Characteristics of Contemporary American Literature
Who?
Regular people who have suffered
Male, female, ethnically diverse
What?
Personal experience
Societal issues/problems
Critique of society
Changes brought through different experiences
When?
1960s to present
Where?
All over the USA
Why?
To show what society is like
To show personal experience
Inform society about things they might not notice/understand otherwise
Express their identities, opinions
Freedom of expression on topics of importance
To raise awareness of problems
How?
Realistic (mostly)
Postmodern – disconnected, combines genres/time periods
Thoughtful – not always a happy ending
Written in vernacular
Varying lengths from ½ page to 10 pages
Lots of figurative language
Symbols are important