Gilded+Age+in+Literature

**  Morgan Hemmingson   ** The Gilded Age was between the late 19th century and the first years of the 20th century, between the Reconstruction and Progressive Era. The Gilded Age was a time of economic growth and also a time of social change and conflict. This era was known for the rapid industrialization, urbanization, the construction of the transcontinental railroads, innovations in science and technology, and the rise of business (The Gilded Age & the Progressive Era (1877-1917)). The Gilded Age was also known as a time of wealth, political corruption, and westward expansion (Lombardi, Esther). In fact the Gilded Age era was actually recognized by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, when they published a book satirizing the society. The book was titled __The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today__. Twain and Warner’s book satirized the society whose serious problems were being coated with a golden lining. (The Gilded Age) “In the Gilded Age, every dark cloud had its silver lining…and every silver lining had its dark cloud,” was a quote that referred to outside looking in on the Gilded Age. (The Gilded Age). During the Gilded Age, literature flourished; especially for Mark Twain as he noted the Gilded Age as “a period of glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath,” (Learn About the Gilded Age). In Mark Twain’s __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,__ Twain recreated the speech of the uneducated, poked fun at social pretenses of the time, and challenged racial, biased attitude towards African Americans. Through the Gilded Age, the gradual rise of realistic, and sometimes critical, portrayal of life developed in literature along with the continuation of romanticism and refined tradition (Literature). Throughout the Gilded Age, the American society seemed to be a golden opportunity; however, looking through it all, the issues within the society were too dark to let the industrial actions take over. Mark Twain saw these issues and took action by satirizing the concerns of society.
 * The Gilded Age  **

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--Morgan