Nietzsche's selection evokes great emotion. The speech of the madman, in reference to the death of God, is in itself very powerful. But I don't think he is literally referring to God being dead---I think it is much more symbolic of the notion that people were abandoning him for the potholes of sin and evil. Nietzche died right before the turn of the century, and in my opinion, his works were too soon, and too new---which therefore would make it modern. I dare say this because of Mr. Yost mentioned in class before we read: that he died before WWII and the rise of Anti-Semitism in Germany as a means of scapegoat for the rough economic times in Germany. His works were needed during this time, but he died long before he could be present in the lives of those who lived 30-40 years after his death. His lack of physical presence made it impossible for his works to make any impact on Germany during the time, because the citizens were too busy in a frenzy of chaos and depression.
In this case, the modernism found in this piece was harmful to society; not because it was too advanced for the time, but because it was needed later on. But I still think the piece is modern because of its lack of romanticism, and its stark look on reality. It is roughly comparable to the idealism of transcendentalism in America, in the sense that it was an abolishment of the establishment---but Nietzsche doesn't put any romanticism in his work.
In my other post, I said modernism doesn't use symbolism--I think I was too rash. I think in our book on page 43, this statement was in reference only to a single piece of art, something I didn't realize.
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