[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-423655-105":59,"doc-detail-423655-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","on-literature-today-van-wyck-brooks-note","ON LITERATURE TODAY - VAN WYCK BROOKS - Note","","Speech text addressing American writers and literary tone, framing a shift from earlier confidence to a widespread cynicism between the world wars. Van Wyck Brooks contrasts writers’ “desperate unhappiness” and “life is a dark little pocket” outlook with later efforts to evade life, leading to denial of its importance and a “death-drive” tendency. He also critiques the turn toward technical novels and obscenity, arguing these choices defend weakness and endanger faith in a world worth living in.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/on-literature-today-van-wyck-brooks-note/423655/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/on-literature-today-van-wyck-brooks-note/423655.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Mary Man","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What main argument does Brooks make about modern American writers?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Brooks argues that many modern writers, especially between the world wars, express desperate unhappiness and cynicism, presenting life as hardly worth the trouble and treating reality as failure and defeat.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does Brooks describe the change that occurs after the threat of conquering force?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"He says writers of recent years have turned from their earlier backgrounds, “broken with their real life,” lived and written on the surface, evading life and denying its importance.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What does Brooks criticize about writers who rely on technical virtues?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"He criticizes their use of “technical virtues” to exalt the inferior over the great, defending weakness; he also warns that with these virtues they may destroy faith in a living world.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},423655,1790822233,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":36,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},7421720224475,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","ONLITERATURETODAYbyVan Wyck Brooksauthor of  \nTHE FLOWERING OF NEW ENGLANDNEW ENGLAND:INDIAN SUMMER然  \nspirited aeal,  trom America's most distinguished critic,to the writers of todey,toaeptthe challene of their world--t0 seekose and 2ssurance in man's troubled anddifficult existence —to find a sense of theheroic in the adventue f mankind.  \nThe modern moo of man  u mostowerful and influentiaI wites--amongthemHemingway,Wolfe,O'Neill,Dreiser,Farrell,Faulkner,Dos Passos,Eliot,Joyce —he asserts,is one of desperate unhappiness...Bent onrovingthat“1ife isa darklittle oket,”theypicture it as hardly worth the trouble...Their tone is cynical,bleak,hard-boiled,hard-bitten ...\"For them even Diogenes was he thin  in Dreisers phrese, of idleocking forces”  \nThe worl between two wars,Mr.Brookspointst,ha produced this cynical belief  that thely realitiesare failure ind deteat.Challengedbthe threat o conqueringorce,the writersof recent years have turned on their back-rounds,“broken with their roUp-1ife.”Roless,they have lived--and written-on thesurface.Evading life,they have ended by deny-ing its importance.In short,they represent akind of death-drive...  \nUnable to contribute to the faith of the livingthey havetaken refue in technicalnovet;Oin their cynical reaction they have pitched intoobscenity which seems to Brooks \"as childishas the prudery of Howells.\"...\"To exalt theinferior over the great in the name of theirtechnical virtues,\"he says,\"is a way of defend-ing their own weakness...And if,withteir technical virtues,they destry faith wil to make the worl wot ivingin,cannot let their influence go unchallenged.\"  \n(Continued on Flap Two)  \nS  \n100000  \n2019  \n# ON\n\nLITERATURETODAY  \n# VAN WYCK BROOKS\n\nHAS WRITTEN:  \nNEW ENGLAND:INDIAN SUMMER,I865-I915THE FLOWERING OF NEW ENGLANDTHE LIFE OF EMERSONTHE ORDEAL OF MARK TWAINTHE PILGRIMAGE OF HENRY JAMESEMERSON AND OTHERSTHREE ESSAYS ON AMERICAAmerica's Coming-of-AgeLetters and LeadershipThe Literary Life in AmericaSKETCHES IN CRITICISM  \nPublished by  \nE.P.DUTTON &CO.,INC.  \n\n|  | ON LITERATURE  \u003Cbr>TODAY  \u003Cbr>BY  \u003Cbr>VAN WYCK BROOKS  \u003Cbr>I94I  \u003Cbr>NEW YoRK  \u003Cbr>E.P.DUTTON &CO.,INC.   |  |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n\nCOPYRIGHT,I94I,  \nCONFERENCE ON SCIENCE,PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION IN THEIRRELATION TO THE DEMOCRATIC WAY OF LIFE,INC.  \nCOPYRIGHT,I94I  \nBY VAN WYCK BROOKS  \nALL RIGHTS RESERVED  \nPRINTED IN THE U.S.A.  \n●  \nFIRST EDITION  \nNOTE  \nThis address was delivered at the inaugurationof Dr.George N.Shuster as President of HunterCollege,New York,October ioth,I940.","cbCairziMz5Lo40R","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairziMz5Lo40R","pdf",1912736,"English","# On Literature Today\n## Modern writers and cynicism\n## Between the wars: broken with life\n## Technical novels and obscenity critique\n## Note: inauguration address details","[{\"question\":\"What main argument does Brooks make about modern American writers?\",\"answer\":\"Brooks argues that many modern writers, especially between the world wars, express desperate unhappiness and cynicism, presenting life as hardly worth the trouble and treating reality as failure and defeat.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Brooks describe the change that occurs after the threat of conquering force?\",\"answer\":\"He says writers of recent years have turned from their earlier backgrounds, “broken with their real life,” lived and written on the surface, evading life and denying its importance.\"},{\"question\":\"What does Brooks criticize about writers who rely on technical virtues?\",\"answer\":\"He criticizes their use of “technical virtues” to exalt the inferior over the great, defending weakness; he also warns that with these virtues they may destroy faith in a living world.\"}]","ON LITERATURE TODAY - VAN WYCK BROOKS - Note | PDF",1790631612,62]