Modernism 1910-1940

World War 1 American entered and fought with Romantic zeal on the war front and at home…

Effects of World War I Authors became more distrustful and less hopeful Human innocence was shattered with weaponry/machines that could rip human bodies apart

After the War It was supposed to be the “War to end all wars” New and better ways to kill more people Tanks, planes, bombs, chemicals, machine guns, flame throwers, grenades Germany, Russia and Britain suffered at about a 50% casualty rate; France was at 75%

Beginnings After WWI, young people were disillusioned and angry-- they questioned the existence of God.

Beginnings This “lost generation,” without patriotism, morals, or family structure, had no sense of identity.

Beginnings The economy boomed after WWI, and the middle class enjoyed prosperity and entertainment during the “Roaring Twenties.”

Beginnings New technologies of convenience: washing machines, telephones, refrigerators, stoves Cars allowed for quicker, more widespread travel These allowed for more free time, and the growth of entertainment industries Movies, plays, radio, amusement parks, vacation destinations, beach-fronts All of it could be bought with a new invention: CREDIT

Beginnings Despite Prohibition, alcohol was more widespread With the invention of the car come the invention of the backseat Fashions changed for women (bobbed hair, flapper dresses)

The Roaring 20’s Helped give birth to the Roaring 20’s Period marked by excess, dancing, jazz People were out to live carelessly and have fun at all costs Social and moral values drastically change

End of the Roaring 20s Ended the prosperous, madcap period of the 20’s Brought about the Great Depression

Themes and Main Ideas Writers during this period felt discontent with the American ideal There was a moral emptiness and defiance against authority and society A great deal of these emotions came from the loss and suffering resulting from World War I Uncertain Themes; readers forced to draw own conclusions

Values A break with tradition: defiance of traditional religious, political, and social views.

Values There is no absolute truth; all things are relative.

Values Life does not follow rules; it is chaotic.

Values The individual and inner strength are important (since nothing else can be trusted)

Modern Writing-- FORM Short Stories Novels Free-Verse Poetry

Modern Writing-- CHARACTERISTICS Allows for multiple meanings and interpretations

Modern Writing-- CHARACTERISTICS Nontraditional structures and forms Intertextuality (combining stories from different texts)

Modern Writing-- CHARACTERISTICS Features cultural diversity Blends and overlaps between fiction and nonfiction writing

Modern Writing-- CHARACTERISTICS Irony, playfulness, and black humor Distortion of time

Literary Techniques Fragmented Structure of Modernist Writings Lack of traditional story arc. Most riders did not give into the usual

Modern Writing-- IMPORTANT WRITERS Lorraine Hansberry: Play entitled A Raisin in the Sun Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby William Faulkner: “A Rose for Emily” Robert Frost: Poetry T.S. Eliot: The Waste Land John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath

Loraine Hansberry She was the first black woman to write a play performed on Broadway Her best known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of Black Americans living under racial segregation in Chicago. Hansberry's family had struggled against segregation, challenging a restrictive covenant and eventually provoking the Supreme Court case Hansberry v. Lee.

Fitzgerald An American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the classic writings of the Jazz Age He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s

William Faulkner Faulkner is one of the most celebrated writers in American literature especially when it comes to Southern literature Though his work was published as early as 1919, and largely during the 1920s and 1930s Faulkner was relatively unknown until receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature

T.S. Eliot was an essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, and "one of the twentieth century's major poets“ He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948, "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry“ Eliot attracted widespread attention for his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915) which is seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement It was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language, including: The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday (1930), and Four Quartets (1945)

John Steinbeck An American author of 27 books, including 16 novels, 6 non-fiction books, and 5 collections of short stories Most of Steinbeck's work is set in southern and central California His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists Most famous for Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath

How It Affected Us Modern Art Feminism Greater appreciation of cultural and racial diversity

Modernism Review Sense of disillusionment and loss in faith in the “American Dream”, independence, self-reliant, individual will triumph Emphasis on bold experimentation in style and form Interest in the inner workings of the human mind (ex: stream of consciousness)