Proust?s Remembrance of Things Past, Stravinsky?s Le Sacre du printemps, and T.S. Eliot?s ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? all embodied ideas that were viewed as unacceptable during the early 1900s. In fact, these works were so radical in their unconventionality that new forms of art sprang forth from them directly. The society at those times was not ready for such dramatic changes that were brought about so rapidly, and people could not understand these new and different ways of thinking. This denoted the changes in perception, thought, and ideals that were about to occur during the pre-war era.

Remembrance of Things Past strongly deviated from the accepted styles of writing that existed in the early 20th century. Proust wrote his book from a first-person perspective, but the narrator was far from omniscient. In fact, he failed to see all angles of his situations. Instead of going along with the ideals of the times, Proust was a timid character who wanted nothing more than shelter from the cruel world. He sought refuge in his mother, while his father wanted him to grow up and become a man. Contrary to this work, most writers during this time tended to portray the narrator

Remembrance of Things Past, Le Sacre du printemps, and ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? all embodied the societal changes of the early 1900s. These changes basically challenged all of the publics? preconceptions of what art was supposed to represent. Eliot, Proust and Stravinsky led the way to the new ideals that paralleled the changes that occurred due to the Great War.

Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) appalled many people due to the way it opened up the gateways of conventional classical movement. Choreographers up to that point held very rigid and structured standards for creating acceptable as well as tasteful ballets that the audience could appreciate. Considering most people expected to see clean positions, nicely turned-out feet, elegant costumes/makeup, and graceful movements, choreographers rarely deviated from the standard. (This is an example of how choreographers were somewhat driven by the economics of supply and demand) Different ballets certainly all had their own unique elements and themes. Even so, everyone always followed the standard styles in order to please the public. In addition, the ending of traditional ballets such as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake all ended happily with a light-hearted feeling. Therefore upon the performance of The Rite of Spring, the public did not know how to react. The whole ballet totally deviated from any set norm that had been previously established in the dancing world. The dance included ?unacceptable? things such as flexed feet, inverted stances, bent knees, heavy makeup, rugged costumes, and choppy/animalistic movements. Despite some interesting formations, no recognition of classical dancing existed. A chaotic haze of flailing limbs and horrid faces characterized most of the ballet. Loud thunderous stomps complemented the warrior-like appearances of the male dancers. The ending was perhaps the most taboo part of the dance, as it included a human sacr

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