence, a common loss, and to recognize the lost life.
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In 1920's slang, what does "and how" mean?
answer
I strongly agree!
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In 1920's slang, what does "applesauce" mean?
answer
It's an expletive like "darn it!"
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In 1920's slang, what does "all balled up" mean?
answer
confused
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In 1920's slang, what does "bees knees" mean?
answer
extraordinary - person or idea or thing
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In 1920's slang, what does "bees wax" mean?
answer
business ... like none of your bees wax
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In 1920's slang, what does "big cheese" mean?
answer
the boss
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In 1920's slang, what does "caper" mean?
answer
a criminal act
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In 1920's slang, what does "cat's meow" mean?
answer
splendid or stylish
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In 1920's slang, what does "jalopy" mean?
answer
an old car
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In 1920's slang, what does "on the lam" mean?
answer
fleeing from the police
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In 1920's slang, what does "pinch" mean?
answer
to arrest
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In 1920's slang, what does "rag-a-muffin" mean?
answer
a disheveled person
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In 1920's slang, what does "real McCoy" mean?
answer
the real deal
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In 1920's slang, what does "wet blanket" mean?
answer
a kill joy
question
In T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" how does the poem end?
answer
This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper
question
In T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" what are the major ideas being addressed?
answer
individual worth, collectivism, lack of faith in God and mankind
question
In T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" what prayer can't the narrator finish?
answer
The Lord's Prayer
question
In T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" what children's song does he parody?
answer
"Here we go round the Mulberry Bush"
question
In T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" what does he mean when he states "Our dried voices, when/We whisper together/Are quiet and meaningless/As wind in dry grass"
answer
It's a simile to show the powerlessness and hopelessness of man.
question
In T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" what does he mean when he states "shape without form, shade without color/ Paralyzed force, gesture without motion"
answer
Throughout the poem he juxtaposes intention with lack of action or lack of effect.
question
In Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem" which begins with "What happens to a dream deferred?" what does he rely on to propel his poem?
answer
Visceral imagery that gets in your nose and on your tastebuds: "fester like a sore" "stink like rotten meat"
question
In Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem" which begins with "What happens to a dream deferred?" what does he ultimately suggest might happen to people's deferred dreams?
answer
they might explode
question
In Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice" what are the two forces that threaten humanity?
answer
Our own desires and our own hate
question
In Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice" which form of destruction does he hold favor with?
answer
Desire / Fire
question
In Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" how does he show that the narrator has decided to continue living?
answer
His rhyme scheme changes in the last stanza to "DDDD" - like foot steps or a beat that moves forward
question
In Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" how does he use the form of the poem to create a lulling sensation?
answer
He uses a predictable rhyme scheme and writes in iambic pentameter.
question
In Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" what is the narrator tempted to do?
answer
Go into the woods and die peacefully there.
question
In Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" why doe he ultimately decide to keep living?
answer
Because he has "promises to keep"
question
What does Wallace Stevens' "The Man with the Blue Guitar" have in common with "Ceci n'est pas use pipe"?
answer
The audience is asking the guitarist to play a "tune beyond us, yet ourselves" which shows man's desire to be represented as better than actuality/reality.
question
In Wallace Stevens' "The Man on the Dump" what 2 forces are in conflict?
answer
Truth and artificiality
question
In Wallace Stevens' "The Man on the Dump" what can be found on the dump?
answer
Both the natural / real / truth as well as the fabricated / artificial / materialistic.
question
What does Wallace Stevens in "The Man on the Dump" say about society?
answer
We are a consumeristic, materialistic, and wasteful society that is more concerned with facade than truth.
question
In Wallace Stevens' "The Man on the Dump" what does he rely on (primarily) to relay his theme?
answer
Imagery of all the things found on the dump
question
In Wallace Stevens' "The Man on the Dump" what time of day is it?
answer
It goes from twilight to night.
