Contemporary American Literature

Contemporary American Literature: Authors and Major Works
The Quest For Identity

In the contemporary period, there is a marked shift from stories that showed realistic
events and situations to portraying the inner experiences and sometimes irrational
psychology of human beings. To become experts at deciphering contemporary
literature, we need to understand two main qualities that mark this shift: the quest for
identity and Expressionism. We will explore famous examples of these elements and
also become familiar with key literary devices that are often used in the process,
including the use of rhythm and juxtaposition.
The first thing you should know about American contemporary literature is that, unlike
classical dramas where the hero goes on a quest for some object or symbol out in the
world, with American contemporary literature, the main characters are on a quest for
identity. They are searching for who they are and struggling to find their place in the
modern world. This quest to find one's self is often a lonely one, where the main
character feels out of place, isolated, or misunderstood in society.
In Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man, for example, the main character considers
himself invisible because people constantly view him through a lens of racial
prejudice. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman shows the trials of Willy Loman, as he
feels lost and left behind in a seemingly never-ending quest to buy more.
But probably the most classic example of a hero on a quest to find himself is Holden
Caulfield from J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. He is isolated from mainstream
culture and feels misunderstood by most people. He can be compared to other
rebellious social outcasts like James Dean, Donnie Darko, or Max Fisher
from Rushmore. Holden Caulfield isn't interested in growing up and getting a good
job, playing golf, or climbing any social ladders, and he's sick of what he calls the
'bastards' and 'phonies' who are into that kind of stuff. He even feels alone around his
peers most of the time.
Contemporary American literature is marked by main characters who are on a quest for
identity
Take for example, his line about smoking: At the end of the first act we went out with
all the other jerks for a cigarette. What a deal that was. You never saw so many
phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so
that everybody could hear and know how sharp they were. As you can tell, pretty
much everyone and their mother is a 'phony jerk' for Holden. His alienation from
society is clear, as he can be super crude and socially inappropriate, constantly flirting
with older women, drinking alcohol underage, and swearing. But what really stands
out with Holden Caulfield is the honesty in his voice as he talks openly about his
internal struggle to find his place in what he sees as a world of jerks.
Expressionism
Making personal psychological experience visible to the reader is another major
element of contemporary literature, a trend known in literary circles
as Expressionism. The idea here is to bring internal feelings and experiences to the
surface, and a character's inner life is just as important, if not more important, than the
external events taking place. Expressionism is the attempt to show the character's inner
struggles, and writers in the contemporary period will illustrate the character's state of
mind as often as possible.
For example, Holden Caulfield comments, When I really worry about something, I
don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about
something. Only, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my
worrying to go. Here we see Holden's thoughts come to the surface, and as he works to
find himself, he takes us on this journey exploring his inner thoughts. So you can see
how if characters are on a quest for identity, Expressionism is a crucial element for
this literature, as it allows authors to take unseen inner experiences and make them
visible.
Elements Of Style: Use Of Rhythm And Tone
This expression of emotional experience can take place not only in what is said but
also in the rhythm that flows from the words being said. You might think about it like
music. When you listen to a song, you can get an idea of the emotional state of the
artist just by listening to the rhythm and tone - not even knowing what the words
mean.
You can hear the use of rhythm and tone in The Death of a Salesman in the description
of Willy Loman's experience: Sh! He turns around as if to find his way; sounds, faces,
voices, seem to be swarming in upon him and he flicks at them, crying, Sh! Sh! From
the fast and repeating sounds of these words, you get a feeling of urgency and also a
sense that Willy might be having some anxiety.
Another great example of rhythm and tone is Sandra Cisneros' House on Mango
Street. Here, the main character Esperanza comments, All brown all around, we are
safe. But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go
shakity-shake and our car windows get rolled up tight and our eyes look straight. The
sound of the words 'All brown all around' creates a calming rhythm as the vowel
sounds resonate off each other and flow slowly. We can hear the sounds change with
the words 'knees go shakity-shake ... and our eyes look straight. As the words become
clipped and repeat the sound of the sharp consonants, the rhythm and tone shifts, and
this helps communicate the discomfort Esperanza feels while driving in a different
neighborhood.
Elements Of Style: Juxtaposition
As we have seen in the contemporary period, there is a definite shift from accurately
portraying events in the physical world to accurately portraying the inner reality of
humans. The goal of showing internal, psychological reality actually pushes aside the
need to accurately show events, and writers can get super creative when it comes to
how they show the inner workings of the human mind. In order to show the
complexity of human experience, writers will blend and mix up events out of order,
juxtaposing images from different times or spaces together, in order to create a sense
or feeling. The termjuxtaposition means placing images that normally aren't seen
together, together, and the clash between the these images highlights their differences.
You will see writers like Tennessee Williams and Ralph Ellison using juxtaposition
and messing with the laws of physics by blending the past with the present. But the
most classic example of juxtaposition is Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. In this
play, the main character, Willy Loman, is often confronted with people and sounds
from his past in his day-to-day life. For example, Willy will be having a regular
conversation with his wife Linda about his day at work, and then randomly you'll hear
the sound of a woman laughing and talking to Willy - a woman, it turns out, with
whom he previously had an affair. This laughter can seem really odd and out of place,
and it will only make sense if you remember this would never happen in reality, but it
gives us a sense of how Willy is feeling - in this case, guilty and embarrassed. In this
scene, Willy's discomfort and guilt is highlighted by putting the two images together,
and the tension in dealing with them at the same time is felt.
Lesson Summary
So to sum up, contemporary literature often involves characters, like Holden
Caulfield, who are on aquest for identity as they struggle to deal with the social
pressures of the time. In order to show this search for self, character's internal
emotional experiences are turned outward in a process calledExpressionism. Much
like a song, the internal emotional state of a person is communicated not only by the
meanings of the words but also by the rhythm and the sounds of the words together.
Finally, storylines may be out of order, having events juxtaposed, mixed up, or
combined just to show an emotional state.
Characteristics of Contemporary American Literature
Who?
Regular people who have suffered
Male, female, ethnically diverse
What?
Personal experience
Societal issues/problems
Critique of society
Changes brought through different experiences
When?
1960s to present
Where?
All over the USA
Why?
To show what society is like
To show personal experience
Inform society about things they might not notice/understand otherwise
Express their identities, opinions
Freedom of expression on topics of importance
To raise awareness of problems
How?
Realistic (mostly)
Postmodern disconnected, combines genres/time periods
Thoughtful not always a happy ending
Written in vernacular
Varying lengths from page to 10 pages

Lots of figurative language
Symbols are important

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Contemporary American Literature: Authors and Major Works

The Quest For Identity

Regular people who have suffered

Male, female, ethnically diverse

Changes brought through different experiences

All over the USA

To show what society is like

To show personal experience

Inform society about things they might not notice/understand otherwise

Express their identities, opinions

Freedom of expression on topics of importance

To raise awareness of problems

Postmodern disconnected, combines genres/time periods

Thoughtful not always a happy ending

Varying lengths from page to 10 pages

Symbols are important

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