Module VI·Article I·~1 min read
Modernism: Stream of Consciousness and the Destruction of Narrative
Modernism and Non-Western Voices
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Breaking with Tradition
“If only we could open up his head”—William James introduced the concept of the “stream of consciousness” to describe the continuous, associative, nonlinear movement of thought. Modernist literature sought to recreate this movement on the page.
James Joyce’s "Ulysses" (1922) is one of the most ambitious experiments in the history of literature. Twenty-four hours in the life of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus in Dublin on June 16, 1904. Eighteen episodes, each with a different style, narrative technique, structure. The final monologue of Molly Bloom—40+ pages without punctuation marks: pure stream of consciousness.
"Ulysses" is difficult to read—intentionally. Joyce: “I have put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant.” Whether this is “writerly sadism” or a “reader’s adventure” depends on your perspective.
Kafka: Absurdity and Bureaucracy
Franz Kafka is one of the most influential prose writers of the twentieth century, although he published little during his lifetime. "The Trial" (1925), "The Castle" (1926), "The Metamorphosis" (1915)—texts about anxiety, alienation, meaningless power.
"The Metamorphosis": Gregor Samsa wakes up as an insect. This is not fantasy in the usual sense—it is a symbolic depiction of the alienation of the working man, who becomes a “pest” in the eyes of his family once he stops bringing in income. Kafka worked in an insurance company and wrote about labor alienation better than Marx.
"The Trial": Josef K. is arrested, judged, executed—for a crime he is never told about. This foreshadowed totalitarian practices—written before Nazism and Stalinism. “Kafkaesque” entered the language: bureaucratically absurd, where there are rules but no meaning.
Question for reflection: “Kafkaesque” situations—bureaucracy without sense, rules without explanation—arise in any large organization. How can you deal with them without losing your sanity?
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