Identity and the Self

Home > Literature > Literary modernism > Identity and the Self

Examining how modernist writers explore the individual's struggle to establish a sense of self in a rapidly changing world.

Consciousness: This topic deals with the awareness or perception of one's thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Subjectivity: It refers to the personal viewpoint, perspective or interpretation of the individual, based on their personal experiences, beliefs or values.
Objectivity: It refers to the unbiased and impartial assessment of reality or facts, devoid of any personal biases, emotions or prejudices.
The Unconscious: This refers to the part of an individual's mind that is not readily accessible to their conscious awareness but plays a critical role in shaping their perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors.
Memory: It involves the processes of encoding, storing, and retrieving information or experiences from the past, which play a significant role in shaping one's identity and sense of self.
Narrative: This refers to the personal stories, myths or cultural narratives that individuals use to make sense of their experiences, identify their place in the world and construct their identity.
Gender and Identity: This topic deals with the relationship between gender and identity, how one's gender identity, and expression shape their sense of self, and how they are perceived by others.
Postmodernism: It refers to the cultural, social, and philosophical movements that rejected the modernist ideals of rationality, objectivity, and progress, and emphasized subjectivity, relativity, and diversity.
Existentialism: It explores the themes of authenticity, freedom, and meaning in existence, as individuals confront the complexities and uncertainties of life and search for their place in the world.
Psychoanalysis: It deals with the theories and techniques used to understand the unconscious and how it influences one's behavior and emotions, and how one's early childhood experiences shape their personality and identity.
Fragmented identity: This type of identity is characterized by a sense of dislocation or disjuncture between different aspects of one's self, often reflecting the fragmentation of modern experience and the sense of alienation that individuals feel in contemporary society.
Fluid identity: This type of identity suggests that the self is not stable, essential, or fixed but is rather contingent, changing, and dynamic, representing a more fluid and flexible view of the self.
Multiplicity of self: This type of identity recognizes the multiple, sometimes conflicting aspects of a person's life and the way in which these different selves intersect and interact to create a complex, multifaceted sense of identity.
Psychological identity: This type of identity focuses on the inner experience of self, including emotions, thoughts, and feelings.
Social identity: This type of identity is related to one's social role, such as race, class, gender, and religion, and the way in which these roles shape one's experience in the world.
Cultural identity: This type of identity is related to a person's cultural heritage, including language, customs, traditions, and values.
National identity: This type of identity is related to a person's sense of belonging to a particular nation or country, including shared history, language, traditions, and symbols.
Racial identity: This type of identity is related to a person's racial heritage and the way in which this impacts their sense of self and their experiences in society.
Gender identity: This type of identity is related to a person's sense of being male or female, including the way in which this is culturally constructed and performed.
Sexual identity: This type of identity is related to a person's sexual orientation and how this impacts their sense of self and their relationships with others.
"The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, and social organization which reflected the newly emerging industrial world, including features such as urbanization, architecture, new technologies, and war."
"Artists attempted to depart from traditional forms of art, which they considered outdated or obsolete."
"The poet Ezra Pound's 1934 injunction to 'Make it New' was the touchstone of the movement's approach."
"Modernist innovations included abstract art, the stream-of-consciousness novel, montage cinema, atonal and twelve-tone music, divisionist painting, and modern architecture."
"Modernism explicitly rejected the ideology of realism..."
"Modernism... made use of the works of the past by the employment of reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision, and parody."
"Modernism also rejected the certainty of Enlightenment thinking..."
"A notable characteristic of modernism is self-consciousness concerning artistic and social traditions, which often led to experimentation with form..."
"...along with the use of techniques that drew attention to the processes and materials used in creating works of art."
"While some scholars see modernism continuing into the 21st century, others see it evolving into late modernism or high modernism."
"Postmodernism is a departure from modernism and rejects its basic assumptions."
"...broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries."
"[Modernism sought to reflect] the newly emerging industrial world, including features such as urbanization, architecture, new technologies, and war."
"[Modernists] considered [traditional forms of art] outdated or obsolete."
"Modernist innovations included... atonal and twelve-tone music."
"Modernism also rejected... religious belief."
"Modernist innovations included... modern architecture."
"Modernism... made use of the works of the past by... rewriting, recapitulation, revision, and parody."
"A notable characteristic of modernism is self-consciousness concerning artistic and social traditions, which often led to experimentation with form..."
"Postmodernism is a departure from modernism and rejects its basic assumptions."