KarolinaPeza

Mrs.Carroll
EnglishIII
21December2015
LostGenerationLiteraryAnalysis
AfterWorldWarI,soldiersfromaroundtheworldcamebackhometosettlebackintheir
homelandorwenttoliveinnewcountries.Notallsoldierscamehome,itbecameapparentthat
theworldwasntthesamelikebeforethewarandchangedforever.Thepeoplethatcameback
homewereaffectedbythewarexperiencewhichchangedeveryonesperspectiveonlife.People
feltcynicalabouthumanitysprospects,theyrebelledagainstthevaluesoftheirelders,seeked
debaucheryinsteadofdecency,andhedonisminsteadofideology(
HowtheLostGeneration
Works
2226).Thesegroupofpeoplebecametobeknownasthe
LostGeneration
,thegeneration
bornduring1883through1900.Thisnamecamefromthewriter,GertrudeStein,whopassed
onhergaragemechanicswordsYouareallalostgenerationduringaconversationwith
ErnestHemingway(3134
HowtheLostGenerationWorks
).Thismeantthatpeoplewere
disillusionedandshiftedfromthememoriesandlifestyles.Peoplehavecometowhereliving
didnthaveapurposeanymore,butawaytoliveforselfinterest.Atraitthatcomesfromthe
LostGeneration
ishopelesswanderer,whichcanbefoundinwritingfromwritersandpoets
aboutthelossandhopeforthefutureofthisgenerationcausedbythewar.InErnest
HemingwaysandEdnaSt.VincentMillayswritingthisspecifictrait,hopelesswanderer,can
befoundthathasbeenusedtodescribehowpeoplebehavedafterwardofWWIinrelationships,
memories,andmetaphors.


ErnestHemingwaywritesstoriesaboutpersonalrelationshipsandtheviewofthebreak
up,whichportraysHemingwayasahopelesswandererduringthe
LostGeneration
.Hemingway
writesstoriesshortandusestheicebergmethod,whichisawayofwritingastorybyusing
wordsthatcanhavedeepercontextwhenanalyzingwhattheauthoristryingtohavethereader
getfromthestory.Inthestory
HillslikeWhiteElephants
,itstatesthat
Thehillsalongthe
valleyoftheEbrowerelongandwhite.Onthissidetherewasnoshadeandnotreesandthe
stationwasbetweentwolinesofrailsinthesun.Closeagainstthesideofthestationtherewas
thewarmshadowofthebuildingandthecurtain,madeofstringsofbamboobeads,hungacross
theopendoorintothebar,tokeepoutflies.TheAmericanandthegirlwithhimsatatatablein
theshade,outsidethebuilding.ItwasveryhotandtheexpressfromBarcelonawouldcomein
fortyminutes.ItstoppedatthisjunctionfortwominutesandwentontoMadrid(Hemingway
1).Thetrait,hopelesswanderer,isbeingshownbythe
imageryinthispassagerelatingtothe
LostGeneration
.It'slikeacomparisonbetweenanimageandaperiodofhowpeoplecarriedon
theirlivesafterWWI.Theshadeandlightrepresentshowtherearedarktimes,butthereisstill
lightthatshinestogivehope,thatthereisstillsomethinggoodoutthereforanyone.The
railwaysandstationbarsrepresentthedirectionthatthepersonchosestoleadtheirlife.The
railwayisdirectionforlookingoutforhopeandfunwhilethestationbarisplaceforthepeople
whojustgaveupandarelostwithlife.Thesymbolizationinthisstoryshowshowthistraitis
utilizedbyHemingwaytoshowthebehaviorofpeopleafterthewar.Alsoin
AMoveableFeast
(Hemingwaysautobiography)
,Hemingwaystates
WhenIsawmywifeagainstandingbythe
tracksasthetraincameinbythepiledlogsatthestation,IwishedIhaddiedbeforeIeverloved

