Criss Cross

Criss Cross is set in the 1970s in Middle America, although the exact year and location are never stated. The culture of the 1970s plays an important role in the novel’s mood, conflicts, and themes. The decade was defined by sweeping cultural, social, and political change. The end of the 1960s marked the start of “a new tumultuous era […] filled with big events” (“Important Events of the 1970s.” Historic Newspapers). Such events included: the Vietnam War and concurrent Anti-War Movement as news of the death and destruction of the war reached the American public; the end of the Civil Rights Movement following the passing of the Civil Rights Act and the assassination of Martin Luther King; the Gay Liberation Movement, which involved nationwide marches and protests; the Watergate Scandal in which President Nixon’s campaign team was found to have planted listening devices in the Democratic National Committee headquarters, leading to a reduction of trust in the Republican party; the Cold War during which rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union caused widespread suspicion in the West of left-leaning politics; Roe v. Wade which made pregnancy termination a constitutional right; and the emergence of music trends such as punk and disco.