Modernism Essay

Choose from the following essay suggestions. You may create your own topic if you consult me before 19 June. I recommend you consult critical sources when planning your paper. 1.”Modernism” is often described as an artistic reaction to major conflicts among the social forces that arose from “modernity,” and many of the works we have studied reflect a form of social imbalance (ie: class, gender, race, colonialism, economics, etcetera). Consider one or more texts by taking into account how they respond to their cultural and historical circumstances. 2.Both The Picture of Dorian Gray and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man engage in significant critiques of contemporary society and culture on topics ranging from sexuality, religion, education, imperialism, class, and ethnicity. They are also stylistically inventive and explicitly engage in aesthetic debates. This sets style against social critique, each in contrast with the other. Do style and social critique conflict or do they mutually interact in one or both of the novels? Does one (style) reflect the other (social vision), or are these unrelated issues in the novels? 3.Consider any of the works we have read to date in relation to Modernism as an aesthetic movement. Bear in mind the conflicting and contested notions of the various Modernisms each text can potentially reflect.