“The Lost Generation” was the generation who participated in the Great War (WW1), and were forever impacted by their experiences. It is said that after living through their experiences in the war, they became disillusioned with the world, and refused to live a normal life. You can see the repercussions of the lost generation in the 1920’s of course, with the literature of the time, but also with what in inspired the literature, the Roaring 20’s. This decade inspired many of the writers to produce their works, people like F. Scott Fitzgerald with his famous book, The Great Gatsby, a book that shows the partying lifestyle many people had after the war. The writers themselves also lived very fast lifestyles, Fitzgerald’s works like Babylon Revisited
…show more content…
After four years of intense fighting, the Lost Generation exploded into the 20’s with extravagance, partying, but also a very frank look at reality. In works like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Babylon Revisited, he shows a depression era Paris that has been impacted by the fall of the stock market, a drab setting for a piece of literature. He makes parallels between Paris and the ancient city of Babylon; both were at one time filled with “immoral” pleasures and both have now seen their “destruction”. The main character of the piece, Charlie, is a “recovering” alcoholic, who does not have custody of his daughter because his sister-in-law does not believe he is stable enough to care for her after the death of his wife; a death which she blames him for. The story ends with him not being able to get custody of his daughter due to his old drinking buddies coming back into his life, making his sister-in-law doubt his responsibility again. This story shows some of the excess and wealth of the early 20’s with Charlie reminiscing on the past, when the hotel he stayed at in Paris was full of money, alcohol, and hedonism; but like many “Lost Generation” writers, Fitzgerald shows the flip side by Charlie describing the quietness of the hotel now and the now empty streets of
After four years of intense fighting, the Lost Generation exploded into the 20’s with extravagance, partying, but also a very frank look at reality. In works like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Babylon Revisited, he shows a depression era Paris that has been impacted by the fall of the stock market, a drab setting for a piece of literature. He makes parallels between Paris and the ancient city of Babylon; both were at one time filled with “immoral” pleasures and both have now seen their “destruction”. The main character of the piece, Charlie, is a “recovering” alcoholic, who does not have custody of his daughter because his sister-in-law does not believe he is stable enough to care for her after the death of his wife; a death which she blames him for. The story ends with him not being able to get custody of his daughter due to his old drinking buddies coming back into his life, making his sister-in-law doubt his responsibility again. This story shows some of the excess and wealth of the early 20’s with Charlie reminiscing on the past, when the hotel he stayed at in Paris was full of money, alcohol, and hedonism; but like many “Lost Generation” writers, Fitzgerald shows the flip side by Charlie describing the quietness of the hotel now and the now empty streets of