'We record the atoms as they fall upon the mind in the order in which they fall, we trace the pattern, however disjointed and inconsistent in appearance, that every sight or accident affects consciences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Above is an excerpt from Virginia Woolf's influential essay "Modern Fiction," in which she argues for a new way of presenting experience and reality in the novel. At the same time a defense of his unique style, the essay works to develop a theory of realism and establishes the relationship between art and the real world in the new conditions of the 1920s. Woolf, as one of the most important figures of literary modernism, created works that became famous for their distinctive narrative method, particularly characterized by the use of stream-of-consciousness mode. The Waves, published in 1931, arguably Woolf's most poetic work, notably adopts this device. Described by Woolf as a "theatrical poem", throughout the work the sense of genre almost seems to dissolve and the boundary between prose and poetry seems to blur. It is this fluidity of language that allows Woolf to present and detail “the self” in such a remarkable way, as the current thoughts of consciousness are evocatively captured and conveyed. The novel focuses on the streams of consciousness of six different characters: Bernard, Louis, Neville, Jinny, Rhoda and Susan. Woolf follows these six narrative foci from their shared childhood, to the Middle Ages, through nine episodes or sections. There is, however, a seventh character, Percival, who is spoken of by the other characters, although he himself does not have a voice. Although the characters' lives are distinct, at some moments in the novel they seem to synchronize; their minds, or individual voices, seem to blur together, conveying a united voice, a group identity. While composing the novel, Woolf wrote in her diary: 'I think The Waves is resolving itself... into a series of dramatic soliloquies. The important thing is to make them run evenly in and out, to the rhythm of the waves.' Each entry can be seen as the character's internal monologue, which Woolf attempts to weave into the 'rhythm' of the novel, characterized by the nine interludes that frame each section. As Woolf famously wrote, "I write to a rhythm, not a plot." It is this reduced attention to plot that allows for a more effective and natural flow of the characters' voices and, consequently, a more vivid and impressionistic depiction of their identities. Certainly, Woolf's fluid style helps to convey the nuanced and shifting boundaries of the self: a critique against the conventional, established boundaries of a character's identity, seen in traditional literature. However, despite this fluidity, the "rhythmic" poetic aspect seems to convey human experience and identity as part of a pattern; there is an undercurrent of permanence, suggesting that the internal monologues are representative of the universal rhythm of being. Some shared images and emotions expressed by the soliloquies seem to further indicate a unity and pattern of human individuality or existence. These interior monologues, expressions of the self, begin in a somewhat mystical garden overlooking the sea, as described in the interludes between each section. of the text. We first meet the various characters when they are young children and are immersed in their internal thoughts about the world around them: “All my ships are white,” Rhoda said. “I don't want red hollyhock or geranium petals. I want white petals that float when I lift the bowl. Now I have a fleet swimming from shore to shore. I'll drop a twig as a raft for adrowning soldier. (…) And now I will swing the brown basin from side to side so that my ships can ride the waves. Some will be shipwrecked. Some will crash into the rocks. You navigate alone. This is my ship."'The reader witnesses the development of each character's identity, in relation to themselves and others, as they begin to experience the world and form their own individual perceptions. A fragment of Rhoda's interior monologue can be read above, as she sits dreamily floating petals in a basin. Here, although seemingly involved in her imagination just as the other children are, glimpses of her individual identity can be seen. As the characters age over the course of the novel, their voices become more distinct and Woolf develops their impressions of the world. Gradually, their individual temperaments and ambitions are revealed. As a child, Rhoda can be seen imagining her own private ocean, forming her own world from the start by metaphors, in an attempt to escape the external world of judgment, which she so fears. This element of her identity continues and develops as time passes in the novel. As a teenager, Rhoda often appears to be alienated from other characters, and Woolf focuses on her essential confusion, or loss of identity, as she states "I have no face." This can be seen further when Rhoda recounts her dissociation from herself and her inner consciousness, during her time at school: 'I came to the puddle. I couldn't cross it. Identity disappointed me. We are nothing, I said, and I fell. I was left speechless. I was transported down the tunnels.' Often feeling trapped by her own mind and body, Rhoda attempts to move on, resulting in the diffusion or loss of a clear personal identity. It could be said that Rhoda is characterized by a particularly fragile sense of self, much more than that of the other characters. This isolation of Rhoda, her detachment from others and from herself, confirms that she is the ship that "sails alone", an element of her character associated with her since childhood. Rhoda's statement, "I have no face," will become a recurring occurrence. motif throughout the novel, serving as an indicator of his peculiar mental habits. Likewise, the other characters develop repeated terms expressed as "leitmotifs", which convey the presentation of the character's identities and contribute to the rhythm of Woolf's work. For example, Bernard's "Tuesday follows Monday", Louis' "My father is a banker in Brisbane", and images of leaves or growing vegetation, which often accompany Susan's voice. These motifs help differentiate the particular individualities of the characters and symbolically capture aspects of their identity. While writing the novel, Woolf recorded this in her diary: 'What I think now (of The Waves) is that I can give in a very few strokes the essentials of a person's character. It should be done courageously, almost like a caricature." This experimentation with caricature once again lends stability to the text: despite the flow of impressions, memories and sensory perceptions of individual voices, the leitmotifs provide an essential sense of permanence and pattern. Since childhood, the character Bernard is associated with the motif of, 'making sentences'. He develops an obsession with language and words, perpetually "making notes in the margins of (his) mind for some final statement." In essence, his voice becomes that of the novelist, with his deep desire to convey life and reality through perfect phrasing. As the novel progresses, the reader can see that Bernard has the most fluid of identities: it is through Bernard's voice.’