Voices of America: T.S. Eliot, Carl Sandburg, and James Baldwin
The evolution of American writing is most prominent during the life-altering events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from the rapid shift to industrialism to the immense threat and presence of war; the consequences these experiences had on Americans are overwhelmingly present in the literature of the period. The changes that were occurring in the lives of Americans led to major cultural and societal shifts, ultimately putting the core of the American spirit to the test. American literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries can be defined as a written reaction to the economic, wartime, and social shifts in America as citizens knew them, as well as an accurate representation of the enduring nature of the American people. The writing of American authors during these centuries is just a piece of the progression of literature throughout the existence of writing; the world is always in a state of change, providing authors with new material and experiences to write about. American authors T.S. Eliot, Carl Sandburg, and James Baldwin contribute to the natural progression and evolution of American literature through their writing, their works being reflective of disillusionment, the desire for community, the undying American spirit, and the experiences of Black Americans, ultimately reimagining and evolving literature for modern America.
T.S. Eliot, an influential writer during the Modernist movement, uses his literary voice in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to comment on the impact of the changing social structures and rise of industrialism, present from the nineteenth century into the twentieth. In this infamous poem, Eliot brings to light the disillusionment and isolation Americans were experiencing, as well as the widespread longing for genuine human connection. Due to industrialization and the prominence of city life, everything in Eliot’s America was becoming increasingly materialistic and impersonal. He begins his poem with the words, “Let us go then, you and I” (Eliot 763), in which the narrator immediately creates a personal connection with the reader. This connection made between narrator and reader plays a significant role in why Eliot’s poem resonated with so many Americans after its publication. The use of the term “you” throughout the poem provides readers with a sense of communion, with journalist James Haba observing, “For, if each of us is the ‘you’ spoken to, and if we acknowledge that identity, then Prufrock has, in some way, reached out and touched us” (Haba 54). In an America that has seemingly lost the art of genuine human connection and been replaced by artificial distraction, the intimacy Eliot creates with his readers in his poem is powerful. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” brought recognition to the disillusionment the American people felt in their friendships and relationships in the twentieth century.
Throughout Eliot’s poem, the narrator observes the lack of genuinely meaningful interactions and an emphasis on materialism. He witnesses artificial conversation, stating, “In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo” (Eliot 764). The narrator sees women coming into the room and leaving it, showing the repetitiveness of meaningless actions and a lack of purpose. They are discussing Michelangelo, an artist of great importance, and showing that women desire conversations that make them appear intellectual rather than talking about their own lives. Not only does this show the absence of meaningful connection in friendships throughout early twentieth-century America, but it also reveals to readers the emphasis on public image and the social norm of curating a facade of high social status to gain others’ respect. Nearing the end of the poem, Eliot writes “I grow old…I grow old…” (Eliot 766), showing that these efforts towards materialistic and superficial goals essentially amount to nothing, because at the time of their deaths, people will only remember the real, genuine moments and connections they had in their lives. Through “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, Eliot is a strong, unafraid American-born author who speaks for the average, twentieth-century disillusioned citizen who feels confined by social normalizations, while also longing for authenticity.
Another meaningful voice that has contributed to the evolution of American literature through his comments on the perseverance of the American spirit through challenging times is Carl Sandburg. Sandburg, being the son of a Swedish immigrant, is a living example of the twentieth-century American dream. Because of his family’s background and personal experiences, he recognized the value in his fellow hardworking Americans and their ability to adapt and persevere when confronted with difficulty. These ideas are reflected in Sandburg’s poem, “Chicago”, in which he comments on the strength and endurance of people who live in a city that so many perceive as crime-ridden and nothing more than dangerous. Sandburg describes Chicago as the “City of the Big Shoulders” (Sandburg 705) and a city that experiences “Building, breaking, and rebuilding” (Sandburg 706). He knows that there are corrupt people and brokenness in the city, but there are also people of great strength and perseverance who make the good parts outweigh the bad. What makes people living in Chicago unique is that, whenever everything falls apart and they face tragedy, they rebuild and try again. Before Sandburg, “Chicago had not told a story, written a song, or painted a picture” (Boynton 611), making his focus on the city influential in changing Americans’ perspectives of the city. Additionally, Sandburg played a vital role in bringing the city of Chicago into the literary world and to the forefront of American art. In “Chicago”, Sandburg is giving recognition to the fighting American spirit of city-goers, as well as the abundant amount of good present in America, despite the obvious bad.
