Talking about individualist, there must be a lot of individualists in every American history era. Now, I am going to talk about the midcentury voices era. Midcentury voice is an era between 1930-1960 which is known by its several unforgettable events, such as Great Depression and World War 2. Let me sum up, the things that happened in the Midcentury era which led people to create some unique works.
In the early year of 1930, the stock market is well known by the people as the symbol of American prosperity. Then, in October 29, the stock market suffered The Great Crash which the New York Times described it as something that happened really fast and caused confusion to the people. The Great Crash managed to devastate the economy, the nation and the people for a long time and counted as one of the dramatic moments in an evolving global economic crisis. In 1929 to 1932, the economic depression followed the Great Crash incident. The economic depression, which commonly known as the Great Depression, happened during President Herbert Hoover’s time and caused destruction to the nation financial area. In 1933, the Great Depression caused 13 to 15 billion people in America unemployed and responsible in making half of the nation’s bank failed to operate. After Hoover, the Americans elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt as their president. Roosevelt had his ways to save the nation from the economic crisis. He began to create programs, for instance Work Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps to act as an emergency in the nation’s economy sectors. Roosevelt also strengthened the public confidence by giving speech for the American in a radio which at that time known as “fireside chats”.
Aside from the Great Depression, World War 2 came to America’s doorstep. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese succeeded in bombing the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Soon, 3 years after that, the Japanese declare their surrender after the bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1950, many authors described and defined that era which they were living by contributing their works. Some of their works consisted of novels, such as J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Saul Bellow’s The Adventure of Augie March, and Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit.
Ralph Waldo Ellison, who was also one of the authors, was an American novelist. His finest novel, “The Invisible Man”, received many awards and has been known in the face of society up to recently. Aside from his best-selling novel, “February” is one of the short stories which were written by Ellison.
“February” is a short story that describes a man decision to escape his problems from the city and head to the woods. In the woods, the author feels like he finds his sanctuary, his peace where he can clean his mind. The author takes the path of being alone with nobody around him to accompany him in his escape. In his escape to find clarity, he finds the woods a beautiful place unlike the city and spends 3 months living there without a home.
“Unemployed, tired of reading, and weary of grieving the loss of my mother, I’d gone into the woods to forget.”
In the early year of 1930, the stock market is well known by the people as the symbol of American prosperity. Then, in October 29, the stock market suffered The Great Crash which the New York Times described it as something that happened really fast and caused confusion to the people. The Great Crash managed to devastate the economy, the nation and the people for a long time and counted as one of the dramatic moments in an evolving global economic crisis. In 1929 to 1932, the economic depression followed the Great Crash incident. The economic depression, which commonly known as the Great Depression, happened during President Herbert Hoover’s time and caused destruction to the nation financial area. In 1933, the Great Depression caused 13 to 15 billion people in America unemployed and responsible in making half of the nation’s bank failed to operate. After Hoover, the Americans elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt as their president. Roosevelt had his ways to save the nation from the economic crisis. He began to create programs, for instance Work Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps to act as an emergency in the nation’s economy sectors. Roosevelt also strengthened the public confidence by giving speech for the American in a radio which at that time known as “fireside chats”.
Aside from the Great Depression, World War 2 came to America’s doorstep. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese succeeded in bombing the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Soon, 3 years after that, the Japanese declare their surrender after the bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1950, many authors described and defined that era which they were living by contributing their works. Some of their works consisted of novels, such as J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Saul Bellow’s The Adventure of Augie March, and Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit.
Ralph Waldo Ellison, who was also one of the authors, was an American novelist. His finest novel, “The Invisible Man”, received many awards and has been known in the face of society up to recently. Aside from his best-selling novel, “February” is one of the short stories which were written by Ellison.
“February” is a short story that describes a man decision to escape his problems from the city and head to the woods. In the woods, the author feels like he finds his sanctuary, his peace where he can clean his mind. The author takes the path of being alone with nobody around him to accompany him in his escape. In his escape to find clarity, he finds the woods a beautiful place unlike the city and spends 3 months living there without a home.
“Unemployed, tired of reading, and weary of grieving the loss of my mother, I’d gone into the woods to forget.”
This passage shows the reasons why the author decides to have a journey through the woods. Factors that bother him and keep his head full can no longer be hold, so he wants to have a clear mind.
“For I was in my early twenties then, and I had lived through my mother’s death in that strange city, had survived three months off the fields and woods by my gun; through ice and snow and homelessness.”
The author describes how his solitude makes him stronger as he has successfully overcome the grief for his mother’s death. Living 3 months in an open forest with only just a gun with him is hard, yet he manages to survive alone. His individualism builds his character and helps him in forgetting his problems.
I think that his individualism leads him to find his peace. Most people in America or even the world believe that individualism cannot bring benefit because being in solitude does not solve the problem. Ellison proofs that not all people need someone to help them get through their obstacle sometime what people need is just to be alone. In his era, his reasons to be alone in the woods are mostly because of his trouble in the city and his mother’s death.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/ralph-ellison/
