Abstract
AbstractImmigration, urbanization, crime, racketeering, and bootlegging are only a few of the many crises that befell America in 1920s. These predicaments, however, were not without consequences. According to the novellas as well as the non-literary texts under discussion, immigration brought with it alien and anti-puritan (derived from Puritanism or more precisely “Reformed Protestantism.” See Humanitas (88)) values that went hand in hand with promiscuity, bacchanalia, fox-trotting, and jazz. Thus, antagonism toward foreigners (new-timers) by native-born Americans (old-timers) is expressed in various forms, particularly racism and xenophobia. In addition, foreigners are held responsible for boosting materialism and immorality in ways that shake the texture of the social order and the foundations of the American family and hence the American identity. Therefore, materialism and mass production are also denounced for making the annihilation of these entities possible by the competitive ambiance they create...
Highlights
This paper investigates the themes of foreignness and materialism in Sinclair Lewis’ (2010) Main Street (1920) and Babbitt (1922), Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy (1925), Willa Cather’s (2010) The Professor’s House (1925), and Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925)
It mainly examines the reasons behind depicting foreigners and capitalism as two major causes underlying the decline of the 1920s American home and identity by these novels
In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is killed by Wilson, who avenges his wife’s “murder.” In all these instances, the foreigner/immigrant and materialism seem to be depicted as reasons for the breakdown of the “American home” and “family,” even as the country enjoys great wealth and is basically a nation of immigrants
Summary
With more immigration of non-English Europeans to the United States “the colonists turned increasingly to the striking physiognomic difference.” The term “white” stood for the old, Anglo-Saxon, nativeborn people of the country: those who had arrived in America during the waves of immigration of the early nineteenth century and before.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
