1.

Defining Modernism

Read, review, and annotate Howe’s “The Culture of Modernism” article with the intention of defining modernism and/or answering the questions: what are the characteristics of modernist art and literature and what is the historical context and influences on the culture and artistic output during the modernist period? Make notes in an evidence/interpretation log, like this:

CharacteristicEvidence Source

disturbing “chooses subjects that disturb the audience and threaten its most cherished sentiments

Outlining at least 5 characteristics of modernist art and literature, including values, aesthetics, and historical context. Tell us what page in Howe’s article you are drawing this from. 

Let’s try to get a comprehensive list with as little repetition as possible; use evidence from all pages of the article. We will use these responses through the rest of this module and your Modernism Essay.

2.

Analyzing Modernist Literature 1: Hemingway

Read Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place and annotate it, looking for aspects that match Howe’s definition of modernism.

A) List three examples of how you think this story fits the definition with specific quotations from the story. Use an MLA in-text citation to identify the source of the quotation. Also identify the page on which this characteristic appears in Howe’s article. For example: Howe defines modernist literature as “dark” and “disturbing” (1); we see this in Hemingway’s story when the waiter discuss the old man’s attempted suicide (3). (Don’t use these examples.)

B) Explain any aspect of the story that you think doesn’t fit our definition of modernism