literary context

Question 1

what is modernism

Answer 1

literary movement that began early 20th Century

focused on contempary elements

challenges romantic, sentimental novels by focusing on individual experience in a world that is being rapidly industrialised

Question 2

key elements of modernism

Answer 2

Playing with time and taking a nonlinear approach (Nick’s narration)

First-person narration rather than third person narration or multiple narrators (Nick)

Use of language with multiple meanings

Isolation and/or alienation (Gatsby) (Nick)

Deliberate obscurity of meaning

Including themes that challenge ideas in society or to critique ideas in society (Jordan)

Question 3

what is realism

Answer 3

Literature in which the world is presented as it exists

Presents everyday experiences as they are in real life, even if they are monotonous and mundane

Question 4

key elements of realism

Answer 4

Realistic characters
(Myrtle and Wilson highlight ADs false promise)

Realistic setting

A feasible plot

An importance placed on depicting social class

A tendency to avoid over-dramatising or romanticising a story