迷惘的一代文学

The lost generation literatureOutline 1.a general intro 2.key words to reveal the main artistic features 3.spokesmen and outstanding works 4.the endingThe lost generationOrigin of the term:The phrase is attributed to Gertrude stein,then popularized by Ernest Hemingway in the epigraph to his novel“the sun also rises”and his memoir“a moveable feast Variously,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.Broadly it is often used to refer to the younger literary modernist.Why they are“lost”Gertrude Stein was an avant-garde US poet living in Paris after WW1.she named the generation that came of age during the WW1 the“lost generation”,which was quickly adopted by the world as the most accurate description of the generation that passed through the threshold of adulthood:Working,fighting or dying in the war.Trauma:physical and mental WW1 had a HORRIFIC impact on the generation.It had greatly shattered this generations faith in traditional values such as love,bravery,manhood and womanhood Without these long-held notions to rely on,they suffered great moral and psychological aimlessness.The futile search for the meaning of life in the wake of WW1 shaped this generation.In their works,they rarely mentioned the war directly,but its effects haunt everything they do and say.Artistic featuresTone:pessimistic escapist disillusioned cynical They went to Europe to fight in the name of“glory,freedom and democracy”,but what they witnessed and experienced was blood,death,dismembered human parts.The brutality and absurdity of war,the dirty trick played by the involved countries and the evil essence of war made them believe that they are relentlessly fooled.Their faith and value system collapsed.Language style:largely represented by Hemingway,the language is smooth,spare,precise and seemingly direct,and always leaves a tremendous amount unsaid-understated tend to use spoken language This has a great influence on the 20th century American literatureLanguage “迷惘的一代”在战争期间深受战争宣传的欺骗之苦，对所有崇高的字眼都弃之如敝屣：“什么神圣、光荣、牺牲这些空泛的字眼儿，我一听就害臊我可没见到什么神圣的东西，光荣的东西也没有什么光荣，至于牺牲，那就像芝加哥的屠宰场，不同的是肉拿来埋掉罢了。”所以他们在文学创作时推崇文字上的简约主义。海明威更是把这种简约风格推到了极致。他采用电报式的语言，通过简约的对话和细节，用含蓄的、间接的手法暗示人物内心的戏剧性变化，而不是像传统的作法那样通过描述来铺陈人物内心。结尾也常常是戛然而止，绝不拖泥带水，也不煽情作秀，即所谓的“零度结尾”，反而赋予了作品更为震撼人心的力量。他的“冰山原则”就是他现代叙事艺术的集中体现，作家只写露在水面上的八分之一，其余的八分之七仅通过暗示留给读者去补白。这种创作原则极大地影响了他同时代及后辈作家的创作倾向。口语化成为一代人散文风格的普遍特色。埃德蒙威尔逊甚至在他的文学评论中也摒弃学究字眼，选用口语词汇。亨利米勒在北回归线(一九三四)中把这种倾向推到极端，成为用粗鄙的语言来表现道德冷漠和感觉精微的迷惘特征，结果被萧伯纳骂作是“为下流而下流”(dirt for dirts sake)，难登大雅之堂。Themes:many commonness can be found in the themes of their works.1.the disillusionment of“American Dream”the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald 2.aimlessness and the loss of self-identity the sun also rises 3.disgustingness of war(or trauma)A farewell to arms 4.a sense of disillusionment and emptiness 荒原意识 Brand：originality and diversity The literature was marked as a combination of naturalism,realism and early-modernism.Pioneer and experimental:many devices were borrowed from other artistic forms E.g from filming:Montage(蒙太奇）the Camera Eye照相机眼 Newsreel 新闻短片 代表为帕索斯 The trend of modernism：stream-of consciousness inner soliloquy 内心独白 multi-angle narrative 多视角叙述 Parallelism of stories and myths 代表为福克纳 Impressionism&expressionism 在巴黎，受各种艺术形式的影响Spokesmen and their masterpieces Ernest Hemingway CigarmasterpiecesThe sun also rises 太阳照常升起 1926A farewell to arms 永别了，武器 1929The old man and the sea 老人与海 1952For whom the bell tolls 丧钟为谁而鸣 1940Key words of his life 1899-7-21 a conservative upper-class family Chicago Journalist since graduation from high-school In WW1 served as a ambulance driver in Italy front Hurt and hospitalized,romance with a nurse A farewell to arms inspired from this experience 1919,back home,suffering psychological trauma,conflicts between his first-hand feeling(cruelty of war)and his family and friends romanticized ideals of war 1921,journalist,first marriage,European correspondent in Paris,enter into the expatriate artists circle.Reputation grew The sun also rises was inspired by this experience the most typical description of the lost generation 1927 first divorce,then remarriage,more than 10 years spent in Florida,suffering from his fathers suicide,engaging in an affair which led his second divorce.1937 Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War 1940 to Havana,Cuba.Published to whom the bell tolls 1953 the old man and the sea won Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize 1960 plagued by health problem,severe depression,and wild mood swing 1961-7-2,woke up early,committed suicide by plugging a gun into his mouth and triggered Bullfighting,alcohol,cigar,hunting,fishingThe sun also rises Served as a chronicle of the life of“the lost generation”Setting:Paris of France,Pamploma&Madrid of Spain Title:“the sun also rises”originated from the Bible,“All is vanity.One generation passeth away,and anoth-er generation cometh:but the earth abideth for ever.The sun also ariseth,and the sun goeth down,and hasteth to his place wh-ere he arose”Themes:futile seeking for the meaning of life,lost of masculinity,castrated manhood(被阉割的男性特质）failure of communication destructiveness of sex false friendshipQuotations 1,-“I cant stand it to think that my life is going so fast and Im not really living it.-“nobody ever lives their lives all the way up except bull-fighters.”2,you cant get away from urself by moving from one place to another 3,-“oh,Jake,we couldve had a such a damned good time together.”-“yes,isnt it pretty to think so?”F.Scott FitzgeraldLaureateOfJazz Age.The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonIn 2009 the novel was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film of the same name.starring Brad Pitt,Cate Blanchett,Tilda Swinton,and the director David Fincher