Unit VII. Between the Wars

B. The Lost Generation

B. The Lost Generation1. Literature and Art

a. WWI created problems in social and political areas; it had shaken many people’s long-held beliefs

*Scientific discoveries, such as those by Einstein, the Curies, and Freud, had brought new understanding, but cast doubt as well

b. The war itself had left scars, both physical and mental, on those who had survived it

*Writers, artists, and musicians throughout the 20’s and 30’s expressed a loss of hope, rejecting former rules and moral values

*Literature: •Ernest Hemingway-expressed a loss of faith in

western civilization•F. Scott Fitzgerald-exposed society as gilded and

damaged•T.S. Eliot-portrayed the modern world as barren

and spiritually empty

•Erich Maria Remarque-recounted the horrors of war

*Art:•Max Ernst-surrealist•Salvador Dalí-surrealist•Pablo Picasso-cubist