Unit 13

Postwar American Society

 

Being a Negro in America means trying to smile when you want to cry. It means trying to hold on to physical life amid psychological death. It means the pain of watching your children grow up with clouds of inferiority in their mental skies. It means having their legs off, and then being condemned for being a cripple.

  ----Martin Luther King, Jr. 1967

    在美国，身为黑人。就意味着当你想哭的时候，你要努力去微笑。这意味着你在心理死亡的情况下，努力去保持肉体生命。这意味着你看着你的孩子们在他们的精神天空带着自卑的阴云成长的痛苦。这意味着先把他们的腿砍掉，然后却因他们是跛子而谴责他们。

                                                                    ----马丁·路德·金，1967年

Unit Goals

●To have a bird’s-eye view of American society in the 1950s.

●To know the origins of the Civil Rights Movement.

●To learn the important words and expressions that describe the     

  America after World War II.

●To improve English language skills

  

Before You Read

1. You must have heard the singer Elvis Presley. He was somehow 

    revolutionary. How did his song reflect the change of culture in 

    those days?

2. What kind of civil rights do you enjoy?

 The Civil Rights Enjoyed  _____________________________________

3. What do you know about the Civil Rights Movement in the history 

    of the U.S.?

4. Form groups of three or four students. Try to find, on the Internet 

    or in the library, more information about America in the post-war 

    period which interests you most. Prepare a 5-minute classroom 

    presentation.

 

 

Start to Read

Text A     American Society in the 1950s

1.  During the 1950s，many cultural commentators argued that a sense of uniformity pervaded American society. Though men and “women had been forced into new employment patterns during World War II, traditional roles were reaffirmed once the war was over, Men expected to be the breadwinners in each family; women, even when they worked, assumed their proper place was at home. In his influential book, The Lonely Crowd, sociologist David Riesman called this new society“other-directed”, characterized  by conformity, but also by stability. Television, still very limited in the choices it gave its viewers, contributed to the cultural trend by providing young and old with a shared experience reflecting accepted social patterns.

 2.  Yet beneath this seemingly peaceful surface, important segments of American society were filled with rebellion. A number of writers, collectively known as the “beat generation", went out of their way to challenge the patterns of respectability and shock the rest of the culture.

 3.  The literary work of the beats displayed their sense of alienation and quest for self- realization. Jack Kerouac typed his best selling novel On the Road on a 75-meter roll of paper. Lacking traditional punctuation and paragraph structure, the book glorified the possibilities of the free life. Poet Allen Ginsberg gained similar notoriety for his poem“Howl”，a critique of modern, mechanized civilization. When police charged that it was obscene and seized the published version, Ginsberg successfully challenged the ruling in court.

 

杰克·凯鲁亚克最畅销的小说《在路上》是在一卷75米长的纸上打出来的。

4.   Musicians and artists rebelled as well. Tennessee singer Elvis Presley was the most successful of several white per formers who popularized a sensual style of African-American music, which began to be called “rock and roll”. At first, he outraged middle-class Americans with his ducktail haircut and undulating hips. Similarly, it was in the 1950s that painters like Jackson Pollock discarded easels and laid out gigantic canvases on the floor, then applied paint, sand, and other materials in wild splashes of color. All of these artists and authors, whatever the medium, provided models for the wider and more deeply felt social revolution of the 1960s.

 

The Civil Rights Movement

5.  African Americans became increasingly restive in the postwar years. During the war, they had challenged discrimination in the military services and in the work force, and they had made limited gains. Millions of African Americans had left Southern farms for Northern cities， where they hoped to find better jobs. They found instead crowded conditions in urban slums. Now, African-American servicemen returned home, with much intent on rejecting second-class citizenship.

 6.  Jackie Robinson dramatized the racial question in 1947 when he broke baseball’s color line and began playing in the major leagues. As a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he often faced trouble with opponents and teammates as well. But the outstanding first season led to his acceptance and eased the way for other African-American players, who now left the Negro leagues to which they had been con fined.

