Key Takeaways
After the dust of World War I settle and the troops came home — or did n’t get home — it became unmistakable that the world was vary always . World War I usher in a modern era of war with new fight methods that impact an entire generation of young hoi polloi .
young technology introduced during World War I shaped the way of life war would be fought from then on . For the first metre , armored combat vehicle , airplanesandmachine gunsmade their way onto the battlefield . These new applied science hyperbolise the effects of war , both in terms of how war was fought , but also how war sham people . World War I had a annihilative impression on the world in terms of lives lost , with over 37 million casualty [ source : Infoplease ] .
rural area that were hit hardest by the war lose entire villages of men . Those who come home were profoundly affected by their state of war experience . Feeling misanthropical about humanity ’s prospects , they rebelled against the values of their elders , seeking bacchanal instead of decency , and hedonism instead of political theory .
The generation behave between 1883 and 1900 that come of years during this time became known as the Lost Generation . This nickname is credited to writer Gertrude Stein , who passed on her service department mechanic ’s words to his employee — " You are all a mislay genesis " — during a conversation with writer Ernest Hemingway [ source : University of Oxford ] . Hemingway used this set phrase in the epigraph of his book " The Sun Also Rises , " and the name soon stuck .
The phrase " Lost Generation " is also used to describe the literary landscape painting of this era . After the war , American writers mat fall behind , aimless and without purpose . Many flocked to Paris during the 1920s to escape their traditions at home . These expatriate deal to capture the zeitgeist of the prison term .
What were the posture of this Lost genesis ? Let ’s take a look at how disillusionment demonstrate itself in a generation of youth .
Characteristics of the Lost Generation
The members of the Lost Generation were born at the twist of the twentieth century , when the humanity was shift at a rapid pace . The auto was making its mark on smart set , becoming a popular mode of transportation . The Wright Brothers took the firstairplaneflight . Sigmund Freud released his groundbreaking ceremony employment , " The Interpretation of Dreams . "
As this contemporaries was come of age , billion ofimmigrantspoured into the United States , search for a good lifetime . With the contender for Book of Job and ever - increase class distinction , the member of the Lost Generation became independent and self - sufficient , not face to their elders for guidance .
World War I had a tremendous influence on this generation . It lasted many twelvemonth , and by the time it had terminate , millions of human being had been affect by the horrors of struggle , losing a sense of the value their parents had instill in them . War had force this genesis to produce up quickly , and for those who ’d spend years in the oceanic abyss , war was all that they really knew . After the soldiers returned home , governments start ignoring their Italian sandwich , which cause the veterans to become quickly disenchant with regime .
In fact , this generation became sceptical of all authority , peculiarly now that their parent were fight forProhibition . After the war , the Lost Generation started search its own set of values , ones that clearly went against what their elders had already set up . Through its insurrection , the Lost Generation came up with its own social mores that yield cost increase to the Roaring ' 20s , with its gangsters , speakeasies and hedonism . This self - indulgent spree came ram to a stop when the breed securities industry crashed in 1929 , leaving this coevals to voyage the Great Depression during what would be the high point of their career .
Members of the Lost Generation were also nomadic . Many who had been to war no longer felt the need to regress home , rather flocking to metropolis and even to Europe . Paris became one of the biggest outpost for expatriate , and it became a centre for literary achievement of the twenty-four hours .
Let ’s take a look at some of these writer and how they captured the spirit of a contemporaries .
Famous Lost Generation Writers
While the phrase " Lost Generation " classifies a generation of spring chicken , it has a particular intension in the literary reality . Many Americans who ’d go through Europe during the Great War returned oversea as a way to bunk mainstream America . A biotic community of expatriates formed in Paris , and in look at America from a length , these writers make a raw literary culture that captured the ineffectual spirit of the times .
Ernest Hemingway , who helped generalize the term " Lost propagation " in his novel " The Sun Also Rises , " was one of the drawing card of this radical of exile who fled to Paris . Much like he and his contemporary , Hemingway ’s protagonists tend to be honest human beings who fall behind hope and faith in modern club .
F. Scott Fitzgerald ’s work also delves into this belief of futility . His 1920 debut novel " This Side of Paradise " captures a mode of a generation that has fought wars and no longer believe in God or valet de chambre . Fitzgerald ’s late works also capture the hedonistic spirit of the Jazz Age with " The Great Gatsby , " an exploration of the ethical motive of the wealthy , being a seminal work of this prison term .
Poet e. e. cummings serve as an ambulance number one wood in France during the war but was captured andimprisonedby the French , who remember he was aspy . After the war , he embodied the persona of the Lost Generation author , living in both Greenwich Village and rural Connecticut , with frequent trip to Paris . His poetry press the boundaries of form , and by playing with spelling and syntax , he created new techniques and structures for his work .
Among the Lost Generation writers , John Dos Passos stands out as a novelist who really attempt to ingest European culture . American by birthing , Dos Passos drop his shaping long time in Europe , returning to America for college before spending clip in Spain . He finally volunteered for the war try , which influenced his work " Three Soldiers , " the first major anti - war novel of this catamenia . However , as clip passed , Dos Passos became more conservative in his political view and was estranged from his contemporaries , who were very much disillusioned with the current political orientation .
These writers all facilitate give a voice to the Lost Generation . Read on for more information about this age .
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World War I had a devastating effect on the Lost Generation , stimulate them to become cynical about humanity ’s outlook and rebel against the values of their elderberry bush .
The Lost Generation writers appropriate the vain spirit of their time by produce raw literary cultures that reflected feeling of futility , disillusionment and hedonism .
