"Ten Years of Cowardice": In 1950s, the right-wing conservative forces attacked the radical tradition in 1930s, and many people turned from caring about social progress to caring about personal interests. This 10 year is called "the decade of cowardice" or "the decade of silence". During this period, some works appeared, which portrayed the bourgeoisie as a positive figure and advocated obedience to authority, such as The Man in Gray Flannel Clothes (1955). This kind of works tried to maintain the established value standard and the existing social order, and soon lost its influence. On the other hand, writers such as arthur miller (19 15 ~ 2005) resisted McCarthyism and continued to attack social injustice with their works.
"Beat Generation": The dull political atmosphere in the 1950s suffocated many young people. They take drugs, live in groups and express their protest with a decadent and indulgent lifestyle. Some of them write this kind of life and emotion into literary works, which is the "Beat Generation" literature. After the development in 1960s, this kind of literature has added some political color under the background of the upsurge of domestic democratic movement. But for many of them, eastern religions and eastern philosophy are more attractive. The "Beat Generation" is more lively in poetry creation and restores the tradition of American poetry recitation.
"Black humor": After entering the 1960s, people have a deeper understanding of irrationality and alienation in life. In their works, some writers use exaggerated and surreal methods to mix joy and pain, absurdity and terror, tenderness and cruelty, absurdity and eccentricity and solemnity, which makes readers laugh and cry and feel uneasy, thus gaining a deeper understanding of life. The author's view of the world prospect is often pessimistic. This is "black humor" literature, and its representative works include Catch-22 by Heller (196 1).
Some people put Albee's works (1928 ~) in the "black humor" school. Albee is a representative figure of American absurd drama. There is nothing funny or humorous in his comedies, but it is consistent with "black humor" in making readers feel uneasy. This shows that there is a blood relationship between the absurd drama and the "black humor" novel.
"Non-fiction": In 1960s and 1970s, a new style of "new news report" or "non-fiction" appeared. Some writers think that the strangeness of real life is beyond their imagination. It is better to write a novel to describe the events that caused social sensation than to make up a novel. This genre allows journalists to mix their own observation and imagination when describing events, and can also adopt various symbolic techniques. This kind of works is more detailed than ordinary reportage, including the author's observation and imagination, and has the author's personal color and strong artistic appeal, such as Capote's Murder (1966) and Mailer's Song of the Executioner (1979).
Jewish literature: Jewish writers occupy a considerable proportion among contemporary American writers, and Jewish literature can almost be regarded as a "subculture" or "cultural tributary". Jewish literature works generally have the dual colors of ancient European culture and modern American culture, and the conflict and integration of the two cultures increase the complexity of Jewish literature. Religious thoughts and the slaughter of compatriots make Jewish writers feel guilty, the fate of history makes them feel wandering and confused, and the alienated society in the United States makes them feel unable to find a home. Therefore, the search for "self-essence" has become a prominent theme in their works. The masterpiece is The Adventures of Augie March by Bello (19 15 ~ 2005). In fact, this is a manifestation of the Jewish nation's establishment of national status and national dignity. At the end of 1970s, Bello, who represents a relatively new western ideological system, and Singer (1904 ~ 199 1), who belongs to Yiddish cultural tradition, won the Nobel Prize one after another, indicating the importance of Jewish literature in American literature. Other important Jewish writers are Malamud (19 14 ~ 1986) and Ross (1933 ~).
Black literature: Black literature became more mature after the war. Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man (19 14 ~) and Baldwin's prose have reached the level of first-class literature. They expressed their protest against racial inequality in a more subtle and profound way. They want people to realize that black people have all human nature. During this period, the poems of the poetess Guan Brooks (19 17 ~) were widely praised. Playwright Roland Huntsbury (1930 ~ 1965)' s drama "Raisins in the Sun" (1959) has set a record for black drama on Broadway. Le Roy Jones (1934 ~) is a new generation of black poets. He gave himself another Muslim name to show his contempt for American culture.
Southern writers: Southern literature is still developing during this period. Old writers Faulkner, Porter (1890 ~ 1980) and welty (1909 ~ 200 1) still have important works. New writers are constantly emerging, such as Stellen (1925 ~ 2006), O 'Connor (1925 ~ 1964) and mccullers (1917 ~1964). They no longer look for themes from historical legends, but care about the spiritual depression of southerners in real life. Tan Williams (19 14 ~) is a famous southern playwright after the war. His works such as Glass Zoo show the misfortune and emptiness of life through the sexual perversion of characters.
New york writers: new york writers do not have the same psychological factors as southern writers. People put them together because they all contribute to several magazines in new york (Party Review, New York Book Review and new york People), and the reviews and novels published by these magazines often have an impact on the fashion of American literature. Leigh Trilling (1905 ~ 1975) and Ma McCarthy (19 12 ~) are insightful critics, and John Cheever (19 12 ~).
Personalized Poetry: During this period, many schools of poetry appeared in the United States, such as Beat School, Montenegro School, new york School, Figurative School, Confession School and New Super School.
Marxist realism ". These factions have their own opinions, but their similarities are all trying to get rid of Eliot's "impersonal" influence. The new generation of poets express their thoughts directly and highlight personal factors, which has a kind of "modernity". They emphasize American characteristics and no longer regard London as the center of English poetry; They interfere in politics and are no longer proud of being detached from things; They oppose authority and despise traditional rules. Their poems describe drug abuse, sex (including homosexual sex), schizophrenia and attachment to suicide. All this can be regarded as a rebellion against the mechanized, standardized and dehumanized society in the West.
Theory and Criticism: After the war, the power of "new criticism" gradually declined. In the 1960s, with the rise and fall of various radical movements and the "new left" ideological trend from Europe, the academic circles re-studied Marxism, and the theoretical proposition of combining Marxism with Freudian psychology reappeared. At the same time, structuralism theory became popular in academic circles.
During this period, the style of writers' biographies was relatively prosperous, with many detailed comments. The five-volume biography of Henry James (1953 ~ 1972) is representative, and the author is Lee adil (1907 ~).