 7.  Government officials, and many other Americans, discovered s the connection between racial problems and Cold War politics. As the leader of the free world, the United States sought support in Africa and Asia. Discrimination at home impeded the effort to win friends in other parts of the world.

 8.   Harry Truman supported the early civil rights movement. He personally believed in political equality, though not in social equality, and recognized the growing importance of the African- American urban vote. When informed in 1946 of anti-black violence in the South, he appointed a committee on civil rights to investigate discrimination. Its report, To Secure These Rights, issued the next year，documented African Americans' second-class status in American life and recommended numerous federal measures to secure the rights guaranteed to all citizens.

 9.  A number of the angriest, led by Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, opposed the president in 1948.Truman thereupon issued an executive order barring discrimination in federal employment, ordered equal treatment in the armed forces, and appointed a committee to work toward an end to military segregation, which was largely ended during the Korean War.

 10.  African Americans in the South in the 1950s still enjoyed few, if any, civil and political rights. In general, they could not vote. Those who tried to register faced the likelihood of beatings, loss of job, or loss of their land. Occasional lynchings still occurred. Jim Crow laws enforced segregation of the races in streetcars, trains, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, recreational facilities, and employment.

 

 

 

 

 

After You Read

Knowledge Focus

1. Pair Work: Discuss the following questions with your partner.

(1) What were the traditional roles that men and women play in 

      American families?

(2) What do you know about the “beat generation"?

   (3) Can you name several literary works of the beats? What 

        common features do they share?

(4) How did the musicians and painters revolutionize their forms of 

     arts?

(5) How did African Americans change in the postwar years?

(6) What was the situation before the Civil Rights Movement?

(7) What do you know about Jackie Robinson?

(8) What was the significance of the report To Secure These Rights?

(9) What was the attitude of Harry Truman towards the early Civil 

     Rights Movement?

(10) What was the situation of African Americans in the South in 

        the 1950s?

 

2. Solo Work: Tell whether the following are true or false 

    according to the knowledge you have learned. Consider why.

    (1) After World War II, men and women shouldered equal 

         responsibility on maintaining families.   (  )

    (2) Beneath the seemingly peaceful surface, the American society 

         in the 1950s was filled with rebellion.  (  )

   (3) The representative literary work of the beats showed their sense 

        of alienation and quest for self-realization.  (  )

   (4) Elvis Presley popularized a sensual style of African-American 

        music, which began to be called “rock and roll”.   (  )

   (5) Millions of African Americans had left Northern farms for 

        Southern cities, where they hoped to find better jobs.  (  )

   (6) The “beat generation” refers to those people 1 born after World 

        War I. It witnessed a sudden increase in population.   (  )

   (7) Martin Luther King supported the early civil rights movement，

        and personally believed in political equality.   (  )

   (8) After the 1950s, African Americans in the South enjoyed the 

        same civil and political rights as those whites.   (  )

   (9) The angriest, led by Governor Strom Thurmond of South 

        Carolina，opposed the president in 1948.   (  )

   (10) President Truman issued an executive order in favor of 

         discrimination in federal government.   (  )

 

 

Language Focus

1. Fill in the blanks with the following words or expressions from 

   the text.

pervade     notoriety     quest     obscene     gigantic       

intent      numerous     appoint     guarantee     glorify

(1) Your descriptions have ________ an average house into a 

      mansion.

(2) The president _________ her chief operating officer of the 

      company.

(3) The law enacted last week helped to __________ freedom 

      of speech.

(4) The recently-published novel dramatized the _________ for 

      the Holy Grail.

   (5) The young man, fresh out of graduate school,  was  _______

         upon being recognized by the academic circle.

(6) His unexpected marriage added to his __________.

(7) Microsoft, the leading company in software industry, is a

      ______ corporation.

(8) As soon as the monitor cracked a joke,  laughter  _____            

    the whole meeting hall.

