English gr 12 essay

1. Modernismversus Postmodernism
Modernismand postmodernismaretwo differentmovements in the arts,
architecture, and criticism. They appeared in different time periods, and have
specific characteristics, styles and themes. Modernismappeared at the end of the
19th
century, and ended in the middle of the 20th
century. Itwas conservative, but
also revolutionary. A clear duality was present. Postmodernismappeared towards
the end of the 20th
century, and challenged the modernist way of thinking and
seeing life. The poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos William is a
modernistpiece of literature, while the song “I Feel Like I’mFixin’ to Die Rag” by
Joe McDonald is a postmodernistpiece of music. The two pieces are focused on
different themes, and they transmit their messagein different ways. William’s
poem and McDonald’s song aretwo classic examples for the eras they were
created, modernismand postmodernism.
The poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William appears to be quite simple,
or withoutreal meaning. The modernistpoet wanted to show that simple things
can, and are important. He uses simple, everyday language, which everybody can
understand. Oneof the modernismcharacteristics is simplicity. While the poem
is simple in language, it is quite serious. The poem starts with the words “so much
depends/ upon” (William, lines 1-2), which tell us the author is serious, and the
poem has a meaning. On the contrary, the song “I Feel Like I’mFixin’ to Die Rag”
by McDonald appears to be aloof and disconnected even though it is about a
serious topic, the Vietnam war. Making fun of and being cold towards a serious
subjectare postmodernismcharacteristics. Thesong makes light of the possible
humankind total nuclear destruction by saying “Justhope and pray that they drop
the bomb/They drop it on the Viet Cong” (McDonald, verses 19-20). Whilethe
poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” is simple, and highlights the importance of simple
objects, the song “I Feel Like I’mFixin’ to Die Rag” talks about a serious matter
and mocks it.
Postmodernismhas many characteristics, and one of them is pastiche. A
pastiche is a light-hearted imitation or mash-up, sometimes for the purposeof
mockery. The song “I Feel Like I’mFixin’ to Die Rag” by McDonald is an example of
pastiche. Itis a mix of three styles: ragtime, marching music, and folk music.

2. When Joe starts singing “Well, come on all of you, big strong men/ Uncle Sam
needs your help again” (McDonald, verses 1-2), themusic is folk, but it also has a
ragtime style. McDonald uses different styles to mock the war, and people who
are behind it. On the other hand, William’s poem, “The Red Wheelbarrow” has
one main style: imagism. Imagismwas a movement in early 20th
century Anglo-
American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. The
poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” is a great example of imagism, since the poem
itself is an image. Using the sentence as a painter uses line and colour, Williams
breaks up the words in order for us to see the object more closely. The line three
and four, “a red wheel/ borrow” (Williams, lines 3-4), starkly introducethe image
of the wheelbarrow. The vivid word “red” lights up the scene. The monosyllable
words in line three elongates the line, putting an unusualpausebetween the
word “wheel” and “barrow”. This has the effect of breaking the image down to its
most basic parts. Pasticheand imagism are two main different characteristics of
postmodernismand modernism.
One of the characteristics of modernismis vagary. Modernistauthors do
not give a clear message. They want the readers to think about it, and come up
with their own conclusion. While the image of a wheelbarrow is clear in the poem
“The Red Wheelbarrow”, thelines “so much depends/ upon” (Williams, lines 1-2)
tells the reader that the poem is not justabout a red wheelbarrow, it is about
something else. Whit these opening lines, William issues a challenge to his reader.
He dares them to figure out whatelse the poem is about. There can be many
theories. Williams may comment on the functionality of the wheelbarrow, the
way it allows people to move things fromone place to another. The fact that the
wheelbarrow is “glazed with/ rain/ beside the white/ chickens” (Williams, lines 5-
8) may suggestthat is about a return to normalafter a storm. The reader can
imagine the wheelbarrow immediately after the rain, when the bright sun has
created the wheelbarrow’s shiny surfaceand has made the immaculately white
chickens. Unlike the William’s poem, McDonald’s song has a clear message, even
though is transmitted with irony, sarcasmand dark humour. The song mocks the
war in Vietnam, and the verses “Whatare we fighting for?/Don’task me, I don’t
give a damn” (McDonald, verses 8-9) tell the listeners that Joe doesn’tcare about
the war, and he doesn’t see its purpose. The song also makes fun of the American
patriotism, when it tells parents that they can be the firstin their neighborhood

3. to receive their son in a casket: “Come on mothers throughoutthe land/ Pack
your boys off to Vietnam./ Come on fathers, and don’t hesitate/ To send you sons
off before it’s too late./ You can be the firstones in your block/To haveyour boy
come home in a box.” (McDonald, verses 43-48). When Joesays “There’s plenty
good money to be made/ By supplying the Army with tools of its trade”
(McDonald, verses 17-18)heimplies that one of the main reasons the war is
happening are money. The song “I Feel Like I’mFixin’ to Die Rag” has a clear anti-
Vietnam war message. Making fun of certain issueis a postmodernism
characteristic, while having a vaguemessageis a modernismone.
The poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” by Williams is a classic example of
modernism. Likewise, the song “I Feel Like I’mFixin’ to Die Rag” by Joe McDonald
is a classic example of its era, postmodernism. Putting these two pieces of art side
by side, we can point out the different themes and characteristics of two different
movements. They also show how people used to think in different periods of
time. While the two movements are different, both of them gave interesting art
pieces, be it in literature, music or cinematography.
Works CitedList
McDonald, Joe. I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag. Berkeley, California: Arhoodie
Records’ studios, 1965.
Williams, William Carlos. The Red Wheelbarrow. Paris: ContactPublishing
Company, 1923. Print.