A literary mapping of the period-specific cultural zeitgeist in American literature of the twentieth century

Abstract

The body of American literature is rooted into the demographics of its geographical location and thus serves as a documentation of its cultural, societal and political evolution throughout the course of its history. The notion that everyday work of literature is influenced by or does influence the spirit of the era it has been produced is the point of research in the current research paper. For the purpose of literary mapping of the period-specific cultural zeitgeist in American literature of the twentieth century, the analytical tool of Zeitgeist developed by Krause (2019) alongside the literary research paradigm of “New Historicism” is employed. The research proceeds in the domain of the scholastic mapping of war, illness, drug intoxication and religion and sexuality in American literature. The research is carried out through the content analysis of fictional narratives published in every decade of the twentieth century that hail from a diverse range of authors. The current research endeavors to provide a comprehensive account of the evolution of cultural zeitgeist in the American society from the Jazz Age to the Zeitgeist of Change to the postmodernist extravaganza and the disillusionment until the end of twentieth century.