My favorite of the stories so far has been "The Obsolete Man" and the chancellor is the character who has helped me to distinguish the difference between modernism and postmodernism. The chancellor was able to put Wordsworth to death because he deemed him obsolete for being a librarian. In modernism, those with the power attempt to achieve a unified view among those in society and such is the case with the chancellor. He believed that there was no God and tried to force this view upon everyone else. Also, the idea of there being no God is a modernist view. Modernists believe that nothing exists beyond what our senses can perceive and therefore, there is no God. Wordsworth challenges the chancellor in saying, "There is a God!" To this the chancellor reputes, " You are in error, Mr. Wordsworth. There is no God! The state has proven that there is no God!" These exchange between Wordsworth and the chancellor sums up modernism versus postmodernism. The chancellor adamantly declares there to be no God and makes sure that everyone (especially Wordsworth) is in agreement with this belief. When Wordsworth continues to challenge the chancellor, he declares Wordsworth is irrelevant and obsolete and sentences him to be put to death. This too is a very modernist concept. The chancellor is a quintessential modernist character.
http://atheistblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/there-is-no-god.jpg
I chose this picture to describe the chancellor because he was so insistent upon the idea of God not existing. In this picture, the area that God traditionally occupies has been vacated and all that is left is a blank space. This is the viewpoint of the chancellor. In his mind, there is no God and nobody can challenge that belief.
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