SURVEY IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE

American

M odernist
Period
Presenters : Ed a M a r i e D e q u i n a
Roselyn Padernal
M a y A n n Peñ arila
L a n c e Dasheil A g h o n
 W H A T W E 'L L D I S C U S S
H isto ry
Th eme s/Style

C h aracteristics
A u th o rs
Notable Wo r k s

T O D A Y 'S
TOPICS
 H IS T O R Y
P O S T W O R L D WA R I
AMERICA
Wo r l d Wa r I, or the Great Wa r, ch anged A m e r i c a n attitudes in ways that
weren't anticipated. After having witnessed death a nd destruction o n an
unparalleled scale, m a n y yo u n g Americans felt a sense o f shock at what was
perceived as pointless deaths in a war o f automatic weaponry a n d barbaric
practices - a war that took place across an ocean. T h i s country that they
o n c e knew, a safe ch i l d h o od p layground solidly constructed o f patriotism,
faith, a n d morality pre-war, h a d fallen. W h a t was left was a population o f
yo u n g w h o felt aimless a nd scattered, without the kind o f direction that led
to a purposeful life, a n d with a whole lot o f excessive behavior.
 H IS T O R Y

THE MODERNIST PERIOD

Am e r i c a entered the twentieth century optimistically as a wealthy, strong

world power. A l t h ou gh this t i m e period started o f f with prosperity, it soon
b e c a m e o n e characterized by two world wars a nd a severe e c o n o m i c
depression. T h e s e events ushered in a new age in A m e r i c a n literature,
M o d e r n i s m , as writers began to attempt to express m o d e r n life with their
writings.
T h e Mod ernist era was an era o f boldness an d fast-paced living. T h e
culture saw the H a r l e m Renaissance an d the Roaring Twenties (also k n o w n
as the Jazz Age). T h i s was a ti m e o f flourishing art an d extravagant living that
acted as a prequel to the Great Depression.
 H IS T O R Y

THE MODERNIST PERIOD

T h e s e sentiments pervaded m a n y cultural aspects o f c hange in the 1920s,

including literature. Writers felt that the old n o r m s were n o longer relevant, the
old ways o f writing n o longer relatable. T h e y criticized what the country h a d
b e c o m e after losing a sense o f h o p e in the war, a n d h o w its people, a m o n g other
things, felt lost. M a k i n g sense o f things, for t h e m , was a frustrating exercise.

T h e Lost Generation m a d e an impact o n society because the writings that c a m e

out o f this period showed the effects war has o n people. Wa r was a terrible h i n g
that m a d e m e n lose their masculinity, gave people a sense o f disillusionment,
a n d m a d e people want to return to a simpler, idealistic past.
 H IS T O R Y

THE MODERNIST PERIOD

T h e te r m the Lost Generation was introduced by Gertrude Stein, a modernist
A m e r i c a n writer wh o m a d e Paris her pe r ma ne nt h o m e . As the story goes, Stein's
auto m e c h a n i c was upset whe n his yo u n g e m p l oye e did unsatisfactory work o n
her car. T h e m e c h a n i c reasoned that the yo u n g were all a lost generation, difficult
to prepare for work or focus.

Ernest H e m i n g way, a friend o f G ertr ude Stein, m a d e it a popular concept wh e n

h e included it as an epigraph in his novel T h e S u n Also Rises. T h e Lost
Generation, therefore, really referred to that gro up o f m e n a n d w o m e n wh o
c a m e o f age during Wo r l d Wa r I a n d wh o felt disillusioned in this unfamiliar
post-war world.
C O N FU SIO N

ISO L A T IO N

DISILLUSIONMENT Major Literary Themes

of Modernist
Era
E X PE R IM E N T A T IO N

INDIVIDUALISM

M U LT I P L E P E R S P E C T I V E S

FREE VERSE
Characteristics o f
Modernist
L IT E R A R Y D E V IC E S Literature
Lost Generation Writers
T h e Lost G e n e ra t i o n o f writers refers to a g ro u p o f
expatriate A m e r i c a n writers w h o lived a n d worked
in E u ro p e between Wo r l d Wa r I a n d the G re at
Depression.
G E RT RU D E STEIN
1874-1946

W R I T E R 'S H I G H L I G H T

Biography
G e rt ru d e Stein was an A m e r i c a n author a n d poet best k n o w n
for her mod ernist writings, extensive art collecting a n d
literary salon in 1920s Paris. S h e was b o r n o n February 3,
1874, in Allegh eny, Pennsylvania. Stein was an imaginative,
influential writer in the 20t h century. Stein was also a
prolific art collector a n d the host o f a salon that includ ed
expatriate writers Ernest H e m i n g way, S h e r wo o d A nd e rs on
a n d Ezra Po u n d .
"The M a k i n g o f Americans: Being a History N otable
o f a Family's Progress ", published in 1925.

