Modernism refers to the bold new experimental styles and forms that swept the arts during the first part of the twentieth century.

Modernism reflects a loss of faith in traditional values and beliefs, including the American Dream.

The American

Dream

America is aNew Eden, a “promised

land” of Beauty,

unlimitedResources, And endless

opportunities.

Progress is a good thing, and we can

optimistically

expect life to keep

getting better

and better.The independent, self-reliant

individual will triumph. Everything is possible for the person who places

trust in his or her own powers and potential.

Events of the early twentieth century brought a loss of innocence and a strong disillusionment with tradition. These events included:

1. World War 1 (1914-1918) and World War II (1941-1945), which resulted in destruction on a scale never before seen

2. The Great Depression that followed the 1929 crash of the New York stock market

Disillusionment: to free from illusion or false ideas; to take away ideals or idealism of and make disappointed, bitter, etc.

European modernist painters such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso explored new ways to see and represent reality.

In the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russians adopted socialism as the new system of government. Socialism was in direct opposition to the American system of capitalism.

Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, introduced new insight into the workings of the subconscious mind.

The 1919 Prohibition Law led to bootlegging and ushered in the Jazz Age.

In 1920, women in the U.S.A. won the right to vote.

New experiments with form and technique in both poetry and prose.

A new kind of hero who is flawed and disillusioned yet honorable and courageous

Questioning of traditional beliefs and social structures

Characteristics of Modernism Literature

Modernism is marked by a strong and intentional break with tradition. This break includes a strong reaction against established religious, political, and social views.

Modernists believe the world is created in the act of perceiving it; that is, the world is what we say it is.

Modernists do not subscribe to absolute truth. All things are relative.

Modernists feel no connection with history or institutions. Their experience is that of alienation, loss, and despair.

Modernists champion the individual and celebrate inner strength.

Modernists believe life is unordered. Modernists concern themselves with the sub-

conscious.

Post-War World

WWI destroyed America’s confidence in itself and its “superior” and “more evolved” civilization (remember Social Darwinism?)

Disillusionment is what many felt toward nations, governments, values, and social institutions (like the church)

Existentialism

A philosophy The world seemed absurd, hopeless,

and did not make sense. Human thoughts express confusion

and disorientation.

The Arts

This confusion and hopelessness showed in the arts.

Modern Art developed, which often does not have a theme or “point” but just tries to express a feeling.

Artists tried to display, through art, that the world was absurd.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso This painting was created in response to the bombing

of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.

Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians.

Effects of the War

Similar to after the Black Death:› Some became hedonistic (self-

indulgent) and tried to live it up› They often practiced escapism—

using drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. to escape the realities of life.

› Some turned to traditional values and tried to turn to the past

American Modernist challenged the American Dream, but they also retained some of its ideals.› The ideal of self-reliance persisted. › Writers such as Hemingway still envisioned the

American landscape as a kind of Eden.

Regardless of their experiments with literary form, writers still continued to ask basic, universal questions about the meaning and purpose of our existence.

Central Focus of Modernism

Based on these notes, how would you summarize the central focus of Modernism?

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think a period of major cultural changes led to innovations in literature?

2. What do you think of when you hear the word hero?3. Consider a flawed hero and a hero who has no

faults or doubts. Which one do you think is more heroic? Explain.

4. Give an example of an action hero or heroine in movies? What type of hero are they like—flawed or perfect? Explain.

5. Explain how the Modern version of a hero is different.

6. Do you think self-reliance is still an important value in American life today? Explain.