The early twentieth century was a time filled with confusion and emotional turmoil. The people of the time were dealing with the major events that were happening in the world the best way they knew how. However, times were changing. Many modernists believed that the security provided by religion, politics, or society was no longer sufficient (Matterson 1). There were new inventions, ideas and philosophies that challenged existing philosophical ideas. Signs of these changes can be seen throughout the works of many modernist writers. The most common theme in modernist literature is the change in narrative style. Before modernism was prominent, most poets wrote from the perspective of themselves and discussed the observable world around them. The average modernist writer, however, created a character who turned his attention inward. The technique, called stream of consciousness, was likely a reaction to Sigmund Freud's theories on psychosexual development (Matterson 1). A new world had opened up that allowed you to see into minds. He invoked an obsession with understanding the human mind and psyche. He also encouraged many artists and writers to try to understand the dark regions of the human psyche. T. S. Eliot captures the idea of ​​inner thought in his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The entire poem is about Prufrock's inner dialogue as he struggles with his inner psyche. He spends the entire night trapped in his thoughts, unable to overcome the fear or anxiety of upsetting the status quo. In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow presents his thoughts on the adventure that Smith 2 went on in the past. His reflection... in the center of the paper... a place where the cannibals showed an impressive amount of restraint. He thought that they actually did not need to show restraint as they could easily overwhelm the few Europeans. The manager, the Russian, and the pilgrims all show at some point that they have some secret agenda or motive. When WB Yeats wrote in September 1913, great civil unrest was taking place in Ireland. Some union workers go on strike. Around 400 protesters were injured and one was killed, which triggered some significant rioting. The recurring phrase, “Romantic Ireland is dead and gone (Greenblatt)” shows that Yeats felt the world was heading for ruin. He had noticed that the world was changing and thought it was changing for the worse. Riots broke out in the streets, and the government simply responded with violence rather than diplomacy.