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Helen Nguon
Cyber 5
1/18/12
Modernism Definition Essay
The word modern is a term that is used to describe current trends in today’s
world ranging from attire to a city’s architecture. John C. Ransom, an abstract artist who
still lives today, explains modernism: “And yet what is modernism? It is undefined” (John
C. Ransom Quotes). What we may define as modern today may not be what was
modern ten years ago or what will be modern ten years from now; modern has a
definition that is always changing in order to follow the fast-paced changes of society’s
culture. As culture changes, values and beliefs systems tend to change as well; art
changes, new scientific and political thought emerges, and new ideas rise from
spontaneity. As human nature progresses in artistic innovation and scientific discovery,
new trends will continue to rise up with new indifference to past traditions to keep up
with the modern world. Modernism is a cultural movement in which everything from
social life to our beliefs begins to lack tradition and consistency to previous generations
due to the ever changing world.
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a modern work written in the
1920s, depicting new ideas of rebellious behavior, luxury, and desire for wealth and
status. This decade is often known as the “Roaring Twenties” because the economy
rose due to the fact that women became more outgoing, and people became more
willing to buy items they wanted for luxury, especially after the war ended (The 1920sRoaring Twenties-the Nineteen Twenties in History). The ways in which people dressed
and acted when the world was at war were different from the trends of the 1920s. Up
until this time period, people didn’t drink excessively at parties and women were loyal to
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their husbands; having extra-marital affairs was unheard of. However, Daisy and Tom
Buchanan, a married couple from the East Egg of New York, were shown to have
cheated on each other through the course of the story. Also, the protagonist Mr. Jay
Gatsby held extraordinary parties at his gothic mansion in which everyone came to drink
with one another. Women would come in just to have fun. “In his blue gardens men and
girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the
stars... the bar is in full swing … alive with chatter...” (Page 44) The people who came to
these parties desired wealth and status as well. This new desire for money and material
items in the book shows the change in attitude towards values and other people. The
Great Gatsby puts extra emphasis in describing people’s possessions, as seen in his
description of Gatsby’s mansion: “…A factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in
Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy and a
marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Page 9).
Fitzgerald’s emphasis wealth and acquiring wealth follows the trends of thought as well
as the American Dream during the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby encompasses the big idea of the American Dream that people
came to America with a hope to be free and wealthy. Throughout the story, Gatsby is
constantly chasing a green light which symbolizes his hopes and dreams of being with
Daisy and to be fabulously wealthy like her. His means of doing this were illegal and
immoral. Gatsby was rebellious, yet, he desired wealth and he got it. This idea of
striving for wealth shows that the American attitude towards success was changing
because people in that time period began to yearn for material items rather than values.
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The way that The Great Gatsby can follow this trend in behavior demonstrates why it’s a
modernist piece of work.
In modern art galleries, it is clear that modern technology and science can be
inspirations for artists. Last year, I went on a field trip with the National Art Honor
Society to visit modern art galleries in Chelsea, NY. Before arriving, I envisioned the
type of art that was placed in galleries to be sophisticated and well-defined, much like
that of the Renaissance Era. Of course, that art era is much outdated and I soon
learned that modern art is nowhere near well-defined. Three dimensional sculptures
were not made of ceramic like I imagined; modern sculptures include robotics, motion
activated sound boxes, and short shadow puppet films. It was obviously a very creative
and innovative feeling to be surrounded by such modern art because today’s artist
seem to fit so well into today’s society. In a world where people have become attached
to their computers and other technologies, there are artists who can satisfy their needs.
For such an innovative world to live in one filled with unfitting art doesn’t sound realistic.
Modern artists must learn to adapt to the new changes in the world and create art that
becomes pleasing to people.
