Modern fiction centers on the
notions of individuality, doubt of spiritual or governmental institutions, and
the skepticism of certainty.
Basically, modern fiction is an
essential genre of modern literature. According to research “Time, in Modernist
literature, may take the reader through a day in the life of a narrator,
whereas in Realism, the reader is taken into a year in the life of the
characters.” Modern fiction allows readers to interpret things by themselves.
They are open-ended. It discourses openness on the problems of family, gender,
the mind, not thrifty bisexuality. Modern fictions are very interesting due to
the imagist movement. They make it very cool by employing images. Modern
fiction not only grasps the social issues instead they attempt all fields of
life from politics to religion but in a fictional way. Cultural norms and
traditions vary from place to place and continuously shifts that leads to a new
mode in literature. Likewise, To the Lighthouse and Lord of the Flies is the direct
result of World War Two.
Let’s take a close look at both the novels, how individuality is
important for Lily Briscoe and Ralph in 'To the Lighthouse' and 'Lord of the
Flies' respectively.
To the Lighthouse, is a symbolic
novel and has been written in the style of stream of consciousness. The novel
has gained a lot of acclaims and popularity for Woolf all around the world. To
the Lighthouse is considered as ‘the creation of something new and elemental in
the literary canon of England.’ Lily Briscoe, appears in the novel as a family
friend and young painter who wants to complete her artistic vision. Basically,
she wants to keep her individuality and all the characters in this novel take
different meanings of life as well. Lily Briscoe rejects the norms of society
and keeps her vision up until she gets success. Her painting of Mrs. Ramsay
leads her to be more closed with Ramsay’s family and open a new door by
rejecting the ideal norms of the Victorian era, which restricts the intimacy of
man and woman relationship.
The novel interprets by different
critics with advanced ways of study and concludes that it attempts to point out
the shortcomings and faults in traditional marriage by symbolizing Mr. Ramsay
and Mrs. Ramsay’s relationship. So the novel can be seen as an anti-classicism
piece of writing. Lily Briscoe afraid that her art will be rejected and get
disapproval, but she keeps it up as a pursuit instead of Mr. Tansley’s stark
and striking remarks that ‘Women can't paint, women can't write.’ The novel is
autobiographical and most of the critics agree that Lily Briscoe’s character
represents the writer itself. Virginia Woolf, through this piece of writing,
disagrees with the societal norms of the Victorian era, and she wants to see
the position of women as an artist.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, all the
characters are innocent when the play progresses, but progressively they seek
power especially Ralph. Ralph and Roger show that they have lacked with the
manner of life. They are savage and doing brutal activities. The killing of
Simon and Piggy depicts that a proper governmental institution is necessary to
apply for law and order. To the Lighthouse and Lord of the Flies agree with the
above statements that modern fiction centers on the notions of doubt of
spiritual or governmental institutions, individuality, and the skepticism of
certainty. It leads to a shuffle from truth addressing the relevant change in
society paying the component of openness as well as time and practicality.
