7Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
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THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
Gulrukhsor Do'stnazar qizi Inoyatova
Chirchik State Pedagogical University, Faculty of Tourism, Department of Foreign Language and Literature (English), Bachelor degree student Supervisor: Nasiba Komil qizi Jumaeva Chirchik State Pedagogical University, English teacher [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Post-World War II American literature was marked by a number of significant developments and changes. The war had a profound impact on American society and culture, and this was reflected in the literature of the time. Post-World War II American literature is characterized by a variety of themes and styles. One of the most significant developments of this period was the emergence of the Beat Generation, a group of writers who rejected mainstream American culture and sought to explore new forms of expression. The Beat writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, often wrote about experiences of drugs, sexuality, and spirituality, and their work had a significant influence on later writers and artists. Another important trend in post-World War II American literature was the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, which inspired a wave of African American writers who sought to explore themes of identity, oppression, and resistance. Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Ralph Ellison are some of the most notable writers of this period, and their work remains influential today. Post-World War II American literature was also marked by a growing sense of disillusionment with the American Dream, as writers began to question the values and ideals of mainstream society. This trend can be seen in the work of authors such as J.D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut, who portrayed characters who were alienated from mainstream society and struggled to find meaning in their lives. [1]
Keywords: Post-world war II, American literature, beat generation, modernist writers.
INTRODUCTION
The Post-World War II era in American literature was characterized by a sense of disillusionment and skepticism towards traditional values and institutions. The trauma and devastation of the war had left a deep impact on the collective psyche of Americans, and this was reflected in the literature of the time. One of the most signif-
April 23-24, 2024
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
^hjrchiqdavlat^edagGgika^niversiteti^^^^^^^Za
icant literary movements of the post-war era was the Beat Generation, which emerged in the 1950s. The Beat writers rejected mainstream values and celebrated nonconformity, experimentation, and spontaneity. Their works often explored themes of alienation, self-discovery, and the search for meaning in a world that seemed devoid of it. Prominent writers associated with the Beat Generation include Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs. Another important literary movement of the post-war era was the confessional poetry movement, which emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This movement was characterized by poets who wrote deeply personal and often autobiographical works that explored themes of love, loss, and mental illness. Prominent poets associated with the confessional poetry movement include Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, and Anne Sexton. In addition to these movements, there were also many writers who explored the impact of the war on American society and culture. For example, Joseph Heller's Catch-22 satirized the absurdity of war and military bureaucracy, while Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five explored the psychological trauma of war and the nature of time. Overall, the post-World War II era in American literature was marked by a rejection of traditional values and institutions, a focus on personal experience and self-expression, and an exploration of the impact of war on individuals and society. [2]
Literature review
All aspects of American life after World War II were affected to a greater or lesser extent by the Cold War political climate during the years after the war. What might be surprising to many, however, is that literature and culture were among the aspects of American life that were most affected by the Cold War. This fact should not really be surprising, though. A cold war is a cultural war, and the principal American goal in the Cold War was to convince the rest of the world that the American way of life was superior to the Soviet way of life. Meanwhile, one of the most important strategies in this effort was a multi-pronged attempt to demonstrate that the art and literature of the West (and especially of the United States) was more complex and sophisticated than the art and literature of the Soviet Union. The problem with this effort, of course, was that the United States had never given much priority to art and literature prior to the Cold War, preferring to think of itself as a practical, can-do nation that could solve material problems (and defeat enemies) with science, engineering, hard work, and ingenuity. Art and literature, on the other hand, were typically treated as marginal luxuries in American society. The increased emphasis on art and literature in the United States that came with the Cold War led, not only to an increase in literary and artistic production (often aided with subsidies from the U.S. government), but also to an increased emphasis on education in the arts and humani-
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
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ties. This emphasis, among other things, led to precipitous increases in enrollments in these areas in American universities and triggered a severe understaffing in humanities faculties across the U.S. It takes many years to train a new professor, so it was not a simple matter of ramping up hiring. American universities had to find new and more efficient stop-gap ways to teach things such as literature while new professors were being trained, so that classes could be larger and many of them could be taught by graduate students who were not yet fully qualified to be professors. [3]
DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
World War II touched virtually every part of American life, even things so simple as the food people ate, the films they watched, and the music they listened to. The war, especially the effort of the Allies to win it, was the subject of songs, movies, comic books, novels, artwork, comedy routines every conceivable form of entertainment and culture. Moreover, in many cases these works and their creators were actually part of the war effort. Writers, illustrators, cartoonists, filmmakers, and other artists used their skills to keep the public informed about the war and persuade people to cooperate with the government's Home Front programs-like scrap drives and rationing. In short, World War II and the popular culture of that era are interconnected; the story of one cannot be fully told without the story of the other. The prospect of another world war began creeping into the American imagination even before the attack on Pearl Harbor. [4]
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, American art experienced enormous changes throughout the history. Until the 1940s, it was under the pressure of European styles. However, the Second World War changed the balances and caused the birth of a pure American art, Abstract Expressionism which is away from old traditional genres. Influenced by the "zeitgeist" of the American society, their sub-conscious feelings, social experiences, psychological conditions, each artist developed their distinguished styles. To reflect the effects of war and criticize it, they followed different methods of applying paint. First Generation of Abstract Expressionists including Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman used either thick layers of paint, broad fields of color or straight lines to form their works. Their paintings were carrying hard brush strokes since they felt the effects of the war more intensely in the forties. On the other hand, the Second Generation artists, Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler reflected the after math atmosphere with their softer lines, symbolic usage of colors, and shapes. Sub-conscious feelings, existentialist philosophy, alienation, dis-
April 23-24, 2024
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Chirchik State Pedagogical University Current Issues of Modern Philology and Linguodidactics
Staatliche Pädagogische Universität Chirchik Aktuelle Fragen der modernen Philologie und Linguodidaktik
Chirchiq davlat pedagogika universiteti Zamonaviy filologiya va lingvodidaktikaning dolzarb masalalari
tortion, escape of reality, dehumanization, loss of sense of faith, reaction, absurdity and ambiguity were the main subjects of all these already mentioned artists of Abstract Expressionism. Toward the end of 1950s, American art of Abstract Expressionism began to lose its effectiveness. [5]
REFERENCES
1. Aldrich, John W. Time to Murder and Create: The Contemporary Novel in Crisis. New York: David McKay; c 1966
2.Appiah K. Anthony. Identity, Authenticity, Survival: Multicultural Societies and Social Reproduction. In Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. Ed. Charles Taylor. Princeton: Princeton University Press; c1994. p. 149-67.
3 .https: //www.educationj ournal. info/article/110/3-1-24-824.pdf 4.https://bookerhorror.com/american-literature-after-world-war-ii/ 5 .https: //www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/world-war-ii-and-popular-culture
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