A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath
Positioned at the vanguard of the American labor movement, radical writers sought to disseminate Marxist ideology through proletarian literature, especially during the first half of the twentieth century. Because their ideas were branded as essentially un-American, however, novelists such as Upton S...
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| Language: | English |
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Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Transatlantica |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/17885 |
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| author | Adam Nemmers |
| author_facet | Adam Nemmers |
| author_sort | Adam Nemmers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Positioned at the vanguard of the American labor movement, radical writers sought to disseminate Marxist ideology through proletarian literature, especially during the first half of the twentieth century. Because their ideas were branded as essentially un-American, however, novelists such as Upton Sinclair and John Steinbeck sought to tell their stories through more popular and commercial channels in order to reach a wider audience than might read periodicals or attend rallies. To an extent both authors were successful, for their novels reached wider audiences and are now regarded as American classics. Yet this success was a Pyrrhic victory and came at the cost of the messages they sought to promulgate. Put simply, I argue, it is no accident that Americans did not read these books, and do not remember them in the radical, revolutionary spirit they were intended. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3863734f4ca04796a7b015dbaca1aa00 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1765-2766 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Association Française d'Etudes Américaines |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transatlantica |
| spelling | doaj-art-3863734f4ca04796a7b015dbaca1aa002025-01-30T10:43:13ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662021-12-01210.4000/transatlantica.17885A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of WrathAdam NemmersPositioned at the vanguard of the American labor movement, radical writers sought to disseminate Marxist ideology through proletarian literature, especially during the first half of the twentieth century. Because their ideas were branded as essentially un-American, however, novelists such as Upton Sinclair and John Steinbeck sought to tell their stories through more popular and commercial channels in order to reach a wider audience than might read periodicals or attend rallies. To an extent both authors were successful, for their novels reached wider audiences and are now regarded as American classics. Yet this success was a Pyrrhic victory and came at the cost of the messages they sought to promulgate. Put simply, I argue, it is no accident that Americans did not read these books, and do not remember them in the radical, revolutionary spirit they were intended.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/17885protest literatureAmerican literatureproletarian literaturecensorshipThe Grapes of WrathThe Jungle |
| spellingShingle | Adam Nemmers A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath Transatlantica protest literature American literature proletarian literature censorship The Grapes of Wrath The Jungle |
| title | A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath |
| title_full | A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath |
| title_fullStr | A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath |
| title_short | A Conspiracy of Silence: The Suppressed Protest of The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath |
| title_sort | conspiracy of silence the suppressed protest of the jungle and the grapes of wrath |
| topic | protest literature American literature proletarian literature censorship The Grapes of Wrath The Jungle |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/17885 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT adamnemmers aconspiracyofsilencethesuppressedprotestofthejungleandthegrapesofwrath AT adamnemmers conspiracyofsilencethesuppressedprotestofthejungleandthegrapesofwrath |