Final Exposition - Literature

Leonardo X. Muentes
The literature into the 21st century
The 21st century in literature
refers to world literature in prose
produced during the 21st century.
The range of years is, for the
purpose of this article, literature
written from (roughly) the year
2001 to the present.
The 2000s (decade) saw a steep increase
in the acceptability of literature of all
types, inspired by the coming-of-age of
millions of people who enjoyed the works
of writers such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R.
Tolkien in their youths.
Neil Gaiman, for instance, one of the
decade's most popular writers of
speculative fiction, cites Tolkien, Lewis,
and G. K. Chesterton as his three biggest
influences growing up. J. K. Rowling
admits to being heavily influenced by
Lewis as well.
Philip Pullman's gritty and controversial
young adult His Dark Materials trilogy,
written and published in the late 1990s,
increased in popularity and was more
widely read during the 2000s (decade).
The popularity of Lewis, Tolkien, Pullman,
and Rowling was spurred on by movies
which proved to be some of the biggest of
the 2000s (decade).
The literature into the 21st century
The 2000s (decade) also saw the
popularization of manga, or Japanese
comics, among international
audiences, particularly in English-
speaking nations.
Many famous books like Harry Potter
series were converted into movies.
Books on wars, guides for exams,
myths, etc. were frequent sellers in
this decade.
Some books were written in simple
English and works of old writers were
translated into language that was
easier to understand. Mythology was
converted into graphic novel form to
build interest among young readers.
Civil Rights
During the Civil Rights movement, literature
describe the discrepancies between the
rights of the majority to those of the
minority.
Amid the harsh repression of slavery,
Americans of African descent, and
particularly black women, managed--
sometimes at their own peril--to preserve
the culture of their ancestry and articulate
both their struggles and hopes in their own
words and images. A growing number of
black female artists and writers emerged
throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction
eras before finally bursting into the
mainstream of American culture in the
1920s, with the dawn of the Harlem
Renaissance. After playing a significant role
in both the civil rights movement and the
women's movement of the 1960s, the rich
body of creative work produced by black
women has found even wider audiences in
the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Literature - Technology boom
The death of print has been much heralded
over the past decade, precipitated by the
rising accessibility of devices like tablets and
smartphones that have made the electronic
medium cheaper and more universal. Book
sales, as well as magazine and newspaper
subscriptions, have diminished, but our
appetite for information has grown larger
and more impetuous.
More traditional forms of literature,
including novels, plays, and poetry, have
been less successful in conforming to new
technology. Various forms of electronic
literature, including hypertext (interactive
fiction), animated poetry, and even SMS
(text-message) fiction have grown yet still
exist within a small niche.
Therefore, although literature has to change
with society, authors are still trying to
address immutable human questions in new
ways and reconcile them with the ever-
changing technology that surrounds us.
USA - A nation of immigrants
Novelists and writers have captured much of the color
and challenge in their immigrant lives through their
writings.

Regarding Irish women in the 19th century, there were
numerous novels and short stories by Harvey O'Higgins,
Peter McCorry, Bernard O'Reilly and Sarah Orne Jewett
that emphasize emancipation from Old World controls,
new opportunities and expansiveness of the immigrant
experience.
On the other hand Hladnik studies three popular novels
of the late 19th century that warned Slovenes not to
immigrate to the dangerous new world of the United
States.
Jewish American writer Anzia Yesierska wrote her novel
Bread Givers (1925) to explore such themes as Russian-
Jewish immigration in the early 20th century, the
tension between Old and New World Yiddish culture,
and women's experience of immigration.
The history of immigration to the United States is the
history of the country itself, and the journey from
beyond the sea is an element found in American
folklore, appearing over and over again in everything
from The Godfather to Gangs of New York to "The Song
of Myself" to Neil Diamond's "America" to the animated
feature An American Tail.
In recent years the popular culture has paid special
attention to Mexican immigration

and the 2004 motion
picture Spanglish tells of a friendship of a Mexican
housemaid (Paz Vega) and her boss played by Adam
Sandler.

Cesar Chavez Mexican/american
farm worker
Cesar Chavez (born Csar
Estrada Chvez, March
31, 1927 April 23, 1993)
was an American farm
worker, labor leader and
civil rights activist, who,
with Dolores Huerta, co-
founded the National
Farm Workers
Association (later the
United Farm Workers
union, UFW).
A Mexican American, Chavez
became the best known Latino
American civil rights activist, and
was strongly promoted by the
American labor movement, which
was eager to enroll Hispanic
members. His public-relations
approach to unionism and
aggressive but nonviolent tactics
made the farm workers' struggle
a moral cause with nationwide
support.