question
In Wallace Stevens' "The Man on the Dump" how does the poem end?
answer
"Where was it one first heard of the truth? The the."
question
In Wallace Stevens' "The Man on the Dump" what do people throw out but then replicate for their garments?
answer
nature - plants, dew, flowers
question
In Wallace Stevens' "The Man on the Dump" how do days pass?
answer
"like papers from a press"
question
What is the style of William Carlos Williams' "This is just to say"?
answer
informal, like a jotted note one would leave a loved one
question
In William Carlos Williams' "This is just to say," how does the reader know the narrator is not sorry?
answer
Because the tone lacks sincerity and he goes on to tell the reader how good the plums were.
question
In Langston Hughes' poem "The Weary Blues" what musical terms does he include?
answer
croon, syncopated, tune, ivory key, melody, tone, chords
question
In Langston Hughes' poem "The Weary Blues" how did Jazz and Blues help African Americans?
answer
Music gave people an outlet to communicate their burdens and share their sorrow.
question
In Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem", where does he say Harlem is located?
answer
"on the edge of hell"
question
What are the primary feelings represented in Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem"?
answer
Frustration / despair
question
In Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem", what have people told the African Americans to do?
answer
Be patient
question
What question does Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem" pose at the end?
answer
"What we're gonna do"
question
What is the importance of Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow"?
answer
He goes through the lessons he had to learn on how to live as a Negro
question
In Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" the black boys threw cinders. What did the white boys throw?
answer
Bottles
question
In Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" why did green lawns become a fearful symbol to him?
answer
Because it became a symbol of privilege and abuse
question
In Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" why did he ignore the anger of the guys he worked with at his first job?
answer
Because he was in a no-win situation.
question
In Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow", why did Pease and Morrie want to beat him?
answer
They said he didn't call them "Sir"
question
In Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" what happened to the bell boy who had sex with the prostitute?
answer
He was castrated
question
In Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow", how did he check out books from the library?
answer
He had a note saying the books were for a white man.
question
In Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" what happened to a woman who didn't pay her bill?
answer
She was beaten and then arrested by a cop for being "drunk"
question
What is the definition of a moral imperative?
answer
principle originating inside a person's mind that compels that person to act
question
What is the definition of veneer?
answer
a thin decorative covering of fine wood applied to a coarser wood or other material (or can be metaphorical)
question
What is the definition of polarization?
answer
existing at opposite ends of a spectrum
question
What is the definition of precedent?
answer
an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances
question
What is the definition of opulence?
answer
luxuriousness or grandeur
question
What is the definition of salacious?
answer
(of writing, pictures, or talk) treating sexual matters in an indecent way
question
What is the definition of precipitated?
answer
cause (an event or situation, typically one that is bad or undesirable) to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely
question
What is the definition of itinerant?
answer
traveling from place to place
question
What is the definition of hedonism?
answer
the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence
question
What is the definition of assimilation?
answer
The process by which a person or persons acquire the social and psychological characteristics of a group
question
What is the definition of debauchery?
answer
excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures
question
What is the definition of ephemeral?
answer
lasting for a very short time
question
What is the definition of voyeur?
answer
a person who enjoys watching others in their pursuits of pleasure or times of distress
question
True/False: Modernists were no longer assured by religion, politics, or society which intensified after World War I, when it seemed that modern life was horrific, chaotic, and ultimately futile.
answer
True: Modernists were no longer assured by religion, politics, or society which intensified after World War I, when it seemed that modern life was horrific, chaotic, and ultimately futile.
question
What university in New York did Langston Hughes attend?
answer
Columbia University
question
Who was known as "the busboy poet"?
answer
Langston Hughes
question
What was the name of Langston Hughes' first book of poetry?
answer
The Weary Blues
question
How many volumes of poetry and how many plays did Langston Hughes write?
answer
15 volumes of poetry and 11 plays
question
In what poetic meter did Langston Hughes write his poems?
