Modern American Novel Fifth Lecture Mrs. Nouf Al-Khattabi

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Modern American NovelFifth LectureMrs. Nouf
Al-Khattabi
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The Writers of the Lost Generation

• The "Lost Generation" is a term used to
  characterize a general feeling of disillusionment
  in American literture. The term is used for the
  period from the end of World War I to the
  beginning of the Great Depression, though in the
  United States it is used for the generation of
  young people who came of age during and shortly
  after World War I, alternatively known as the
  World War I Generation.

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The Writers of the Lost Generation

• During this time many American lost their ideals.
  At the same time America lost many fine writers.
• The Lost Generation writers felt that America was
  not such a success story because the country was
  devoid of a cosmopolitan culture. Their solution
  to this issue was to pack up their bags and
  travel to Europes cosmopolitan cultures, such as
  Paris and London. Here they expected to find
  literary freedom and a cosmopolitan way of life.

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The Writers of the Lost Generation

• Why was it significant to American Culture?
•   This temporary emigration of American talent
  into cosmopolitan cities such as Paris, is
  significant to American culture in two parts.
• One, because it aided in the desire for a
  cosmopolitan A cosmopolitan culture (a culture
  which includes and values a variety of
  backgrounds and cultures) to be established and
  to exist in America.
• Two, because when American Culture became more
  defined, European and other countries began to
  recognize a distinctive Democratic American
  culture.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgeraldphotographed by Carl van Vechten in 1937 F. Scott Fitzgeraldphotographed by Carl van Vechten in 1937
Born Francis Scott Key FitzgeraldSeptember 24, 1896(1896-09-24)St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died December 21, 1940 (aged 44)Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation novelist, short story writer, poet
Nationality American
Period 19201940
Genres Modernism
Literary movement
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Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

• Fitzgeralds life was like the plot of one of his
  novels. He was born to a rich family and served
  in the army as a lieutenant, but he was never
  sent to fight in Europe.
• Throughout the twenties, he wrote an enormous
  amount of fiction which provided the money for
  many of his parties and wild-trips to Europe.
• His fiction was popular in the twenties because
  it was modern and easy to read.
• In 1929, the American economy collapsed starting
  the Great Depression. This happened at a time
  when Fitzgerald himself to have serious mental
  and physical health problems.

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Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

• Although Fitzgerald, like Nick Carraway in his
  novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), idolized the
  riches and glamor of the age, he was
  uncomfortable with the unrestrained materialism
  and the lack of morality that went with it, a
  kind of decadence.
• The novel combines symbolism with psychological
  realism. Gatsby, the hero symbolizes the American
  belief that money can buy love and happiness. His
  failure makes him a tragic hero.
• The novel is also famous for its unusual use of
  colors.

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Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway in 1939 Hemingway in 1939
Born July 21, 1899(1899-07-21)Oak Park, Illinois, United States
Died July 2, 1961 (aged 61)Ketchum, Idaho, United States
Nationality American
Notable award(s) Nobel Prize in Literature1954 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1953
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Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961)

• Hemingway spoke for the Lost Generation as
  Fitzgerald. He drove an ambulance in World War I
  and then decided to live in Paris and become a
  writer.
• Hemingways simple style and careful structuring
  of his fiction is famous. The aim of his style is
  to get the most out of the least. His sentence
  are usually short and simple. Sometimes, he
  repeats a key phrase for emphasize his theme. His
  language is rarely emotional. On the contrary, it
  controls emotions and holds them in.
• By the thirties, his concentrated style began to
  lose its freshness. Part of the problem was that
  many other writers were copying his style in
  their own works.

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Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961)

• The Sun Also Rises (1926), is a portrait of young
  adults of the post-war era. The characters are
  young Americans living Paris. They fought for
  their country, but they are completely useless in
  peacetime. All they want to know is how to live
  in the emptiness of the world.
• In later writings, Hemingway develops this
  emptiness to what becomes known as Nada
  (nothingness in Spanish). Nada is sometimes
  seen as the loss of hope or the inability to
  become active in the real world. At other times,
  it is the desire for sleep, or an easy death.
  Hence, Hemingways hero must always fight against
  the Nada of the world.

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Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961)

• Men Without Women (1927), a short collection of
  short stories, mixes psychological realism with
  symbolism. They are very easy to read. Therefore,
  readers sometimes miss their deep meanings.
• The Old Man and the Sea (1952), Its an allegory
  of human life. This novel received the Pulitzer
  Prize in 1952. In 1954, he was awarded the Nobel
  Prize for Literature.
• As he grew older, he felt his powers as an artist
  were failing, so in 1961, he shot himself with
  his favorite hunting gun.

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John Dos Passos (1896-1970)

• Like other members of the lost generation, Passos
  saw the modern, post-war world as ugly and dirty.
  According to him only art can save the world and
  put an end to destruction.
• His first successful modern novel is Manhattan
  Transfer (1925), which describes the daily
  activities of a large group of people living in
  New York. In this novel, he has been influenced
  by the techniques of the movies. For example, he
  uses the montage technique. HOW?

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John Dos Passos (1896-1970)

• In the 1930s, Passos published the first volume
  of his great U.S.A. trilogy. The trilogy shows
  how individuals are part of the history of the
  age in which they live. All three books The 42nd
  Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money use the movie
  techniques to tell the history of the entire
  nation in the early twentieth century.
• The quality of Passos literature began to decline
  after his trilogy.

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William Faulkner William Faulkner
Faulkner in 1954, photograph by Carl Van Vechten Faulkner in 1954, photograph by Carl Van Vechten
Born William Cuthbert FalknerSeptember 25, 1897(1897-09-25)New Albany, Mississippi, USA
Died July 6, 1962 (aged 64)Byhalia, Mississippi, USA
Occupation Novelist, short story writer
Genres Southern Gothic
Literary movement Modernism, Stream of consciousness
Notable award(s) Nobel Prize in Literature, 1949
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William Faulkner (1897-1962)

• In his works Faulkner used a small number of
  characters, who all represent the South region.
  They often reaper in later novels.
• Faulkner shared two things with the Lost
  Generation (1) its strong dislike for the
  post-war world and (2) its belief in the value of
  art.
• In almost all of Faulkners stories, time is
  treated in a special way. He uses the continuous
  present, style of writing. Past, present and
  future events are mixed. Hence, it is usually
  hard to read his works.
• Faulkners description of human goodness is as
  powerful as his description of human evil. Often
  his good people are black. His characters show
  their goodness in their relationship with nature
  and their ability to love.

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William Faulkner (1897-1962)

• The Sound and the Fury (1929), is one of his
  modernist masterpieces. There are many
  experimental features in this novel. (1)On e
  feature is the use of limited point of view. Each
  of the characters sees reality according to
  her\his way.(2) Another feature is his special
  technique of narration where the reader is put
  into the center of the story without any
  preparation. Readers must put together facts
  together since the author does not help them.
• Light in August (1932), is considered as another
  masterpiece. It shows how racism makes the white
  community of the South go crazy.