After his death he became a
major historical icon for the
Latino community, organized
labor, and liberal movement,
symbolizing support for workers
and for Hispanic power based on
grass roots organizing and his
slogan "S, se puede" (Spanish for
"Yes, one can" or, roughly, "Yes, it
can be done"). His supporters say
his work led to numerous
improvements for union laborers.
His birthday, March 31, has
become Cesar Chavez Day, a
state holiday in California,
Colorado, and Texas.
Biography of Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16,
1912 October 31, 2008)
Was an American author,
historian, actor, and
broadcaster.
He received the Pulitzer Prize
for General Non-Fiction in
1985 for The Good War, and
is best remembered for his
oral histories of common
Americans, and for hosting a
long-running radio show in
Chicago.
In 2004, Terkel received the Elijah
Parish Lovejoy Award as well as
an honorary Doctor of Laws
degree from Colby College.
In August 2005, Terkel underwent
successful open-heart surgery.
At the age of ninety-three, he was
one of the oldest people to
undergo this form of surgery and
doctors reported his recovery to
be remarkable for someone of
that advanced age. Terkel smoked
two cigars a day until 2004.
One of his last interviews was for
the documentary Soul of a People
on Smithsonian Channel. He
spoke about his participation in
the Works Progress
Administration.
At his last public appearance, in
2007, Terkel said he was "still in
touchbut ready to go".

He gave one of his last interviews
on the BBC Hardtalk program on
February 4, 2008.

He spoke of the
imminent election of Barack
Obama as President of the United
States, and offered him some
advice, in October 2008.

Working: Roberto Acua -
Farmworker

Roberto Acua: Farm Worker (plot)
Book One contains stories by a farmer, a farm worker, a farm
woman, a deep miner and his wife, a strip miner, and a heavy
equipment operator. This story can also be located in
Springboard English textual power 6. Here is a sample that is
not from the student's book:
"Working in the fields is not in itself a degrading job. It's hard,
but if you're given regular hours, better pay, decent housing,
unemployment and medical compensation, pension plans--
we have a very relaxed way of living. But the growers don't
recognize us as persons. That's the worst thing, the way they
treat you. Like we have no brains. They have only a wallet in
their head. The more you squeeze it, the more they cry out."
(Roberto Acuna, farm worker)
When Roberto was a kid, he would work in the fields picking
crops all day long at harvest time. Sometimes he would see
his mom crying, but he never understood why. When she
went to her evening job at a restaurant she would receive
mean remarks from customers.
White kids would laugh at Roberto when he brought to school
a different type of lunch that showed his culture. This started
fights at school which ended in 8
th
grade because thats when
he quit school. He was abused at school because the kids did
not understand why he worked in the fields all day.
When he would work in the fields, he would day dream about
becoming rich and people having respect for his mom.
When he was older, he became a company man because he
wanted his mom to be proud of him. He was paid $1.10 an
hour which is barely anything.
This was because he was a minority so he quit his work and
joined the Marine Corps. In the Marine Corps he was
supposed to whip people in prison camps, but he was not
able to harm people. Because of his experiences, he realized
that everything is favored towards the wealthy.
For example, during wars, there were drafts but people who
were wealthy were able to get out of it in many ways because
of their money. People who did not have enough money
were less fortunate. Roberto said, When growers can have
an intricate watering system to irrigate their crops but they
cant have running water inside the houses of workers. He is
upset by how the money is distributed in the farms.
He thought that the workers were treated less fairly than the
animals on the farms. Pesticides were being to become more
popular, but they were not healthy for the farmers and the
animals. There were many harmful affects when spraying the
chemicals. Because of all of these harmful conditions, people
were going on strike. It helped Roberto feel a sense of
belonging because they were his own people who wanted the
same changes in working conditions as he did.
Roberto Acua: Farm Worker
(Opinion)
This book is prominently about violence, but it also
explains how work shows who people are and what
attributes they have.
Many people work because they want to have pride
in something they do.
Other times people really hate their work and want to
leave it. People are suited to work at different things,
and people work at different speeds and levels.
Sometimes, people just keep working and lose the
purpose and meaning of it. Overall, work gives people
a secure place in life because they always know that it
is there for them.

Thank You !