Literature, Art, and Music reveal values about a century. Many of these truths dispute what is considered normal. The 20th century was a time of inequality for women, along with many wars. Writer George Orwell focuses on the issues of imperialism whilst author Margaret Atwood concentrates on the concerns of gender equality and roles. In addition, artists and writers such as Pablo Picasso, Virginia Woolf, and Igor Stravinsky took their pieces of work and somehow went against what the 20th century society viewed as normal. The literature, art, and music of the 20th century reflects the disillusionments of the “Age of Anxiety” through gender equality, racism and fear of the unknown during this time period.
In the 20th century, there were many …show more content…
As the Commander and Wife are still married. In addition, it is illegal for handmaids to have any intimate relationships, especially with a man of authority, such as The Commander. Furthermore in the novel, if a women cannot get pregnant, she is automatically deemed the infertile one of the pair. The man is never considered to be sterile as many of the men are older. This highlights the truths of inequality between the genders and how men are superior to women. Moreover, Offred has sex with the Commander with the Wife at the Ceremony, yet Offred is still not pregnant, so Serena Joy instructs her to have sex with Nick, a guardian, in hopes of becoming pregnant. This illustrates how desperate society was for children to be born and to solve the reproduction shortage that many believed would finish them. It is illegal in the Republic of Gilead for a handmaid to have sex with another man. If the women cannot bare children, she is an “unwomen” and sent off to the Colonies, portraying how crucial offspring was, and that children meant life or death for handmaids. This reflects the disillusionment and anxiety of the 20th century because it illustrates the drastic measures that people went to in order to survive; either have no …show more content…
This painting challenges the norm of sexual freedom and changes the way art was seen, and allowed for different ways for ideas to be demonstrated through paintings. The critic Salmon wrote that in the painting it “was the ugliness of the faces that froze with horror the half-converted,” which connects to the “Age of Anxiety” as the audience was more frightened and uncomfortable with the war than the soldiers, just like the audience and the painting. Picasso’s focus was to “turn his back on middle-class society and the traditional values of the time” by rejecting the cultural norm (PBS). Virginia Woolf challenged the society as she wrote in a different style than that those were unaccustomed to. Woolf “rejected traditional chronological order in storytelling,” which is shown in “Monday or Tuesday.” Woolf wrote with a stream of consciousness, flowing from idea to idea, not having any plan for how the work would end up. She intentionally lacks syntax, yet has strong diction. In Woolf’s “Monday or Tuesday,” it says, “...Miss
In the 20th century, there were many …show more content…
As the Commander and Wife are still married. In addition, it is illegal for handmaids to have any intimate relationships, especially with a man of authority, such as The Commander. Furthermore in the novel, if a women cannot get pregnant, she is automatically deemed the infertile one of the pair. The man is never considered to be sterile as many of the men are older. This highlights the truths of inequality between the genders and how men are superior to women. Moreover, Offred has sex with the Commander with the Wife at the Ceremony, yet Offred is still not pregnant, so Serena Joy instructs her to have sex with Nick, a guardian, in hopes of becoming pregnant. This illustrates how desperate society was for children to be born and to solve the reproduction shortage that many believed would finish them. It is illegal in the Republic of Gilead for a handmaid to have sex with another man. If the women cannot bare children, she is an “unwomen” and sent off to the Colonies, portraying how crucial offspring was, and that children meant life or death for handmaids. This reflects the disillusionment and anxiety of the 20th century because it illustrates the drastic measures that people went to in order to survive; either have no …show more content…
This painting challenges the norm of sexual freedom and changes the way art was seen, and allowed for different ways for ideas to be demonstrated through paintings. The critic Salmon wrote that in the painting it “was the ugliness of the faces that froze with horror the half-converted,” which connects to the “Age of Anxiety” as the audience was more frightened and uncomfortable with the war than the soldiers, just like the audience and the painting. Picasso’s focus was to “turn his back on middle-class society and the traditional values of the time” by rejecting the cultural norm (PBS). Virginia Woolf challenged the society as she wrote in a different style than that those were unaccustomed to. Woolf “rejected traditional chronological order in storytelling,” which is shown in “Monday or Tuesday.” Woolf wrote with a stream of consciousness, flowing from idea to idea, not having any plan for how the work would end up. She intentionally lacks syntax, yet has strong diction. In Woolf’s “Monday or Tuesday,” it says, “...Miss