Learning to adapt to change in the world means recognizing new technology,
trends, and societal themes. In the 1920s, the book Ulysses was written by James
Joyce. The novel parallels an ancient classic, The Odyssey, written by Homer. Joyce
took an old, well-known story and brought it into the modern period. This book
demonstrates that modern works twist traditions and old aspects of culture to create
something that is modern. Ulysses is also written in a narrative mode known as streamof-consciousness that was popular for many literary works during the 1920s. This mode
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told the story from the character's point of view, while writing out all the thought
processes and actions that the character goes through (Stream of consciousness –
Narrative). Ulysses included a new writing technique showing that it was following along
with trends of its time. Also, the movie and musical, Hairspray, contains numerous
modern themes that pertain to family values and appearance. According to Neil Meron,
producer of Hairspray, “Hairspray is about body image, racial tolerance, [and] what
constitutes a family” (What Makes a Modern Movie Musical Sing? – TIME). In a world of
struggling families, racial differences, and eating disorders, it is important for a modern
movie to hit these themes, which Hairspray obviously does. Other than recognizing
modern problems, a modernist piece of work should also recognize the fact that
technology is changing and adapt to it. People from generations before listened to
music with natural voices, natural sounds, and little technological renovation. Today, it is
never surprising to hear songs sung by an artist whose voice is auto tuned or played by
computerized instruments. Computers make this technology completely accessible to
everyone. For example, an application known as Virtual DJ Home makes it possible to
correct the pitch in a singer’s voice, change the tempo of a song, and add additional
background instruments (VIRTUAL DJ SOFTWARE).Because this technology did not
exist previously, music has changed and become more modern in order to adapt to
today’s technological innovations.
The idea of something being modern is similar to the idea of something always
changing; it is never consistent and it is always different from the way that it was before.
It adapts to the changes that take place in our world and creates new trends and ideas
from it. Modernism defines the culture of an era. It is always changing but the idea
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encompasses society as a whole and what it is like in terms of social life and art.
Modernism is seen in The Great Gatsby where it includes themes modern to its time
and the author recognizes the changes in values of people. Modern pieces of art,
music, and literature give thought to technology, new trends, and societal themes.
Everything that is current and new is in everything that is modern. The only consistent
definition that can be given to modernism is the fact that it is always inconsistent and
always changing.
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Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The great Gatsby. New York: Scribner :,
2003. Print.
"John C. Ransom Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_c_ransom.html>.
“Stream of consciousness – Narrative.” The International Society for the Study of
Narrative. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2012.
<http://narrative.georgetown.edu/wiki/index.php>.
"The 1920's - Roaring Twenties - The Nineteen Twenties in History." The 1920's Roaring Twenties - The Nineteen Twenties in History. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.1920-30.com/>.
“What Makes a Modern Movie Musical Sing? – TIME.” Breaking News, Analysis,
Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15
Jan. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1622288,00.html>.
"VIRTUAL DJ SOFTWARE - Home FREE." VIRTUAL DJ SOFTWARE - MP3 Mixing
Software. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.virtualdj.com/products/homefree.html>.
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Helen Nguon
Reflection Paper
Throughout this unit, I think that I have become a better writer because I’ve
learned to structure my essays better, and use verbs correctly. From the first persuasive
essay, I’ve learned to do research and gather my thoughts into paragraphs to write an
essay. The techniques that I picked up from doing that assignment will help me become
a better researcher for English as well as my other classes, and I can formulate a wellwritten essay to argue a point. I picked up important skills from the persuasive essay
that can help me out in this class and all other areas.
Also, throughout this unit I learned about verb tenses, prepositions, pronouns,
and many other types of words that make up sentences. Understanding how sentences
are written and what makes one grammatically correct will help me write correct
sentences of my own. Plus, recognizing sentence errors is a section on standardized
tests that I often have trouble with. Going through these areas will help me better
prepare to study for the SATs. Reviewing the grammar of sentences has helped me
understand that what may sound correct isn’t always grammatically correct. I’ve become
more aware of the words and verb tenses I use when writing now. My future essays will
probably lack problems with subject-verb agreement and misuse of verb tenses
because I understand that area better now.
Review English grammar and learning how to do research are very important
areas that we have gone over this year that I think have really improved my writing
skills. I have become a better writer because of the assignments and review that we’ve
had this year and I understand verb tenses and verb agreement a lot better now.