anyonebuther...IlovedherandIlovednooneelseandwehadalovelymagictimewhilewe
werealone.Iworkedwellandwemadegreattrips,andIthoughtwewereinvulnerableagain,
anditwasntuntilwewereoutofthemountainsinlatespring,andbackinParisthattheother
thingstartedagain(Hemingway256).
Thisstoryconnectstothetrait,hopelesswanderer,
becauseHemingwaydoesntknowwhatisneededinhislife.Hemingwayisconfusedandgoes
byuntilwiththingsuntilitgetsboring.IntheLostGenerationpeopledidntknowwhattothink,
do,orfeelpeopledidwhathasbeenamusing.Ifsomethingdidntfeelgoodtothemthenpeople
movedontoanotherthing.Thewarchangedrelationships,makingpeoplehopeforsomething
differentfromthereminderofawholefamilybeingwipedoutorseeinggraphicimagesin
personofdeathandblood.Thischangedeveryone'sviewofhowtoliveanormallifewithout
thinkingofthetragicimagesandlosses,whichconnectstoHemingway,howpeoplewandered
aroundtheworldandlookedforhopethatwilltakethemawayfromthepastintothehopefor
thefuture.
Thepoet,EdnaSt.VincentMillay,wasAmericanlyricalpoetandplaywrightaccording
to
Wikipedia
.MillaysworkservedasamovementduringtheWWIera,whereMillay
representedwomenbeingfreefromrestrictions.Inthepoem
FirstFig
,Millaywritesabouta
candlethat"burnsatbothends/Itwillnotlastthenight/Butah,myfoesandoh,myfriends/It
givesalovelylight!"(Millay14).Inthispoemthetrait,hopelesswanderer,existsinlifenot
beinglonglasting,butitgivingagreatmomentthatshouldbelivedforthefullest.Justlikeafig
thatisputonfireburnstwiceasbrighterthanacandleburns.Asafruit,thefigissweetand
small,butdry.Inrelationtothetraitoflookingforsomethingsweetandsmallbywanderingto
livelifeeventhoughitmightbeforasmallperiod.Itcanbehopelessifthetimedriesoutfrom

thelossofsweetnessthatcantbefoundinlifeifonedoesntbothertowander.Inadditionthe
poem"ChildhoodistheKingdomWhereNobodyDies",Millaystateshow"childhoodisnot
frombirthtoacertainageandatacertainage/Thechildisgrown,andputsawaychildish
things./Childhoodisthekingdomwherenobodydies."(Millay13).Fromthispoemthetrait
existswhenthememoryofatimeinakingdomwherenothingcouldbringanyonedowntofeel
pain,butonlyhappinessthatiscalledchildhood,whichishopelesstoanyoneinthetimeofthe
LostGeneration
.Millayuseschildhoodasastartofwherehopeisalwaysfoundwhenanyone
wandersandnothingcanhurtanyone.Whenpeoplegrowup,childhoodisgrownout.Soisthe
kingdomgrownoutofthepeople,whereitisanideaofheavenintheskies.Whereeverythingis
peacefulandhappinessnevergoesaway,whichconnectstohowheavenisaplacewherethere
arenoworriesnomore.WhenMillaystatesthatChildhoodisthekingdomwherenobodydies
(Millay3),itconnectstohowthepeopleinthe
LostGeneration
wishtogobacktothememories
ofthedeathsoflovedonestodisappearandbecomenonexistent.Wherenoonewaswandering
forhopetosavethemfromthispaininsideofthem,becausepaindidntexistinthekingdom.
Fromthe
LostGeneration,
writersandpoetslikeErnestHemingwayandEdnaSt.
VincentMillayhasatrait,hopelesswanderer,thatdescribeshowpeoplebehavedofpostWWI
throughtheexamplesofrelationships,memories,andmetaphors.The
LostGeneration
islike
therootsthatclutch,whatbranchesgrow/Outofthisstonyrubbish?Sonofman,/Youcannot
say,orguess,foryouknowonly/Aheapofbrokenimages,wherethesunbeats,/Andthedead
treegivesnoshelter,thecricketnorelief,/Andthedrystonenosoundofwater.Only/Thereis
shadowunderthisredrock(Eliot2).Justliketodaythemodernsocietycantgrowfromitsroots
ifthereissomethingholdingthemback.Peoplefeeltheirtrappedfrombecomingthepersonto

bringhopetotheirfuturebywanderingtolearnandexperiencenewthings.Todaysocietytries
tokeepeveryoneunderthesamebranchlikeeveryoneelseinsteadofexpandingandreachingfor
whatisimportanttosomeone,nottheother.Overtime,likethe
LostGeneration,
thisgeneration
nowhasnoname,becauseoftheideasitbringstotheworldtodayisfaroutdifferentand
mysteriousfromthepastgenerationsworkinwriting,technology,andeducation.This
generationisnthopeless,buthopefulbecausewanderersalwaysfindadirectionthroughlife,but
itdependshowharditwillbetogrowoutoftheclutchofbranchesandliveoffofhappiness
ratherthanredblood.
WorksCited
"AboutEdnaStVincentMillay."
AboutEdnaStVincentMillay
.Web.02Jan.2016.
"HowtheLostGenerationWorks."
HowStuffWorks
.22May2011.Web.01Jan.2016.