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Lost generation essay
The impact of the First World War
Lost generation essay
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World War I had the highest casualty rate, the greatest cost, and the farthest reaching consequences of any preceding war in history. One of these consequences was the desolation of traditional values in the soldiers that survived the war. This loss created what was known as the “Lost Generation,” the generation that came of age during the war and due to the traumatizing experiences they faced they were left confused and aimless. From this generation emerged many notable writers who portrayed varying viewpoints and aspects of the Lost Generation. The preeminent writers of this time were F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Two of their most widely known novels, The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises respectively; reflect the author’s experience in WWI, and despite their seemingly contradicting depiction of early 1920’s life, both are stories that illustrate the Lost Generation.
The Lost Generation
In an article by the Montgomery College (n.d), they stated that the phrase the Lost Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein who, after a mechanic working on her car did a poor job, is rumored to have heard the garage owner say that the generation that had been in the war was “une génération perdue” or a lost generation. She later used this term to describe the group of people who rejected the American values of the 1920’s. Specifically the people who were in their 20’s to 30’s and had been a part of the war. In prominent authors of the time the lost generation defines a sense of moral loss and aimlessness apparent during the 1920’s. The term was popularized by being used as a theme in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. The writers of the Lost Generation also denounced American culture in their writing through themes of exp...
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...their writing in The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises and many other works of literature they wrote after the war. The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises portray the Lost Generation, just from different viewpoints. The Great Gatsby is a reflection of the Lost Generation from America’s viewpoint. One where the exuberance of the Jazz Age was used to hide the disillusionment that they were confronted with at the end of the war. The Sun Also Rises depicts the Lost Generation as it was in Europe, specifically Paris. Europe held the greatest concentration of the Lost Generation, due to the fact that many expatriates left for Europe because they had been changed too much to return home. From this I have learned much about the Lost Generation and 1920’s literature, and this study has prompted further research into how other 1920’s authors illustrate the Lost Generation.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of excitement for the American people, with cities bustling with activity and a large community that appreciated Jazz, thus creating the title the “Jazz Age.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in this magnificent age characterized by Jazz and the popular new dance, the “Charleston.” Through the midst of all this new activity, we follow a character named Jay Gatsby through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s themes of friendship and The American Dream is seen in The Great Gatsby through Nick and Jay’s companionship and Gatsby’s growth from being a simple farm boy to becoming a wealthy man.
In the novel The Great Gatsby it is greatly seen how the roaring 20’s was a booming society after the World War One. The Roaring Twenties was a period when economic success was sustained. This was a time to rejoice as well as a time to overcome the restrictions of the Victorian era. The fashion in the 20’s was less restricting than the past years and began to wear more comfortable clothes such as short skirts or trousers, the music was all about the jazz and the alcohol and dancing this was rapidly developing in Chicago, the most popular dances during the decade the foxtrot, waltz, and American tango.
The 1920s era is known for different names such as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, the Age of Intolerance, and the Age of Wonderful Nonsense. Moreover, the era claimed the beginning of Modernism in America, which led authors to stray away from traditional writing styles. A commonality seen in Modernists’ works is the desire for characters to fit into societies that they believe to be more substantial or well off than their own. In the novels The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Passing by Nella Larsen, the characters Jay Gatsby and Clare Kendry use social environments and interactions with others in attempt to reject their pasts and gain acceptance. Jay Gatsby longs to forget his past and focus on the present and future in hopes
The beauty and splendor of Gatsby's parties masks the decay and corruption that lay at the heart of the Roaring Twenties. The society of the Jazz Age, as observed by Fitzgerald, is morally bankrupt, and thus continually plagued by a crisis of character. Jay Gatsby, though he struggles to be a part of this world, remains unalterably an outsider. His life is a grand irony, in that it is a caricature of Twenties-style ostentation: his closet overflows with custom-made shirts; his lawn teems with "the right people," all engaged in the serious work of absolute triviality; his mannerisms (his false British accent, his old-boy friendliness) are laughably affected. Despite all this, he can never be truly a part of the corruption that surrounds him: he remains intrinsically "great." Nick Carrway reflects that Gatsby's determination, his lofty goals, and most importantly the grand character of his dreams sets him above his vulgar contemporaries. F. Scott Fitzgerald constructs Gatsby as a true American dreamer, set against the decay of American society during the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 by author F.Scott Fitzgerald, multiple films have been made from the book, including the 2013 film of the same name directed by Baz Luhrmann. The story is about a man named Nick Carraway, who had just moved to the east coast, and his interaction with a man named Jay Gatsby.The movie follows the story that Fitzgerald wrote. However, there are some differences between the movie and the book that change how the viewer perceives the story. Some of the significant changes that can change opinions of viewers are the opening and closing of the movie, including plot changes such as information Nick Carraway shouldn’t have known, and the revelation of Tom Buchanan’s actions in the final moments.
