Modernism vs. Postmodernism

I would have to say that out of all of the works we have discussed this far in English 215, the character that best helps me understand the differences between modernism and postmodernism is Christine in "The Man from Mars." Almost throughout the whole story Christine's mind is very stereotypical and very much influenced by her family and American culture as what has been established as right or wrong and good or bad. This state of mind that Christine lives in throughout the majority of the story is clearly modernist. A piece from the beginning of the story when Christine first encounters the Asian man displays her modernist reaction: "He was also what was referred to in their family as 'a person from another culture;' oriental without a doubt. Christine judged he must be a foreign student and gave him her official welcoming smile." This particular quote demonstrates how much Christine is influenced by her family because she uses their judgment as her own and does what any kind American would do to a stranger from another country.

Later on, "Christine had to admit he'd been following her around. She was relieved he'd been discovered, relieved also that she hadn't been the one to tell, though if he'd been a citizen of the country, she would have called the police a long time ago." This quote shows how part of our culture is still modern today in the sense that it is considered very wrong and weird for someone (especially a man) to follow someone else (particularly a woman) around everywhere she goes. However, this may just be a normal way of making friends in the Asian man's culture. Not knowing the Asian man's intentions, Christine didn't want to seem like a "tattle tell," or for anyone to think she was in the wrong by accusing this man, which are also careful and cautious modernist feelings.

It isn't until the end of the story that Christine progresses to more of a postmodernist way of thinking as she stops being stereotypical. The last paragraph of the story greatly portrays Christine's postmodern growth: "When, despite herself, she would think about him, she would tell herself that he had been crafty and agile minded enough to survive, more or less, in her country, so surely he would be able to do it in his own, where he knew the language." This quote shows that Christine cares for the Asian man and that she puts her faith in him rather than her judgments on him.

Christine's story and her encounter with a man from another culture allows her to go from modernist thinking (thinking she knows the truth, accepting things as they are, judging others based on what's right or wrong within her culture) to gain a more open-minded, postmodernist perspective (refraining from stereotyping, realizing that what's considered good or bad is defined differently based on one's culture, and how one behaves is directly derived from his or her own society and culture).

This image comes from the Institute of Mediterranean Humanities and Social Studies' website. I added it to this particular blog post because I think it's a great representation of today's postmodern world and it fits well with "The Man from Mars" and its issue about separate cultures. The image shows two different hands: one black, one white, one young, the other older, holding up the world together. This image seems to say that we all live on this one earth together and we all have different perspectives, cultures, and ways of life, but just because we're different doesn't mean that some are right or wrong. It just means we're different; we're unique; we're not all the same and boring. Therefore, we should respect and learn from each others differences and share our world in peace.