   (9) “The way he writes about the disease that killed her is 

        simply __________.” (Michael Korda)

   (10) Before the opening ceremony, __________ athletes 

         assembled and headed for the stadium.

 

2. Fill in the blanks with the proper prepositions or adverbs that 

    collocate with the neighboring words.

   (1) They appointed a committee to work _________ an end to 

        military segregation, which was largely ended during the 

        Korean War.

  (2) Men and women had been forced _________ new employment 

        patterns during World War II.

  (3) The Beat Generation went ________ of their way to challenge 

       the patterns of respectability and shock the rest of the culture.

  (4) The literary work of the beats displayed their sense of alienation 

       and quest ______ self-realization.

  (5) Jackson Pollock discarded easels, laid ________ gigantic 

       canvases on the floor, and then applied paint, sand, and other 

       materials in wild splashes of color.

  (6) All of these artists s and t authors, whatever the medium, 

       provided models _________ the wider and more deeply felt 

       social revolution of the 1960s.

  (7) Millions of African Americans went to Northern cities, where 

       they hoped to find better jobs. They found _________ crowded   

       conditions in urban slums.

  (8) _________ a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he often faced 

       trouble with opponents and teammates as well.

  (9) A number of the angriest, led __________ Governor of South 

       Carolina, opposed the president in 1948.

  (10) The new society is characterized __________ conformity.

 

3. Fill in the blanks with the proper form of the words in the 

    brackets.

(1) During the 1950s, many cultural commentators argued that a 

      sense of _________ (uniform) pervaded American society.

(2) In his _________ (influence) book, The Lonely Crowd, 

     sociologist David Riesman called this new society “other-

     directed”.

(3) Beneath this seemingly ________ (peace) surface, important 

      segments of American society were filled with rebellion.

(4) Poet Allen Ginsberg gained similar ___________ (notorious) for 

      his poem “Howl”, a critique of modern, mechanized civilization.

(5) Elvis Presley ___________ (popular) a sensual style of African-

      American music, which began to be called “rock and roll”.

(6) ___________ (similar), it was in the 1950s that painters like 

     Jackson Pollock discarded easels and laid out gigantic canvases 

     on the floor.

(7) Jackie Robinson ________ (drama) the racial question in 1947 

     when he broke baseball’s color line and began playing in the 

     major leagues.

(8) The outstanding first season led to his __________ (accept) and 

      eased the way for other African-American players.

(9) Harry Truman __________ (person) believed in political equality, 

     though not in social equality, and recognized the growing 

     importance of the African-American urban vote.

(10) Government officials and many other Americans discovered 

       the __________ (connect) between racial problems and Cold 

       War politics.

 

 

Comprehensive Work

Group Work

Directions: In 1983, the Congress of the United States set aside the third Monday in January as a federal holiday to honor the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. This date falls near his birthday, January 15. It is a day for remembering and rededication to the principles for which he stood- freedom, justice, and equal rights for all, achieved through peaceful means. Form a group of five to six students and do a research on Martin Luther King, Jr. and then finish the following tasks with your team members:

 

1. Please define prejudice and explain what it means to them. Talk about the reasons why people might be prejudiced ( fear, ignorance, echoing parents ’sentiments, etc.). Discuss how people can overcome their prejudices learning about others，discussing fears, cooperating with others, etc.

2. Discuss Dr. King's speech --- “I Have a Dream”. If time permits, read the speech to your class or listen to the recording. Discuss how to keep Dr. King's dreams alive.

 

Solo Work

Consider the following questions. Write an essay of about 300 words to illustrate your points.

(1) When, if ever, is it best to remain colorblind to race and ethnicity? When, if ever, is it best to celebrate multicultural differences? Do the goals of colorblindness and multiculturalism conflict with each other?

(2) What do you think the most difficult aspect is of being a racial, ethnic, or religious minority member? What is the most difficult aspect of being a majority group member?