Modernist and Postmodernist Short Stories

A. Modernist literature values the principle,

“Make it new.”1. Abandon traditional literary forms2. Experiment with new techniques

B. Traditional short stories have followed a linear plot line.

I. Modernism and Plot

A Traditional Plot Diagram

C. Modernist plotting abandons the traditional storytelling form

1. Often not chronological2. Stream of consciousness writing3. Increased ambiguity

I. Modernism and Plot (cont.)

How would you draw a plot diagram for the

modernist short stories we read?

“Secret Life of Walter

Mitty”Follows a traditional plot, but the main plot is infused with a series of shorter short stories, each

with its own conflict and resolution.

“Jilting of Granny

Weatherhall”Actual plot never

develops, but stream of consciousness style

depicts Granny’s imagination

meandering through time with little organization or

chronological order.

“Speaking of

Courage”Plot mirrors action of story. It is circular,

returning to the same point in his life over

and over, except with increased emotional distance each time.

“Game”

Exposition Conflict

Story essentially never progresses beyond the

introduction of the conflict; it is unclear and intentionally ambiguous what will happen next, heightening sense of

paranoia.

A. Underdog Mitty oppressed by unimaginative and waspish wife,

escapes to fantasyB. Epitomizes a modernist hero through unwillingness to abandon

individual desires in face of unrelenting world.C. Romanticism of fantasies affirms modernist value of “neo-

romanticism” in a modern context.

II. “Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

A. Stream of Consciousness writing styleB. Granny’s thoughts meander through life; in

the end, she is left only with regret and darkness

C. Starkly atheist conclusion serves as a criticism of religious dogma, particularly Granny’s Catholicism.

III. “Jilting of Granny Weatherhall”

A. Cyclical direction of plot mirrors protagonists’ inability to

move forwardB. Entrenched in symbolism, the sprinkler and lake are most

appropriate1. Sprinkler: aimlessly circular, changes nothing2. Lake: On the outside, lovely, on the inside, dead

C. Story addresses the inability of Vietnam vets to get over their experience, and America’s unwillingness to help.

IV. Speaking of Courage

A. Postmodern: Deliberately ambiguous plot forces reader to derive

meaningB. Criticism of American politics – the insanity of using nuclear

weapons and the trivial prompts for doing soC. Criticism of pre-modernist/postmodernist literature – it is literally

depicted as insane to write the same type of thing over and over

V. “Game”

A. Americans in a state of paranoia and anxiety, perpetuated by

government propaganda such as “Duck and Cover.”B. Fiction fixates on doomsday scenarios, the brevity of time left,

and the decay of human civilization, as seen in “Time Enough at Last” and “Dr. Strangelove.”

C. Other forms of art depict cold war politics as foolish and childish, as in “Game” and “Dr. Strangelove.”

VI. The Bomb and Postmodernism

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