The Birth and Evolution of American Modernism (1915-1945)

Defining American Modernism and the Historical Shift

American Modernism refers to a specific period of literary and artistic evolution occurring between the years $1915$ and $1945$. According to historian William E. Leuchtenburg in his work The Perils of Prosperity, the advent of World War I played a central role in this shift by destroying faith in progress and making it clear to perceptive thinkers that violence prowled underneath man’s apparent harmony and rationality. Robert Wohl provides a formal definition of the movement, stating that Modernism is a response by clusters of intellectuals and artists to the converging processes of industrialization. In simpler terms, it represents the reaction of artists and writers to the new societal structures formed as a direct result of industrialization.

Characteristics and Aspects of Literary Modernism

Literary Modernism, spanning from $1915$ to $1945$, is characterized by several distinct aspects. It features a high degree of experimentation in form and style. The characters in these works are most often portrayed as alienated individuals searching unsuccessfully for meaning and love within their lives. Furthermore, the themes of this literature are pulled directly from real life rather than idealized scenarios. The devastation caused by World War I effectively ended the sense of optimism that had characterized the years leading up to the conflict. This transition led to a more negative, or realistic, view of the world which, when combined with technological advances, gave birth to the Modernist movement.

Contrasting the Pre-Modern and Modern Worldviews

The transition into the early $20$th century marked a profound shift in values and global perception. In the Pre-Modern world, existence was viewed as ordered, meaningful, and optimistic, characterized by stability, faith, and a clear sense of morality and values. Individuals possessed a clear sense of identity and their place in the world. Conversely, the Modern World is defined by chaos, futility, and pessimism. It is a world in constant fluctuation where a loss of faith is prevalent. This era witnessed a collapse of traditional morality and values, leading to a confused sense of identity and a lack of understanding regarding one’s place in the global landscape.

Major Historical Influences: World War I and the Jazz Age

World War I was a primary catalyst for Modernism, involving $32$ countries and claiming the lives of over $20,000,000$ people. The war introduced new weapons made possible by technological advancements and signaled a definitive end to idealism. It ushered in an era marked by hedonism, political corruption, and ruthless business practices. Following the war, the Jazz Age, or the Roaring Twenties, emerged—a period F. Scott Fitzgerald described as the greatest, gaudiest spree in history. During this time, young people actively rebelled against the past and tradition, engaging in bold experimentation with fashion and lifestyle.

Prohibition and the New Era for Women

The era was also defined by Prohibition, which lasted from $1920$ to $1933$, during which alcohol was made illegal. This led to the rise of bootleggers, who sold alcohol illicitly, and speakeasies, private locations where alcohol continued to be served. Simultaneously, a new era for women began with the passage of the $19$th Amendment, granting the right to vote. This period saw the rise of the flapper, defined as an emancipated young woman who embraced new fashions and the urban attitudes of the day. Women also began entering the workforce in greater numbers.

The Great Depression and the New Deal

The economic prosperity of the $1920$s ended abruptly with the Stock Market crash in $1929$, leading to the Great Depression. During this time, banks failed, businesses floundered, and workers lost their jobs, resulting in a $25\%$ unemployment rate. Farmers were ruined and many traveled West to find work in a climate where there were too many people and too few jobs. In response, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) implemented the New Deal. These programs focused on relief for the hungry and homeless, recovery for agriculture and business, and various economic reforms designed to prevent a depression of such severity from occurring again.

Themes and Alienation in Modern Literature

Modernist literature explores several recurring themes including collectivism versus individualism, disillusionment, violence and alienation, decadence and decay, and loss and despair. It also examines the breakdown of social norms and cultural sureties, race and gender relations, and the evolving concept of the American Dream. Alienation is a central pillar of this literature. Gertrude Stein famously referred to the characters of this era as belonging to a "lost generation." T. S. Eliot described this psychological state as a ‘dissociation of sensibility,’ or the separation of thought from feeling. Langston Hughes characterized this experience as a ‘Dream deferred.’

Valorization of the Individual and Urbanscapes

Modernist works often feature the valorization of the individual, where characters act heroically in the face of a future they cannot control. This reflects the uncertainty felt by individuals during this era. Notable examples include Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby and Lieutenant Henry in A Farewell to Arms. Additionally, there was an increasing focus on urbanscapes as writers explored how life in the city differed from life on the farm. Consequently, literary conflicts began to center on the pressures and structures of society rather than nature.

Literary Styles: Stream of Consciousness and Juxtaposition

Modernism introduced innovative narrative modes, most notably stream of consciousness. This technique seeks to portray an individual’s point of view by providing the written equivalent of a character’s thought processes, often through loose interior monologue or in connection to action. Another key technique is juxtaposition, where two images that are not commonly associated are placed side by side or structurally close together. This forces the reader to reconsider the meaning of the text through contrasting ideas, motifs, or images. An example provided is the phrase, ‘He was slouched alertly.’

