Modernism and the self 1. In this period the chief characteristic of the self is one of alienation. The character belongs to a lost generation"(Gertrude Stein), suffers from a dissociation of sensibility (T. S. Eliot), and who hasa dream deferred (Langston Hughes). 2. Alienation led to an awareness about one 's inner life◼ Modernism and the Self 1. In this period, the chief characteristic of the self is one of alienation. The character belongs to a "lost generation" (Gertrude Stein), suffers from a "dissociation of sensibility" (T. S. Eliot), and who has "a Dream deferred" (Langston Hughes). 2. Alienation led to an awareness about one's inner life