The Birth of American Modernism 1915 1945 Definition

The Birth of American Modernism (1915 -1945)

Definition Robert Wohl – “Modernism is a response by clusters of intellectuals and artists to the converging processes of industrialization” p In Other Words… p n Modernism is the reaction of artists and writers to the new society formed because of industrialization.

Literary Modernism: 1915 -1945 Aspects - high degree of experimentation. characters most often alienated people searching unsuccessfully for meaning and love in their lives themes pulled from real life.

AFTER THE GREAT WAR The devastation of World War I brought about an end to the sense of optimism that characterized the years leading up to the war. p This more negative, or realistic, view of the world, and the technological advances, gave birth to Modernism p

Value Differences in the Modern World Pre-Modern World (Early 20 th Century) Ordered Chaotic Meaningful Futile Optimistic Pessimistic Stable Fluctuating Faith Loss of faith Morality/Values Collapse of Morality/Values Clear Sense of Identity Confused Sense of Identity and Place in the World

PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY: A Brief Overview of the Intellectual Currents which Influenced Modernism

Charles Darwin - Darwinism p Evolution as such. This is theory that the world is not constant or recently created nor perpetually cycling, but rather is steadily changing, and that organisms are transformed in time. * TRANSFORMATION* p Common descent. This is theory that every group of organisms descended from a common ancestor, and that all groups of organisms, including animals, plants, and microorganisms, ultimately go back to a single origin of life on earth. *IF WE ALL DESCEND FROM A COMMON ANCESTOR, WE ARE ALL THE SAME* p Gradualism. According to this theory, evolutionary change takes place through the gradual change of populations and not by the sudden production of new individuals that represent a new type. * WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO TRANSFORM AND CHANGE TO SURVIVE* p Natural selection. According to this theory, evolutionary change comes about through the abundant production of genetic variation in every generation. The relatively few individuals who survive, owing to a particularly well-adapted combination of inheritable characters, give rise to the next generation. *TRANSFORMATION AND ADAPATION EQUALS SURVIVAL*

Existentialist Philosophy Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche p Emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will. p * Connection to modernism – individual finding themselves through their own will in connection to society*

Sigmund Freud - Freudian Theory p p p Psychoanalysis; Psychological determinism; Forces inside the self impact human behavior; Sexuality and repression Examines the unconscious motives and fantasies of authors and/or the characters. What do the characters want and lack? What motivates them and why? Freud’s theories on human sexuality, and the ego, id, and superego are fruitful tools to apply to literature

Karl Marx - Marxism p p Marx was a proponent of the classless society. He attacked the elites (bourgeoisie) and theorized a political and economic system that would eliminate the hierarchical structure in society. It would bring equality, brotherhood and liberty to societies. This view has profound implications in aesthetics, especially in literature. Up until Marx the novel could well be seen as an elitist product, dealing with a certain kind of protagonist and a certain kind of language, voice and perspective. Post-Marx, and indeed post-Nietzsche, the novel ruptures. . . art itself ruptures. We start to see literature appearing that gives voice to characters and experiences from society at large. Society is attacked, man is attacked! All because suddenly, people are starting to ask the question. . why THIS kind of society? Why THIS kind of man? Marx' ideas inspire a generation of avant-gardists, modernists and bohemians to defy artistic conventions. . . to write their self, to write experience. . to conceive of writing in entirely new ways.

Major Influences p WWI n n 32 countries and claimed the lives of over 20 million people Signals an end to idealism and ushered in an era marked by hedonism (self satisfaction) , political corruption, and ruthless business practices p The n n n Jazz Age / Roaring Twenties “the greatest, gaudiest spree in history” (FSF) Young people rebelling against past + tradition Experimentation with fashion

Major Influences p Prohibition n Alcohol was made illegal Bootleggers= sold alcohol anyway Speakeasies= where alcohol was served despite prohibition p New n n n (1920 -1933) Era for Women The right to vote (19 th am. ) Flapper= “an emancipated young woman who embraced new fashions and urban attitudes of the day” More women working

Major Influences p The n n n Stock Market crashed in 1929 Banks failed, businesses floundered, workers lost job; 25% unemployed Farmers ruined and went West to find work. Tough times. Not many jobs and too many people. p The n Great Depression New Deal (FDR) New Deal programs: relief for the hungry and homeless, recovery for agriculture and business, and various economic reforms to prevent such a severe depression from occurring again.

