With the growing interest in Urbanism and Industrialization as well as a pursuit of an ever-changing world bred the urge for Modernism (Kuiper, 2019). To put it another way, modernism in literature stemmed from flourishing globalization and industrialization. Literary modernism had been prevalent and well-known in writing, fiction, especially from the 1910s to 1960s. Authors such as Joseph Conrad and Henry James are mainly regarded as the fathers of Modernism in Literature by their pre-war works. However, Modernism in terms of literary movement is actually connected with the time following World War I. Many people lost their faith in Western Civilization, culture, and even religion. In other words, the aftermath of World War I and human progress left many people brooding about the future of humanity and made them surrounded by questions (Kuiper, 2019). The authors addressed questions through the usage of Modernists' point of view. Most of the writers resort to inner consciousness. Furthermore, atrocities and cruelties ensuing the wars became an integral part of the Modernist movement in literature. Modernist writers such as Samuel Beckett felt that they were deceived and betrayed by the norms and foundations that they were supposed to uphold in war (Lorcher, 2009). After the failure of civilization and human development, they took the matters into their hands in order to find answers to the meaning of life and the future. It should also be noted the enmity and hostility toward institutions that are featured in their writing are not only intermingled with content but also with form (Lorcher, 2009). The early literature which had a linear and unsophisticated language and flow of events was replaced with satire, irony, and absurdity. Moreover, writers mainly observed a decline rather than evolution and growth. As a result, the readers who venture into analyzing a modern text for the first time might think that there is no unfolding in the text. Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett is one of the prime examples of modernist texts which expressed disillusionment and disappointment in Western Civilization and religion through the usage of absurd language which included silences. Another noteworthy example of Modernist literature is The Waste Land (1922) by T.S. Eliot which is mainly dealt with the pursuit of recovery and restoration in a realm devoid of spirituality. This relatively long poem with indirect suggestions, explanations, and incomplete images required the reader to be active and attentive throughout the story to find an explanation for text and eventually Modernism. Furthermore, Ulysses (1922) by James Joyce pave the way for the progress of Literary Modernism. Although the novel featured lengthy, controversial elements, it also introduced a ground-breaking technique called a stream of consciousness which broke the mold by ignoring sentence structure on behalf of grasping the characters’ mental processes. However, this unprecedented technique and the use of language failed to meet the demands of norms and morals and were regarded as offensive and indecent which resulted in banning the publication of Ulysses in some English-speaking countries.
Even though there are better and fully-fledged examples of modernist novels in English literature, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) is arguably one of the most important modernist texts due to the fact that being one of the early archetypes and paved the way for other modernism-related texts. However, it’s also one of the most complicated texts ever written since it could be read in many ways from the reader’s point of view. For instance, the novella can be read as a psychological novel since it is slightly based on Joseph Conrad’s fictionalized experience with his journey to the Congo River which caused indelible and traumatized memories for the rest of his life. On the other hand, it could be read as a critique of Western civilization since the story featured events that are very similar to the civilization mission of King Leopold II (Belgium 1865-1909). Being open to different interpretations and analyses is one of the key factors making this novella modernist. For instance, many readers regarded Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) as racist since he used offensive words such as cannibals, black figures, or plenty of n-words. However, it can be also inferred that the reason why he resorted to this kind of terminology might be the fact that he wanted to get away from censorship. “They shouted, sang; their bodies streamed with perspiration; they had faces like grotesque masks – these chaps; but they had a bone, muscle, a wild vitality and intense energy of movement”(Penguin Classics p.16) we can interpret the quotation in several ways. For example, we can say he is openly racist towards the native people since he uttered that “they had faces like grotesque masks”. On the other hand, we can also interpret that he might not be actually a racist he also used positive words such as “wild vitality and intense energy of movement” and thus embraced them. The openness of this sentence to many interpretations is a good example of literary modernism. Furthermore, Joseph Conrad’s implicit and sometimes sarcastic language is yet another example of literary modernism. For instance, “I don’t like work – no man does- but I like what is in the work – the chance to find yourself (Penguin Classics, p.35) “ can be read as finding what Western Civilization stands for. In the same vein, it can be a reference to the meaning of life and the search for truth which are the common features of Modernism. Furthermore, Joseph Conrad also used other characteristics of modernism such as comparison. He consistently compared two opposing ideas such as light and dark and reversed the general view of light coming from western Civilization and darkness emitting from the native land by showing the atrocities, greed, and lies of Western Civilization. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) is exuberant in terms of symbols.“When the sun rose there was a white fog, very warm and clammy, and more blinding than the night (Penguin Classics, p.48)”, in this line “white fog” indirectly suggests that it blinds our vision and hides the truth which might be a reference to civilization mission since Europeans in Heart of Darkness enslaved native people under the guise of civilization Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) featured also yet another noteworthy image of modern literature. Our narrator Marlow proved to be different from the other seamen with the line “The yarns of seamen have an effective simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a crack nut, but as has been said, Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be expected), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze (Penguin Classics, p.6)”. We can infer from this quote that Marlow is not like the other seamen and he is a modernist since he cares about the outside and not the inside.
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In a nutshell, the period between the 1910s and 1960 has been a turning point for the development and advent of Modernism in literature because of the fact that people started to question life and religion, politics and civilization, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) has been a prime example and trailblazer for the upcoming Modernism in literature thanks to its characteristics such as openness to different arguments, interpretations, comparison, and symbolism.
References
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