In The Artificial Silk Girl, Doris lives in a transitional period between the two world wars. As with all major unpheavals, World War I upset not just the political landscape of Germany (which became a republic after the fall of the monarchy during the war) and the economy (which plummeted during the Great Depression), but also the meaning of femininity and the relationships between men and women. Soon, Doris’s context will change again as the National Socialist Party rises to power and begins an era of fascism in Germany, bringing an end to the Weimar Republic. We see glimpses of that future, as well as references to the past, in Keun’s novel.
Your Unit 2 paper theme is the Age of Anxiety. Your job is to put text into context, using Keun’s novel, as well as other readings as appropriate, to understand this complicated era. What problem(s) does Keun put on display for us?
Old and new problems reach critical points as we make our way toward World War II. Read this text in the context of an era responding to one catastrophe and accelerating toward a second catastrophe. But remember, at the same time, that the past does not have to determine the present, and the future is not assured. The Interwar period is a time of experimentation, anxiety, and also eager anticipation. What is life like in that liminal space?
Process:
– Identify one or two problems that Doris exposes us to. Examples include women in the workforce, male/female relationships, postwar malaise and anxiety, crisis of masculinity, economic insecurity, classism, etc.
– Use Doris’s experience to flesh out those problems. Tie in context (in the form of secondary sources AND collaborating primary sources) to clarify and elaborate on those problems.
– Craft a unifying thesis statement that asserts that Keun’s novel teaches us about Problem X.
– Push your argument further to add depth to the analysis. WHY is it important that Keun wrote about that particular problem? Or HOW does she craft that problem in her particular voice as an author? Or other probing questions.
Details:
– Five double-spaced pages.
– Cite well. You should have nearly all of the bibliographical details you need to do proper citations. Please use Chicago or, if you must, MLA.
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