Main Street and The Awakening

At the end of the 19th and also at the beginning of the 20th century several social and cultural changes took place that shaped American society. One of the most significant of them was the appearance of big cities, which resulted in the duality and led to the born of a new way thinking. In the new dimension small-town and big-city mentality could be distinguished. My thesis consists of four main chapters and several subchapters. I divided the first chapter into three parts. First, I write, briefly, about the changed conditions and circumstances that shaped the mentality of people. I also deal with social forces—like modern technology and machines—that played a central role because we can find these forces behind the acts of everyday people. American idealism was in the process of changing. The decline of the illusion of the perfection of society led to widespread disillusionment and at the turn of the 20th century social critics appeared who criticized society. Then, I introduce the main differences between idealized small towns and impersonal big cities. In the third part of the first chapter the specific natures of small towns can be seen, that is, the role such concepts as money, gossip, behavior, provincial mentality... (Introduction)egyetemiangol nyelv és irodalo