American Literature

American Literature

Characteristics and themes of American literature since 1865

American literature after 1865 has carried with it several themes, but of which the most important has been that of history that has become so closely knitted together with literature that they both come out to reflect one another. This is because the American literature has come out to be greatly influenced by the historical incidents that have been happening all along. The start till the present of the American literature seems to represent an America that is trying to come out of a crisis.

You can find themes of civil war in American literature that has been widely used due to the insane loss and sufferings it generated. These were replaced with the theme of great depression when President Roosevelt was in power. This was then followed by the themes of racism and prejudice as it is evident in novels like “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and the many different books written by various black right activists.

The theme of feminism becomes s evident as women agitate for equality and more power all over America. Freedom and economic independence became the front line fight for these women writers and they deeply represented it in their writings. The theme of the American dream and the desire to become millionaires or rich and successful businessmen has remained another common favorite. The struggle of the millions of immigrants coming to America with America representing the green light or the symbol of freedom and land of opportunity became another common theme as depicted in novels like the great Gatsby which also focuses on the theme of American dream.

Various other themes have been portrayed by different novels, poetry and short stories. An example of yet another theme is that of the society's tendency to blindly follow ...