1950-59: The Cold War, Age of

Conformity, Civil Rights Movement

1950’s Literature Unit
11th Grade English
Miss Tomlinson
Lecture Objectives & CA Standards
How do our novels reflect the time in which they were written?

Lecture Objective: Students will be able to make connections between the six novels of the unit and
the period in which they were written. Students will demonstrate an active understanding of the Cold War,
the Age of Conformity, and the Civil Rights Movement in order to make these connections.

CA Standards Covered:
- Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners
- Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature,
including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
- Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in
order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting
any discrepancies among the data.
- Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course
of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account;
provide an objective summary of the text.
 Based on your past On the guided lecture notes page,
spend some time on this question
knowledge of the independently. Also consider and note
decade and what you’ve anything you know about:

read of your novels so - The end of World War II

- The Cold War
far- - The early Civil Rights Movement
What was it like to live - New technology of the 1950s
- Our novels’ themes
through the 1950s era? - Dominant figures of the decade
*Share your insights in small groups*

Educational Hook
Crash Course: The Cold War
Beginning of the Cold War: 1945
● End of World War II (1945): Allies vs Axis
Powers- U.S prevails
● Nuclear Age:
○ Use of the first atomic weapons over
Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII- led
to worldwide anxiety about nuclear war.
■ Full scale nuclear exchange between
the U.S and Russia could destroy all of
civilization
● Beginning of the Cold War: U.S (capitalist) and
Soviet Union (communist) decide the future of
postwar Europe.
○ Both sides wanted to expand influence in The Cold War was a proxy war or an
Europe = main conflict armed conflict between two states or non-state
actors which act on the instigation or on behalf
of other parties that are not directly involved in
the hostilities.
McCarthy Era (1950-1955)

● In the early Cold War, there was a widespread

fear and paranoia about the threat of
communism to the U.S
● Joseph McCarthy (U.S Senator) convinced
millions of Americans that communists were
infiltrating American institutions (the
government, Hollywood, Universities)
○ A LOT of paranoia during this time. Although the Soviet
Union was a threat because of their nuclear weapons,
the paranoia went beyond justified fears. Widespread
propaganda, etc.
Dystopian Novels That
Could Reflect These
Circumstances:
1) 1984: Published June 1949
2) Fahrenheit 451: Published October 1953
3) Lord of the Flies: Published September
1954
Check for Understanding: Lecture Question (Respond on your
“Consider This” Chart):

Let’s Consider Can you think of any present events or

This.. political figures that mirror this

McCarthyism paranoia?
 PAUSE:
Cold War
Column
Crash Course Video: Existentialism
Spread of Existentialism
(1945-1965)
This philosophy spread from France & Germany
to the U.S during this time. Authors were greatly
influenced by it- many characters and plots were
driven by this concept.
Existentialism: freeing ourselves from the
definitions that others impose on us, inventing
who we are through actions and choices
EXISTENCE PRECEDES ESSENCE
The idea that humans cannot and should not be
defined in advance. Each individual chooses
how they are defined through actions and
choices.
Growth of Interest in
Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud, inventor of psychoanalysis.
- Humans, like animals, are motivated by the
instinct to procreate and instinct to
survive- which manifests through sexuality
and aggressive behavior.
- Minds have conscious and unconscious
element: Id, Superego, Ego
People in the U.S became more interested in
psychotherapy in hopes to uncover reasons why
they may be unhappy.
This also had influence on literature in the
1950s, many characters show this interest.
Video: US Post World War II Boom - The American Dream - Conformity - Boomers, "Teen" Agers
Age of Conformity
Novels That Could
Reflect These Concepts:
1) 1984: Published June 1949
2) Catcher in the Rye: Published July 1951
3) Invisible Man: Published April 1952
4) Lord of the Flies: Published September 1954
5) A Separate Peace: Published 1959
Check for Understanding:

Let’s Consider
This..
 PAUSE:
Age of
Conformity
Column
Civil Rights & the 1950s: Crash Course Video
Civil Rights Movement: Key Events in the 1950s
Novels That Could
Reflect These
Concepts:
1) Invisible Man: Published April 1952
Check for Understanding: School Name
Anytown, ST
MBA: May 20XX

School Name
Let’s Consider Anytown, ST
BS, Computer Science: May 20XX
This.. School Name
Anytown, ST
AdTech Lab: January 20XX
 PAUSE:
Civil Rights
Movement
Column
Final Activity