Post-Modernism, Modernism and Realism

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Post-Modernism, Modernism and Realism

• Mr. Frank English 11

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Qualities of Post-Modernism

• Reliability of the narrator is called
  particularly into question (not only whether or
  not what the narrator says is true, but whether
  or not the narrator even believes that its true.
  I.E. Is the narrator purposefully lying to the
  audience).
• Several facets of modernism remain, but the focus
  tends to be on questioning authority and societal
  standards. What makes something important?
  What is art? Why do people follow societys
  standard? all become central questions.

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Qualities of Modernism

• Multiple narrators or narrative points of view.
• Disjointed timelines (a plot that is not
  sequential).
• A Blending of poetry, prose, and sometimes art
  in an effort to confuse where one medium begins
  and another one ends.
• Characters are generally from the lower or middle
  class.
• Use of stream-of-consciousness.

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Modernist Writers

• American authors best known for including these
  characteristics in their include William
  Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison and
  T.S. Eliot.
• Foreign authors that are often credited with
  creating this style of writing include James
  Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Virginia Woolf, and Ezra
  Pound.

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Literary Timeline

• Post-Modernism is generally considered to have
  begun during the protest movements of the Vietnam
  War and reached its peak with the onset of the
  technological revolution of the 1990s.
• Modernism is generally considered to have reached
  its peak between 1900 and 1930, although it
  dominated literature far into the middle of the
  20th century and aspects of this genre still
  exist today.

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• Realism, which preceded Modernism as a literary
  time period, existed predominantly in the United
  States between 1860 and 1900. Many authors still
  write in this style today, although many scholars
  refer to Realist writers from later time periods
  as naturalists.
• Romanticism is the period between 1800-1860 which
  is characterized by heroes and romantic journeys
  similar to those taught in 10th grade. American
  Literature is renowned for its Dark Romantics
  in particular.

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Qualities of Realism

• Generally focused on everyday people of the
  working or middle class.
• These works generally focus on qualities of daily
  life in normal society and as a result the
  characters, not the plot, are considered most
  important.
• The voice of the narration is generally close to
  everyday speech so that it appeals to and
  represents the average people in society.
• The one crucial aspect considered inherent to all
  Realism is the genuine and unembellished nature
  of the descriptions, the characters, and the plot.

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Writers of Realism

• Famous authors from this time period and style
  include Henry James, Stephen Crane, Ambrose
  Bierce, Sherwood Anderson, Walt Whitman, Willa
  Cather, Thornton Wilder, and in some instances,
  Mark Twain.
• Authors who carried this style over into the
  20th Century and are often referred to as
  Realist or Naturalist include Ernest
  Hemingway and John Steinbeck.