British and American Literary Figures of the 19th and 20th Centuries

JOSEPH CONRAD

S19/20 Polish origin / Sailor for 24 years in the British Mercantile Navy / Works inspired by his journeys / Exotic and romantic landscapes / Analyzed people in exceptional and extreme circumstances / Condemned cruelty of colonials / Some stories are told from different points of view.

RUDYARD KIPLING

S19/20 lived in India until he was 5 and was sent to Britain for an education. He combated by 16 and lived until 23 / Idealized by nationalists and hated by imperialists / Book: Jungle Book.

VIRGINIA WOOLF

Born in London / Educated at home / Father's library / When father died, she moved to Bloomsbury / The Bloomsbury Group was formed by intellectuals who wanted to change the world and get rid of the constraints and taboos of Victorian times / She suffered an illness for her life and committed suicide / Was part of modernism / Interior monologues: Really insist and saw the feelings and impressions of the characters more than on the story itself (consciousness technique) / Books: Mrs. Dalloway: Web of thoughts of various people during a day, To the Lighthouse: Highlights differences between males and females / Most innovative writers of the 20th century.

JAMES JOYCE

Born in Dublin, middle-class, Catholic family / Unhappy with the narrators of Irish culture and the church but loves Ireland / Themes: Irish religion, provincialism, interior monologues / Books: Dubliners, Ulysses.

ALDOUS HUXLEY

Dystopian novel / Book: Brave New World: Human beings are genetically engineered and programmed.

GEORGE ORWELL

Highlights social and political issues / Novels: Animal Farm: Animals rebel against the farmer, 1984: Represents a future where people cannot think for themselves in a totalitarian world.

USA: Realism

MARK TWAIN

Wrote about cowboys and live criminals in the West / Novels: Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn / Distrust of respectable society / Uses humor to criticize slavery and hypocrisy / Many characters were uneducated.

HENRY JAMES

Born in the USA / Writer, actress / Complex style / Character analysis and complexity of human consciousness / Books: The Turn of the Screw, The Portrait of a Lady / Contrasts of puritanical idealistic American views / 1st work: Omniscient narrator, 2nd narrator for character views.