Unit 8 The Shift from Realism to Modernism

美国文学史及作品选读Unit8TheShiftfromRealismtoModernismDefinitionofModernism…ageneraltermappliedretrospectivelytothewiderangeofexperimentalandavant-gardetrendsintheliterature(andotherarts)oftheearly20thcentury....Modernistliteratureischaracterizedchieflybyarejectionof19th-centurytraditionsandoftheirconsensusbetweenauthorandreader:conventionsofrealism...ortraditionalmeter.Theavant-gardeInfiction,theacceptedcontinuityofchronologicaldevelopmentwasupsetbyJosephConrad,MarcelProust,andWilliamFaulkner,whileJamesJoyceandVirginiaWoolfattemptednewwaysoftracingtheflowofcharacters’thoughtsintheirstream-of-consciousnessstyles.Inpoetry,EzraPoundandT.S.Eliotreplacedthelogicalexpositionofthoughtswithcollagesoffragmentaryimagesandcomplexallusions.HistoricalandIntellectualBackgroundThemechanizedmassslaughteroftheFirstWorldWar:theviewthatmankindwasmakingslowandsteadymoralprogresscametoseemridiculousinthefaceofthesenselessslaughteroftheGreatWar.TheWWI:violence,devastation,bloodanddeath;ordertodisorder;TheWar’sImpactonUSA:worldpower,technologicalrevolution,boomingindustryandmaterialprosperity;deceptiveaffluence:asenseofuneaseandrestlessnessunderneath.Atremendousletdown,disillusionment:thepartywasoverandananti-climaxofdiscontentmentandrestlessnessanddisgust“seizetheday”to“enjoythepresent”;theJazzAge“deathofGod”(Nietzsche);spiritualwasteland;theLostGenerationMarxismThematerialistnotionofhumanlifeandsocietybyKarlMarx(1818-1883);therootcauseofallbehaviorwaseconomic,andtheleadingfeatureoftheeconomiclifewasthedivisionofsocietyintoantagonisticclassesbasedonarelationtothemeansofproduction.ThesubjectivestatesinvolvinganunconsciousmindbySigmundFreud(1856-1939);the“unconscious”controlledagreatdealofovertbehavior;theimportanceoftheunconsciousortheirrationalinthehumanpsycheFreudianPsychologyHistoricalandIntellectualBackgroundIndustrializationandurbanizationmadeexistencemoreliketheresultofnaturalselection,whichdisorientedpeople.Thisnewuncertainty,thiscompleteambiguitybecamethetruestyleofthistime.(FranzMarc,1913“TheFateoftheanimals.”)AmericanLiteraryModernism(1918-1945)ThesecondAmericanRenaissanceAmericanModernismcoveredawidevarietyoftopics:thepsychologicalwoundsandspiritualscarsofthewarexperience;theeconomiccrisis;thechangestotheportrayalofgenderroles;racerelations…ItreacheditspeakinAmericainthe1920suptothe1940s.AmericanLiteraryModernism(1918-1945)Modernismembraceddisruption,rejectingormovingbeyondsimpleRealisminliteratureandart.Experimentsintechniques:Thegreatestageofliteraryexperiment;trytobreakawayfromtraditionalliteraryconventions.Poetrycouldnotfollowtraditionalrhymeandmeter;influencedbyWhitman(freeverse);theirsisdifferentfromthatofWhitman;Narrative:doesnotfollowchronologicalorder;timejumpsbackandforth.Innerreality;“streamofconsciousness,”“interiormonologue”;usessymbolismmorethanbefore;“imagepatterns”,“juxtaposition”,organizingprincipleisspatial.SherwoodAnderson(1876-1941)Theyoung“Jobby”Anderson;Themiddle-agedsuccessfulbusinessman;Thedreamerforawriter’slifeofcreativityto“escapefromhismaterialisticexistence”;Theinfluentialnovelistandshortstorywriter.oneofthefewAmericanwriterssointerestedinpsychologyesp.theconflictsbetweentheinnerandoutsideworld;servesasalinkbetweentraditionalrealismandmodernism;inwardturningpavedthewayforthecomingofmodernism.ChangYaoxin:Thematicallyhehadthecouragetoexplorenewmaterialforfiction:thepsychologicalandemotionalaspectofAmericansmall-townlife,withemphasischieflyonlower-classfigures,theunsuccessful,thedepraved,andtheinarticulate.Alienation,loneliness,andwantofloveandunderstandingmadelifeintolerable,andturnedpeopleinto“grotesques.”“Thwartedemotions,represseddrives,frustratedlives,anddistortednaturesbecamethedistinctfeaturesofAmerica’ssmall-townlife.”Winesburg,Ohio(1919)Winesburg,Ohio:AGroupofTalesofOhioSmall-TownLife(fulltitle);“TheBookoftheGrotesque”basedlooselyontheauthor’schildhoodmemoriesofClyde,Ohio;Winesburg,Ohio(1919)Winesburg,OhiohasservedasarepresentativeearlyexampleofthemodernshortstorycycleinAmericanlettersforitsstructuralunity,thecommonsetting,characters,symbolismand“consistencyofmood”thattiethestoriestogether.Abookofthegrotesques,ofpeopleeachwitharulingkindofpassionwhichdistortstheirpersonlities.GeorgeWillardvs.the“grotesques”Technically,he“observedhumangrotesquenessandeccentricityfromaFreudianpsychologicalpointofviewandtriedtorevealtheabnormalstatesofmindinamoreorlessaccurateway.”Stylistically,Andersonwas“probablythefirstwritersinceMarkTwaintowriteinthecolloquialstyle.”clarity,directness,andadeceptivesimplicityInfluencessuchwritersasHemingwayandFaulkner“TheTriumphoftheEgg”(1921)Thecharacters:Father,Mother,I,JoeKaneThefailureofAmericanDream?Thesymbolicmeaningof“theeggs”?TheEndThankyou!