The Modernist Literary Period

In broad terms, the period was marked by sudden and unexpected breaks with traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world. Experimentation and individualism became virtues, where in the past they were often heartily discouraged.

Modernism was set in motion through a series of cultural shocks.
WWI was looked upon with such ghastly horror that many people simply could not imagine what the world seemed to be plunging towards.

In contrast to the Romantic world view, the Modernist cares little for Nature or the overarching structures of history.
Instead of progress and growth, the Modernist sees decay and a growing alienation of the individual.

Reaction against formal limits of Realism and optimism of Victorian literature = experimental forms, pessimism.

The writers of the Lost Generation struggled to find meaning in the wake of chaos. By turning the mind’s eye inward, they attempted to record the workings of consciousness.

"MAKE IT NEW!"

• City vs. Country came to symbolize new vs. old generational ideals
• City connotations changed from dark and dirty to civilized

A whole new perspective came into being known as “stream of consciousness.” Rather than looking out into the world, the great novelists of the early twentieth century surveyed the inner space of the human mind.

The “unreliable” narrator replaced the omniscient, trustworthy narrator of preceding centuries.

Writers often used classical allusions (INTERTEXTUALITY)
and
borrowed from cultures and other languages

They also used 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 and ideas.

For Hemingway, this meant the abandonment of all unnecessary language. His novels are famous for their blunt, simple sentences and emotions that play out on the surface of things.

Direct, personal writing full of rich imagery was Hemingway’s goal. His distinctive prose is still recognizable by its economy and controlled understatement.

There is an irony to this bluntness, though, as his characters often have hidden agendas, hidden sometimes even from themselves, which guide their actions.

“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water.”

The Lost Generation gave up on the idea that anything was truly knowable. All truth became relative, conditional, and in flux. The War demonstrated that no guiding spirit rules the events of the world, and that absolute destruction was always just around the corner.

Hemingway is also considered a master of dialogue.
The conversations between his characters demonstrate not only communication but also its limits.

The way Hemingway’s characters speak is sometimes more important than what they say: what they choose to say (or leave unsaid) illuminates sources of inner conflict.

I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, "Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know."