WWI Literature and Culture The Lost Generation

Artistic Tone and Content Disillusionment Fragmentation Shell shock/psychological distortion War life vs. proper society – Coming out of Victorian values (“Great Expectations” vs. harsh realities) Cost of war, criticisms of policy Apocalyptic Horrific and graphic

Reasons for Disillusionment Trench warfare: Does not follow ‘gentleman’s rules’=soldiers felt like animals or “beasts” Great numbers (of youth) killed—entire generation affected (as many as 1 in 4 European men killed) Governments on all sides not completely honest; perceived as too ready to go to war Longer life span b/c of nutrition, medication, etc. led to greater fear of death and anxieties (Mid Life Crisis) Less close-combat (bombs, etc.) meant more walking wounded and maimed, less confirmed dead – First surgical option (b/c of infection) was amputation New weaponry and tech made for extreme violence – Saw bayonets (Germans), grenades, flame throwers, mortars

Literature Novels – The Good Soldier (1915)—disillusionment and questionable reality – All Quiet on the Western Front (1929) – A Farewell to Arms (1929)—cynicism, futility of war, personal prob – Johnny Got his Gun (1939)—The disabled, communication problems Poems – “Waste Land” (1922)—cynicism and death – "Dulce et Decorum Est”—questioning honor, duty – "MCMXIV”—critical, cynical – "Anthem for a Doomed Youth”—critical, costs of war, disillusionment – “How to Die”—realistic portrayal of horror Plays/Movies – Journey’s End (1928) – The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

Other Movements and Effects: “Life is short” The Lost Generation: Parisian Expats – Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso, Dos Passos, Erich Maria Remarque, etc. Post-traumatic stress disorder – Problems with career, marriage, socializing, etc. – Drops in marriage rate, more divorce – Increased alcoholism Dadaism: antiwar, anti-bourgeois, subversive Nihilism (“God is dead”—Nietzsche)

All Quiet on the Western Front - Germany, Enrich Maria Remarque -Wounded in war -Emigrated to US -banned in Nazi Germany -Horrors of war, Lost innocence, Futility of war, Life is short