A Look at the 20th Century
By: Rafael Perez
College Now Course - HUM 1
Since we have begun studying the time period of the early twentieth century in September
2003, I have always wondered why it is that European, American and Western Society
as a whole start to morph and change into these modern times which we are so familiar
with now. Looking back upon the curriculum, which we have both read and seen, I see
now that this period of time was indeed a transition era. And as is the case with
all transitions, it occurred slowly and gradually.
When we look at our first short story "Metamorphosis", we see a Europe that is hustling
and bustling with change. At the end of the nineteenth century, the continent is truly
seeing the effects of the industrial revolution which began about one hundred years
before. That huge leap forward has made most people who are now members of the middle
class, immersed in work with making money and striving towards economic security now
as their lofty goals. This has caused so many to loose touch with reality and the
painters of "Die Brucke" show this hectic state of mind extremely well in their expressionistic
works.
When Europe was plunged into World War I, it was done so at the whims and desires
of its nation's leaders. This action coupled with vase technological improvements
of weapons, left the helpless young men who were thrown into conflict, completely
disillusioned by the sheer horrors of war. This major aspect of bewilderment can be
seen as Wilfred Owen sarcastically says how sweet and right it is to die for one's
country, in his poem "Dulce et Decorum est". After the war had ended, most of the
people (so emotionally and sociologically devastated) sought refuge and meaning in
life by trying to drown out the new found fears and problems of their lives by becoming
hedonists of sorts. This view of society has become epitomized in both Ernest Hemingway's
novel "The Sun Also Rises" and in the play/production of Bob Fosse's "Cabaret".
Two decades later, when Europe emerged from the ashes of yet another devastating war,
a new view of the world was being molded into existence by a few influential artists.
From all the continual conflict they saw around them, they came to the conclusion
that life was filled with total unpredictability and chaos. Nothing was constant to
them and everything was changing. These people called themselves the existentialists
and they believed that there was no real purpose to life. We see this movements views
represented best in Eugene Ionesco's "The Rhinoceros".
We have seen changes take place at such a rapid pace as the century progressed, because
thought was changing and the traditional way of thinking now becoming more and more
obscure. New ways of looking at the world were coming into action due to all the advances
in the sciences, which made people for the first time look out side of the box. This
caused vast experimentation in the arts, in literature and through all walks of life.