Profiles of Major Modernist Authors

T. S. Eliot was the most dominant literary figure between the two world wars, serving as an influential poet and critic. He conceived of the poem as an object demanding a fusion of intellect, feeling, and experience, with major works including Prufrock and Other Observations ($1917$) and The Waste Land ($1922$). William Faulkner was a Southern American writer whose works often centered on the mythical Yoknapatawpha County. He used experimental techniques like stream of consciousness and the dislocation of narrative time to explore sex, class, and race relations in works like The Sound and the Fury ($1929$) and As I Lay Dying ($1930$).

Ernest Hemingway is known for his Iceberg Theory of literature, where only one-eighth of the meaning is visible above the surface. His prose was spare, tight, and journalistic, often maintaining an objective, detached point of view to examine masculinity and gender in works such as The Sun Also Rises ($1926$) and A Farewell to Arms ($1929$). Gertrude Stein, an expatriate author and artistic innovator, coined the term ‘Lost Generation’ and served as a patron to many artists. Her famous line is ‘Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.’ F. Scott Fitzgerald focused on the Jazz Age and Great Depression, exploring American materialism and the American Dream in The Great Gatsby ($1925$) and Tender is the Night ($1934$).

The Evolution of the American Dream

The traditional American Dream was built on the ideals of endless opportunities (the ‘New Eden’), the belief that life should keep getting better through progress, and the conviction that the self-reliant individual will triumph. Modernism reflected the fragmentation of society by rejecting these traditional themes. Modernist writers showed a loss of faith in religion and society and a deep sense of disillusionment with the American Dream, as seen through characters like Nick and Gatsby. The hero was no longer seen as infallible but as flawed and disillusioned, yet capable of showing ‘grace under pressure.’ Contemporary interpretations of the dream have since shifted toward lifestyle, suburban houses, and security (‘$2.5$ kids and a minivan’).

F. Scott Fitzgerald: Biography and Symbols

F. Scott Fitzgerald ($1896-1940$) authored five novels and numerous short stories, notably portraying the extravagance and carelessness of the Jazz Age. He married Zelda, a southern belle he met while stationed in Alabama. Together, they became symbols of the Jazz Age‡attractive, charming, legendary partiers, but also synonymous with drinking, recklessness, and tragedy. Fitzgerald’s later years in the $1930$s were marked by debt, depression, and poor health. He died of a heart attack in $1940$ at the age of $44$. Zelda died later in a hospital fire in $1947$. His work, particularly The Great Gatsby, was revived after his death and is often called the greatest American novel of the $20$th century.

Core Inquiries of The Great Gatsby

The novel raises several fundamental questions regarding the human condition: what are the consequences of the carelessness that results from wealth and social power? To what extent can a person change their social status through the acquisition of money? What is the importance of striving to accomplish a lifelong dream, and what are the consequences of failing to do so? Set in Long Island in the $1920$s, the story follows Jay Gatsby, a young millionaire with a mysterious past who throws glamorous parties in hopes of reuniting with his long-lost love, Daisy, who is married to Tom Buchanan. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young stock trader.

Modernism in Visual Art

Modernism also manifested through several visual art movements. Cubism, as seen in works like those by Tim Thompson, and Dadaism, which was represented by Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, challenged traditional aesthetics. Surrealism featured artists like Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. Futurism was explored by figures such as Kandinsky and Giacomo Balla. Later, Jackson Pollock would become a key figure in modern artistic expression.

The Conceptualization of the Lost Generation

The term ‘Lost Generation’ refers to those who reached adulthood during or immediately after World War I. Psychologically, it describes a disoriented, wandering, and directionless feeling. This generation found the conservative moral and social values of their parents irrelevant. President Warren G. Harding’s ‘back to normalcy’ policy left them feeling spiritually alienated from a life they viewed as provincial, materialistic, and emotionally barren. Having witnessed pointless death on a massive scale, they rejected traditional behavior and gender roles, often focusing instead on the hedonistic accumulation of wealth. The term originated when Gertrude Stein heard a French garage owner tell an employee, ‘You are all a lost generation.’ She repeated it to Hemingway, who used it as the epigraph for The Sun Also Rises.

The Green Light and the Impossible Future

Many members of the Lost Generation created unrealistic hopes for the future as a way to avoid the horrors of warfare. This is best exemplified by the ‘green light’ at the end of The Great Gatsby. Nick Carraway explains that Gatsby believed in this green light, an ‘orgiastic future’ that recedes every year. Fitzgerald uses the green light as a metaphor for the perfect futures individuals continue to believe in even as they move further away. The closing lines of the novel state: ‘So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’ This suggests that despite overwhelming evidence, the Lost Generation clung to the belief that ‘one fine day’ their dreams would eventually come true.