James Baldwin, an African American writer who faced racial oppression, used his writing to speak for Black America in the literary world, commenting on disillusionment, the hardships faced by African Americans, and the importance of community throughout the mid-twentieth century in his short story “Sonny’s Blues.” Baldwin’s focus on the African American experience is representative of a key literary evolution: America’s recognition of marginalized communities’ voices. Baldwin reveals intense disillusionment through the character of Sonny. He deals with rejection and disappointment from his family, drug addiction, financial struggles, and systematic racial oppression in twentieth-century America. Whenever confronted by his brother, the narrator, about not desiring a serious, stable career to support his future, Sonny says, “I think about my future, I think about it all the time” (Baldwin 1288). Sonny’s future is always at the forefront of his mind, not only because he wants to pursue a career as a musician, but also because of the obstacles to success he faces as a Black American. His brother, despite having a respectable career as a schoolteacher, can still only afford to live in the housing projects similar in his hometown. Despite him being a victim of societal and economic restraints as much as Sonny is, “the narrator doesn’t want himself to feel involved” (Reilly 57), showing that he isn’t nearly as aware or disturbed by the economic gap Black people fall victim to as Sonny is. During the mid-twentieth century, much of Black America was facing a cycle of poverty that seemed inescapable because of the segregation barriers in place, preventing Black people from receiving equal pay or job opportunities to their white counterparts. Through “Sonny’s Blues,” Baldwin draws attention to Black America’s inequality of opportunity, which should not exist in America, a country founded on equality for all.
Other topics Baldwin addresses in “Sonny’s Blues” are the desire and importance of community, as well as the perseverant American spirit, similar to how Eliot and Sandburg did in their works, continuing the natural progression of American literature through time. For Sonny, someone who felt isolated from his family and fell victim to addiction, his music community is vital in his life, for it serves as a space for healing and self-expression. The people at the nightclub respect him, one telling Sonny’s brother, “you got a real musician in your family” (Baldwin 1297), revealing that Sonny has built a network of support for his career aspirations outside his family. The italicization of “your” in the text has significance in that the person is emphasizing that Sonny is the narrator’s family and blood, and that he should have the same respect for him as the people at the nightclub do. While Eliot’s poem shows the isolation that occurs without genuine communion, Baldwin’s short story shows the support and relationships that can be developed within a strong community. When Sonny plays the blues at the nightclub, he puts his entire being into playing his instrument. While Sonny plays the piano, the narrator observes that, “Sonny moved, deep within, exactly like someone in torment” (Baldwin 1298). Although Sonny is experiencing mental health struggles and facing adversity that feels much bigger than him alone, he turns it into a form of creative expression and uses his instrument as a way to endure his suffering, ultimately highlighting his enduring American spirit. Baldwin uses the character of Sonny to show his readers that, although Black people were not treated as equals to whites in the mid-twentieth century, they are as human as everyone else and embody the American spirit through perseverance despite adversity.
In Conclusion, T.S. Eliot, Carl Sandburg, and James Baldwin are American authors who played key roles in progressing American literature through their commentary on topics such as the widespread disillusionment of the American people, the importance of genuine companionship, the strength of the American spirit, and the struggles of Black Americans, making their impact powerful on American literature and literary history as a whole. These authors lived in an era of constant change, from the nineteenth into the twentieth century, experiencing the rise of industrialism, the effects of war, and shifts in social structures and norms, events that directly impacted the literature of the period. Americans wanted to read stories that they could find themselves in; something that Eliot, Sandburg, and Baldwin made possible in their individual works. American literature is forever evolving, changing with society and culture, reflecting the experiences of people from all kinds of backgrounds. The literary works of Eliot, Sandburg, and Baldwin drew attention to important issues in America and continued the progression of social commentary in literature produced before them. All three authors leave behind a legacy of influential works with enduring messages reflective of the eras in which they lived in, establishing unique voices for themselves in American literary history.
Works Cited
Eliot, T. S. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. 1915. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1865 to the Present, Shorter 10th ed., edited by Robert S. Levine, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 763-766.
Haba, James C. “‘Till Human Voices Wake Us and We Drown’: Community in ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.’” Modern Language Studies, vol. 7, no. 1, 1977, pp. 53–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3194154. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
Sandburg, Carl. Chicago. 1914. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1865 to the Present, Shorter 10th ed., edited by Robert S. Levine, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 705–706.
Boynton, Percy H. “American Authors of Today: IV. The Voice of Chicago: Edgar Lee Masters and Carl Sandburg.” The English Journal, vol. 11, no. 10, 1922, pp. 610–20. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/802916. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” In The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1865 to the Present, Shorter 10th Edition, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 1277–1300.
Reilly, John M. “‘Sonny’s Blues’: James Baldwin’s Image of Black Community.” Negro American Literature Forum, vol. 4, no. 2, 1970, pp. 56–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3041352. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
Pensworth 