2.
English literature has passed through many
periods , and each period added something to or
changed the period before. In our slides we will
talk about Modern period and how it came , In
specific ,What factors led to changes in 20th
century novels .
Introduction
3.
Literary modernism, or modernist literature, has its
origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mainly in
Europe and North America, and is characterized by a self-
conscious break with traditional ways of writing, in both
poetry and prose fiction. This literary movement was
driven by a conscious desire to overturn traditional modes
of representation and express the new sensibilities of
their time.
Modernism = 20th century
5.
The year 1900 ushered a new era that changed the way that
reality was perceived and portrayed. Years later this
revolutionary new period would come to be known as
modernism and would forever be defined as a time when
artists and thinkers rebelled against every conceivable
doctrine that was widely accepted by the Establishment,
whether in the arts, science, medicine, philosophy, etc.
Although modernism would be short-lived, from 1900 to
1930, we are still reeling from its influences sixty-five years
later.
Factors affected twentieth century novel
7.
Many modernist writers were in WWI or saw first-hand
the effects of that devastating war on the people
involved. One notable example is Earnest Hemingway. He
and others became disillusioned about the nobility of war
and traditional ideas of heroism and valor. They started to
question the value of many traditional ideas including
ideas about writing. They wrote in a very realistic vein and
challenged their readers to discern the meaning of a story
as opposed to providing a tidy ending with the theme
made explicit.
1- First World War :
9.
By 1900 the world was a bustling place transformed by all
of the new discoveries, inventions and technological
achievements that were being thrust on civilization:
electricity, the combustion engine, the incandescent light
bulb, the automobile, the airplane, radio, X-rays, fertilizers
and so forth. These innovations revolutionized the world .
Man now became literally energized by all of these
scientific and technological innovations and, more
important, felt a rush emanating from the feeling that he
was invincible, that there was no stopping him , which
was obvious in their novels .
2- New Technology :
11.
Several philosophical theoreticians were to change the
way that modern man perceives the external world,
particularly in their refutation of the Newtonian principle
that reality was an absolute, unquestionable entity
divorced from those observing it. The first to do so was F.
H. Bradley, who considered that the human mind is a
more fundamental feature of the universe than matter
and that its purpose is to search for truth
3- The appearance of philosophical
theoreticians :
13. Politics and the economy would also transform the way that
modern man looked at himself and the world in which he
lived. Science and technology were radically changing the
means of production. Whereas in the past, a worker became
involved in production from beginning to end, by 1900 he
had become a mere cog in the production line, making an
insignificant contribution. Thus, division of labor made him
feel fragmented, alienated not only from the rest of society
but from himself. One of the effects of this fragmentation
was the consolidation of workers into political parties that
threatened the upper classes. And, thus, the new political
idealism that was to culminate in the Russian Revolution that
swept through Europe.
4- Politics and the economy :
15.
During the 20th century women gained equal rights with men.
Technological and economic changes made it inevitable that
women would be given the same rights as men.
Jobs for women in the 20th century were cotton mills, nurses,
teachers, some also worked in factories. The changes in roles
of women reflected American attitudes toward them by laws
being passed, newly developed technologies, and in society.
The women are represented as something we want and
desire. They are all endorsing a brand with there beauty and
style.
5- Women’s Role :
17.
As if the peoples' minds woke up from a stupor ,they
started to quotation their life elements and intensely their
religious ones .The modernism extracted lots of the
people from their blinded beliefs and planted them into
skepticism in Christianity. Finally, the people are no longer
involved into spirituality matters but into intellectual
matters.
6- Religion
19.
We have mentioned 6 main factors that led to changes in
twentieth century novels , but they are not the only reasons ,
since behind any great movement a lot of causes .
As we know the modern period has been a period of
significant development in the fields
of science, politics, warfare, and technology. It has also been
an age of discovery and globalization.
Finally , after all these changes in the world , and how
these changes change human beings’ mind , Do you
think this movement was good or not , in other words ,
Which era do you prefer ? ( the Victorian Era or the
Modern era )