Literary Movements & Authors

Kimberly Bawuah
William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily”
● 1930
● Modern-a recent period of Western or World Civilization; modernity or
modernization is a historical process rather than a period.

Interesting Facts

● Faulkner’s "mammy," as he called her, was a black woman named Caroline Barr. She
raised him from birth until the day he left home and was fundamental to his
development.
● Nobel Prize–winning novelist

Most Famous works- 'The Sound and the Fury' & 'As I Lay Dying'

● Literary style-late 19th & early 20th century,Southern Gothic-focus on grotesque themes
that feature delusional characters.eg.Miss Emily’s weird behaviour.
Zora Neale Hurston “Sweat”
● 1926
● Harlem Renaissance-a.k.a “new negro movement” a cultural, social, and artistic explosion
that took place in Harlem, New York, spanning the 1920s.
Interesting Facts
● The fifth of eight children and was born in Notasulga, Alabama, where her father was a Baptist
minister and tenant farmer.
● Died due to hypertensive heart disease.
Most famous works- a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance & “Their Eyes Were Watching God
● Other term-"I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my search for reality,
rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusions."
- Letter from Zora Neale Hurston to Countee Cullen
● Moment in history- On May 1, 1925, at a literary awards dinner sponsored by Opportunity
magazine, turned heads and raised eyebrows as she claimed four awards: a second-place fiction
prize for her short story "Spunk," a second-place award in drama for her play Color Struck,
and two honorable mentions.
Ralph Waldo Emerson “Self Reliance”
● 1841
● Romanticism- artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that
originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century.Transcendentalism-a
philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in the
eastern United States.
Interesting facts
● He Was Friends with Henry David Thoreau...and Often Provoked Him
● He Was Raised By Women
● Boy genius
Most famous works-”self reliance” & “Nature”
● Literary Style-as a self-reflective experimentation, in which Emerson proposes
situations or claims, explores their implications, and often returns to restate
or resituate the issue.
Henry David Thoreau “Resistance to Civil Government”
● 1849
● Romanticism- artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that
originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th
century.Transcendentalism-a philosophical movement that developed in
the late 1820s and 1830s in the eastern United States.
Interesting facts
● Thoreau was close friends and a protégé of fellow transcendentalist Ralph
Waldo Emerson.
● Emerson’s son, Edward, wrote that the accent in Thoreau’s name was on the
first syllable, and other friends called him “Mr. Thorough.”
Most famous works-”Walden” Or “life in the woods” & “civil disobedience.”
Literary style-Nature:saw an intimate and specific familiarity with the reality of
nature as vital to understanding higher truth.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
● 1963
● Civil Rights-During the 1960's, the African-American struggle for Civil Rights
delineated a variety of approaches: the nonviolent tactics of Martin Luther King
who headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded 1957.
Interesting facts
● King’s birth name was Michael, not Martin.
● Entered college at the age of 15.
Most famous works-became the predominant leader in the Civil Rights Movement to end
racial segregation in 1950s & 1960s & “I have a dream” speech.
Other term-Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot
drive out hate; only love can do that. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
● Moment in history-In 1963, during the eleven days he spent in jail, MLK writes his
famous Letter from Birmingham Jail
● awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964
Mohandas Gandhi “On Nonviolent Resistance”
● 1951
● Conversational/realism-He just tells you what he's thinking as he recollects his
past experiments with truth.
Interesting Facts
● Gandhi got his start as an activist in South Africa, not India.
● Gandhi was a man of peace, but never won the Nobel Peace Prize.
● Killed by a fellow Hindu.
MOST FAMOUS WORKS-“Satyagraha campaign” led to the 1914 indian relief act,led the
famous Salt March to Dandi & fought racial discrimination in South Africa.
Other term-Gandhi was runner up to Einstein in TIME’s Person of the Century
● Moment in history-Won time’s person of the year & In 1948,
● Following Gandhi's death, the Nobel Committee declined to award a prize on the
ground that "there was no suitable living candidate" that year.
Harriet Ann Brent“Incidents
Jacobs in the Life of a Slave Girl”
● 1861
● Realism-The arts is the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and
avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and supernatural elements.
Interesting Facts
● Before her death in 1825, Harriet's relatively kind mistress taught her slave to read and sew.
● From 1825, when she entered the Norcom household, until 1842, the year she escaped from slavery,
Harriet Jacobs struggled to avoid the sexual victimization that Dr. Norcom intended to be her fate
● Born in edenton nc
Most famous works- “Incidents in the life of a slave girl” & “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano”
Other term-"God . . . gave me a soul that burned for freedom and a heart nerved with determination to
suffer even unto death in pursuit of liberty."-Harriet Jacobs
Moment in history-Jacobs wrote an autobiographical novel, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, first
serialized in a newspaper and published as a book in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent.
Frederick Douglass “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”
● 1845
● Realism-The arts is the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without
artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and
supernatural elements.
Interesting facts
● He learned to read secretly and was whipped so that he would break
● He escaped from slavery using a sailor’s uniform and fake identification papers

