Discussion. I. Describe the social changes after World War II

I. Describe the social changes after World War II.

II. Speak about the new literary movements. Name their chief representatives.

1.War novels.

2. Postwar regionalism.

3. The beat movement.

4. Black humor.

III. Name the main representatives of the literary groups. What do this writers have in common?

1. Southern writers.

2. Jewish writers.

3. Black writers.

4. Women writers.

IV. Discuss the experimental forms of fiction, poetry and drama.

Extension

V. In a brief essay view the development of American litera­ture from 1950 on.

6.2. John Ciieever John Cheever (1912—1982), was an American short-story writer and novelist. Cheever's typical characters arc the descen­dants of genteel old American families, or the inhabitants of com­fortable, upper middle-class suburbia. He wrote about these people in a style that is both lyrical and lightly ironic. In his fiction, Cheever balanced the claims of individual freedom and desire against society's values of emotional restraint and good manners. He often created characters who attempt to disrupt their seemingly tranquil lives to pursue some kind of personal satisfaction. Their attempts usually end partly in defeat and partly in succcss.

In his related novels «The Wapshot Chronicle» (1957) and «The Wapshot Scandal» (1964), Cheever wrote about the modern-day descendants of an old New England seafaring family. The novels reveal how the family's tradition of strong individualism and ec­centricity conflicts with the restrictions of an increasingly imper­sonal American society. Two later novels explore darker themes. «Bullet Park» (1969) tells a story of drug addiction and insanity in a typical suburban setting. «Falconer» (1977) is a story about a college professor who kills his brother, is imprisoned, and escapes.

Cheever won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for «The Sto­ries of John Cheever» (1978). The book is a collection of six previ­ously published volumes of his stories. Cheever was born in Quincy, Mass.