One of the most important modernist trends was the description of alienation felt by citizens of a rapidly changing and technologically advanced society. Examples of alienation can be seen in many modernist works, such as The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, in which the main character leads a dissipated and purposeless life in Paris during the '20s. In general, modernism chronicled the dismantling of traditional values, codes, and ways of life, and so modernist...
One of the most important modernist trends was the description of alienation felt by citizens of a rapidly changing and technologically advanced society. Examples of alienation can be seen in many modernist works, such as The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, in which the main character leads a dissipated and purposeless life in Paris during the '20s. In general, modernism chronicled the dismantling of traditional values, codes, and ways of life, and so modernist writing is often characterized by a "lost," lonely feeling (many modernist writers were known as the Lost Generation, after all.)
George Orwell's 1984 can be seen as an extension of this modernist alienation. Like many modernist characters before him, Winston feels alienated by his society, as he sees himself as little more than a faceless tool used by the overlords of the Party. Indeed, the Party seems chiefly concerned with dismantling all traditional modes of life in order to replace them with their own, more "efficient" ways of living. This process even includes a complete overhaul of the English language. With such demoralizing and dehumanizing change occurring around him, it's easy to see why Winston is essentially an alienated, modernist figure.
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