THE TRANSFORMATION OF DISCONTENT: REINTERPRETING “ANGRY YOUNG MEN” THEMES IN 21ST-CENTURY GLOBAL LITERATURE
Keywords:
Keywords: Angry Young Men, contemporary literature, globalization, class conflict, identity, rebellion, technological alienation, masculinityAbstract
Abstract: This extended thesis explores the evolution and reinterpretation of the mid-20th-century British "Angry Young Men" literary movement within the context of contemporary global literature. Originating in post-World War II Britain, the Angry Young Men articulated discontent with entrenched class systems, political stagnation, and the alienation of the working class. This paper examines how those foundational themes of rebellion, class conflict, and identity crisis are being revived and transformed in the 21st century by authors such as Mohsin Hamid[4], Aravind Adiga[2], Dave Eggers[3], and Ocean Vuong[6]. These modern voices adapt the core concerns of their predecessors to address global issues, including economic inequality, technological alienation, intersectional identity, and postcolonial realities. Through comparative literary analysis, the paper demonstrates how the discontent of the mid-20th century persists in reconfigured forms, resonating deeply with modern readers across diverse cultures.
References
1. Amis, Kingsley. Lucky Jim. New York: Viking Press, 1954.
2. Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger. New York: Free Press, 2008.
3. Eggers, Dave. The Circle. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.
4. Hamid, Mohsin. Exit West. London: Hamish Hamilton, 2017.
5. Osborne, John. Look Back in Anger. London: Faber and Faber, 1956.
6. Vuong, Ocean. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. New York: Penguin Press, 2019.
7. Schweblin, Samanta. Fever Dream. London: Oneworld Publications, 2017.
8. Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.
9. Bauman, Zygmunt. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000.
10. Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. Epistemology of the Closet. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.
11. Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978.
12. Thompson, E. P. The Making of the English Working Class. New York: Vintage Books, 1963.
13. Hall, Stuart. “Cultural Identity and Diaspora.” In Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader, edited by Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman, 392–403. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.
