This essay shows how Faulkner’s "As I Lay Dying" and Katherine Mansfield’s "Garden Party" are both modernist texts that deal with modernity and its costs for specific groups of people.
The time characterized as modernity was the time that major technological advancements were made and along with them there were also major changes in society and culture. Modernity was the period that new science was developed, politics and capitalism appeared and industrialization was an intense phenomenon.
Table of Contents
1. The costs of modernity through Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Mansfield’s Garden Party
Objectives & Topics
This paper examines how the advent of modernity, characterized by industrialization and socio-economic transformation, negatively impacted marginalized populations as depicted in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Katherine Mansfield’s The Garden Party. It explores the central research question of how modernist literature serves as a critical response to the alienation, inequality, and social immobility produced by the costs of modern progress.
- Modernity as a driver of social fragmentation and economic inequality.
- The clash between traditional values and rapid industrial modernization.
- Faulkner’s representation of rural immobility and the "dead-end" experience of the poor.
- Mansfield’s exploration of class segregation and the indifference of the elite toward working-class suffering.
Excerpt from the Book
The costs of modernity through Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Mansfield’s Garden Party
The time characterized as modernity was the time that major technological advancements were made and along with them there were also major changes in society and culture (Hayot, 2). Modernity was the period that new science was developed, politics and capitalism appeared and industrialization was an intense phenomenon (Hayot, 2). Modernity meant new better ways of production, economical advancements and a move forward in societies that begun to promote the idea that all men were created equal (Hayot 2). In the early twentieth century, modernization meant a change from traditional ways to new innovative technologies that made life easier, cities that offered better living conditions, more mass commodities and also opportunities for access to materials and social mobility (Moglen xiii).
Summary of Chapters
1. The costs of modernity through Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Mansfield’s Garden Party: This section establishes the historical context of modernity as a period of technological advancement and social tension, defining the framework for the subsequent literary analysis of how specific social groups were alienated by these changes.
Keywords
Modernity, Modernism, Industrialization, Social Inequality, Economic Exploitation, Alienation, Rural Immobility, Class Segregation, Faulkner, Mansfield, Capitalism, Social Status, Fragmentation, Provincialism, Civil War.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper investigates the adverse effects of modernization on specific societal groups and how modernist literature, specifically the works of Faulkner and Mansfield, reflects these costs.
What are the central thematic fields explored?
The central themes include the crisis of modernity, social stratification, the consequences of industrialization, and the struggle of the marginalized to navigate a rapidly changing world.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to demonstrate that modernity did not provide equal progress for everyone, often serving as a disparaging force that trapped individuals in cycles of poverty and exclusion.
Which methodology is applied in the research?
The author uses a literary analysis methodology, contrasting the narratives of Faulkner and Mansfield against the socio-historical backdrop of early 20th-century modernization.
What does the main body address?
The body analyzes how the Bundren family in Faulkner’s work and the working-class characters in Mansfield’s story experience alienation and are excluded from the benefits of modern progress.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include modernity, social inequality, alienation, economic exploitation, and rural immobility.
How does the author interpret the Bundren family's struggle in Faulkner’s novel?
The author interprets their journey as a failed attempt to achieve social mobility, where their resistance to urbanization and their rural status keep them trapped in a cycle of poverty and social isolation.
In what way does the author contrast the Sheridans in Mansfield’s "The Garden Party" with the rural characters in Faulkner?
The author contrasts the arrogance and privilege of the upper class in "The Garden Party" with the struggle and dehumanization faced by the rural poor in Faulkner, showing that both texts illustrate how class status determines one's experience of modern life.
- Quote paper
- Elena Agathokleous (Author), 2021, Modernity and it's Costs in William Faulkner’s "As I Lay Dying" and Katherine Mansfield’s "Garden Party", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1007710