...e Americans came back from World War I experienced disenchantment with modern America and were unconnected from society, these people were known as The Lost Generation (O). This term was first coined by Ernst Hemingway to describe the atrocities witnessed by the soldiers in World War I, and whom came back to write literature. Among the people of the Lost Generation was Ernst Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, ad T.S. Eliot. The war was backed by the people who lived in the U.S. and did not go off to fight, only the soldiers know the true reality of the situation, and how horrible the war actually was and how the war changed them when returning to the United States.
The Jazz age was a convivial time known for innovation, creativity, and women pushing the limits of their new found freedom, but it was also a time of mourning and loss after the end of World War I. The combination of these emotions is what made the roaring twenties so unique, yet unstable. Before the twenties, the American dream had been to earn a stable income and raise a family in the great country that is America, but during the twenties the American dream became much more diminished as people worked for riches and luxuries that only a few could afford. In The Great Gatsby the main characters are striving for this dream of riches in a turbulent setting, but ironically are blinded by the distractions of the Jazz age and they do not realize until it is too late and that they have been walking away from their own dreams. During the Jazz age people partied, drank, and danced to their heart’s content, but little did they know that they were losing sight of the American dream.
“For the love of money is the root to all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”(Timothy 6:10 King James Bible)This is one of the most admirable verses from the bible, and probably the most know, it simply means that someones great love for money will lead them into evil temptations and eventually lead to their demise, not necessarily that all evil comes from the love of money. The Great Gatsby definitely deliverers this message, greatly influenced by the surrounding. It starts with James Gats as a child, and continues throughout the entire story, I 'll talk about how the settings influenced the events in the story.
In the past century in America, one of the decades that has stood out most as a time of change is the 1920s. In a post-war economic boom, the decade was a time of cultural and societal change. Among the parties and the more relaxed way of life, Americans experienced new wealth and luxury. Capturing the essence of the Roaring Twenties is a daunting task, especially because of the many different factors contributing to the decade’s fame. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald managed to capture and define the spirit of the 1920s through his novel. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the characters and events of the novel manifest the trademark qualities of America in the 1920s.
Nothing before, or since has equaled the mass expatriation of the 1920's. It was as if a great draft of wind picked up these very peculiar people and dropped them off in a European life style. Europe and the rest of the world were beginning to see a large population of these American expatriates. "... the younger and footloose intellectuals went streaming up the longest gangplank in the world." (Cowley 79) Along with the intellectuals went the wealthy élite, the recent college graduates, the art students, and the recent war veterans aptly called "The Lost Generation". Although many went all over the world, the largest density of these expatriates was in France. "Indeed, to young writers like ourselves, a long sojourn in France was almost a pilgrimage to the Holy Land." (Cowley 102)
In the aftermath of World War I, the 1920s twinkled on the horizon with the promise of hope. Bookended by the epidemic of 1920 and the The Wall Street crash of 1929, the decade was a time of decadence, frivolity, and escape. Rich or poor, people lived in the moment, loved anything new and the young partied like there was no tomorrow. A readers look into the decade can be found in the era's greatest memoir: The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald. F. Scott Fitzgerald applied the social and political issues of the 1920's and its innumerable characteristics to enhance the plot of The Great Gatsby.
One of the authors of "The lost generation" was F. Scott Fitzgerald. In modernism, Fitzgerald found a way to define his world. He lived a wild and tragic lifestyle in the course of the Roaring Twenties. His fictitious writings were actually reality-based and reveal some of his own struggles.
The very start of World War I brought the culture of the twentieth century to a world of the new ages. The abrupt start of the war brought conflict and confusion. This sudden flash of reality and birth of new technology whirled into a frenzy of madness that introduced the idea of demoralization. It was the beginning of Modernism which many American authors jumped into. One of them was Scott Fitzgerald who was heavily known for his greatest piece The Great Gatsby, in which a man takes a tight grip onto his past and tries to relive the life he yearned for. At the same time, this novel is being clashed with themes of loneliness and demoralization of the characters and the division of social classes.
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is known as the spokesman of the "Lost Generation" of Americans in the 1920s. The phrase, "Lost Generation," was coined by Gertrude Stein "to describe the young men who had served in World War I and were forced to grow up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken" (Charters 489). Fitzgerald exemplified the generation that Stein defined. His family, with help from an aunt, put him through preparatory school and then through Princeton University (Charters 489). Fitzgerald’s family hoped that he would stop "wasting his time scribbling" and would be serious about his studies (Charters 489). However, he left college before graduating and accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army during World War I (Charters 489). During his military service, he spent most of his time writing his first novel, This Side of Paradise (Charters 489). The peak of Fitzgerald’s fame as a writer came with the publication of The Great Gatsby, in 1925 (Charters 489). Fitzgerald, writing in the third person, reflected back fondly on the Jazz Age because "it bore him up, flattered him, and gave him more money than he had dreamed of, simply for telling people that he felt as they did, that something had to be done with all the nervous energy stored up and unexpended in the War" (Charters 489).