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Modernism, Jack Deignan - Coggle Diagram

- - - - It is a London of solitary strangers and drifting leaves, a ‘tarnished’ version of the Regent’s Park. As we read further, we see it is going to be a London transformed by the war.
        
        "You are right in one way in what you said just now: we are friends of circumstance-war, this isolation this atmosphere in which everything goes on and nothing’s said."
        
        This quote represents how the war transforms the society and the relationships within it. Wartime atmosphere is so overwhelming and causes so much rapid transformation that it is extremely difficult to conceptualize these changes, and one must take this rapid transformation in stride. Additionally, this shows that this effect was widespread and happened throughout all of London, not just to the characters of the novel. In actuality, they represent the anxiety that all civilians dealt with throughout this transformation, attempting to give context to their lives in such uncertain times.
  - - - "“And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves.”
        
        Every single character in this novel can be related to this quote, as each grapples with how their lives fit within their community and what all the changes, or transformations, in their lives mean. This is especially true as the novel develops across serious time changes, and we can see how all their individual lives go through specific transformations that each of them must react to and contextualize individually. The novel is a beautiful introspection on how to deal with the passing of time and what transformation this will bring upon one's life.
  - - - Staying with Araby, Joyce highlights how specific cultural intricacies transform and develop via the time period and events that occur around them, and the perception of these intricacies varies from culture to culture.
        
        Araby is an ideal depiction of a transformation from childhood innocence to the reality of life and its multiple facets. Narrated in first-person, a young boy is infatuated by the intense feelings he has for a girl, Mangan’s sister. At the end of this story, the boy realizes that all this was a fantasy and he has crafted a so many fantasies about what he doesn't have into the ideal scenario. The journey the narrator goes through represents the transformation of utter innocence to painful self-realization.
        
        The hallmark of transformations in the story occurs at the Bazaar.
        
        First, he identifies the “silence like that which pervades a church after a service” as he arrives at the bazaar, which now that he is there, does not meet his expectations.
        
        As the story ends, Joyce uses a variety of descriptions to signify the gradual loss of hope, revelation of reality, and ultimate epiphany that fantasy is a facade. This idea is encapsulated in one the last quotes; “I knew my stay was useless… I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. I heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark.”
        
        In reality, things will be dark, things will be poor, and overall quality of life will be hard to maintain. That is just a product of this world.
  - - - The season Autumn is a time of transformation, and symbolizes a key them of the book. Mr. Gluck's existence is a perfect metaphor of transformation, as the novel watches him transform from a living man to a dying one.
        
        “That's the thing about things. They fall apart, always have, always will, it's in their nature.”
        
        This quote encapsulates the basis of Elisbeth's and Mr. Glucks relationship throughout the entire novel. As much of the novel is about the development of their relationship and the transformation of Daniel from living to dying, this quote shows that one must accept the inevitability of transformation and that is just a natural part of life. Things are going to change, and one must allow change to happen in order to find peace. Opposing transformation doesn't allow one to see the positive that will come from change, and that all great things (love, friendship, purpose, etc) only improve with transformation.
  - - - "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
        Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"
        
        The final two lines are popular and well known. The "rough beast" about to be born after twenty centuries could take the form of a government, a tyrant, a regime - according to the cosmic and spiritual laws it would have to counteract the effects of religion, specifically Christianity.
        
        Yeats believes a new civilization will be born, one that transforms the history and traditions of the past. History will allow them to transform all that has transpired into a civilization they want and deserve.
  - - - In “The Garden Party,” Katherine Mansfield uses the protagonist, Laura, to explore the idea of identity crisis.
        
        Laura’s uncertainty in her identity is first demonstrated through the interactions with the workmen before the garden party She mimics her mother when she says, "Good morning” to the men, but then reflects that this voice, “sounded so fearfully affected that she was ashamed” (1). This immediately establishes that she has been raised with an identity that causes her to perceive herself as a standard above the lower class, and this is a perception she does not necessarily agree with.
        
