Modernist-American-literature

AnIntroductiontoModernistLiterature1.HistoricalBackground2.DefinitionofAmericanModernism3.DevelopmentofModernism4.Characteristicsofmodernism5.Differencesbetweenmodernismandrealism1.Historicalbackground1)TheFirstWorldWar,believedbyAmericanstobe“thewartoendwars”,wasthefirstthatAmericahadeverfoughtonforeignsoilanditledtobitterdisillusionment.ItshockedAmericanintellectualsoutoftheirinnocentnaiveteandoptimism.TheFirstWorldWarbroughtmisfortuneonhumanityandalsobroughtgreatchangesinthetraditionalculturalvalue.Atthesametime,thewarmarkedthebeginningofAmerica’suseofmassproductionmethodsandmoderntechnologywhichalteredthelifeofthewholenation.Therapiddevelopmentofmodernscienceandtechnologyledtothedisintegrationoftraditionalsocialstructure.2)Themassuseofmodernweapons---fatalblowstothebasicChristianvaluesandhumanismadvocatedsinceRenaissance.Itisalsoaheavyblowtothebasicidea(concept)abouthumanity’sfuture.Peoplebegantodoubtthetruthfulness,kindnessandbeautypreachedbyChristianity.People’sreligiousbeliefswereshaken.VS3)Inthepost-warperiod,themostpopularandacceptableauthoritylostitslegality.ThisisthenourishmentofModernism.4)Theappearanceandapplicationofmodernirrationalphilosophyofferednewoutlookandperspectives..Kant’sApriorismSchopenhauer’sVoluntarismNietzsche’sAuthoritarianismFreud’sPsychoanalysisSartre’sExistentialismTheFirstWorldWarwasfollowed,inAmerica,bytwodecadeswhichweredistinctlydifferentfromoneanotherandclearlydefined.Thefirst,the“Twenties”,lastedfromthesigningoftheTreatyofVersaillesin1919untiltheCrashattheendof1929.Thesetenyearswereatimeofpursuitofpleasure.Theseconddecade,the“Thirties”,lastedfromtheCrash,throughtheGreatDepression,untiltheoutbreakoftheSecondWorldWarin1939.Thiswasaperiodofpoverty,bleakness,importantsocialmovementandanewsocialconsciousness.Thetwentyyearsbetweenthetwoworldwarswereatimeofgreatliterarycreativity.SixAmericanwriterswhodidtheirbestandmostoriginalworkduringtheseyearswontheNobelPrizeforliterature.2.DefinitionofmodernismModernismisaliteraryandculturalmovementwhichflourishedinthefirstdecadesofthe20thcentury.Modernismasamovementcanberecognizednotonlyinliteraturebutalsoinpainting,music,sculpture,andarchitecture,aswellasinthescienceandintheology,aesthetics,andanthropology.ModernistliteratureistheliteraryformofModernism,itshouldnotbeconfusedwithmodernliterature(definedbyhistoricaltime),whichisthehistoryofthemodernnovelandmodernpoetryasone.Modernistliteraturewasatitsheightfrom1900to1940.Modernismisageneraltermappliedretrospectivelytothewiderangeofexperimentalandavant-gardetrendsintheliterature(andotherarts)oftheearly20thcentury.”Modernistliteratureischaracterizedchieflybyarejectionof19th-centurytraditionsandoftheirconsensus(一致)betweenauthorandreader,conventionsofrealismortraditionalmeter(衡量标准).Modernistwriterstendedtoseethemselvesasanavant-gardedisengaged(脱离，分离)frombourgeoisvalues,anddisturbedtheirreadersbyadoptingcomplexanddifficultnewformsandstyles.ModernistliteratureisdefinedbyitsmoveawayfromRomanticism,venturingintosubjectmatterthatistraditionallymundane（世俗的）--aprimeexamplebeingTheLoveSongofJ.AlfredPrufrockbyT.S.Eliot.Modernistliteratureoftenfeaturesamarkedpessimism,aclearrejectionoftheoptimismapparentinRomanticliterature.Infact,“acommonmotifinModernistfictionisthatofanalienatedindividual--adysfunctional(有机能障碍的）individualtryinginvaintomakesenseofapredominantlyurbanandfragmentedsociety”.However,manyModernistworkslikeT.S.Eliot‘sTheWasteLandaremarkedbytheabsenceofacentral,heroicfigure;inrejectingthesolipsism（唯我论）ofRomanticslikeShelleyandByron（DonJuan),theseworksrejectthesubjectofCartesian（笛卡尔的）dualism（二元论）andcollapsenarrativeandnarratorintoacollectionofdisjointedfragmentsandoverlappingvoices.ModernistliteratureattemptedtomovefromthebondsofRealistliteratureandintroducesconceptssuchasdisjointedtimelines.ItgoesbeyondthelimitationsoftheRealistnovelwithitsconcernforlargerfactorssuchassocialorhistoricalchange;thisislargelydemonstratedinstreamofconsciousnesswriting.ExamplescanbeseeninVirginiaWoolf'sMrsDalloway,JamesJoyce'sPortraitoftheArtistasaYoungManandUlysses,ErnestHemingway'sTheOldManandtheSea,WilliamFaulkner'sTheSoundandtheFury,andothers.Themodernistmovementwasrootedintheideathattraditionalformsofart,literature,socialorganizationanddailylifehadbecomeoutdated,andthatitwasthereforeessentialtosweepthemasideandreinventculture.Itencouragedtheideaofre-examinationofeveryaspectofexistence,fromcommercetophilosophy,withthegoaloffindingthatwhichwasholdingbackprogress,andreplacingitwithnew,andthereforebetterwaysofreachingthesameend.Modernismintheculturalhistoricalsenseisgenerallydefinedasthenewartisticandliterarystylesthatemergedinthedecadesbefore1914asartistsrebelledagainstthelate19thcenturynormsofdepictionandliteraryform,inanattempttopresentwhattheyregardedasamoreemotionallytruepictureofhowpeoplereallyfeelandthink.Modernismsymbolizedtheearlytwentiethcentury.ModernismreflectsAmerica'sstrugglethroughTheGreatWarandthenthedepressionofthe1930‘s.ThestruggleledtoalossoffaithintheAmericandream,whichisshowninmodernis