Сontemporary period in American literature
begins at the end of World War II the Modernist period (taking place between the 1920s and 40s) explored the ways that truth is not straight forward, rational or clearly defined, but rather how it is completely influenced by human perception the human mind as a means to get at reality Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and T.S. Eliot, Modernists believed that the characters' thoughts mattered more than the plot, and the way things are said - in terms of the rhythm and imagery - may communicate more about the character than what they are doing. marker for Modern literature Passages may not proceed in an ordered way, but may be more choppy or fragmented The shift from working to objectively portray events and experiences in the world to the often nonsensical exploration of human psychology a shift in how we see the world - truth is merely a product of human perception - a clear, objective standard for truth isn't quite so clear-cut, and reality is, to some extent, what we make of it.