W orks

"The Autobiography o f Alice B . Toklas",

published in 1933.
ERNEST
H E M I N G W A Y 1899-
1961
W R I T E R 'S H I G H L I G H T

Biography
Ernest H e m i n g w a y was an A m e r i c a n writer a n d a winner o f
the N o b e l Prize for Literature in 1954. H e started his writing
career as a newspaper reporter a n d journalist. H e is
considered o n e o f the m o s t influential writers o f the 20t h
century. Best k n o w n for his novels a n d short stories, h e was
also an a c c om p lis h e d journalist a n d war correspondent .
H e m ing way 's trademark prose style—simple a n d spare—
influenced a generation o f writers.
"The S u n Also Rises", published in 1926.
N otable

W orks

"The O l d M a n and T h e Sea", published

in 1952.
T H O M A S STEARNS ELIOT
1888-1965

W R I T E R 'S H I G H L I G H T

Biography
T. S . Eliot (September 26, 1888–January 4, 1965) was an
A m e r i c a n - b o r n poet , essayist, publisher, playwright, a n d
critic. O n e o f the m o s t e m i n e n t modernists, h e was awarded
the N o b e l Prize in Literature in 1948 “for his outstanding,
pioneer contributions to present-day poetry.”
"The Waste Land", a p o e m published in N otable
1922.

W orks

"Murder in the Cathedral", bo o k

published in 1935.
F. S C O T T F I T Z G E R A L D
1896-1940

W R I T E R 'S H I G H L I G H T

Biography
Francis Scott K e y Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940), better k n o w n as F.
Scott Fitzgerald, was an A m e r i c a n author o f novels a n d short
stories, b o r n in St. Paul, M innes ot a, a n d raised in an Irish
m i d d l e class fa m i ly. Fitzgerald's prolific short stories tend to
center a ro und the p ro m is e o f yout h , followed b y the effects
o f age a n d despair. Fitzgerald was considered o n e o f the best
authors o f the twentieth century, a leading voice for the
"Lost Generation" o f the 1920s a n d the Jazz Age .
"The Great Gatsby", b o o k published in 1925.
N otable

W orks

"Tender is the Night", b oo k published in

1934.
J O H N D O S PA S S O S
1896-1940

W R I T E R 'S H I G H L I G H T

Biography
J o h n Ro d e r i g o D o s Passos (b.1896, d.1970) was a writer,
painter, a n d political activist. H e wrote over forty books,
including plays, poetry, novels, biographies, histories, a n d
m e m o i r s . D o s Passos sought to g ro u n d fiction in historic
detail a n d working-class, realistic dialogue. H e invented a
m u l t i m e d i a fo r m a t o f newsreels, songs, biographies, a n d
autobiography to c o nvey the f re n z y o f 20th century
America’s industrialism a n d urbanism.
" U. S . A Trilogy ", b o o k published in 1938.
N otable

W orks

"Manhattan Transfer", b o o k published

in 1925.
QUESTIONS FOR
CLASS
W h y did yo u choose this course?
Presentations are c o m m u n i c a t i o n tools that
can be used as speeches, reports, a n d m o re .

W h a t makes history interesting to you?

Presentations are c o m m u n i c a t i o n tools that
can be used as speeches, reports, a n d m o re .

H o w will yo u apply what yo u learned?

Presentations are c o m m u n i c a t i o n tools that
can be used as speeches, reports, a n d m o re .
 CLASS REPORTERS

E d a M a ri e D e q u in a M a y A n n Peñ arila L a n c e Dasheil A g h o n Roselyn Padernal

 REFERENCES
http://jordansylaramericanliterature.weebly.com/the-modernist-period.html
h ttp s://stu d y .co m /acad em y /lesso n /th e- lo st- gen eratio n - ex p atriate- writers- o f - th e-
20 th - century.html
https://thegreatestbooks.org/authors/5099
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_Also_Rises
http://www.johndospassos.com https://
www.thoughtco.com/ernest-hemingway-1779812
https://www.biography.com/writer/gertrude-stein
https://study.com/learn/lesson/the-lost-generation-expatriate-writers-of-the-20th-
century.html