2. Personal Details
● Name ;- Payal Bambhaniya
● Paper no. :- 106
● Paper Name:- The Twentieth Century Literature: 1900 to
World War 2
● Assignment Topic:- Modernism in 'The Great Gatsby’
● Roll no. :- 15
● Enrollment no. :- 4069206420220002
● Submitted to:- SMT S. B. Gardi Department of English,
MKBU.
● Batch :- M.A. Sem. 2 (2022-2024)
3. Points to Ponder
● Introduction of Modernism
● Characteristics of Modernism
● F. Scott Fitzgerald as a Modernist
Writer
● Modernism in The Great Gatsby
● Conclusion
4. Modernism
● Modernism is a style and literary movement in art,
architecture and literature in the early 20th century in
which Modern ideas, methods and techniques or
meterials were used rather than tradition one.( Oxford
Dictionaries )
● Modernism rejected the traditional and past form of
writing and expression and added new forms of writing
and expression.
● It focuses on subjective techniques, stream of
consciousness and fragmented narratives.
5. Characteristics of Modernism
● Stream of consciousness
● Symbolism
● Absurdity
● Individuals
● Formalism
● Narrative Technique
● Experimentation
● Meaninglessness of Life
6. F. Scott Fitzgerald as Modernist Writer
● American Modernist Writer
● His Works capture the disillusion of the post
war generation and the excesses of the Jazz
Age.
● He uses symbols and Figurative language in
his works.
● Themes of his works :- Ambition, loss, love,
Class, Wealth and Materialism.
● He is best known for his novel ‘The Great
Gatsby’.
7. Modernism in 'The Great Gatsby’
● Fitzgerald shows many Modernist Techniques in
‘The Great Gatsby’ like loss of control,
corruption of American dream, breaking
society's rules and feeling restless.
● Modernism in Narrative Technique
● Symbols
● Stream of consciousness
● Empty Feeling and Loneliness of Individual
● The Meaninglessness of Life
8. Modernism in Narrative Technique
● Fitzgerald uses Nick Carraway as a first person narrator
to tell us the story of The Great Gatsby.
● We can think, see and understand through the narrator.
● Nick seems as a reliable narrator as well as an unreliable
narrator.
● Nick is absent in Two Scenes: Myrtle's Murder Scene and
Gatsby's Murder Scene
● But he is narrating both the scenes which made him an
Unreliable narrator. It provides us incomplete
information. Because without present in scenes and
events how anyone can trust in his narration.
9. Modernity in Symbols
● Green Light represent the hopes and dreams.
● Dr. T. J. Eckleberg's eyes represent the eyes of God.
● Valley of Ashes represents the Capitalism and the symbol of time.
10. Stream of consciousness
● Stream of consciousness is a narrative style
that tries to capture a character's thought
process in a realistic way.
● In the novel everyone sees events and
characters through Nick's thoughts and
perception.
● Fitzgerald use this technique in certain parts of
the novel.
11. Empty Feeling and Loneliness of Individual
● The end of the novel feels kind of Empty and
Lonely.
● After all the struggle Gatsby has put into building
his life to gain Daisy back. But She never came
back. And he live alone in his Home.
● The emptiness and Loneliness of Jay Gatsby are
not clear until the end of the novel because his
house is always filled with people who drink and
dance all night and every weekend.
● Nobody came to the funeral ceremony of Jay
Gatsby.
12. The Meaninglessness of Life
● Gatsby and all the other upper class
individuals are living the American Dream,
however, this dream leads to the emptiness
and meaninglessness in their lives.
● After fulfilling his dreams Gatsby has nothing
else to do in life; he just wants money and
Daisy Buchanan.
● He has no any other dreams and it makes his
life meaningless.
13. Conclusion
● According to C. Hugh Holman, Modernism
is a strong and conscious break with
traditional forms and techniques of
expression. Fitzgerald used this things
and techniques in ‘The Great Gatsby’.
Thus, we can say that the novel ‘The Great
Gatsby’ is a Modern Novel.
