I am not sure which passage you are referring to, but there are several aspects of Modernist literature. Modernist writers largely turned away from Romantic literature. Instead of focusing their attentions on nature, they focused their attentions inward and explored the concept of consciousness. They were also pessimistic when it came to modern technology and capitalism. They believed it led to isolation and lack of emotion. In terms of their writing, they neglected typical traditions of writing and often wrote in a nonlinear, stream-of-consciousness fashion. They used a lot of irony and satire to display the wrongdoings of modern society. Hope this helps.
