When the postwar American youth returned to the post-war decadent capitalist world with both physical and mental trauma, they were greeted by various insurmountable social crises, which undoubtedly added to their disappointment and disillusionment. Paula.S.Fass wrote in The Damned and the beautiful—American youth ln the 1920's: Youth suddenly became a social problem in the1920's. The Problem of youth was connected to changes in family nurture,education,sexroles,leisure habits and social values and behavioral norms. Aboveall,youth hadbecome a challenge to an older social order.While it is difficult to separate the youth problem from the many social issues to which it was linked in the public mind,contemporaries were quite right to understand that the problem of youth is not anisolated phenomenon. The public usually invested youth with too many hopes or fears,thus draining them of theirs pecific reality,but the perception of youth's vitalrelevance was never misplaced.
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After Columbus discovered the Americas, those who had left their hometowns regarded America as a paradise. They came to the Americas on the "
Mayflower
" full of religious ideals with religious ideals. They came for freedom, and they longed to be here. An ideal "city on top of mountains" is built on this piece of land. The "American Dream" began with the desire and dream of these early immigrants for free belief and free creation. America's early years were difficult but hopeful, and people were optimistic about the future. The first immigrants to reach the American continent overcame all kinds of difficulties and experienced all kinds of hardships. The successful development of the western frontier has also filled people with hope and encouraged everyone to work hard. After the American Revolutionary War, Americans felt closer to their ideals. Americans are made up of people who relentlessly seek hope. Feudalism does not exist in American history, and most Americans believe in liberalism. It was the dream of freedom and equality that drew Europeans to America. They came to seek hope. The difficulties brought by the natural environment did not break the spirit of Americans, but strengthened their determination to seek freedom.
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Under the support of the American spirit, the writers of the "Lost Generation" also reflected in their works
American pursuit of freedom and happiness. This is concentrated in the pursuit of monetary wealth and the pursuit of eternal youth and beauty, the latter "that is, the pursuit of happiness and spiritual needs of the dreamy American." For example, in "The
Great Gatsby
" Gatsby was the quintessential "American Dream" suitor, and he believed in the so-called equality of opportunity in capitalist society. After the First World War, the United States made a lot of money from the war, and the economy has developed to a certain extent, and people's mental outlook has undergone great changes. Gatsby's spirit in striving for his dream is his most "amazing". He is determined and brave, and sacrificed everything for love, or ideal love. In Gatsby's mind, the heroine Daisy has become the incarnation of the ideal, a symbol of all the good things in America. "He spent a lot of money, exhausted his life experience, to restore old dreams. The beautiful realm, describe here, add a stroke there, add all the beautiful colors that he can think of, and contribute all of his own to this dream.”
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Hemingway, Fitzgerald and other "lost generation" writers, all experienced the First World War. Before the First World War, American society was still preaching noble humanity and the existence of God. The American people not only had ideals and hopes, but also had a code of conduct and social order that they abide by. People still believed in the pioneering traditions handed down by their ancestors. Spiritually and the "
American Dream
," America remains a paradise for most people to realize their dreams of freedom. The First World War originally had little to do with the United States until 1917 when Germany joined the war with unrestricted submarine warfare. Both sides of the war caused great losses and countless casualties. The loss of the United States in World War I was relatively small. After only one year of participation in the war, the war did not burn to the United States. In purely material terms, the United States has profited from the war. However, the temporary prosperity of the economy cannot cover up the great psychological and moral panic of the people. The price the United States paid for this war is spiritual.
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However, even the postwar economy did not last long.
The Coolidge
boom was followed by an unprecedented
Great
. Facing a society with economic crisis, industry withering, market depression and unemployment, the "lost generation" also wanted to cheer up again with the support of the American spirit, but after a painful struggle, the result was not broken. That is, the mind becomes more withered, and the attitude towards life becomes more pessimistic. They need to work after they are discharged; the industrial system is also to return to normal from the war time; but the skyrocketing prices have caused great difficulties for the workers; especially, the life of the uprooted army and the brutality of the war have created a kind of profoundly corrupting morals. The war is over, but it did not bring much progress to American society. Many wondered whether entering the war was simply a blunder. They want to forget that nightmare. But how can this be done? Now, from their experience, from what they have experienced, they see that what morality, what faith they have been taught earlier seems to be all lies. This brutal struggle, this riot, the aborted peace, all this makes them feel that the world is meaningless and they have to escape from reality. Among the youth, it is fashionable to take pride in debauchery, especially sexual debauchery "on the fly", in complete disregard of any moral rules and old-fashioned precepts. These decadent acts can be verified in the works of many American writers at the time. In "The Sun Also Rises", Hemingway depicts the mental state and outlook on life of a group of American youths who have been abandoned by society. They have left their misfortunes and all social moral standards and values behind.
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Fitzgerald, another Lost Generation writer, exemplifies this theme.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald
is one of the most talented writers in "The Lost Generation." His work embodies a younger generation's disillusionment with the "American Dream." In Fitzgerald's debut, "
Heaven
on Earth ," the "lost generation" of college students is shown. The novel faithfully reflects the impact of the war on the domestic atmosphere of the United States, including the wavering of traditional bourgeois morality and the bohemian and restless mood of the younger generation. They are a "new generation" who "grow up to find that all gods have died, all wars have been fought, and all belief in human beings have been shaken. Through this novel, we can see the disappointment and confusion of Emotions are not unique to a soldier in the war. The American spirit can no longer support the direction and foothold of the younger generation in a chaotic society and then to life, and the "American Dream" has gradually become a nightmare for an entire generation in the United States.
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