Legacy of the Great Depression

     The memory of the Great Depression is ingrained in American consciousness of a period of great suffering when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  Everything remembered of the 1930s in someway can never escape the mark of the depression.  Wars and other national tragedies are able to extrapolate patriotism and other optimistic elements but the dismal state of the country during this period can not be spun in any positive ways.  National unity declined and was largely a result of widespread national suffering. 
       For those who lived through it the Great Depression left an indelible mark, influences a generation’s outlook on the world.  The sad emptiness of the period influences many of America’s greatest artistic works.  The Grapes of Wrath has become one of the most celebrated American novels of all time.  Even lesser known novels like Waiting for Nothing were inspired by the loss of hope in this desperate era of American history.