Chapter 13 Early 20th-Century Novels From An Outline of English Literature by Thornley and Roberts English Novels of the 20th Century  Disappearance of the British Empire (p.144)  The changes in beliefs and political ideas were influenced strongly by the events of the WWI.  No longer held confidence in British society, culture and political organization. E. M. Foster Takes a completely different view of the values which formed and governed British society (p.144)  Howard’s End (1910) 1. Show the different beliefs of two families – the Wilcoxes (who are good at making money and are connected only with everyday things they can see and touch) and the Schlegel sisters (concerned with deeper, spiritual and cultural values) 2. Theme: to connect the everyday outer life of the Wilcoxes with the inner life of the heart and spirit   A Passage to India (1924) 1. How English governed India, the same sort of people as the Wilcoxes in Howard’s End, busy with traditional ways of behaving and the apperance of things and pepole, unable to see the inner truth of events. Theme: bring together opposites Failures in terms of money and worldly importance may in fact be successful. 2. 3. D. H. Lawrence  As a novelist, his job is to show how an individual’s view of his own personality was often affected by conventions of language, family and religion (p.146)  Relationship between people are changing and moving  Took the form of the traditional novel and made it wider and deeper D. H. Lawrence  1. 2. 3. 4. Sons and Lovers (1913) – p.147 Taken from his early life Paul Morel and his relationship with his mother He needs her mother to help him make sense of the world around him, but in order to become an independent man/artist, he has to struggle to become free from her influence. Struggle to put the outer and inner world together in a true relation  The Rainbow (1915) – a family through three couples of different ages  Women In Love (1916) – two sisters trying to understand the true meaning of love and to work towards a real closeness of souls James Joyce    1. 2. Born and educated in Ireland (p.148) Dubliners (1914) -- a collection of short stories, “The Dead” A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) presents Joyce himself as a young man in the character of Stephen Dedalus Shows how he gradually frees himself from the influence of two strong forces, political and religious feelings to follow his own nature and his own fate James Joyce  1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Ulysses (1922) – p.149 Created a new style of writing, has no real plot Allows the readers to move inside the minds of the characters, and presents their thoughts and feelings in a continuous stream Breaking the usual rules of description, speech and punctuation “Interior Monologue” or “Stream of Consciousness” A powerful influence on the work of many other writers James Joyce  1. 2. 3. Finnegan’s Wake (1939) Creates another new type of language Mixed up sentences and words Uses of references to ancient stories to express themes of (1) the nature of creation of the artist and of God (2) the humor and tragedy of human life Virginia Woolf   1. 2. Attempts to explore the consciousness of her characters (p.150) To the Lighthouse (1927) Mr. Ramsay – represents the truth of facts that can be proved Mrs. Ramsay – represents an attempt to find the truth that lies below the facts Virginia Woolf  Orlando (1928) -- Presents a character who begins as a man in the 16th century and ends as a woman in 1928 (p.151)  The Waves (1931) – takes six characters at different points of their lives and show how each is affected by the death of a person  Critical studies on literature and other subjects George Orwell    1. 2. 3. Conscious of the ways in which language could be used to hide the truth (p.157) Governments can use language to deceive the people 1984 (1949) Describes a future world where every word and action is seen and controlled by the state Changing the language so the only words left are those for objects and ideas that the government wants the people to know about This picture of the future was influenced by the hardships and political events of the WWII George Orwell