Write a detailed note The 20th century Men’s quest for moral and spiritual values

Write a detailed note The 20^th century Men’s quest for moral and spiritual values

          The 20^th century is the most complex, complicated, baffling and revolutionary age in the history of the world. It is an age of most amazing, astounding, and unimaginable scientific discoveries, inventions and advancement which our ancestor or even our immediate predecessors could not have visualized even in the dreams.

          The modern age is essential the age of the novel. It has produced great novelists like H. G. Wells, Huxley, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf and some great novels. Though the novel had phenomenal progress during the Victorian age yet it could not achieve that excellence which it had attained in the hands of after said novelists. E.M. Forster wrote about his stopping writing,

“I had been accustomed to

write about the old fashioned

world with its homes and its

family life and its comparative

peace. All that went… I can

not put it into fiction…”

          There are many factors which have played an integral role in 20^th century. Let’s discuss one by one in detail.

The social background

          The social background has played an integral role in 20^th century. The termination of age is called ‘Fin-de-side’, in French language. It is fact that when an age was terminated into social background of age also changed simultaneously. The 19^th century is an age of emotions and feeling but 20^th century has given revolutionary attitude to the people. The man of 20the century is totally different and against of the 19^th century. A. S. Collins says,

“It is a period of revolt against

authority, when all manifestation

of authority were a suspect. The

age was marked by political and

a religious skepticism, general

disillusionment, cynicism and irony.”

 

Scientific discoveries, new invention, rationalism

          Scientific discoveries, new invention, rationalism took place in 20^th century and that’s why beliefs, traditions, and systems were questioned. No one is ready to questioned/understate any kind of responsibilities. Because skepticism and agnosticism entered in religion. Having the effect of science the faith of people on religion is become looses and looser. We find writers like Shaw, Huxley, and Galsworthy criticizing the very basis of the existing social, economical and moral system. R. A. Scott in ‘An Introduction of English Literature’ put it as,

 “The 20^th century has, for its

characteristic to put everything

in every shape of life to the

question and secondly in light

of skepticism, to reform and to

reconstruct, to accept the new

age as new, to attempt to mould

it by conscious purposeful efforts.”

Emancipation of women:

Till 19^th century the society was dominated by male. But in the 20^th century female character (women) started to deal with will power as mean have been doing. e.g. ‘A Doll’s House’ by Hendrix Ibsen’s is an striking example of modern women who revolt against the judicial customs of society. In 19^th century women’s situation are different, as Lord Tennyson’s ‘In Memorial remarks,

 “Men for the field and women for the hearth;

Men for the sword and for the needle she

Men with the head and women with the heart;

men to command and women to obey,

all else confusion.

          But in 20^th century, women have given all kind of right to be equal of men.

The weakening of the religious faith:

A religion is the central part of the society. Men always getting satisfaction by believing in religion. Satisfaction, salvation, sin moxa, all such things are the integral part of the religion. In 19^th century man believed that God is everywhere and son is a living God. But in 20^th century the birth of science has removed all such superstition. Men became more rational and scientific. When there is a rationalism and logicalism, so there should not more value of religion. Some of the philosophers have changed this statement. For e.g.

Nietzsche- ‘God is dead’. ‘Sartre- ‘Given the theory of ‘Existentialism’.

 Kamus-‘Man born to suffer Darwin- ‘origin of species ‘Man is not first final creation of God.’  

         

Economical changes:

 In 20^th century, after 2^nd World War, England has established its own industries first time in the history of England. Because of this big industrialization rural life turned to the big cities of earning money. So village becomes hollow. As, G. M. Trevelyan has said in his ‘An Agricultural’:

“Is not one industry among

many, but it is a way of life,

unique and irreplaceable in

its moral and spiritual values.”

          Even arcadian also turned toward cities and results was that agriculture and traditions were almost all dead in villages. The population increased in big cities. Because of intoxication and prostitution, man has lost their moral and spiritual values.

Psychologicalism:

Analysis of human mind, mentality and behaviour of a man is called psychological study. In 20^th century psychologist have proved man not possessed one personality, man possessed two kind of personality. One is introvert, and second is extrovert. A great psychologist Freud and Jung give the three kind of mind. 1. Conscious, 2. Unconscious 3. Subconscious. 20^th century has got great impacts of Freud and Jung and literary artists are more interesting in subconscious mind. This way, modern age is surrounded by so many ‘ism’. e.g. rationalism, Nihilism, fascism, Psychologoicalism and many other.

                   

Search for a ‘system’ and ‘pattern’

          The disintegration of faith and traditional beliefs had led writers like D. H. Lawrence to seek refuge from uncertainty, in some ‘mystic religion of blood’ and W. B. Yeats builds up a personal system. T.S. Eliot search for this pattern in the close similarity, between myth and different peoples and the Europeans literary traditions, Authoritarian systems have found ‘Marxism’ with to emphasize on class war has had a large following even in England. Thus the search for a ‘system’ and ‘pattern’ has resulted in the emergence of Marxism and the concept of economical planning.

Modern fiction.

          There are many writers who have played a pivotal role in modern fiction. They H. G. Well, ‘Time Machines’, ‘The War of the Words, ‘Invisible Man’. The same as T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Hollow man’, Joseph Conrad a well known writers his novels are ‘Typhoon’ and ‘Lord Jim’. Then come Rudyard Kipling a great novelist and short story writers. His works are ‘Kim’ ‘Soldier Three’.

          D. H. Lawrence a most realistic novelist, his novels are ‘Sons and Lovers’, ‘Land Chatterley’s Lovers’ Women in Love’, Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the Light House’ and ‘The Room of One’s own’, written on psychological based. A great scientific novelist Aldous Huxley also contributes his work in age such ‘Brave New World’ and ‘Point Counter Point’. 

Conclusion

          To summing up, the fiction during the modern time, covered and colored by various influences like Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud, Marx, and many philosophers and thinkers. The dignity and sublimity of past has gone with the spirit of inquiry, scientific spirit, loss of moral and spiritual value based on disorder and frustration of modern men have taken the key role in the modern fiction.