Bridging the Gap: Victorian Times to the Roaring Twenties English III

Mrs. Cobb

I. Politics---World War I• A. The Great War (World War I) - 1914-1918

- was called “the war to end all wars” and was considered the most influential force on American Writers of the 20th Century

• The Great War changed America in three ways:

1. New Moral Codes2. Disillusionment toward tradition /

connection to the past deteriorating.3. Loss of innocence

It was a “new war” in the sense that it involved new weapons and technological advances

– Some Americans escaped the disillusionment of the war through entertainment and good times

II. Women's Politics*The 19th Amendment was ratified on

August 18, 1920, allowing women the right to vote

*Suddenly, women were earning wages and changing their sense of fashion, creating a new definition of American womanhood

*Women writers began addressing the topics of:

a) The clash between traditional & modern values

b) Celebrating youth

c) Independence and freedom

III. Cultural & Historical Perspectives

1900

1905

1910

1915

1920

Einstein forms the Theory of Relativity (1905)

Sigmund Freud lectures on psychoanalysis (1909)

The Titanic sinks (1912)

World War I(aka “The Great War”

(1914-1918)

19th AmendmentGrants women the

Right to VOTE(1920)

Professional GamblersRig the World SeriesWhite Sox vs. Reds

(1919)

1925

Charles Lindbergh 1st trans-Atlantic flight

(1927)

The Jazz Singer, 1st Talking picture (1927)

1930

Flapper Dresses In Style (1925)

Fitzgerald publishes The Great Gatsby

(1925)

IV. Shifts in Women’s Fashion:Victorian Era

The Gibson Girl: Women’s Pre-War

Fashion (early 1900’s)

“Myrtle, I’m sure glad we thought to bring these fashionable canes.

Otherwise I fear we might topple over!”

To Herself: “Oh dear, I do believe I feel a faint coming on!”

To Her Husband: “Darling, I think you might have laced up this corset a bit too tightly!”

1910 1922

Into the 1920’s

The Free-spirited Flapper Girl of the 1920’s

V. Men’s Fashion Shifts:The Fashionable Victorian Gentleman

The Dapper Man of the 1920’s

Men’s Fashion Advertisements

VI. Prohibition• 18th amendment to the U.S.

Constitution (1919), which banned the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcohol, but NOT DRINKING IT.

*GOAL: reduce unemployment, domestic violence, & poverty.

Affect on American lifestyle:

*Many people began drinking, regardless of the laws.

*Led to the “speakeasy” as a semi-public drinking place.

Affects Part II:

* Illegal sales of alcohol fueled organized crime & corruption. – EX: Al Capone, and even

President Harding’s attorney general made thousands of dollars “bootlegging”.

– The amendment was not repealed until 1933 -- as the Great Depression is in full swing.

– ***REMEMBER this while reading The Great Gatsby-- ALL of the alcohol they drink has been illegally purchased.

VII. The Great Depression*an economic depression which spanned from the mid-1920’s through the 1930’s

*longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century

*Caused by:

-Stock Market Crash of October 29, 1929

-Unemployment

-Banks failing

VIII. The Dust Bowl*a severe drought in the 1930’s resulted in

huge dust storms, which would damage crops and cover farm lands in dust

*families were forced to leave their farms and find work, packing all of their belongings into vehicles or wagons

*trails of vehicles traveled to California ranches to find work, and people stayed in squatters’ camps along the highways like Route 66

*Author, John Steinbeck, captured the uncertainty and despair of the times

IX. FDR’s NEW DEAL

*Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President during the Great Depression, developed the New Deal, which:

a) Gave relief to the homelessb) Recovery for agriculture and

businessc) Provided jobs of all kinds, manual

labor, etc.

X. Economics Part II: The Automobile and Assembly Line

• Henry Ford’s development of the automobile meant that people could travel from rural areas to the city

• The development of the assembly line allowed for mass production, or “homogenization” of goods, but also created a mechanical, robotic feeling for the workers, without personalizing the goods

XI. Theories and Stream of Consciousness

*the unconscious forces that drive human beings

*founder: Sigmund Freud

*Karl Marx: believed that history is a constant struggle between classes

*Albert Einstein: believed that everything is relative, and there are no absolutes

XII. The Short Story• 1890-1930’s• Readers wanted fast literature,

and the two factors that contributed to the development and popularity of the short story are:

• A) the American temperament (everything in a hurry—no time for novels)

• B) advertising and introduction of magazines, where the short stories were published

• Ex: The Saturday Evening Post