A Generation filled with Disillusionment

A Generation filled with Disillusionment

In response to They Are Dead Now: Eulogy for Sacco and Vanzetti

World War I shook the world.  A changed generation came out of this climactic event.   This new generation was,“characterised by doomed youth, hedonism, uncompromising creativity, and wounded—both literally and metaphorically—by the experience of war.”(2).  From this, emerged new group of writers and artists known as the Lost Generation. Along with emotional scarring and damage the war “created a feeling of disillusionment as this war as taken away their innocence that these people once all were filled with”(3). They rejected traditional ideas and the literary structures that were in place before the war, and created their own way of comprehending the world around them

The new generation produced some of the most noted literary figures in American history. This included people like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and Ezra Pound. These artists brought in a new theme of disillusionment into their works. Disillusionment was the realization that the “American Dream” was a lie. They began to question the things and the policies society had set.

Several authors of the time period “had a deep sense of disillusionment created by the violence of the war, with many members viewing the war as an extended act of senseless brutality that destroyed the innocence that dominated society at the turn of the 20th century.”(1) The lost generation authors were influenced by the tragedy of war, which led them to write about themes of disillusionment.

One poem that expresses disillusionment and the death of the American Dream  is John Dos Passos’s "They Are Dead Now.” This poem was written on the case of Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian-American immigrants who were put on trial and executed for a murder in which there was little evidence that they were guilty. This caused an uproar because people believed they were only convicted because they were immigrants and anarchists. Eventually they were sentenced to death for the crimes.

In the poem, John Dos Passos states “they are free of dreams now” in reference to the imprisonment of Sacco and Vanzetti. They were freed from the cloud that had been placed over their thoughts and no longer were being misguided in hopes of the “American Dream”. This poem refers to two different people who are are dead, the literal Sacco and Vanzetti and the symbolically dead members of society. The “dead” are people who have been trapped into the holding cell of society. These are people who came to America like Sacco and Vanzetti with a dream, only for it to be crushed by the harsh reality of American conditions at the time. By analysing Passos poem, it is clear that he believes those who are stuck in a holding cell and soon to be dead, are more free than those who are still living in the current American society.

This poem shows how common it was for there to be themes of disillusionment in Lost Generation works. These authors understood they were being lied to, in a sense, the dreams and goals people aspired for were not realistic.  The Lost Generation was a group of literary writers and artists who were struck with the tragedy of war, resulting in a shift in society. Despite this tragedy and change in lifestyle, works of art were produced in this time period. Authors of the Lost Generation created inspiring work that has guided future generations into creating art.

"The Lost Generation by michael amberg on Prezi." 2015. 23 May. 2016 <https://prezi.com/c6pcx51rpelb/the-lost-generation/>

"American Literature in Europe - The "Lost Generation" - British Library." 2007. 23 May. 2016 <http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/amliteuro/lostgen.html>

"The Sensible Thing: Biographies - PBS." 23 May. 2016 <http://www.pbs.org/kteh/amstorytellers/bios.html>