Modernism

Modernism has a bold emphasis on bold and new experimentation of form and style. It is like a revolution of the tradition. Looking at the past literary periods, there seem to be a pattern of rejections and revolutions. Romanticism resulted from rejection towards the industrial revolution, and so the focused on nature. Realism that came after the Civil War was he rejection of the ideal. Finally in Modernism, which began in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, there was the rejection of the rigid rules in Realism. It also rebelled against things that have always thought to be correct. To me, modernism is like a burst of creativity. I often find modern art to be very abstract, and very deep at the same time. Mostly I would not understand the meaning of the work unless it was explained. Modern artist like to show what is in their minds, which can be confusing and a little disturbing at times. In the textbook it says that modern artwork and literature work takes an “interest in the inner workings of the human mid, sometimes expressed though new techniques, such as stream of consciousness” I fully agree with this statement because this is also what I perceive from modern art.

The American Dream

The American dream was the ideal goal for Americans since the birth of the country. They see the country as full of possibilities and promises. They see a perfect life in front of them. This ideal was not held by one person or a few Americans, but a dream for the majority. They believed that if they work hard, they could get wherever they want, regardless of their family backgrounds. They also dreamed that America would be a perfect country where everyone is equal and would continuously improve. But how practical is this dream? Its pretty impractical, I’ll have to say. It is impossible that everyone would get into politics or become the richest man in the country. There are only a handful and successful politicians and only one richest man in the country. With so many people dreaming of such a dream, it is evident that this is not plausible. This ideal finally came to an end in the twentieth century. People finally realized that the American dream is too idealistic. In the twentieth century, the modern age emerged. It rebelled against long-held beliefs and created new ones of their own. It not only took a turn in tradition, but also in art and literature.

Better things?

I believe the dilemma of the modern age is broader than that of the quote. Yes, the matter of speed may be a part of it, but I think the bigger question is whether the changes of modern society beneficial to people. This would include everything like the new technology to the growing population. Are all these new and fast ways of communication and documentation good for people? People are living faster and more convenient lives than the people did in the past. Is using chemicals on the environment good? What about eating or using manufactured goods? Chemically made things now play a huge role in peoples’ lives.

There are always two sides to al these questions. To me, I would like to believe that the progress that we are making is one that is going forward rather than backwards. Some of the developments we have may be detrimental to the Earth and for these things. I would like these to be changed. As for Willa Cather’s concern, I believe that yes we are doing better things. Our societies are definitely making progress. In the past, people could only communicate with those living near them. Travel is also something really hard. One of the best improvements we have made is to connect the people of the globe together. 

On Impulse

The impulse I get the most often is to stand up and jump around in the middle of the class when the class gets too boring. Usually, I would control myself, or else my classmates and teachers would think that I am either weird or should be diagnosed with ADHD and get some medications. I am usually pretty successful in controlling this kind of urge, probably because I have lived with it for so long, but sometimes I’ll just follow my impulse. The immediate reaction I get is the class staring at me like I have gone coo coo. I’ll just smile back at them and then sit down like nothing happened, but then I would burst out laughing at what I just did and people would look at me like I’m going crazy again. Those are the reason why I usually do not follow my impulses.

Other than that, I generally can contain myself and control most of my other impulses (Okay, maybe other than eating ice cream because its too addicting and I can’t stop eating it once I start.) I believe I’m the type of person that would think before I speak. My actions may be spontaneous at times, but I am more careful about speaking. I would not want to hurt anymore by my impulsive criticism or thought.

Romantics v Realists

Romanticism and Realism are two drastically different literary forms. Romanticism focuses on the ideal and the natural. It creates what is known as the Romantic hero and makes the hero larger than life. These heroes are like role models of the society. There are real life romantic heroes as well as fictional ones. In the romantic literary and artistic style, one important character is chosen and glorified. Also, in romantic writing emotions and originality are valued and expressed. Aside from the Dark Romanticism, Romantic literature is very bright and creative.

After the Civil War, the Americans were pulled back to reality, and so the name of the new literary style: Realism. It focuses on the hardship of the average American. He subjects of realist literatures are the poor Americans workers living in the cities. It is a much darker style. The attitudes of realist writers are more negative than those of the Romantics. They no longer want to look the ideal and unrealistic. They seek to be more down to earth and often times, pessimistic. Writers also tried to use everyday language when writing their work. This makes their work even closer to the people of the time.

(**Disclaimer: Because of the similarity between this topic and the previous ones, I may have some repetition in my blog posts) 

Think About...

American writer and poets responded to the Civil War by writing novels and poems on the war and its effects after the war ended. This continued for several decades. Even though the war ended in 1865, the most representative novel about the war,The Red Badge of Courage, was written in 1895 by an author that have never lived through the Civil War. However, the new literary style emerged after the war: Realism. The Civil War had brought the once ideal Americans back to the ground. Instead of depicting perfect and bigger than life heros, artists focused on ordinary characters, especially the lower class that were living in the cities. Novels were written in everyday speech pattern to show what “real” people were like. Some writing emphasized ethical struggles and social issues. 

A movement called naturalism came out of realistic style. It differs from realism because it is more of a philosophical position. While a realistic writing would portray a situation, naturalism shows a person’s fate. Naturalism has a pretty pessimistic point of view and shows the belief that humans’ fates are determined not by themselves, but decided early on by nature. A common characteristic of naturalism is detachment, which means the author writes in a way that makes the characters seem distant. These stories focus more on the plot than on the characters. 

You've Come a Long Way, Baby

Women during the time of Chopin’s story, A Pair of Silk Stockings and the women in The Handmaid’s Tale were suppressed and taken away of their rights. In the past, after a women got married, they were supposed to stay home and take care of the family. In A Pair of Silk Stockings, Mrs. Sommers felt a feeling of importance after she found fifteen dollars. The first things she thought about after the found the money was what she wanted to get for her children. However, in the end, rebelled and descided to do something for herself for once. When she went shopping, she said she hadn’t have the happing feeling of buying things for a long time. 

I feel like the women in The Handmaid’s Tale have even less rights. They have set rules for each of their roles and are prohibited from reading or writing. Men dominate society and women are seen almost as properties of men. Each commander gets a wife, a handmaid and two Marthas. 

I am very thankful to be living in the 21st century in a country where women an men have equal rights. Females get to have the same education and voting rights as the males.