        This becomes more obvious when Laura tries to relate to the workmen. In the end, she observes them like someone typical of a higher class, with a sense of superiority. Although she thinks to herself, “Why couldn’t she have workmen for her friends rather than the silly boys she danced with and who came to Sunday night supper?” she immediately observes, “It’s all the fault, she decided… of these absurd class distinctions. Well, for her part, she didn’t feel them. Not a bit, not an atom” (2). We can see she is aware of the perception she has, although it is still troubling she openly practices it. The implication is that she does not want this to be a part of her identity, but unfortunately the society she has been raised in has left her no choice. As the story progresses, Laura demonstrates a desire to transform the society that controls her identity, and her yearning for this transformation becomes clear.
  - - - The idea of transformation is so clearly emphasized by the plethora of questions that are raised by the poem. So many questions arise that wonder where the state of things are heading, and how they will change.
        
        Where was the world going? What did the future hold? What price had life now that masses beyond compare had perished so easily in the great war? And, importantly for Eliot, where was God in all this mayhem and alienation?
        
        Example from poem that specifically emphasizes transformation:
        "We have passed Age's icy caves / and Manhood's dark and tossing waves / And youth's smooth ocean."
        
        History has brought civilization to this point, and it is time for a complete transformation, a spiritual transformation. Fear death by water said Madame Sosostris.Radical change cannot be avoided; no escape from the wheel achieved.
- - - - Stella and Louie are two women within the novel who face questions from themselves about what they want their identity to be, who they want to incorporate within their identity.
        
        Stella and Louie are painstakingly concerned with their self-image and constantly wonder how others perceive them: the novel is governed by an almost Berkeleyan metaphysics, in which you are what you are perceived to be. Through the relationships with their respective men, each discover what they want themselves to be perceived as both inside and outside of a relationship.
        
        Stella's exploration of Robert's identity is consistent throughout and lasts up until his death, indicating how careful she was when trying to understand the perception of her identity. His death reveals a lot to her, and she is able to examine their relationship in comparison with her late husband and Harrison. Stella is able to come to terms with what she wants from relationships and society as a whole.
  - - - Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay are the dominating figures of the novel, and each undergo personal battles with their identity. Because of this, their respective community feels a ripple effect, and many question their own identity because the respective hierarchy of individuals does the same.
        
        "Immediately, Mrs. Ramsey seemed to fold herself together, one petal closed in another, and the whole fabric fell in exhaustion upon itself, so that she had only strength enough to move her finger, in exquisite abandonment to exhaustion, across the page of Grimm’s fairy story, while there throbbed through her, like a pulse in a spring which has expanded to its full width and now gently ceases to beat, the rapture of successful creation" (1.7.4 – 1.7.6).
        
        Mrs. Ramsay puts everyone else’s needs above her own, causing her self-identity to wither.
        
        "Well, let them improve upon that, he thought as he finished the chapter. He felt that he had been arguing with somebody, and had got the better of him. They could not improve upon that, whatever they might say; and his own position became more secure"(1.19.7).
        Mr. Ramsay wins a fake argument, and thus speaks to Mr/ Ramsay's need for approval. This is a direct contrast with Mrs. Ramsay, as her identity consists of a need to support others. Mr. Ramsay needs constant validation due to the stature of his intellect, and crafts an identity for himself that is founded upon and appreciation for his intellect. This insecurity has an immense affect on Mrs. Ramsay and the family.
  - - - For this young Irish boy in “Araby,” the unknown is a desire for himself, a space where he believes his ideal identity resides. In the story, the unknown is a woman, Magnan's sister. Her own identity is clouded by the lack of a name and face. She symbolizes the bazaar as a figure, as her anonymity is akin to the great unknown he wishes to have for himself.
        
        “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought little of the future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration.”
        
