What perspective does society have about life during this era?

• A. Theistic and irrational
• B. Deistic and rational
• C. Mystical and fatalistic
• D. Skeptical and nihilistic

Answer: (D)

In this era, the dominant attitude toward life is skeptical and often nihilistic. American modernism, shaped by World War I, rapid modernization, and the unraveling of old religious and social certainties, pushed writers to question long-held beliefs about meaning, progress, and the benevolence of the universe. Works from this period emphasize alienation, fragmentation, and doubt, showing characters who struggle to find purpose in a world that feels indifferent or chaotic. That pervasive doubt and sense of meaninglessness is what makes skeptical and nihilistic the best description of society’s stance in this era.

The other possibilities don’t fit the mood as well. Theistic and irrational aligns with periods that center faith and certainty in a divine order, which modernist society largely challenges. Deistic and rational evokes Enlightenment confidence in reason and a perceivable, orderly universe, not the disenchanted atmosphere of postwar modernism. Mystical and fatalistic suggests a sense of fate or hidden meaning often found in premodern or certain religious traditions, whereas modernist culture tends to resist easy answers and instead probes uncertainty and disillusionment.