Lost generation. Representatives in the literature

After the First World, special people returned to their native cities from the front. When the war began, they were still boys, but the duty forced them to defend the homeland. "The lost generation" - that's how they were called. What, however, is the cause of this loss? This concept is also used today when we are talking about writers who worked during the break between the First and Second World Wars, which became a test for all mankind and almost all of them knocked out of the familiar, peaceful rut.

The expression "lost generation" was once voiced by Gertrude Stein. Later, the case during which this happened, was described in one of the books of Hemingway ("A holiday that is always with you"). He and other writers of the lost generation raise in their works the problem of young people who returned from the war and who did not find their home, their relatives. Questions about how to live further, how to remain a man, how to learn to rejoice lives again - that's what is paramount in this literary flow. Let's talk about it in more detail.

Authors and literature of the lost generation

• Francis Scott Fitzgerald. His first work "On This Side of Paradise" and the most famous - "The Great Gatsby" - are the brightest examples of literature, in which the main role is played by the lost generation. He tried to convince people that it was very difficult to keep a human face in pursuit of the "American dream". So, do you need to chase after her? Is not it better to try to become the person you were before the war? Fitzgerald is the founder of this literary trend.
• Erich Maria Remarque. German novelist, who propagandized the ideas of pacifism. The work "Three Comrades" immediately became a cult. Along with the book "On the Western Front without Change" it tells us about people whose youth was "buried" in battle trenches. Remark compares the war to a huge funnel, which delays the best spiritual qualities of a person.
• Ernest Hemingway. "Farewell to Arms" is a book not only about war, but about love. The story of Lieutenant Frederico and Nurse Catherine forced readers to overestimate much. War is the most cruel thing in the world, and the lost generation must strive to find oneself by all means.
• Richard Aldington. He wrote a book about the fate of his generation and called it "The Death of a Hero." Roman is a pity about how many people who have not yet had time to see a peaceful life have already become disillusioned with it. And the fault is war.
• Henri Barbousse. His book "Fire" is recognized as the very first in a series of anti-war novels. Published in the form of notes, diary, which leads a person who knows the whole truth about the meanness of the war. Barbousse calls her work to destroy other people. There is also no shadow of romance - a continuous realism in describing the battle scenes and emotional experiences of the heroes.

The literature about the lost generation is not only a similarity of themes. It is also a recognizable style. At first glance, this is an impartial account of what is happening, whether it be military or post-war. However, if you read it, you can see a very deep lyrical overtones, and the weight of emotional throwing. For many authors it was difficult to break out of these thematic frameworks: it's too difficult to forget the horrors of war.