Themes of Modern Literature p Collectivism versus individualism p Disillusionment – a feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be. p Violence and alienation p Decadence and decay p Loss and despair p Breakdown of social norms and cultural sureties p Race and gender relations p The American Dream

Urbanscapes p p Life in the city differs from life on the farm; writers began to explore city life. Conflicts begin to center on society.

Literary elements p Juxtaposition: Two images that are otherwise not commonly brought together appear side by side or structurally close together, thereby forcing the reader to stop and reconsider the meaning of the text through the contrasting images, ideas, motifs, etc. For example, “He was slouched alertly” is a juxtaposition. p Stream of Consciousness Narration: A narrative technique that gives the impression of a mind at work, jumping from one observation, sensation, or reflection to the next. These varied elements are usually expressed in a flow of words without conventional transitions. p

Literary elements p Stream of Consciousness in E. B. White's "The Door" "Everything (he kept saying) is something it isn't. And everybody is always somewhere else. Maybe it was the city, being in the city, that made him feel how queer everything was and that it was something else. Maybe (he kept thinking) it was the names of the things. The names were tex and frequently koid. Or they were flex and oid or they were duroid (sani) or flexsan (duro), but everything was glass (but not quite glass) and the thing that you touched (the surface, washable, crease-resistant) was rubber, only it wasn't quite rubber and you didn't quite touch it but almost. The wall, which was glass but turned out on being approached not to be a wall, it was something else, it was an opening or doorway-and the doorway (through which he saw himself approaching) turned out to be something else, it was a wall. And what he had eaten not having agreed with him. " (opening paragraph of "The Door" by E. B. White. The New Yorker, 1939)

American Literary Modernism: MAJOR AUTHORS

Activity #1: Read Background on T. S. Eliot Read “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” Analyze poem using a) characteristics of modernism and b) Using Freudian theory T. S. Eliot

Focus on Jazz Age and Great Depression Examination of American materialism Exploration of the American dream Major works: The Great Gatsby (1925), Tender is the Night (1934) F. Scott Fitzgerald

What is Today’s American Dream? “American modernist writers both echoed and challenged the American Dream. They constituted a broader, more resonant voice than ever before, resulting in a second American renaissance. With all the changes, however, writers continued to ask fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of human existence. ”

F. Scott Fitzgerald 1896 - 1940 "Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy. "

Summary p p p Wrote five novels and numerous short stories during the 1920 s and 1930 s. Portrayed extravagance and carelessness of the Jazz Age. Authored The Great Gatsby, often called the greatest American novel of the 20 th century.

p p Pretty Southern belle whom Fitzgerald met while stationed in Alabama Energetic and imaginative Turned Fitzgerald’s first proposal down Later married and moved to New York

Symbols of the Jazz Age Attractive and charming p Legendary partiers p Artistic ambition p Drinking and recklessness p Romance and tragedy p

Fitzgerald in the 1930 s Debt, depression, poor health, drinking p Died of heart attack in 1940 at 44 p Zelda died in a hospital fire in 1947 p Work revived after his death p

p What are the consequences of the carelessness that results from wealth and social power? p To what extent can a person change his/her social status through the acquisition of money? p What is the importance of striving to accomplish a lifelong dream? p What are the consequences of failure to accomplish a lifelong dream?

p p p Long Island, 1920 s Jay Gatsby – young millionaire with mysterious past Gatsby throws glamorous parties for high society Gatsby wants to reunite with Daisy, his long lost love, who is married to millionaire Tom Buchanan Narrated by Nick Carraway, a young stock trader who lives in a small place next to Gatsby

Activity # 2 p Watch Baz Luhrman’s “The Great Gatsby