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Midori Reyes Shirai

Prof. Larry Goldsmith

English IV

April, 22, 2014

Advertisement, Sexuality and Literature

As any cultural aspect, advertisement and the perception of sexuality have evolved constantly

through time according to each cultures context. In the case of the American society, during the

early part of the twentieth century, these two elements suffered great and important changes in the

eyes of the public. This was due to the new environmentproduct of enhanced industrialization

that innovated the way in which persuasion and genders were conceived. Even though

advertisement and sexuality may seem unrelated, they actually played an important role in the

development of literature.

During the 1920s and 30s, the United States experienced quick shifts, from consolidating

itself as the economic nucleus of the world, to the Black Tuesday in 1929. Amid the times of

prosperity and those of war, advertisement was used as a remarkable strategy both to enhance the

American way of life and the patriotic sense of people. For many, it was seen as a civilizing and

modernizing force (Marchand 8) and it provided an apparent friendly hand which gave advice

over the impersonal judgments of the modern world (14). It is important to notice that this form

of communication also helped people adapt to the quick pace that modernity was creating (xii). In

this vein, the culture of consumption transformed the role of women within American society.
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With more females working in more fieldssuch as clerks at stores or as waitressesthe

interactions between men and women became freer regarding their intimacy and sexuality.

Although the acceptance of kissing games, the system of treating, and even premarital sex was

not generalized, it is noticeable that this behavior began a revolutionary interaction between

genders and it portrayed as well how women demanded greater independence in the realm of

personal life (Peiss 81).

But how does all this relate to literature? As parts of society, advertisement and the

sexuality from the working-classespecially that of womeninfluenced the very perception of

people regarding many issues. These novel realities and attitudes can be found in the works of

various famous writers from that period. Examples of this are Scott Fitzgerald who depicted the

new culture of excess from the 1920s, and John Steinbeck who explored the lives of laborers

during the Great Depression. In this manner, we can see that it is true that if society changes,

literature changes along with it, providing a way to expose, analyze, and assimilate the historical

and social context that each individual experiences.

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