MoDeRnIsT LItErAtUrE

01. Which 2 readings did you choose?
Chandler, R. The Simple Art of Murder (USA, 1944-essay)
The Quiet American (Britain, 1955-novel)

02. Compare (3) and contrast (3) the reading you completed with the ppts. on Modernist culture and literature.

- The simple art of murder:
I believe that detective stories are a kind of intellectual game, because you have to find if the story you are reading is fiction or reality. Obviously crime is not a game. All the stories shows brutal murders guide for ambition of power. Moreover if you think about it is radiography of our society where manipulation and “convenient relationships” are the goal of a lot of people.

-The quiet American:
In this novel we found that the main character (Fowler) is the narrator of the story, he write in a kind of way that what is happening makes sense with his life. For this reason we can see him moving from a cynical position trying to not take place in the war to being an active participant in a murder (Pyle’s murder). And the worst in my opinion happened when Fowler justifies his participation in the murder mentioned before saying that Pyle’s murder was justified in political reasons.


03. In your opinion, do you feel the readings you completed are very good or excellent examples of Modernist literature?

I think both readings are very good examples of modernist literature because are a faithful reflection of this age, in both we find a kind of two faces, in which we find pious humanity but at the same time we know how really bad can be the human being, for example: Wars (The quiet American) and Murders (The simple art of murder).

04. Would you recommend these readings to your friends and/or family? Why/why not?

I would recommend both readings definitely to my friends and maybe my father, because I think both are really interesting book and a good “piece” of modern literature.