Tragedies of Modernism Essay Example

The great history of the Modernism Era, but a bad start in the world. From 1900 to 1950, there was happiness and there was tragedy. America started to lose hope when World War I happened. Shortly after that, they were hit with the Great Depression. Following the Depression, America then had World War II. Americans started believing there was no American Dream with all the tragedy they were experiencing. Despite all the issues they faced, they still had amazing artwork and culture, and have great traditions and style. (Canaday Center) Overall, many great artworks was done in the Modernism Era, but some letdowns stunned America.

America was being hit with the biggest tragedies they had been in quite some time. In the U.S. there were many wars but World War I and World War II were some of the biggest wars ever to have. World War I lasted four years, and there were 20 million casualties. (Britannica) The British army lost 57,470 soldiers alone. Britannica states, “ 8,500,000 soldiers died as a result of wounds and/or disease ”(Britannica 17). It is crazy to think how many people passed away from just becoming sick. With all these casualties America began to think that the American dream is not what they are living. After the war ended, Americans began to get hope back, and then the Great Depression hit. The Great Depression hit and it was one of the biggest letdowns. When the Great depression started people thought it might not last long, it ended up lasting ten years. The depression changed many lives, it made payroll smaller and it made jobs harder. Not long after the depression ended, World War II started. Despite what all happed not even twenty years earlier, the U.S. was in battle again. 1935 is when WWII started it ended in 1945. Fourteen long years of war, and 40,000,00-50,000,000 causalities. Forgetting all the bad and hopping into the good, the art in Modernism was astonishing.  There were many new art pieces, and they explain so much without saying a word.

The American dream, everyone thought they were living it. That all changed as dreadful events happened. World War I some may call it the first war. WWI lasted four long years, from 1914 till 1918, it may not have been the longest war but it sure shocked everybody. As Britannica explains “few people imagined how long or how disastrous a war between the great nations of Europe could be”(Britannica 2). The war changed many people’s lives, families lose their dads, kids, and husbands. Men were fighting every day for their safety, and to protect others. Fighting in the war was not just fighting against other men, it was also fighting the diseases. In this horrible tragedy there was poor health care, the diseases these men were getting were killing them just as fast as the war was. Overall, The American dream wasn’t being lived anymore. 

As the American dream started to fade, America thought they could get it back. They were getting hope once again, but then the Great Depression hit. One of the biggest letdowns in history, and it just had to happen after the War. According to Britannica, “ It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by industrialized”(Britannica 1). The Great Depression is crazy even in the Modernism timeline, it affects a vast variety of people. As the Great Depression was going on there was many unemployment. This had a horrible effect on Americans because many families were falling short on money. This was causing them to panic about what they might have to do for their living situations and how to take care of everyone. At this point, people were falling apart, they believed that there was no American dream. Just as the Great Depression was ending, people thought they would catch a break. They soon realized that was far from happening. After all, people were losing hope for all happiness. 

As the population was healing from the Great Depression everybody thought it could not be worse, but a little while later what no one could imagine happened. World War II, Britannica calms “Makes it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the longest war, in history”(Britannica 1).  WWII lasted from 1939 till 1945, this war was much longer and worse than WWI. In WWII we had better health care, but it does not mean that people had a better chance against diseases. The war against diseases was still a problem, but it was not as much as a problem. In the time of World War II, we did have better defenses, however, they were still not great. Unlike in WWI we now had tanks and better machine guns. At this time we also had airplanes now, this is a huge advantage because we could use them to spy, and say where the enemies were.  Yes, the wars were terrible but without the war, who knows where we could be today. In the end, the time of 1939 to 1945 was a tragic time but it may have been needed. 

Yes, the Modernism time had hard times, there were still good times. Let’s talk about the art in this time frame. Some of the most famous art pieces in history were made in this time period. Art is known for trying something new, Britannica announced “In an era characterized by industrialization, rapid social change, and advances in science and the social sciences” (Britannica 2). The art in modernism was a way for people to express themselves in this time. Many of the art was about the Wars and how it made them feel.  There were a handful of new techniques discovered. People were in their homes hiding from the war and discovered new versions of doing things. People got their hopes from looking at the artwork and doing artwork, it was like their safe place. The wonderful work of art can make anyone feel good and can even relieve stress. After all, art was what kept people positive in this time of sadness and disaster. 

In conclusion, even though modernism’s time had its falls, it also had its ups. The world changes for the better, it may not seem like there is anything good coming out but years later it may seem like it was needed. The art was one of the best things in the modernism time frame, and it gave people security throughout all the negative time. The art is what kept people pushing through it all. From having bad after bad, people believed that the American Dream was a huge joke, but then came to realize that maybe it just wasn't meant for the moment. All in all, yes America may have been stunned by this tragedy, but in the end, they still brighten up through the art.