The Time Of The Toad;: A Study Of Inquisition In America, And Two Related Pamphlets (Perennial Library, P 268),Used

The Time Of The Toad Is A Searing Classic About Political Repression In America By The Legendary Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. In The Early 1940S, Trumbo And Many Other Artists, Writers, And Intellectuals Who Shared Antiwar Sympathies And Antifascist Ideals Were Active Members Of The American Communist Party, But Their Ideology Did Not Go Unnoticed. In 1947, During The Era Of Joseph Mccarthy And The Red Scare In America, He And Nine Other Hollywood Screenwriters (The Hollywood Ten), Were Called To Testify Before The U.S. Governments House Committee On Unamerican Activities Commission. Trumbo And Others Who Refused To Cooperate Were Charged With Contempt; He Later Served Nearly A Year In Prison And Was Blacklisted As A Screenwriter For The Following Decade. The Time Of The Toad Explores Both The Contempt Citations And The Greater Philosophical Issues They Raised For The Nation. The Toad Of The Title Is In Reference To An 1890S Article By Mile Zola In Which The Animal In Question Serves As A Rhetorical Metaphor For How To Survive Living In A Repressive Sociopolitical Environment. Zola Suggested That You Have To Swallow A Live Toad Each Day To Immunize Yourself To The Moral Indifference Of The Society Around You. The Analogy Was As Apt During Trumbos Time In The Midtwentieth Century, And Unfortunately Is Still Relevant And Meaningful. The Time Of The Toad Remains A Powerful Testament To The Courage Of Trumbos Principled Stand, And A Timeless Treatise On The Value Of Free Speech And Thought. Readers Interested In Related Titles From Dalton Trumbo Will Also Want To Eclipse ( 1635610982), Eclipse ( 1635610982), Eclipse ( 1635610982 ).