Clara Morose
Mrs. Crown
English 3 Hon – 7
18 March 2011
The Sixties Is it possible to summarize the sixties into one sentence? Impossible! If there ever was as good as a time as any to leave conservatism, it was in the sixties. The contributions of literature from talented authors like Harper Lee and William Styron, “out there” styles for men and women, and the creation of dance fads like the Twist and music by the Beatles created the culture of the 1960’s famously known as “The Sixties”. The sixties were all about leaving tradition behind and opening up American views in to freedom of expression in literature, trendy styles of fashion, music and fun creative dance moves that kept the youth dancing until they couldn’t dance anymore. Harper Lee and William Styron wrote about racism and the brutalities that many African Americans faced. During the 1960’s the novels were being published during the civil rights movement, which was beginning to expand and was becoming the center of many important issues. Harper Lee’s novel was set in Monroeville, Alabama in the 1930’s, famously known as the Depression era where segregation and Jim Crow laws were still intact. Her plot was about a white attorney representing a black man that was being accused of raping a white woman. Of
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Course, the black man was unfairly judged and was sentenced to death. Lee’s novel shows the unfair treatment that blacks received throughout the supposed justice system which during the 1960’s was also occurring. Although it was her only novel published Harper Lee created a huge success which is why it received the 1960 Pulitzer Prize and was made into a movie which won three academy awards and is still one of the top Novels of American literatures. William Styron based his novel on the slave rebellion led by the black slave Nat Turner in 1831. William Styron Provides readers with insight on the inner workings of Nat Turner and his possible thoughts that drove him to
Cited: “1960’s Fashion.” The fifties Web- Your retro 50s, 60s and 70s source. 2010-2015. 1 Mar 2011 < http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/cool-clothes.html>. “Books: The Idea of Hope.” Time. 2011. 2 Mar 2011 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837420,00.html?internalid=atb100>. Madini, Jack. “Pop and Rock Music in the 60’s.” A Brief History. 1998. 16 Mar 2011 <http://www.spectropop.com/hmadanibrief.html>. “Sixties Dance and Dance Crazes.” Sixties City. 2009. 16 Feb.2011 Morose 7