Read the following excerpt from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce:

The wide playgrounds were swarming with boys. All were
shouting and the prefects urged them on with strong cries.
The evening air was pale and chilly and after every charge
and thud of the footballers the greasy leather orb flew like
a heavy bird through the grey light. He kept on the fringe of
his line, out of sight of his prefect, out of the reach of the
rude feet, feigning to run now and then. He felt his body
small and weak amid the throng of the players and his
eyes were weak and watery. Rody Kickham was not like
that: he would be captain of the third line all the fellows
said.

What aspect of this excerpt most clearly marks it as a work of Modernism?

A. There is a sense that, no matter how hard people try, they can't get
ahead

B. It focuses on one's ability to rise above limiting expectations of
others.

C. There is more value placed on athletic achievement than personal
happiness

D. It conveys the sense of being isolated, even within a crowd.