The Moderns

1900-1950

Origins

“The Great War”: WWI changed the American voice in fiction

At first, patriotism & idealism…then reality

The war created intense DISILLUSIONMENT!

Modern Themes

Cynicism

Loss of Innocence

Rejection of Tradition

Challenging the American Dream

Questioning Meaning and Purpose of Human Existence

The American Dream

1. America as the bountiful new Eden

2. Optimism and faith in progress and opportunity

3. Importance and triumph of the individual

However, the war challenged these beliefs…

Two New Trends Marxism

– Karl Marx’s impact on Russian Revolution

– Increased distrust of Capitalism

Psychoanalysis – Sigmund Freud

Role of the subconscious – Led to new literary style:

“Stream-of-Consciousness”

The Jazz Age

The Roaring 20s– Women’s suffrage, prohibition,

bootleggers, flappers, jazz, etc.

Many Americans lived abroad—”expatriates”

New American Hero

The Hemingway hero– Man of action, tough

competitor– Code of honor,

courage, and endurance

– “Grace under pressure”

– Disillusioned and flawed

Modern Poetry

Influenced by European poets and painters Symbolism

– Focusing on symbols to convey higher truths– Representing ideas and emotions by indirect

suggestion rather than direct expression Imagism

– Concentration on a single image to convey higher meaning

– Believed poetry should use common language, have freedom in subject matter, and present a precise image

Important Authors

F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway John Steinbeck William Faulkner T. S. Eliot Robert Frost Ezra Pound E.E. Cummings And many more!