1. Thomas Wolfe and the Twentieth Century The Framework for Wolfe’s Autobiographical Fiction

2. Who was Thomas Wolfe? Fun Fact: Thomas Wolfe was very tall, growing up to 6’6 ½ ” ! ● North Carolina’s most famous author! ● Born October 3, 1900 in Asheville.

3. What Kind of Books Did He Write? ● Thomas Wolfe was famous for writing“autobiographical fiction,” meaning he took experiences from his own life and used them in his fiction. ● His most famous novel was Look Homeward, Angel which uses stories of his childhood to tell a “coming of age” tale.

4. What topics did Wolfe write about? ● His feelings of loneliness as a child and adult. ● Changes in society and the concerns of those around him. ● Fictional elements of drama, romance, and humor added for extra effect. Fun Fact: Wolfe was not only popular in the United States, but in Europe too. He was especially popular in Germany!

5. From Farms to Factories ● As Wolfe wrote about the world in the 1920s to 1930s, America’s population was shifting from mostly farmers in the country to factory workers in big cities. ● New technology made the world move faster, from making goods in factories to moving them in trains and automobiles. Trains were a symbol of the shift from farming to industry Everything from clothing to furniture was made in factories like this one

6. World War I and the Great Depression ● With the new weapons used during World War I, many Americans noticed the darker side of this new technology. ● Wolfe lived during the Great Depression, when many people lost their jobs and the economy suffered. ● These two events would create feelings of disappointment and frustration in American society, which is illustrated in literature of the day. Tanks were an example of new technology being used for war People lined up for food during the Great Depression

7. World War I and the Great Depression Cont. Thomas Wolfe writing about his experiences and thoughts in a cabin near Asheville, 1937. These feelings of disappointment led authors like Wolfe to focus on the thoughts of lives of individuals in their writing, rather than society in general. Writers from the American South also produced work that commented on the present, but also looked back at the less industrial past.

8. All of this sets the stage for... Thomas Wolfe’s short story, “The Far and the Near”