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  • Essay / The period of modernism during World War I and World War II

    World War I and World War II brought massive destruction and destroyed traditional values. This complete demolition started the period of modernism and inspired people to open their minds to new ideas in art, literature and social aspects. This is reflected in the works of Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson and TS Elliot. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Modernist period spanned the years 1914-1945. “While these writers express contradictory attitudes toward politics, tradition, obscenity, progress, and the psyche, they share a desire to experiment with form” (Potter). The theme and content of modernist writing is very important. They covered topics that were not covered before, but they also focused a lot on their writing form and style characteristics. This modern writing style has many different characteristics. Some of them feature realistic details, which may be symbolic or suggestive. There are often multiple perspectives or points of view. The narrator may change, or the point of view of the story may be different throughout the story. Characterization typically depicts heroic individuals, similar to romanticism, in that it usually leads to isolation or anti-heroism. The modernist period was a break from tradition or a reaction against Victorian culture. There were many advances during this period, in science and social sciences: “New ideas in psychology, philosophy and political theory sparked the search for new modes of expression” (Kuiper). These characteristics are found in many different stories and authors. Willa Cather's work, "The Sculptors Funeral", is a great representative of the modernist movement. Willa Cather was born in Virginia and attended the University of Nebraska. She became a high school teacher in 1901 and her first story was published in 1905. The main theme of the story "The Funeral of the Sculptors" is the problems of communication between them. people. The sculptor's ideas about art and culture isolated him from his inhabitants, because they did not think the same way as he did. His friends at the funeral comment that they do not see him coming into contact with the people of the city: “He looked painfully around clover-green Brussels, the big plush upholstery; among the hand-painted porcelain plaques, panels and vases, for an identifying mark, for something that might have belonged to Harvey Merrick” (Cather). I was trying to find something to connect with with Harvey, but it was difficult because none of the materialistic stuff was something he would relate to. There's also a theme of greed, because that's what everyone in town thinks they need. The main reason they avoid him is because he is pursuing something he loves, instead of pursuing money. This is certainly a good representation of modernism, because as people began to develop more artistic ideas, it became a topic of discussion with people still stuck in traditional time. Additionally, “Hands” by Sherwood Anderson is another great piece of literature that represents the modernist period. Sherwood Anderson wrote short stories for a living. He believed in writing short stories because he didn't have time to write novels. Furthermore, he did not believe that novels should have a).