The 1930s was a very important decade in American literature. American literary giants like John Steinbeck, Henry Miller, Margaret Mitchell, and F. Scott Fitzgerald published works during this period. The Great Depressions era literature was often blunt and direct in its social criticism. Literary work of the 1930s focused on the rejection of the notion of progress and a desire to return to an earlier age of purity and simplicity. Steinbeck often wrote about poor, working-class people and their struggle to lead a decent and honest life. The Grapes of Wrath is considered his masterpiece. Nathaniel West's short novel The Day of the Locust, which introduces a cast of Hollywood stereotypes and explores the ironies of the movies, has become a classic of American literature (boundless.com). John Steinbeck was one of the most popular writers during the 1930s. His writing style was simple and evocative, winning him the favor of the readers but not of the critics (boundless.com). During the 1930s, writers wrote about their lives and other people's struggles and about the outcomes and what was happening. Many enjoyed their work because it gave them ideas and solutions on how to fix the 30s.
Disillusioned with capitalism, many intellectuals and writers—including Langston Hughes, John Dos Passos, and Ernest Hemingway—formed allegiances, direct and indirect, to the Communist Party. Along with other intellectuals, these writers joined the Popular Front, a political group active in aiding the leftist forces in the Spanish Civil War against fascist powers. Hemingway’s 1940 novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, portrays the life of an American soldier fighting in the Spanish Civil War against a fascist dictatorship.
Disillusioned with capitalism, many intellectuals and writers—including Langston Hughes, John Dos Passos, and Ernest Hemingway—formed allegiances, direct and indirect, to the Communist Party. Along with other intellectuals, these writers joined the Popular Front, a political group active in aiding the leftist forces in the Spanish Civil War against fascist powers. Hemingway’s 1940 novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, portrays the life of an American soldier fighting in the Spanish Civil War against a fascist dictatorship.