Modernism Part 2 - G10-18-19

Themes of modernism

alienation Alienation: a withdrawing or separation of a person from an object or position of former attachment (Merriam-Webster) Feeling disconnected, isolated, “alien” from others Reduction in individuality – People reduced to numbers/productivity Effect of industrialization Traditional communities disrupted and changed by a move into factory work; families no longer can connect as before Effect of the war War challenged sense of blind allegiance to nation Soldiers belong to a "lost generation" (Gertrude Stein) Freud: Close awareness of how one’s inner mind is unknowable and how hard it is to connect with other humans – you can’t even know yourself

Fragmentation to fragment: : to fall to pieces; to break up into fragments Fragmentation of reality Everything we thought we knew has been challenged/overturned/ proved wrong, so reality does not feel cohesive (put-together) anymore Effect of war Literal destruction of cities and landscapes–the world has literally been fragmented Effect of industrialization Traditional communities disrupted and changed by a move into factory work time is divided up into hours Assembly lines – duties are divided up

transformation to transform: a : to change in composition or structure b : to change the outward form or appearance of c : to change in character or condition Revolutionary Thinkers Marx, Darwin, and Freud transformed the way we think about the world Effect of industrialization Technology changed more rapidly than ever before “Make it New!” Let’s transform the texts and we know into something new Lots of reinterpretation of classical texts; blending different cultural styles together (not copying, but making them new)

despair despair: utter loss of hope Not Just Sadness Despair is not just sadness, but hopelessness Effect of industrialization Routine life, hard work, desperate conditions, lead to the thought, “What is the point?” Effect of the war Devastating destruction and loss of life Again – what is the point? Revolutionary Thinkers Darwin’s thought challenged traditional faith systems, which can be connected to ideas of meaninglessness of life

Search for truth truth: (1) : the body of real things, events, and facts (2) : the state of being the case (3) often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality In the face of despair… Well, what IS the point? What is true? What do we know? What is it all for? Truth is relative

Techniques of modernism

Modernism in Literature Embraced non-traditional syntax and forms Syntax = word order Challenged tradition Writers wanted to move beyond Realism and reflect a chaotic, fragmented world MC Escher

Literary Modernism – Techniques Setting: Urban landscapes Diversity in backgrounds and ideas vs. poverty and crime Lost in a nameless, faceless crowd Modernist characters Quest to understand and/or recreate themselves Despair, pessimism Try to live as meaningful as possible Loose reference to time Chronological order is vague/confusing. Time is hazy Characters on quest for self understanding The Persistence of Memory, 1931 - Salvador Dali

Literary Modernism - Techniques Stream of Consciousness From Joyce’s Ulysses a quarter after what an unearthly hour I suppose theyre just getting up in China now combing out their pigtails for the day well soon have the nuns ringing the angelus theyve nobody coming in to spoil their sleep except an odd priest or two for his night office the alarmlock next door at cockshout clattering the brains out of itself let me see if I can doze off 1 2 3 4 5 what kind of flowers are those they invented like the stars the wallpaper in Lombard street was much nicer the apron he gave me was like that something only I only wore it twice better lower this lamp and try again so that I can get up early

Literary Modernism -Techniques Stream of consciousness Discontinuous narrative Open form Juxtaposition Classical allusions Borrowing from cultures and other languages

Franz Kafka Kafka: a German Jew in Prague (Czechia / Czech Republic) Metamorphosis: Modernist novella https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkPR4Rcf4ww