Modernist Literature: A New Outlook on Life and Human Consciousness, Schemi e mappe concettuali di Inglese

Scarica Modernist Literature: A New Outlook on Life and Human Consciousness e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Early 20-th century literature In the early part of the century there were the anti-Victorian trends. The shattering of the old world was completed with the disruptive experience of World War I. The new outlook on life emphasized the individual human being, the individual sensibility and the individual consciousness as opposed to accepted social order, social values and social ideals. One of the main aspects of the period from a cultural point of view was the search for new spiritual beliefs, the cultural response ranged from social commitment to either total rejection of conventions and traditions or a nostalgic clinging to them. Novels and short stories were influenced by the works of Henry James, there was continuity with the tradition of the realistic novel / story but with more focus on either psychological realism or social and political engagement. Edward Morgan Forster rejected Victorian social values but remained realistic novelists. In Modernist fiction authors aimed to portray new perceptions of reality and a more complex human consciousness seen as a flux in which past, present and future coexisted. Modernists shifted the point of view from the external narrator to the minds of the characters. The result was that the narrator tended to disappear and reality was described through the subjective responses and reflections of the different characters. This new technique was called the 'stream of consciousness' as it aimed to reproduce the flow of thought in an individual's mind. The conventional structure of beginning, development and conclusion disappeared and stories often dealt with trivial events occurring over a very short period of time and revolved mainly around the sensations, dreams and recollections of the characters. Key Modernist authors were Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. the sense of fragmentation and social instability of post-war Britain,while others voiced the growing sense of uneasiness and impending danger painting a nightmarish picture of the future under totalitarian regimes. Poetry The general picture of the poetry of the period is a fragmented one.'European' poets, on the other hand, relied on their subjective and creative response to the potentiality of the English language, saw themselves as members of a broadly European tradition and were particularly influenced by the French symbolist. When war broke out, poetry responded in a variety of ways– patriotic and pacifist, traditional and experimental. Rupert Brooke expressed his patriotism in mellifluous language and meter, while Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Isaac Rosenberg used discordant rhythms and the graphic violent language of everyday conversation to describe the physical hardship and misery of the soldier's life on the Western Front and to express anger at the useless massacre and attacking politicians and propagandists. He began to experiment with a narrative style which was unique and highly innovative, this set Joyce at the center of the modernist movement. Born into Dublin and decided to leave Irelan with his future wife and they moved on to Trieste in Italy where he met Italo Svevo. Joyce died there in January 1941. Lawrence D. Lawnenor explores the relationships between people and the natural environment in a style that can be described as both realist and symbolist. Lawrence explored the relationships between man and environment, between man and woman, between parents and children and exposed the dangers of life within constraints and limitations. Lawrence was born in the 1885 into a working class family in a mining town in nottinghamshire in which the mother was acutely aware of the cultural and intellectual distance between her and her husband. she therefore invested her hopes and Aspirations in Her children. he began her literary career writing poetry and a first novel the whiteb peacock(1911). When her mother died, Lawrence was deeply affected and fell into depression. He struggled to work on his current novel Paul Morel's and fell seriously ill.He gave up work with the novel, which was later to be renamed son and lovers. Son and lovers Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers is an autobiographical novel that tells of the protagonist, Paul Morel and his relationship with his possessive mother and with the other two important women of his life, Miriam and Clara. Miriam represents spirituality and his passionate purity frustates Paul, bringing him back to the relationship with his mother. It can be seen in a significant passage where one evening Miriam and Paul swalk on the beach. The passage underlines Miriam's non-physical and spiritual approach to relationships and emphasizes Paul’s ambivalence, his passionate response to nature and sense of suffocation and frustration. When they come home from the walk, Paul has to face that of his mother's sarcasm which is an expression of both his jealousy at his relationship with Miriam and of his sadness at not seeing his son happy. The novel is written in a realistic style yet contains highly poetic and symbolic descriptions of nature and the effects of nature on the characters. Characterization is sensitive and acute in its examination of human psychology while the language can vary from colloquial,simple and realistic to sensual, sensuous and figurative. Its view of life and relationships seems fundamentally pessimistic and offers no solution yet it affirms Lawrence's belief in the flesh, in instinct on reason and the dominion of nature over the soul of man. Riassunto A young woman of the middle class, Gertrude Coppard, meets a rough, working class miner, Walter Morel, they marry but soon she realizes the hardship of life as a miner's wife.The couple fight and Morel starts going to the pub after work each day. Gradually, Mrs Morel's affections shift to her sons. William the oldest son defends her mother against his father whom he hates.He gets engaged to a pretty but superficial young girl and the relationship causes tension between himself and his mother who is jealous of her. This tension causes William to fall ill and he dies. Mrs Morel is heartbroken, but transfers her love to her second son, Paul. Paul is also dedicated to his mother but is torn between his need to assert his independence and his love for her.Paul becomes involved with a girl called Miriam from a nearby farm. She is young and pure and wants to have a spiritual, rather than physical, relationship with Paul. Mrs Morel tells Paul that Miriam is not good enough for him – she is once again jealous and feels in competition with Miriam for control of Paul. The relationship is destined to fail.Then, at work, Paul meets Clara Dawes, who has separated from her husband, Baxter. Clara is much freer and more physical than Miriam and for a time they seem happy together but once no relationship with another woman is doomed to failure. Mrs Morel is ill and Paul returns to her. When his mother dies soon after, he is left alone. nce and falls in love. After a brief whirlwind romance, there is little desolate commuters on their way to work, who become those whose souls has died and the waste and dross of the universe through allusions to Boulder and Dante. The poem also alludes to the ancient fertility rites and connects the wasteland of the poem to that of the mythical King Fisher. The poem underlines Eliot's belief that man and his world was in a state of cultural and intellectual decay, aimless and anarchic. The symbiosis between a land and its inhabitants and rulers, integral to the myth of the Fisher King, is clear in this 20th century urban landscape which is desolate and in need of regeneration the use of myth as an underlying framework allows the author to give shape and significance to his work - Eliot referred to this in his own work and in that of James joyce graceful as the 'mythical method'. The novel Mrs Dalloway Clarissa Dalloway, the protagonist, who goes out to buy flowers for the party, the events are viewed through the point of view of the various characters. The reader mainly follows Mrs. Dalloway's consciousness. We know Mrs. Dalloway's family: her husband, a Conservative Member of Parliament Elizabeth, their daughter who is under the influence of Miss Kilman, her guardian whom Clarissa deeply hates for her religious fanaticism. a particular note is Peter Walsh, who was in love with Clarissa as a young man and probably still is.The reader also follows the story of a character not directly related to Clarissa, Septimus Warren Smith, a mentally disturbed man as a result of the First World War. He commits suicide after visiting a prominent doctor, Lord Bradshaw, one of the guests at the party. Septimus and Clarissa share many characteristics and think alike. At the same time they are at odds with each other. Choosing Septimus' suicide as a way to escape her troubles will allow Clarissa to accept herself and the society she has chosen to live in. Ed.civica Racism:A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human racial groups determine cultural or individual achievement , usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others Holocaust:A very large amount of destruction , especially by fire or heat , or the killing of very large numbers of people .(Kipling of news during ww2) Apartheid:political system in which people of different races are separated Segregation:Keeping one group of people apart from another and treating them differently , especially because of race or sex . Genocide:The murder of a whole group of people , especially a whole nation , race , or religious group. Langston Hughes He was an American post and was the leader of the Harlem Renaissance (criticism of prejudice against black community). The ballad of landlord In the first lines the tenant complains about his house roof and steps which are broken ,he's already reported some issues once ,but nothing was done to remedy. The second stanza also begins in the same way and the tenant said to the landlord that the front steps are broken,the landlord want that the the tenant to pay him money without any of the repairs having been completed, but the tenant disagrees with him ,the tenant says that he didn't pay the master until he fixes the house again.The Landlord gets angry and calls the Police,suggesting that the black black tenant Is threatening him.The tenant Is arrested and taken To Police station he Is imprisoned for di 90 data for asking the landlord to old God job. The role of the ballad •it was a popular forms of literature •characterized by a simple language ,by the use of rhymes and repetitions ,•it Is accompanied with a musical instrumental •talk about the belief,difficult love that ended with the death of One of the two lovers. Disrimination in the US The first Ku Klux Klan movement was set up by former members of the Confederate Army who were opposed to the recently acquired rights of the black population in the South , but with the introduction of the Civil Rights(1871), the movement effectively disappeared . It was re-formed in 1915 in Atlanta and spread rapidly to urban areas . Klansmen infiltrated local government and security agencies and exercised considerable political influence in many states during the 1920s , other outsiders were targeted by the Klan.Men in white robes attacked shops and businesses , burnt crosses and marched through towns terrorising the local black communities.Beginning in Mississippi in 1890 , southern states introduced legislation , which effectively denied this right to many black Americans . Voters were required to pay poll tax and sit complex literacy tests and for the vast majority of poor , uneducated African Americans this meant that they were barred from voting . Further legislation known as the Jim Crow Laws ensured that blacks and whites were separated in all aspects of life . Schools , public transport and swimming pools were segregated. The Great Migration: Between 1910 and 1940 , over 15 million African Aniericans left the violent racism and segregation of the South and headed north and west in search of employment in the manufacturing industries of major cities such as New York , Detroit and Chicago. A black migrants flooded into urban areas , and settled in the poorer , formerly white working class. Movements for Change The Niagara Movement began in 1905 when a group of black intellectuals met on Canadian side of Niagara Falls to discuss ways to end discrimination and exercise their full constitutional rights . In 1909 it merged with other civil rights organizations to form the NAACP ( National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ). UNIA and black-to-Africa In 1917 , Marcus Garvey established the headquarters of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA ) in New York . Garvey was the first to promote the ' black is beautiful ' message , encouraged members to take pride in their African cultural heritage and advocated black unity through segregation rather than integration . In 1919 he formed the Black Star Line , a black - owned shipping company which would trade with Africa but also transport passengers as part of his ' Back - to - Africa ' policy to repatriate black Americans to their African homelands . Harlem Renaissance The period between the end of World War I and the mid - 1930s saw an explosion of cultural and artistic activity in the predominantly black area of Harlem , New York . Writers , artists , poets and intellectuals found a more tolerant environment in which they could express themselves and their work was published in black - owned newspapers and magazines . So great was this flowering of talent and creativity that it came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance . Martin Luther King played a key role in the American Civil rights movement.He talk on the march on washington which helped to vote the civil right act United kingdom Postwar Immigration When the Second World War ended in 1945, it was quickly recognised that the reconstruction of the British economy required a large influx of immigrant labour. The appeal for new workers was, however, aimed primarily at white Europeans. In the years immediately after the war, new arrivals came from all over Europe. These included a small number of German prisoners of war, a larger number of refugees from the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, substantial numbers of Irish and Italian laborers, and a wide variety of displaced persons from refugee camps throughout Europe.Postwar immigration also attracted, for the first time, large numbers of workers and their families from outside Europe - mainly from the Caribbean and from India and Pakistan, the two separate states created by 'partition' after Britain relinquished its Indian empire.the British Nationality Act of 1948, which gave all Commonwealth citizens free entry into Britain.Black and Asian immigrants faced various degrees of hostility and racial prejudice in postwar, Britain Anti-immigrant feelings have also been inflamed, both directly and indirectly, by agitation for tighter immigration controls usually proposed when there is not an acute labor shortage South Africa After South Africa was unified in ( 1910 ) a Land Act ( 1913 ) was soon introduced which began segregation . It forced black Africans to live in reserves and made it illegal for them to work as sharecroppers .The ' Pass Laws ' ( 1952 ) required all non whites to carry a pass book if they needed access to a restricted area ( to enter a white area to work as a servant ) and more Land Acts gave 80 % of land to the white minority . In 1959 , ten Bantustans were created where blacks had to live and where they had full political rights , however the creation of these lands effectively denied blacks any national political power or rights . P.381 Totalitarianism At the beginning of the 20th century ,two contrasting ideologies spread in Europe:socialism and Fascism.Both of them resulted in totalitarian states which crushed hopes of social and economic improvement of the masses . The ideals of international socialism were at the basis of the Russian Revolution of 1917 . The rift between ' real ' and ' ideal ' socialism deepened with Stalin's five year economic plan which brought about indubitable economic progress in Russia , but implied political centralisation and the reconstitution of autocracy . Though ' socialist ' in origin , Fascism was militantly nationalistic and rejected pacifism and internationalism . It first came to power in Italy in a situation of acute economic difficulties , fear of revolution and disappointment at the territorial results of the Peace Settlement . Mussolini became Prime Minister and ' Duce ' . He suppressed political opposition and instituted a dictatorship . Italian Fascism was very influential on German policy . The presidential democracy of the Weimar Republic was opposed both by the left and the right because it was associated with the acceptance of the Versailles Treaty . The Ruhr occupation in 1923 and the crisis of 1929 created a fertile ground for its collapse and the ● Berlin wall: the cold war between ussr(soviet Union) and US interested in particolary germany which was decidere in two parte:west-soviet ● The Euro:1999-19 europea countries ● 9/11:hijacked Planes in a terrorist Attack ● Networks: the birth of the world Wide web in 1989,the lunch of facebook in 2004, Twitter 2006 ● In their own words -Since the end of WWII, there have been progress in a wide range of fields, but also crisis of social, political and economic nature. -Primo Levi underline the long lasting effects of the Holocaust on human race, we have to remember the past in order to learn from it. -Britain had difficulties to control the rate of political change in the colonies. Its position was threatened by the resurgence of India, France, West Germany in EEC. Britain wanted to establish a Commonwealth of independent cooperating nations. Nowadays it is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states. -USSR leader Gorbachev and Polish Trade Union activist Walesa are the most significant figures in the Cold War and in the fall of the Soviet Union. Glasnost (cooperation) and perestroika (reconstruction) promoted by Gorbachev are key concepts of change. Gorbachev says that to solve problems we have to cooperate with countries and therefore we need to put an end to the Iron Curtain (division in different ideology, communism and social democracy), to change the nature of international relations, and to end the arms race. Walesa says "Communism is a monopolistic system (George Orwell represents the satire of communism), economically (isolationism) and politically (only 1 person). The system suppresses individual initiative (1984, Animal Farm)". People of monopolistic government are all equal, no personal identity. Manipulation of history, language. Brainwashing. Technology supported these directions. Also propaganda. -Womens liberation movement included peace movements and civil rights movements. They fight inequality. Martin Luther King led the civil rights movement which obtained equal rights for all US citizens and the end of discrimination -Common European Currency and the project of Europe without boundaries are symbols of its strength. However some problems like failures in the common fisheries, internal power struggles, question of European identity, created tensions. In 2016 UK left with a referendum the UE. Literature In this period literature Is characterized by merging of genres and various forms of hybridisation and pastiche under the influence of postmodernism. The idea of "english novel" was replaced by that of the "International novel" in English or Englishes. The work of writers took a more somber tone and either voiced the Need to find new meaning in a shattered world or warned against further social disruption. ● anger for disillusionment, for the old generation because they were responsible of the crime during imperialism ● gap between generation ● experimentation like Wolf, Joyce, Elliot ● the language became essential, a few words because communication became more and more difficult. Evocative use of word, lack of relation between word and significance ● difficulty to represent reality Fiction Post modernism accepted fragmentation (for Eliot It can't be accept and for home the solution was the myth),they combine the everyday aspect of popular culture White what has been considered "high arte".One trend was that of "fantasy " which became "magic realism" which rappresent the improbabile and the fantastic in a realist and rational way(Italo Calvino/Angela carter).Aldo Born the "feminist novel". Poetry In the postwar years,a Number of poet, including Philip Larkin ,became known as the "movement".They rejected modernist obscure experimentalism and wrote poems which were rational,comprehensible and presented contemporary life in intelligible language and tradizionale verse form.There was also "pop" poetry movement characterized by a musical accompaniment. Drama George Bernard Shaw-traditional they're which want to represent reality Beckett-new"theater of the absurd" Look back in anger-play which was revolurary,rappresentare drama in domestici working- class setting Osborn-leader figure of the group known as "angry young man" Who expressed disillusionment. Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot The father of the Theatre of the Absurd that means ridiculous, irrational, unreasonable. It can be linked to Shakespeare, a sense of human existence. It represents the dichotomy between tragic situations and comic situation.He is a major figure in the development of drama in the 20th century. Published in English in 1954, typical dramatic work in that nothing happens. There's no progression, no resolution and has a little plot. The two main characters Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for the arrival of a third character, Godot, who never appears. The setting is bleak and symbolic (road and single tree). They pass the time talking without communicating and making repetitive gestures. They evoke a sense of despair and amusement but the dominant is meaninglessness of existence and impossibility to escape. They talk in a profound, simple, informal and concise language, but also illogical and incoherent. -Importance of the time, the habit -It talks about human existence, he links to shakespeare. He focuses on the condition of modern man. -the theater of the absurd because it doesn't have a meaning. Tragic comedy. it shows human existence without a real purpose, meaning and certainty. -Few words, repetition (silence). The repetition refers to the time. We have a loop. Circular conception of the time where the beginning is the same as the end. There's no development of action. -3 characters , they are thinking to suicide themselves but the rope is too short. They eat, sleep, do anything, they are waiting for godot. They seem to represent the symbols of human condition: waiting, monotony, silence, hesitation -they refer to the tree, the only object that represents life. The tree doesn't have leaves so it can die. -moon has phases that don't create certainty. -godot might be God -2 couples: Vladimir and Estragon, Lucky and Pozzo. They are complementary, they compensate themselves. They survive only for this. Pozzo is the master and takes Lucky with him with rope to the neck. William Golding, Lord of the Flies -He is a British novelist -A war is raging and nuclear conflict is threatening the world. Children are being evacuated from Britain to the South Pacific. One plane carrying a group of schoolboys has been shot down. It has crashed on a desert island and the pilot has died. Two of the boys, Ralph (rationality) and Piggy (instinct), find a huge conch (symbol of democracy) shell on the beach. Ralph blows into the shell and the noise summons the others. Understanding their predicament, they decide to elect a leader. They had elected Ralph. -It's an adventure novel which explores the collapse of civilized, moral and disciplined behavior. The boys realize they must survive so they elect a leader and set about work. Competition emerges between Ralph , the leader, and jack. Despite Ralph's efforts, things begin to deteriorate as Jack and the others begin to have a savage behavior. The situation is difficult but the arrival of an adult breaks the spell. -Main theme: conflict between two impulses: the one to live morally and socially, to act peacefully and to cooperate (instinct of civilisation) symbolized by Ralph, and the one of impulse to act violently, power for supremacy (instinct of savagery) by Jack. -Concepts of Government: Lock-->cooperation --> government more democratic, cooperation. Hobbes-->savage--> need of a strong figure --> animalistic human being. -dystopian world --> human allegory for the right form of government. .