The great depression virtually silenced the literary world; almost no important literature or literary movements came out of this period. true or false?

completely true
partly true—no new movements began during this time, but some important literary works were published.
partly true—a new movement replaced the harlem renaissance movement, but it did not produce any important literature.
completely false

I think the answer is B. 

This question, while you have a set of available answers, is somewhat up for interpretation. The Great Depression was part of the Modernism period in America (1910 to 1945). A new group of writers was born after WWI, but it did not necessarily replace the Harlem Renaissance as these two served completely different purposes. 

Taking into consideration that after WWI the nation was struggling hard, people turned to fiction (in radio, T.V. and paperback) as a form of escape. This gave the Lost Generation it's boom as writers part of this category wrote novels that gravitated around themes of the post-war era. Many of the best novels of American Literature came out of this group, with The Great Gatsby considered the epitome of the American Novel. 

While many agree with the fact that this was not a major movement, many disagree with the statement that no important works were created during the great depression.

That being said, if you had to choose one, the best answers would be options (no one option is completely accurate):
* Partly true—No new movements began during this time, but some important literary works were published.
* Partly true—A new movement replaced the Harlem Renaissance movement, but it did not produce any important literature. 

The answer to this is false