Why were many artists and intellectuals attracted to the Communist Party during the Depression years? How did events both within the United States and in Europe during these years shape this attraction?
What will be an ideal response?
The ideal answer should include:
- Influence of Marxist analysis: emphasis on class conflict and failures of capitalism influenced thought and writing
- Alternative to the American system: practices in the Soviet Union were preferable to exploitation, racial inequality, and human misery
- Radicalism: Communist writers celebrated collective struggle rather than individual achievement through art and literature; Granville Hicks-the chaos of the Great Depression was best presented in terms of class struggle; Waiting for Lefty exemplified radical, politically engaged art; radical presence within certain WPA arts projects
- Appeal to African American writers and thinkers: attracted by Communist Party's militant opposition to lynching, job discrimination, and segregation; key figures included Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and Langston Hughes
- Rise of fascism in Europe: "Popular Front" period when communists around the world followed the Soviet line of aligning with liberals and other antifascists; Abraham Lincoln Brigade fought on the Republican side against Franco's fascists in the Spanish Civil War
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A. Lord Chatham. B. Lord North. C. George III. D. the Marquis of Rockingham. E. Charles Townshend. Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation