Sign of Literary Modernism
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Sign of Literary Modernism
Modernism is considered as a philosophical society that, together with the existing intellectual trends and changes, begun from wide-size and far-reaching changes in the Western society throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other factors that have typically led to modernism are the growth of current industrial communities and the rapid development of cities together with the constant innovation and invention (Collins, 2013). Modernism, in general, comprises of operations and creations of those who felt the ancient forms of talent, architecture spiritual faith, social institution, and sciences. A notable feature of modernism is reticence and irony pertaining mythical and social civilization that often create experiments with form along with the use of methods that drew attention to the process and equipment utilized in creating a poem among other things. These changes have been documented in the literature through the use of tales reflecting the type of pain and struggles that people went through; thus, these stories no longer always have a magical happy ending. Some of the examples of modernist articles comprise of the play “Trifles” written by Susan Glaspell and talks about murder together with injustices of gender inequalities during the time from current feminist consideration and the tale “Neighbor Rosicky” by Willa Catherine that is a modern fiction concentrated around a poor immigrant farmer.
The play Trifles was composed by Susan Glaspell and was highlighted in a feminist point of view with more of it concentrating on the murder of Mr. Wright with the fundamental message outlining gender inequalities during the period. The male ignorance towards the capabilities of the female gender was a significant issue during that period and was documented among various female writers of the time (Rodriguez, 2014). This makes it a substantial element of modernist literary movement. Even though a majority of feminist writers of that time views female characters as firm and powerful; Glaspell opinions the matter more modestly. In this particular tale, the male characters of the play typically handle the female characters with little respect and operate as though they are more superior to the women. On the other side, women are reflected to be submissive with a majority of them being intuitive and paying much attention to details than the men of the story. Mrs. Peters, hale is not so close to Mrs. Wright; even though, they understand her existing situation more and more as they begin to highlight what occurred with the aim of looking for a cover-up. According to Rodriguez, M. L. (2014), at that time when they discover the dead bird and put the whole story together, they typically start shed more light on why Mrs. Wright killed her husband as the female gender were similarly handled them. At the end of the story, the two women decide to hide the bird that would present their husbands with the evidence of their motives against Mrs. Wright. Therefore, the entire Trifles story typically outlines the story of a time of injustice while taking a firm stand for women and their prejudices.
On the other hand, Neighbor Rosicky is typically a precise tale of fictional modernism in several ways. It is a tale formulated by Willa Cather regarding the life of an immigrant farmer and the reflection of his life as a farmer in Nebraska. Throughout the story, he strategically recalls entirely what that happened to him and those that he endured to get to the nation in search of the American dream. Rosicky is an exact definition of what various individuals in foreign countries dreamed about during the ancient times (Jinghua, 2010). His ultimate goal was to stay away from the life of poverty and migrate to the land of opportunities in search of the white picket fence and the proper family life. Immigrants of the nation had turned into the most prominent topic of the modernist literary initiative at that time. There was nothing brutal in the short, broad-backed man with the three-corned eyes and the forehead that went on top of his skull. He was recognized as the city man, a real gentleman, and though he had married a rough farm girl, he had never handled her without gentleness. Cather views Rosicky as a family man who strategically works hard and is committed to his family and also gets contented with the little things in life instead of being preoccupied with power and riches. “He has a special passion for loving various people, like an ear for music or an eye for color-just merely there.” As a majority of modernist writers had started to perceive that notion, the American dream was changing and getting corrupted by the greed and ambition of the entire population. Neighbor Rosicky is typically comfortable staying on his farm together with his family, living contentedly, not requiring much and not in a bigger city trying to acquire more. The Cather’s tale of Rosicky typically describes a story of when people were just contented and lived a simple life.
In conclusion, the period of modernism reflects a time of change and a turning point for the entire nation as it is irrelevant whether the tale being narrated was about the equality of female’s rights or an individual’s journey in pursuit of the American dream. The ancient writers described stories of change in a more truthful; even though they might not have had a happy ending, and they acknowledged the changes occurring and narrated the story just as it happened.
References
Collins, J. (2013). Uncommon cultures: Popular culture and post-modernism. Routledge.
Jinghua, T. A. N. (2010). The Quintessence of Poetic Dwelling——An Ecocritical Interpretation of Willa Cather’s Short Story” Neighbor Rosicky”[J]. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 3, 021.
Rodriguez, M. L. (2014). Reading Minnie’s Quilt: Decoding Domestic Material Culture in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles.