Socialism in Early 20th Century American Literature (thesis)

Abstract

. . . But I needed to know more in order to understand why someone who called himself a communist or a socialist would turn on friends and neighbors who called themselves something else. So I set out to discover what Socialism is to some other specific people and writers that I admire, and in so doing, perhaps get a better idea for socialism and its ramifications. And since I now live in America, and Soviet communism is no longer a threat to the world, or me, I wanted to understand the word “socialism” within the context American literature, American Society, and American Jewry. The three chapters of this thesis explore socialism in early 20th century American literature in order to address the relationship between words and actions—ideas and consequences—that almost killed my family. [From Introduction]