        The young narrator wants an identity that aligns with the unknown, this woman and the bazaar. In reality, he knows nothing about her and the culture that he yearns for, thus clearly mistaken about what this actually represents. He himself represents the fragility within crafting an identity, as he looks toward any "other" as something more desirable than what he already has. He must face the painful truth at the end; the fantasy of the "other" is a facade, the monotony of his identity isn't avoidable. It is reality.
  - - - The development of the relationship between Elisabeth and Mr. Gluck represents the importance of creating one's own identity amidst the influences of both the greater community and the people who have a direct impact on one's own life. Elisabeth had to balance the innate needs she felt within her relationship with Mr. Gluck against the wishes of her mother, the standards of a post-brexit world, and a developing understanding of what she wants her identity to represent.
        
        As Elisabeth says about Daniel,”if he is…then he’s not just gay. He’s not just one thing or another, Nobody is. Not even you.” This quote represents the importance of Mr. Gluck on the construction of her identity. Throughout the novel, she is surrounded by external forces that want to group her, amidst the rest of society, into specific groups.
        
        Mr. Gluck teaches Elisabeth that her identity will consist of an endless amount of characteristics and values, as he is the perfect example for her. She falls in love with him because he teaches her that all people should be allowed to construct identities for themselves, and no variable is off limits when constructing that identity.
  - - - In the text, Eliot employs that due to this war, identities that surround nationalism and religion have been fragmented, and new identities must arise. He also focuses on the relationship between external and internal forces of society and how identities adjust due to these factors. Mainly, how specific time period create these factors and create the standards of a cultural identity.
        
        The juxtaposition between external and internal agencies and how they affect personal identities epitomizes Eliot's emblematic concept of rebirth. He believe that Irishmen need to embrace this rebirth in order to create a functioning society.
        
        "April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire..." (Eliot 2530).
        
        Eliot depicts the evolution of culture and individual identities as the "dead land, mixing memory and desire" to form the rebirth of prior experiences; history and the learned experiences that come with it must create the modern identity. Eliot encourages readers to look toward the past to regain identity in a community that owes the history of its cultural identity to social perogatives.
  - - - Rosabel recalls the events of the day at the Milliner's shop where she works, reflecting through a day dream in which Rosabel is a part of the day's events but also an outside observer. Rosabel compares and contrasts her perceived identity that she crafts for herself and the one she imagines through the eyes of the city couple.
        
        Rosabel idealizes the identity the couple seems to put forward at the shop, and questions the worth and validity of her own in comparison with theirs.
        
        Harry came across the room and caught her in his arms –- “Rosabel, Rosabel, Rosabel ....” Oh, the haven of those arms, and she was very tired. (The real Rosabel, the girl crouched on the floor in the dark, laughed aloud, and put her hand up to her hot mouth.) (Mansfield 518).
        
        Her real self, or the self she imagines is to be, can only exist within this day dream, as she is aware of her non identity in comparison with this couple. She dreams of wearing the clothes they try on, wondering what their class consists of. Her tiredness comes into play because she does not want this to be her identity, but sees it is the new standard of the autonomous modern city. The end of the story sees her find some semblance of peace, as she comes to terms and is satisfied with her real self. The self she dreams about is definitively constructed through the lens of society.
  - - - In the first stanza, Yeats alludes to the Ireland's stagnant history beset with "polite meaningless words"(6). Yeats is attempting to pain these people as apathetic, mainly through a lack of acknowledgment. He views them as conforming to their individual lives, as they exist within a constant state of disillusionment. Although Yeats portrays these individuals as despondent figures, he asserts that through the events of "Easter 1916" they have "All changed, changed utterly"(15). Rebellion is the reason for this, as the Irish people have asserted themselves and a desire for independence and identity that instills a coming of age for their collective population.
        
        Yeats refers to the significant figures of the Easter Rebellion to suggest that all Irishmen have the ability and the responsibility to create change for themselves and their community. He groups these heroes with the lives of everyday citizens, exemplifying that there is no special characteristic that allows someone to uphold the values of their culture. Yeats asserts that the Irish identity needs to be constructed and defined by all Irish citizens, and each civilian has a responsibility to defend it for themselves.