"They wanted every story to have a happy ending" is the option that is NOT something the Modernist writers did. Modernist writers often rejected traditional narratives and instead sought to challenge and experiment with literary conventions. They also often explored difficult and complex themes, and did not shy away from portraying the world in a way that was ambiguous, fragmented, and sometimes even bleak. The focus was often on the human condition, and Modernist writers sought to capture the complexity of the modern world in their work. The idea of a happy ending was often seen as simplistic and unrealistic in the context of the literature produced during the Modernist period.