The Lost Generation Literary Analysis

Charles Bukowski, in his book ​The Roominghouse Madrigals ​ , wrote, “​I want so much that is not
here and do not know where to go” (52). There always comes a certain point in people’s lives that just
seem to make them feel so lost, not knowing where their life is headed to. It is like wanting to escape
from the feeling of uncertainty, but not knowing where to go. As people grow up, they get exposed to the
real world just like a person who has just graduated from college and not knowing anymore what to do
with his life. This has been a familiar connection with the Lost Generation only that it was different. It
was not about ageing that made them the “Lost Generation”. The Lost Generation is the group of
expatriate American writers who “came of age during the war and established their literary reputations in
the 1920s” (Britannica). Gertrude Stein, being the mentor of the writers, came up with “Lost Generation”
as she was conversing with Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald are two of the
writers in the Lost Generation. The writers had their own writing style, but the characteristic in their
literary work that classified them as a writer in this time is having a cynical view of life, the American
society and America itself.

To begin with, “Dulce et Decorum Est”, a poem written by Wilfred Owen, tells about the
situation of the military men during the war. They were already fatigued but became frantic as a
poisonous gas leaked, and the persona expressed how he has witnessed one of them drowning (9-14).
Because of this, the persona soon realized that their people should stop romanticizing the tragic death of
their military men. This is supported by the lines “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest to
children ardent for some desperate glory, the old Lie: ​Dulce et decorum​ est Pro ​ patria mori” (25-28)​. It
​ can be thought that​ as the poem progressed, the tone changed from simply being descriptive to being
bitter and accusatory. These lines imply the trait of being cynical because of how the persona denounces
the people of their nation being naive, and how they believe that there is glory in death when in fact there
is the stripping of hope from the morality of the military men.

Secondly, Ernest Hemingway wrote “A Very Short Story”, and this has a different focus in
comparison with Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est”. This is about the relationship of an American soldier
and a nurse named Luz. They wanted to get married, but Luz wanted the American soldier to find a job
first before they could get married. As they were away from each other, Luz met an Italian Major whom
she hoped to marry. Luz and the American soldier did not end up together because she said that “theirs
had only been a boy and girl affair” (par. 6). During that time, America was only starting to work its way
up on a global scale, and according to Silvia Ammary, “World War I went a long way to proving
America’s viability as a major player in world affairs” (10). In relation to Luz and the American soldier’s
relationship, their relationship suggests the immaturity of the American nation through Hemingway’s use
​ of his ​Iceberg Theory. The Italian Major in the story turned out to be the better man, which suggests how
the European nation is more mature than the American nation. This implies Hemingway’s cynical view of
America especially that he seemed to criticize America in an understated way.

Another literary piece by Ernest Hemingway that shares the trait of cynicism is “The Killers”.
This literary piece is about two hitmen, Max and Al, going into a diner for a reason that they want to
come across Ole Anderson, “a heavyweight prize-fighter” (37), and kill him. These two hitmen waited for
Ole Anderson to come into the diner and as they waited, they pushed around the people in the diner and
called them derogatory names. They told the people in the diner, who are George, Sam, and Nick, their
plan about killing the boxer, and when the boxer didn’t show up, Max and Al just left. George then sends
Nick to Ole Anderson’s home to warn him about the known plan. When Ole Anderson was warned by
Nick, it seemed like he no longer cared. It was as if he knew it was coming. It was said in the text that the
reason these two hitmen wanted to kill Ole Anderson is because they are “killing for a friend. Just to
oblige a friend” (35). With this statement, Hemingway conveys his cynical view of the people because of
how the characters in the story show self-indulgence. Max and Al did not know Ole Anderson quite well,
but they still had the intention of killing him for a friend. This seems to express the moral hollowness that
the people have.

With all of these, it can be concluded that the Lost Generation shared the trait of having a cynical
view of life, the American nation, and the American society. This cynicism was not only present during
the time of the Lost Generation, but also up to this day. Last November 8, 2016, America had the National
Election, and some of the people seemed to become cynical after they found out the results. One of these
people​ is Wajahat Ali who wrote his opinion in ​The New York Times. He shared how American muslim
parents were terrified of their children’s safety. His opinion was full of rhetoric questions, and then he
shared, “A high school friend of mine messaged me the following note on Facebook after midnight: ‘You
represent a huge part of the arrogance and condescension of the liberal part of this country. I voted for
Bernie and then Johnson. But you condescended to the concerns of good working class people. You lost.
You deserved it.’” Although a view like this was provoked, there are still good people and things in the
world that need to be given attention. The American society share the same rights and freedom, and they
could choose compassion over apathy to make a difference.