Most famous works- “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” & “American Slave”
Other term- First African American to be nominated for Vice President of America
● Moment in history-He was appointed US Minister to Haiti in 1889,He was a famous
orator and gave the remarkable 4th of July speech & He established an influential
antislavery newspaper.
 Arthur miller ● 1953
“the crucible”
● Simple, Old-Fashioned-"Dolls" are "poppets" and contractions (like "don't) are
non-existent... but dropped g's are everywhere. What's going on? Well, Miller is
trying to write in the simple language of Puritan country folks, while at the
same time employing old-fashioned vocabulary and grammar.

Interesting facts
● While attending the University of Michigan Arthur Miller wrote for the school
paper the Michigan Daily and majored in journalism. He switched his major to
English and wrote the play No Villain which went on to win the Avery Hopwood
Most famous works include Award.
“The Crucible” ● Arthur Miller studied under the playwright Kenneth Rowe and learned a great deal
from him about the art of constructing a play. The two men remained good
friends for the rest of their lives.
● Arthur Miller's most notable awards include the 1949 Pulitzer Prize, the 1984
Kennedy Center Honors, the 2001 Praemium Imperiale, and the 2003 Jerusalem
Prize.
Patrick henry “speech to the virginia convention”
● 1775
● Formal; Classical; Emphatic- a classically trained rhetorician Within the classical structure,
there is massive formality going on. The lengthy sentences and within those sentences, the
clauses are piled upon each other for emphasis.
Interesting facts
● Patrick's first wife Sarah died in 1775. They had six children together before she died in 1775. He
married Dorothea Dandridge, cousin of Martha Washington, in 1777. They had eleven children
together.
● Although he called slavery "an abominable practice, destructive to liberty", he still owned over
sixty slaves on his plantation.
Moment in History
● In 1765 Henry became a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. This was the same year the
British introduced the Stamp Act. Henry argued against the Stamp Act and helped to get the
Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions against the Stamp Act passed.
● Most famous works include “speech to the virginia convention”.
Jonathan Edwards “sinners in the hands of an angry god”
● 1741
● Cdfr
Interesting facts
● Preacher in the Great Awakening
● Attended yale and studied newton’s new science
Moment in history
● Jonathan Edwards died at the age of 54 in princeton due to
smallpox.
● HIs most famous works include, his speech“sinners in the hand of
an angry god”.
F. scott Fitzgerald “the great gatsby”
● 1925
● Modernism -The Great Gatsby by reflecting on the prospering middle and upper classes, the
emphasis on the individual character, the growing importance of perspective in literature,
and the theme of the effects of Prohibition on society.
Interesting facts
● He was a poor student and an atrocious speller.
● His most famous work was considered a flop upon its release.
Moment in history
● His most famous work “the great gatsby” was never popular in his lifetime. it performed
poorly compared to his other novels.