The Roaring TwentiesMy candle burns at both My candle burns at both

ends;ends;It will not last the night;It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends-and oh, my friends-

It gives a lovely light.It gives a lovely light. A Few Figs from ThistlesA Few Figs from Thistles (first published in 1920): (first published in 1920):Edna St. Vincent MillayEdna St. Vincent Millay

•An American An American lyrical poet and playwright and playwright • 1st woman to receive the 1st woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. . •She used the pseudonym She used the pseudonym Nancy BoydNancy Boyd for her prose work. for her prose work.

The Roaring Life of the 1920’s

New Forms of Entertainment

• List examples from the video clip:

New Movements in the Arts• List examples from the video clip:

New Attitudes and Fashions• List examples from the video clip:

VIDEO CLIP – “THE ROARING ’20’S”

• The economic, political, and social changes of the early 20th century manifested themselves in a widespread clash of cultures.

• As twentieth century modernity increasingly challenged Victorian traditions, this provoked a defense of older values.

• Basic transition in American culture from 1910’s to 1920’s.

Problems of Urbanization…”fuels” a culture clash

• Industrialization leads to growth

of big cities.

• African Americans continue to

move North.

• Cities struggle with Prohibition

and organized crime.

CLASH OF CULTURES –1910’s – 1920’s

• “Old” Culture – RURAL CULTURE– Emphasized production– Emphasized character

(morals)– Emphasized scarcity

( frugal)– Emphasized religion– Idealized the past– Local Culture

• “New” Culture – URBAN CULTURE– Emphasized consumption– Emphasized personality

– Emphasized abundance

– Emphasized science– Looked to the future– Mass Culture (media)

Warren Susman, Warren Susman, Culture as History: The Transformation of American Culture as History: The Transformation of American Society in the Twentieth Century Society in the Twentieth Century (New York: Pantheon Books, 1984).(New York: Pantheon Books, 1984).

Images of the 1920’s• The Grand Illusion• What made the decade

“roar”?– Birth of the

“modernization”– Jazz Age– The “New Woman”

• Suffrage; flappers;etc– Artistic “Freedom”

• Surrealism• Functionalist Architecture

– Frank Lloyd Wright– Scientific Research

• Edison’s Menlo Park,NJ• Einstein’s Theory of

Relativity • Darwin’s Theory of

Evolution– Entertainment Industry

• Movies, Radio, Professional Sports

• The Grim Reality• What was superficial about

the “roaring 20’s”?

• “Lost Generation” living “high life”, but had “lost life’s meaning?!

• Boom economy… based on false “paper wealth” ?!

• An era that introduced a modern “anything goes” atmosphere that is ALSO filled with intolerance and discrimination?!