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Literature in the Great Depression Timeline
In October of 1929, the stock market crashed. What followed was the worst recession America had ever seen. During the Great Depression, the unemployment rate reached a high of 25% and no one was safe. Professional workers and factory workers alike lost their jobs in mass layoffs. Many families were struggling to survive with starvation looming as a very real threat.
Government relief would not come into place until President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933 and began to enact his New Deal. Although New Deal programs and legislation did offer aid and relief to those in need, it was not until World War II that the nation fully recovered.
The New Deal:
A series of programs and legislation aimed at boosting the economy and providing relief to Americans.
In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Federal Writers' project to provide employment for writers.
Fig. 1 Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Great Depression’s Impact on Literature
The Great Depression impacted the lives of all Americans. Even those who remained wealthy or attained wealth during the Great Depression could not ignore the state of the nation. As a result, the Great Depression had a large impact on the literature of the time. Some novels used the Great Depression as a subject or backdrop, whereas others displayed certain themes influenced by the Great Depression.
Two genres were particularly common in Great Depression literature: realism and escapist fiction.
- Realism refers to novels that depict real life and do not shy away from its harsh realities. Novels using realism became popular during the Great Depression because they resonated with the hardships of everyday Americans. Escapist fiction.
- Escapist fiction refers to novels that offer a psychological escape to readers by creating a fantasy world to delve into. It became popular because of the public’s desire to escape the turmoil of daily life. Oftentimes, escapist fiction depicted the past, harkening back to better days.
The American Detective Novel
It was during the 1930s that American detective novels reached a peak in popularity. One of the most significant examples is Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. In the novel, he introduced the detective Philip Marlowe, who would feature in many of Chandler's works and later film adaptations.
Themes of Great Depression Literature
Themes of Great Depression literature included:
poverty and suffering
perseverance and hope
despair and hopelessness
nostalgia for better times
the collective good
the cruelty of man
radicalism
As you can see, many of these themes are contradictory. This is because the themes depended on the author’s own perspective. While many authors felt hope for the future and encouraged perseverance, just as many expressed general despair and the need for societal change.
Radicalism
In the midst of the Great Depression, many writers turned to Marxism, believing that capitalism had proved unsuccessful. As a result, a new type of novel developed called proletarian novels. Proletarian novels focused on the plight of the working class and advocated for change. However, Marxism never became popular among the general public and lost ground with writers as Hitler and Stalin came to power during the 1930s and until the start of World War II.
Authors and Books during the Great Depression
Popular authors and their works during the Great Depression include:
John Dos Passos: The U.S.A. trilogy (1937 in one volume)
Richard Wright: Native Son (1940)
John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
William Faulkner: As I Lay Dying (1930)
Sinclair Lewis: It Can’t Happen Here (1935)
Margaret Mitchell: Gone with the Wind (1936)
Ernest Hemingway: For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World (1932)
Let’s take a look at several authors whose works exemplify the themes of Great Depression literature.
Both Steinbeck and Mitchell won Pulitzer Prizes and film deals for their aforementioned works. Other Pulitzer Prize winners of the time include Eugene O'Neill and Pearl S. Buck, the first American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Authors and Books during the Great Depression: John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck was born in 1902 and spent much of his life in California. His experiences with migrant workers served as inspiration for his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939. In The Grapes of Wrath, a family from Oklahoma moved to California after the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl. Upon their arrival in farm country, they realized there was a surplus of labor and conditions were not much better. The family ended up living in impoverished camps, called Hoovervilles, and they faced hostility from native-born Californians.
The Dust Bowl:
Dust storms that ravaged a portion of land in the Great Plains and left farms and farmland destroyed.
Encampments built by those left homeless during the Great Depression.
Fig. 2 - John Steinbeck
As you can see, the Great Depression was a major topic in The Grapes of Wrath. The characters were reacting to real-life events, such as the Dust Bowl, and dealing with real-life problems. For this reason, The Grapes of Wrath is an example of realism. In the novel, suffering and perseverance were major themes.
