Think about the modern texts you read for this unit. in your opinion, what makes literature “good” or “bad”? how comfortable are you in determining the quality of literature? do you find it easy to critique a text? if not, what do find difficult? how does your comfort level change depending on the genre and the era in which the text was written?

Writers reacted to this question by turning toward Modernist sentiments. Gone was the Romantic period that focused on nature and being. Modernist fiction spoke of the inner self and consciousness. Instead of progress, the Modernist writer saw a decline of civilization. Instead of new technology, the Modernist writer saw cold machinery and increased capitalism, which alienated the individual and led to loneliness. (Sounds like the same arguments you hear about the Internet age, doesn't it?)

To achieve the emotions described above, most Modernist fiction was cast in first person. Whereas earlier, most literature had a clear beginning, middle, and end (or introduction, conflict, and resolution), the Modernist story was often more of a stream of consciousness. Irony, satire, and comparisons were often employed to point out society's ills. For the first-time Modernist reader, this can all add up to feel like the story is going nowhere.

as we know, the english language is spoken all over the world by native and non-native speakers and has become the most certain tool when it comes to communicating. businesses, schools, even romantic relationships depend on it to keep thriving. in addition, it is the language of the internet not only because most of the content available is in english, but also because people prefer to use it when talking to others, since it's the language everyone supposedly learns.

yet, there have been some current claims that chinese will soon take over as the most important language in the world. china's magnitude has never been more evident and doing business with the chinese is a gold mine for any country. we now see language schools offering chinese courses as commonly as english.

however - even though we cannot deny china's importance and the advantage it is when someone takes the time to learn the language their business contact speaks-, people in general seem to be ignoring the aspects that seem to keep english as the chosen one of languages. one of them has been mentioned above: it is the language of the internet. also, chinese people are still learning english, since it opens doors in communicating with practically everyone else, from every single country.

note: if this is not the sort of transition you need, let me know. : d