Victorianism Versus Modernism - 1869 Words

Matias Gutierrez Mrs. Smith World Literature 21 December 2012 OLD*******8 Victorianism in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Modernism in The Metamorphosis Victorianism is about how the individual could improve the society. They believed that a good individual could make the society better as a whole and therefore improve life. Victorians focused on science and the desire for extremely realistic portrayal of life in both literature and art. Some aspects of Victorian thinking were retained while others were discarded in a new movement called Modernism. Modernists focus on the individual but have the view that humans are beings without free will and that they do not look for guidance within them, but instead are driven by†¦show more content†¦The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde showed people that being a good person is the best thing to do for society and for the individual. The reason Jekyll is a good example to show the Victorian qualities of science exploration and the effects the individual has on the world is explained by Masao, â€Å" In this society of respectables Dr. Jekyll stands out as â€Å"the very pink of the proprieties†(Chap. 1). Although his studies, like those of Faust and Frankenstein before him, tend toward â€Å"the mystic and the transcendental† (Ch. 10), he still manages to maintain a considerable scientific reputation. And yet, despite Jekyll’s social role-in fact, because of it-it is Jekyll who brings for Mr. Hyde.† (Masao 470-480) Masao explains why Jekyll underwent his transformation and how science heavily influenced his thinking to try this experiment. Masao also explains that science is possible through the well-mannered people of the time and their questioning of ways to improve society. The Modernism Period was about the individual and that the individual could not really change society. The Mod ernist literary period was marked by the reactions and sentiments towards global change and tragedy. The Modernist movement began around 1890 and lasted to 1945. Now during this time the World Wars wreaked havoc on the most culturally, technological, and industrialized parts of the world; which caused people to want to create