answer
He didn't use meter, he used free verse.
question
True/False: Langston Hughes founded several black theatre companies.
answer
True. Langston Hughes started several black theatre companies.
question
What specific quote explains Hughes' intention with all of his written work?
answer
to "explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America."
question
What are 3 of Louis Armstrong's most famous songs?
answer
"Star Dust," "La Vie En Rose" and "What a Wonderful World."
question
What were some of Louis Armstrong's nicknames?
answer
"Satchmo," "Pops" and, later, "Ambassador Satch"
question
Where was Louis Armstrong born?
answer
New Orleans, Louisiana
question
True/False: Louis Armstrong was the first African American to host a sponsored national radio broadcast.
answer
True!
question
In how many Hollywood films did Louis Armstrong appear?
answer
Over 35 films!
question
What primary force held back the development of Capitalism for centuries?
answer
The Christian religion - the attack on money as immoral
question
In what year did an Italian develop the accounting system of double-entry bookkeeping that is still used in business today to track debits and credits?
answer
1450
question
What principles did John Calvin emphasize as part of Protestantism that served as good characteristics for capitalism?
answer
hard work, self-denial, patience, honesty, and duty ...known as the Protestant Virtues
question
True/False: Another accelerator of capitalism is John Calvin's and other preachers' explanations that one should not have a lavish life, instead, surplus income should go back in business.
answer
True.
question
Where and when was the first truly capitalistic society?
answer
1670 the Dutch Republic was the first truly capitalistic society
question
How does the Dutch artist Vermeer depict capitalism in his work?
answer
He paints and glorifies the humble woman making lace or the family running a business from their home.
question
What did Adam Smith write that contributed to the growth of Capitalism?
answer
The Wealth of Nations
question
True/False: Adam Smith argues that slavery is an efficient way to make money.
answer
False! Smith said that violence is less of an incentive than money is for a worker.
question
In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argues that "Economies grow by..."
answer
"Specializing"
question
What was Adam Smith's term for increasing the number of workers doing a specific task in order to maximize output?
answer
Division of Labor
question
True/False: Adam Smith argues that the self-interest of business owners ultimately is beneficial to society.
answer
True. Smith argues that businesses meet the public's needs and make lives "better" through the original self-interest of the owners.
question
Which Charles Dickens novel takes critical aim at the newly rich Capitalists in Victorian England?
answer
Hard Times
question
Dickens criticizes capitalism stating that...
answer
under the rule of capitalism, people will always find a way to exploit workers in various, inhumane ways.
question
In 1860, John Ruskin argues against the area of consumption in Capitalism. He argues that the growth of capitalism relies on ...
answer
selling the public unnecessary items and even items that detract from the environment and morals
question
The lack of what product initiated the riot and rebellion to communism in East Germany?
answer
Coffee
question
In 1999, during the WTO's (World Trade Organization) meeting, protesters lined the streets with arguments against the exploitations of Capitalism that sounded very much like...
answer
the arguments of Jesus Christ
question
What are 3 reasons employers saw a benefit to child labor?
answer
1) children were smaller and more nimble which was a benefit to certain jobs 2) it was less likely children would unionize 3) they could pay children less money than adults
question
What event precipitated reform to child labor?
answer
The Great Depression - due to the lack of jobs, unions advocated for an end to child labor so that adults would get employment.
question
How long did The Dust Bowl last?
answer
About a decade.
question
What is the term for the scheduled expiration of products so that consumers will need to buy more?
answer
Planned Obsolescence
question
During the 1800's what were the terms used for white bread and dark bread?
answer
white - fortifying, chaste, pure; dark - defiled
question
What does the French term "tout le monde" mean?
answer
All the world = everyone
question
What does the term Bacchanalian mean?
answer
Relating to the Greek and Roman god of wine and revelry
question
What is the term for buying goods for the specific reason of showing them off?
answer
Conspicuous consumption
