Modernism:  The Movement
The Ending of La Belle Epoque-  

The Beginning of the End: Begins with the Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
Modernism
•	Secure world gone forever after WWI- 1914 to 1918
•	Hierarchically ordered world turned upside down by war
•	Two reactions-  resistance to any order, strict regulation
Modernism	
•	Characteristics of Modernist writing
•	Difficult to comprehend
•	Doesn’t reach a large audience
•	Calculated affronts to beliefs and values
•	Avante garde in form and language
•	Challenges traditional assumptions about content
20th Century Values
•	Absentee God-  Nietzsche (19th C) says “God is dead”
•	Everything in the world is subjective; multiple perspectives
•	No shared values
•	Open ended stories without a big message
•	No idea what the author believes

Readerly Vs. Writerly Text
•	Readerly-  Reader friendly, easily accessible message
•	Writerly-  
•	Attacks the notion that the writer knows everything
•	Forces the reader into working because the text is difficult to interpret
•	Several perspectives/beliefs may be present
Post World War I
•	Modern art and literature goes against “official” order
•	Modernist explore the concept of “What is Art?”
•	Many observers called it “individualism run amok”
•	Nihilism-consciously accepted loss of belief in the meaning of human existance
Modernism- Assumptions about Literature
•	Literary texts have a meaning beyond literal
•	Although they challenge traditional values and sensibilities, the text is not accidental.  This means there is a reason behind the writing.
•	Many binary oppositions and analogies.  (2 part comparisons, 4 part comparisons) 
Modernism- the Rise of the Novel
•	Age of Reason, Romantic Era precede Modern Era
•	Age of Reason- concerned with scientific and rational explanations
•	Romantic Era- expresses emotion, but in a constrained manner, preoccupation with classics
•	Until the 19th century, poetry is the highest form. 20th C narrative fiction reigns