Eng426 20th century english literature

Lack of communication: The characters in modernist writings, especially the novel are emotionally and psychologically distraught. They are characters who are anti- social and introverted loners who sometimes dwell in the gloom of their minds as mere observers and thinkers, unable to associate with or communicate their feelings to the other.

Solitariness and aloneness: This lack of communication gives rise to characters that are alienated, isolated and detached from the external world. They are so alone that they seem oblivious of external realities. They escape to and live in the world they have created for themselves in their minds and are always afraid of and angered by external disturbance or interruptions.

Trauma and gloom: The terrible experiences that some people had on the battlefield or what they saw in hospitals, the loss of their loved ones, and so on, brought the minds of many to a sad state. There are gloomy portraitures of life in modernist writing through an inward reflection of the inner consciousnesses of characters.

Existentialism: Modernist writing shows how life itself has become or seems to be meaningless as the ontology of man was seen to be marked with futility. So many lost hope in the struggles for life and were afraid to give birth to children. This hopelessness makes the characters not to believe in institutions made by man, including religion and the military. Sometimes, these institutions are satirised like George Bernard Shaw mocked the military in Arms and the Man.

Search for New Ground: With the loss of hope, and with the notion that the world is without God, true guidance and rule, and clear distinction between good and bad, there is always the quest for a new basis of meaning in the world. Characters are often seen trying to seek for happiness. Sometimes, the characters leave their own countries in search of a place where they can make their lives meaningful.