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The 1920's: The New Generation

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The 1920’s consisted of out with the old and in with the new. Throughout history, generations haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on the topic of change, especially when rejecting the values previously established. However, that wouldn’t stop the new generation from prevailing. In the readings of “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” and “These Wild Young People by One of Them” written in the 1920’s, John F. Carter describes the misunderstandings of the new generation, while Langston Hughes depicts how assimilation effected their culture. This new generation emerged from a direct result of the hardship endured during WWI, women earning a role in society, along with the different African American social classes and how some of the youngsters …show more content…

According to (Carter, Wild Young People) Carter mentioned that, that generation had the opportunity to “see man at their lowest, and women at their lightest.” When Carter says at their lowest, he means men were at war with each other from 1914-1918 and in that time frame, men showed the ugliest traits possible, endured hardship, lost family members, etc. Furthermore, the term lightest within it’s context refers to the freedom women experienced during and afterward the early 1920’s. Women had a pristine freedom of working outside of the house, instead of being confined to the traditional household duties that would further encourage the young wild new generation. This is significant because this was a wake up call, realizing that life isn’t fun and games, and that although things might be good now. Tomorrow you can possibly be at war with …show more content…

The low-down folks according to (Hughes, Racial Mountain) didn’t really care whether they were like white folks or anybody else for that matter. This was the first generation really into individualism. Unlike the other African Americans already established, low-down folks accepted life for what it is and realized that they don’t have to change for anybody. There’s something interesting about everyone so why give up your own culture to fit into another? In Hughes case, he’s trying to inspire others to be honest with their work and show the world who they truly are expressing it through their art. To not tailor work towards other races but to do what you truly like, the way you like to do it, and allow people to accept it for it’s

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