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Contemporary Literature (1945-present)

Contemporary Literature (1945-present). English III. Historical Context. Media saturated culture: people observe life as media presents it rather than experiencing life directly. Post WWII prosperity People beginning a new century and new millennium Social protest. Genre/Style.

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Contemporary Literature (1945-present)

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  1. Contemporary Literature (1945-present) English III

  2. Historical Context • Media saturated culture: people observe life as media presents it rather than experiencing life directly. • Post WWII prosperity • People beginning a new century and new millennium • Social protest

  3. Genre/Style • Lines or reality blurred; mix of fantasy and non-fiction • No heroes/anti-heroes • Concern with individual in isolation • Detached, unemotional, usually humorless • Emergence of ethnic and women writers

  4. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien • Published in 1990 • Considered one of the finest books about the Vietnam War • A compassionate tale of the American soldier • The book’s narrator follows a platoon of infantrymen through the jungles of Vietnam • The book is split into vignettes drawn from O’Brien’s own experiences • Tim O’Brien blurs the lines between fact and fiction

  5. About the Author • Tim O’Brien • Born on October 1, 1946 • Raised in Worthington, Minnesota (small prairie town) • Graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota in 1968 • Received his draft notice • Duty from 1969 to 1970 as a foot soldier • Sent home with a Purple Heart when he got hit with shrapnel in a grenade attack • He currently teaches creative writing at Texas State University.

  6. The Vietnam War • 1959: North and South Vietnam were divided. • North sought to unify the country under communist rule • South struggled to maintain independence • 1965: the U.S. Sent ground troops to aid South Vietnam • 1969: the draft was in full force (540,000 troops fighting in Vietnam) • Draft dodgers: • failed to register • didn’t report for induction when called • attempted to claim disability • left the country to avoid service

  7. The Vietnam War Measure of success was counting the dead bodies of the enemy Average age of U.S. service member was 19 1968: My Lai Massacre members of a U.S. infantry company slaughtered more than 300 Vietnamese villagers, including women, the elderly, children, and infants. After this event, the American peace movement gained momentum.

  8. Vietnam War (cont.) • 1973: the warring governments signed a peace accord, ending hostilities between U.S. and North Vietnam. • Saigon (capital of South Vietnam) falls to the North Vietnamese, ending the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975.

  9. Vietnam War Propaganda • As we are looking at these pieces of propaganda, note the following: • your initial reaction to the poster • what argument you think the poster is making • what evidence in the poster led you to that answer

  10. War on Terror/War in Iraq Propaganda • Again, note the following • your reaction to the poster • what argument you think the poster is making • what evidence in the poster led you to that answer

  11. How are the perspectives on the Vietnam War similar and different from the Iraq War? Address the perspectives of a drafted soldier, a soldier who volunteered, and a U.S. citizen not fighting in the war.

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