The early 20th century was a time filled with confusion and emotional turmoil. People of the time were dealing with major events taking place in the world. the best way they knew how. However, times were changing. Many modernists believed that the security provided by religion, politics, or society was no longer sufficient (Matterson 1). New inventions, ideas, and philosophies have challenged existing philosophical ideas. Signs of these changes can be seen in the works of many modernist writers. The most common theme in modernist literature is the change in storytelling style. Before modernism took hold, most poets wrote from the perspective of themselves and discussed the observable world around them. The average modernist writer, however, created a character who turned his attention inward. The technique, called stream of consciousness, was likely a reaction to Sigmund Freud's theories on psychosexual development (Matterson 1). A new world had opened up and allowed us to see into minds. It invoked an obsession with understanding the human mind and psyche. It also encouraged many artists and writers to attempt to understand the dark regions of the human psyche. TS Eliot captures the idea of ​​inner thought in his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The entire poem is about Prufrock's inner dialogue as he struggles with his own inner psyche. He spends the entire night trapped in his own thoughts, unable to overcome his own fear or anxiety of disrupting the status quo. In Conrad's The Heart of Darkness, Marlow presents his thoughts on the adventure he experienced in the past. His reflection...... middle of paper......a point on which the cannibals showed impressive restraint. He believed that they didn't really need to exercise restraint because they could easily defeat the few Europeans. The Warden, the Russian, and the Pilgrims all show at some point that they have a secret agenda or motive. When WB Yeats was writing in September 1913, there was much civil unrest taking place in Ireland. Some workers in a union go on strike. Around 400 protesters were injured and one was killed, sparking major riots. The recurring phrase “Romantic Ireland is dead (Greenblatt)” shows that Yeats felt the world was heading toward ruin. He had noticed that the world was changing and he thought it was changing for the worse. Riots broke out in the streets and the government responded with violence rather than diplomacy..