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Modernism arose during the early 20th century and it was characterized by a break from tradition. The movement was a response to the emerging disparity between Victorian conventions and modern ones. For example, the modernist Virginia Woolf found it difficult to describe experiences through the use of realism. To Woolf, realist works were restricting because readers could only experience through a narrator's description of the outside world. Woolf embraced the modernist view, where readers could fully get inside the minds and thought processes of the characters. The transition to modernism was sparked by the first world war. It had left a changing society and modernists reflected the diminishing importance of tradition in their works. There was a lot of focus on experimentation and stream-of-consciousness, which helped in expressing the impact war had on society.

Lynch, Suzanne. “Out of the Wasteland: the First World War and Modernism.” The Irish Times, The Irish Times, 5 May 2015, www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/out-of-the-wasteland-the-first-world-war-and-modernism-1.2190829.

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WWI:
WWI changed the way that people interpreted and expressed their experiences. Many could not wrap their heads around how such a war could break out, especially the devastation that it had left behind. Millions of people lost their lives and survivors were left homeless and struggling to assimilate back to society. Modernism was shaped in this way because literature now represented how life does not always turn out to be as expected, and traditional values, like the American dream, may not always be the best. This disillusionment was exactly what many modernists, like Steinbeck and Fitzgerald, emphasized in their work.
The Roaring 1920s:
The Roaring 1920s was characterized by a change in society, as the majority of people now lived in urban areas. It was shaped by the emergence of mass culture, with women being able to be more sexually free and people breaking out from traditional values. This era helped shape modernism because people were becoming more and more expressive in art and literature.
The Great Depression:
The stock market crash created high unemployment rates and instability in the economy, leading to what is known as the Great Depression. The Great Depression caused many to live in poverty, as they struggled to make a living. Modernism emerged from this because people were beginning to actualize how American life and society is not always what it is made out to be. Modernist writers captured the idea of hopelessness and despair associated with harsh times, something that was not as heavily emphasized in earlier times.

Onion, Amanda. “How World War I Changed Literature.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 26 Apr. 2018, www.history.com/news/how-world-war-i-changed-literature.
History.com Editors. “The Roaring Twenties History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Apr. 2010, www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history.
“Great Depression.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 21 Aug. 2018, www.history.com/topics/great-depression.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald:

F. Scott Fitzgerald revolutionized American literature through his accurate portrayal of the Jazz Age. He allowed people to look into what the 1920s were all about. His writing style often reflected how greed and a materialistic attitude destroyed and condemned people.

Mizener, Arthur. “F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 17 Dec. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/F-Scott-Fitzgerald.

Ernest Hemingway:
Ernest Hemingway impacted American literature through his writing style. He was known for his short but efficient writing style which showed a new group of writers that it was unnecessary to use lengthy details in order to make an interesting book. Hemingway indicated that it did not take many words to get a strong message across.

Ezzaki, Zohair. “Contributions to Literature.” Ernest Hemingway: A Legend of the Lost Generation, ernesthemingwaymca.weebly.com/contributions-to-literature.html.

John Steinbeck:
John Steinbeck contributed to American literature through his writings about life in the American West. His novels include a break from tradition and experimentation of new things. He went on to write novels about issues during his time, being best known for his works set during the Great Depression.

Shillinglaw, Susan. “Steinbeck, John (1902-1968), Author: American National Biography.” (1902-1968), Author | American National Biography, 16 June 2017, www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1601561.

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Stream-Of-Consciousness is a writing style that captures the natural flow of a character's thoughts by including impressions, incomplete ideas, and rough grammar. It is organized through the interior flow of thoughts or the author.

Example: “I am alone    I want to be the two of us    I want the join    I come out of blue water after the bottoms of my feet swim away from me    I come up    I need to find a place to be   the air is heavy    I am not dead    I am not    there is a house    there is what she whispered to me    I am where she told me    I am not dead    I sit    the sun closes my eyes    when I open them I see the face I lost    Sethe's is the face that left me    Sethe sees me see her and I see the smile    her smiling face is the place for me    it is the face I lost    she is my face smiling at me"
-in Beloved by Toni Morrison

“Stream of Consciousness.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/stream-of-consciousness.