Why They Married

Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 12K words
Chapters: 2

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.Why They Married by James Montgomery FlaggAuthor: Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 24, 2007

Editor's review

Why They Married is a work by James Montgomery Flagg, released as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg and classified under American and Canadian literature. Its appeal lies not in a convoluted plot but in its subject: the title asks directly why people marry, making marital motives the object of observation. It bears clear marks of its era, letting readers see how marriage and courtship were talked about and what tastes prevailed in society at the time. Flagg was known for illustration and cartooning, so beyond its text the book is often used as supplementary material for understanding his creative profile. As an English-language public-domain title, it is flexible in length and reading method, suited to fragmented reading as well as to English reading practice or as corroborating evidence for social and cultural history. One caveat: its ideas belong to the era in which it was written and are distant from contemporary discussions of marriage and romance.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in marriage and romance topics and early American popular writing
Readers who want to know the literary work of the illustrator Flagg
Learners who need short English public-domain material for reading practice
Readers who like fragmented ebook reading and jotting down excerpts

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking guidance from contemporary psychology of marriage and romance
Readers who read only Chinese and do not want to engage with the English original
Readers looking for a full-length narrative with strong dramatic conflict

Reading tips

Read it as a period text and note how it phrases motives for marriage.
Start with the table of contents or the opening and pick chapters that interest you; there is no need to read it all the way through.
Jot down points that differ from contemporary views on marriage and romance for later comparison.
If using it for language learning, read a short section each day and collect common vocabulary for talking about marriage and romance.

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

What theme does this book discuss?

Judging from the title and the material, the book centers on why people marry. It is a public-domain work under American literature, offering observations and statements about marital motives from its era rather than a contemporary guide to marriage and romance.

Who is the author, James Montgomery Flagg?

The material identifies him only as the author of this book, with dates 1877 to 1960. No personal experiences beyond what the material records are added; readers can treat the book as an entry point for understanding his written work.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can be used as English public-domain reading material; the language is the English original. Whether it suits you depends on your level. Try the first few pages; if vocabulary and sentence structures are too heavy, switch to selected reading or read with a dictionary.

What are the advantages of reading the electronic edition?

Published by Project Gutenberg, it is a free ebook, convenient for searching, excerpting, and adjusting font size on a computer or e-reader, and suited to reading in spare moments and taking reading notes.

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About the author

Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960 Author · American · 1877–1960

James Montgomery Flagg (1877–1960) was an American illustrator. He is best known for his Uncle Sam recruiting poster created during World War I, an image that became one of the most recognizable visual symbols of American wartime propaganda. Flagg's illustration style was direct and forceful, using simple compositions and vivid expressions to convey a call to action; his work bridged commercial illustration and public messaging, leaving a lasting influence on American illustration and advertising visuals in the twentieth century. The library holds one work by him, Why They Married, which deals with the subject of marriage, though public information on its specific content is limited. Overall, Flagg is remembered as an illustrator and image-maker, and his poster work is often regarded as a classic example of wartime propaganda art, with recognition among Chinese readers as well.