The Plastic Age

Marks, Percy, 1891-1956Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 406K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Plastic Age by Percy MarksAuthor: Marks, Percy, 1891-1956,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 15, 2005

Editor's review

The Plastic Age is a novel by Percy Marks written in the 1920s. The "plastic age" in the title does not refer to the material but is a metaphor for the plasticity and malleability of youth culture at the time. The work focuses on American college campus life, depicting young students' confusion and growth in their studies, social lives, relationships, and future choices, bearing a distinct mark of its era. As a free eBook from Project Gutenberg, its value lies first in accessibility: readers can read this novel reflecting American social mores and higher education around World War I at no cost, offering reference value for understanding the youth mentality of the "Jazz Age." The text is in English and of moderate length, suitable as extensive reading material for English literature. It is best read as a novel of social manners rather than a tightly plotted popular story, with attention to the conflicts of values revealed in characters' dialogue. Because it was written early, some ideas are distant from today's readers; reading with historical context awareness allows one to appreciate the atmosphere of the era while reflecting on the enduring theme of youth growth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American campus and youth culture of the 1920s
Learners wishing to practice extensive reading of English literature with free public-domain eBooks
Readers studying American literature and social history who need primary texts

Not a good fit for

Contemporary fiction readers expecting strong plot and fast-paced narrative
Beginners whose English reading ability is not yet sufficient for full-length English novels
Readers seeking systematic literary criticism or study guides

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to grasp the character relationships and campus background, then proceed chapter by chapter; there is no need to look up every new word.
While reading, note changes in characters' attitudes toward studies, social life, and the future to better understand the title's metaphor.
Read alongside background material on contemporary American society and culture to enhance the sense of historical context.
If used for English learning, summarize each chapter in two or three sentences after finishing it to check comprehension.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does "plastic age" in the title refer to plastic material?

No. Here "plastic" means pliable and easily shaped, referring to the state in which young people's characters and ideas are not yet fixed during their formative years, not to modern plastic products. Understanding this helps grasp the book's observational perspective on youth.

Is this book suitable for English beginners?

Not really for absolute beginners or elementary learners. It is an early twentieth-century English novel whose sentence patterns and vocabulary carry period features, and it is fairly long. It is more suitable for readers with intermediate or higher English reading ability who can accept literary narration.

What should I note when reading it as a public-domain eBook?

The book is provided free by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain text. Layout and annotations may differ across devices, so choose a clearly formatted version; public-domain books usually lack modern introductions, so readers need to look up background information themselves when questions arise.

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About the author

Marks, Percy, 1891-1956 Author · American · 1891–1956

Percy Marks (1891–1956) was an American novelist and playwright. Public information about his life is limited, and the main facts that can be confirmed concern his identity as a writer and his representative work. His best-known novel, The Plastic Age, is set in American college life in the 1920s and portrays young students' experiences and growth on campus, offering a fictional view of university culture and social manners of the period. As both a novelist and a playwright, Marks worked in more than one literary form and practiced both narrative fiction and dramatic writing. Because surviving sources are scarce, his education, the details of his career, and the overall critical assessment of his work cannot be established with confidence and are not speculated upon here. On the whole, he left his mark on American literature through The Plastic Age, which remains a literary sample for observing campus life in the 1920s.