Discussion on Background of“Lost generation”in Hemingway

許佳

A lot of young people left America during the time of the First World War， most of them leaving their motherland between 1895 and 1902. After the war they were so upset and felt unsatisfied with the idealism of America， therefore， some of them went back to Europe and relocated to Paris. There were many literary artists involved in the group known as the “ Lost Generation”. The three best known are F.Scott Fitzgerald， Ernest Hemingway and John Dos Passos. Ernest Hemingway was considered to be the leading figure of the “Lost Generation” in the adaptation of the naturalistic technique in the novel. American poet Gertrude Stein actually coined the expression “lost generation”. Speaking to Ernest Hemingway， she said，“ you are all a lost generation”. （Cowley， 1976） The term and the mystique surrounding these individuals continue to fascinate us.

Actually being lost is not something about illusion.As it is known that the main issue in postwar time was to re-understand and revalue the war，and it was obvious that the standpoint of young people at that time is sharp criticism.The rebellion and unsatisfying of the young people had something to do with the culture at that time，which means there were deep conflicts of culture in postwar society in America.（Hoffman，1976）In fact，it was the young people who were at the forward position of the battle. They persisted their own ways of living and tried best to express their different values in order to challenge the traditional thoughts. The social conflict in the postwar period was of the contradiction between the young people and the older generation.

Since we have seen something about the contradiction between social groups， we will go further to find out the root of this phenomenon. When the First World War broke out， America had undergone an unprecedented course of industrialization， which completely changed the appearance of America society. The disastrous war actually had not brought terribly negative effects. On the contrary， the war had stimulated the industrial development of America in one hand and elevated its political prestige to a higher position. Owing to the development during this half century， America had changed into a country that took consume as the center of economic life from a society that took production as the core.The shift of economic core would definitely lead to the change of social value. As a consuming society at that time， America called for a new value which was opposite to the one of production. The change of social character accompanied by the shift of moral principles would have effects on cultural respect. Therefore， the cultural focus transferred to young people.

Then there are sufficient evidences to talk about the reason for people's loss and the lost generation in postwar time. In short， the war fight in Europe accidentally put a whole complexion on the cultural battle between two generations in America. The sacrifice of young people abroad paid for their triumph at home. The sacrifice here does not only mean the death of bodies， but also stands for the illusion of souls. The illusion of spirit， namely the loss， became a symbol of suffering of those survived from Europe， therefore， young people could show their ways of life with justice on their side. They could declare that the traditional value was abolished. From then on， the illusion of spirit was no longer a faithful reflection of reality. It was a powerful weapon for young people in that historical condition.

【Reference】

[1]Ernest Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises. Scribner Book Company， 2006.

[2]Frederick J. Hoffman. The Twenties： American Writing in the Postwar Decade. New York： The Free Press， 1965.

[3]Malcolm Cowley. Exiles Return. Penguin Books， 1976.

[4]The Norton Anthology of American Literature， Fourth Edition， Vol.2. New York： W.W. Norton， 1994.