Contemporary Literature

1
Contemporary Literature

• WWII to the Present

2
Contemporary Influences

• Cold War threat of nuclear destruction
• Vietnam Conflict
• 1960s civil rights violence

3
Tone

• Tone is the attitude a writer displays toward his
  subject.

4
Tone in Contemporary Literature

• Emotional
• Humorous irony
• Concern w/connections between people
• Antiheroes

5
Ironic Humor

• Contemporary writers look at irony and absurd
  situations as a cause for subtle humor.
• If you cant fight it, you might as well laugh.

6
Social Concern

• The attitude toward the individual and society
  has changed. We now view individuals in relation
  to others rather than as isolated from others.

7
Social Concern cont.

• Contemporary literature often contains an implied
  criticism of the barriers between people.

8
The Anti-Hero

• An anti-hero is a protagonist who has the
  opposite qualities of a hero. He/she may be
  insecure, dishonest, most often a failure.

9
Anti-Hero cont.

• The purpose of an anti-hero is not to garner
  praise or criticism, but to aid in understanding.

10
Strategies for Reading Contemporary Lit.

• Identify the emotions conveyed. Does the
  narrator express emotions, or does he seem
  detached?
• Notice any humor in the irony.
• Clarify what, if anything, is being criticized
  and what just needs to be understood and accepted.