If you’re in trouble or hurt or need–go to poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help–the only ones.”
–John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, 19391
Another major theme was the cruelty of man. Migrant workers faced prejudice from their fellow workers, and employers cared very little about their wellbeing. In the face of this hostility, migrant workers and those in Hoovervilles often developed support systems for the collective good, another major theme. While a family might need support for one week, they would join in helping other families for another week.
Although John Steinbeck was not a Marxist, The Grapes of Wrath is an example of a proletarian novel.
Authors and Books during the Great Depression: Margaret Mitchell
Whereas The Grapes of Wrath is an example of realism, Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell, is an example of escapist fiction. Gone with the Wind, published in 1936, was an epic love story with the Civil War and Reconstruction Era as a background. It took readers back to the past and played on their nostalgia for “better” times.
Margaret Mitchell came from a Southern family and had romanticized views of the Southern cause. Her idea of better times included the oppression of Black Americans–needless to say, she did not support civil rights.
Fig. 3 - Margaret Mitchell
Even though the setting was in a different time period, the Great Depression themes of suffering and perseverance were ever-present with the troubles of the protagonist, Scarlett O’Hara.
Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.”
–Magaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, 19362
Women's Literature in the Great Depression
Margaret Mitchell was not the only woman to publish a literary success during the Great Depression. In fact, there were many female authors who wrote critically acclaimed works. For example, you might recognize poet Dorothy Parker or novelist Eudora Welty.
Authors and Books during the Great Depression: William Faulkner
Another popular writer of the Great Depression was William Faulkner, famous for his novel As I Lay Dying. In the novel, a poor Southern family faces tragedy when the mother dies, and the family goes on a long journey in an attempt to honor her final wishes. Faulkner used the novel to highlight the rigid class structure in the American South, as well as the vast wealth inequality. He also worked to frame the working poor in a positive light. While the characters were on their journey, they found that those living in poverty were more giving than those of the middle or upper class. This ties back to the thematic contradiction of the cruelty of man versus the collective good.
Fig. 4 - William Faulkner
Authors and Books during the Great Depression: Richard Wright
Although the Harlem Renaissance lost steam as a result of the Great Depression, many Harlem Renaissance writers continued to produce novels well after the movement's peak.
The Harlem Renaissance
a cultural movement based in Harlem, New York City that celebrated Black literature, music, art, and dance
In 1940, Richard Wright published Native Son, a novel following a young Black man facing poverty and racism in Chicago. In Native Son, Wright highlights the systemic oppression people of color endured on top of the effects of the Great Depression.
Fig. 5 - Richard Wright
Literature in the Great Depression - Key takeaways
- During the Great Depression, two genres of novels became popular: realism and escapist fiction.
- Realism depicted the hardships of life and resonated with the struggling public. In contrast, escapist fiction offered an imaginary world to delve into and escape the hardships of life.
- Themes of literature during the Great Depression included:
poverty and suffering
perseverance and hope
despair and hopelessness
nostalgia for better times
the collective good
the cruelty of man
radicalism
References
- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
- Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind (1936)
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Frequently Asked Questions about Great Depression Literature
What famous literature was written during the Great Depression?
Famous literature written during the Great Depression included The Grapes of Wrath, Gone with the Wind, Native Son. As I Lay Dying, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Rebecca.
What kinds of themes were popular in American literature during the Great Depression?
Themes such as suffering, perseverance, hopelessness, and radicalism were popular themes in American literature during the Great Depression.
How did literature change during the Great Depression?
Literature changed during the Great Depression as realism and escapist fiction gained popularity.
How did the Great Depression infuence modernism in literature?
The Great Depresson influenced modernism by re-iterating the struggles of individuals and giving modernism force and freedom to experiment stylistically.
Who were the literary giants of the Great Depression era?
The literary giants of the Great Depression include John Steinbeck, John Dos Passos, Richard Wright, William Faulner, Sinclair Lewis, and Margaret Mitchell.
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