A Lost Generation? Standard Understand the widespread disillusionment with prewar institutions, authorities, and values that resulted in a void that was later filled by totalitarians. Standard Discuss the influence of World War I on literature, art, and intellectual life in the West (e.g., Pablo Picasso, the "lost generation" of Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway).

April 14 HW: No Homework! Welcome Back!

The Inter War Years… We are now going to look at what happened in the years between WWI and WWII.  We’ll start with European reactions to WWI.  Take out your Consequences of WWI paper from a while ago.  Look at your answer to the BSQ on the back. What are Europeans dealing with after WWI is over? Please get The Lost Generation Cornell Notes- Pg 110A/B

What was the Lost Generation? The lost generation was a term coined by Gertrude Stein to describe young American artists (mostly writers) who rejected American ideals in the 1920s and moved to Paris to live the bohemian lifestyle (party it up, live for today, because there may be no tomorrow). Famous members of the Lost Generation included Stein herself, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Lost Generation thought that Western Civilization was coming to an End… Why would intellectuals have thought WWI was the end of the superiority of Western Civilization? 1918

The Lost Generation felt betrayed by their leaders, their culture, and their institutions. They asked themselves “How could all this death and destruction have been allowed to happen?” They felt helpless, and lost. They despaired for the future. Where once they had trusted, now they did not. It appeared that Good had lost the battle against Evil.

Writers tried to capture the bleak hopelessness of War T.S. Eliot- The Waste Land (1922) JRR Tolkien- The Lord Of The Rings ( ) F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby (1925) Ernest Hemingway-  An American novelist  Served in WWI  A Farewell to Arms (1929)  "I know the night is not the same as the day: that all things are different, that the things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist, and the night can be a dreadful time for lonely people once their loneliness has started." HW: Notes for Literature in the 1920’s, Pg. 464

Add to your notes from the book! Please open your book to Literature in the 1920’s, Pg. 464

This story was written by Hemingway after WWI. Hemingway fought and was injured in WWI. First, read the story with your partner… Then answer these questions in your notes: ASQ: Describe the tone of this story. BSQ: How might the tone be related to the experiences of WWI? Now get a Very Short Story handout…

April 15 HW: Finish book work from today Please get a book and your Lost Generation Cornell Notes paper.

Modern Art- Artists tried to capture new perceptions of reality… Old styles of art couldn’t express the deep distress caused by WWI. In many cases, people did not want to remember the war too clearly or too exactly. WWI changed the way people perceived the world and this was reflected in their art. “Oppy Wood” – John Nash, 1917 “Gassed and Wounded” Eric Kennington, 1918 “Those Who Have Lost Their Names” Albin Eggar-Linz, 1914

Cubism- Reality broken into Pieces Cubism was born out of the experience of the WWI battlefield. At night, exploding bombs lit the sky in quick flashes, causing the world to look disjointed, distorted, disordered, and broken up into stark pieces. In Cubism…  Objects are broken up and re-assembled in abstract form.  Picasso Pre-WWI work African masks Notes for Revolution in the Arts, Pg. 465

What do you see? Pablo Picasso, Three Musicians, 1921

What do you see? Pablo Picasso, Still Life, 1924

Surrealism- Trying to show how things Feel During WWI, the founder of surrealism, André Breton, who had trained in medicine and psychiatry, served in a neurological hospital where he used the psychoanalytic methods of Sigmund Freud with soldiers who were shell-shocked. He sought a way to express the inner workings of the mind, those feelings, experiences, urges and impressions that were separated from logic and reason. Surrealism is an art movement that sought to link the world of dreams with real life. Surreal—beyond or above reality Yves Tanguy, Indefinite Divisibility 1942

How is this painting connected to the idea of Perception? Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory, 1931

What do you see? Salvador Dali, The Temptation of St Anthony What does this painting tell you about how the artist is feeling? HW: Notes for Revolution in the Arts, Pg. 465

Please do not talk at this timeApril 16/17 HW: No Homework! Please Get Out your Lost Generation Notes and a book!

Psychology-Trying to find out how the brain works Sigmund Freud—physician- He opened a window on the unconscious — where, he said, lust, rage and repression battle for supremacy — and changed the way we view ourselves- TIME Magazine Believed that human behavior is irrational Believed humans are driven by their unconscious mind Believed dreams could help people understand their unconscious Freud greatly influenced the surrealists See also: Influence of Freudian Psychology, Pg. 463

Science- Trying to find out how the physical world really works Albert Einstein ( ) German-born physicist- a true out of the box thinker - the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed. –TIME Magazine Discovered that space and time are not constant Known for seeing things from an entirely new angle, and then devising simple experiments to prove his ideas. Theory of Relativity changed how people viewed the world Werner Heisenberg—Uncertainty Principle (1927) The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa. Believed we could know what we couldn’t know See also: Impact of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, pg. 463

Philosophy- Trying to decide what we should think about next… John Paul Sartre, Albert Camus- Existentialism- Humans must define their own Reality  There is no universal meaning to life. There is no one way to order or explain the universe  We must create our own meaning  We can never truly understand each other, because we are all too different. No two understandings are the same. See also: Thinkers React to Uncertainties, Pg. 464

Existentialism in the movies…. WOODY ALLEN: That's quite a lovely Jackson Pollock, isn't it? GIRL IN MUSEUM: Yes it is. WOODY ALLEN: What does it say to you? GIRL IN MUSEUM: It restates the negativeness of the universe, the hideous lonely emptiness of existence, nothingness, the predicament of man forced to live in a barren, godless eternity, like a tiny flame flickering in an immense void, with nothing but waste, horror, and degradation, forming a useless bleak straightjacket in a black absurd cosmos. [pause] WOODY ALLEN: What are you doing Saturday night? GIRL IN MUSEUM: Committing suicide. WOODY ALLEN: What about Friday night? GIRL IN MUSEUM: [leaves silently] "Play It Again, Sam", Paramount Pictures, 1972;

Now look at your set of information about the New way of thinking in Europe… What do you notice? What words would you use to describe how people are seeing the world and their place in it?

Historical Quotes- A glimpse at changing philosophy (what you think) and ideology (what you believe) Get a piece of paper with Quotes on it (pg. 111A) Quote Philosophy Next to each Quote, write the name of the philosophy it describes it.

What answers did you get? “Meaning has to be sought out, there is no universal meaning to life. We create our own meaning through life choices and our actions. While there is no moral certainty, we do have agency in that we can make choices.” “Love God, your neighbors, your enemies, and yourself. Every individual has worth and at the same time each individual has a responsibility to the whole community. You should live your life according to moral rules.” “The realistic portrayal of life is not the purpose of art. Art should capture the inner world of emotion, feeling, and the workings of our imagination and unconscious mind.” “Art should capture a realistic portrait of the world. It should show everyday people and the world around us.” Existentialism Christianity Surrealism Realism

“The universe is governed by a specific set of laws. The universe was ordered by God the creator.” “Much of human behavior is irrational and beyond reason. We are driven by that part of the mind that is unconscious and our unconscious pursues actions determined by our desires.” “Every person has the gift of reason and as science uncovers more and more knowledge about the physical world, reason and knowledge will bring about progress. Truths can be revealed through observation and uncovering of evidence.” “Time and space are not constant, perception is relative to one’s experiences, there are no absolute truths.” Newtonian Law Freudian Thought Enlightenment Theory of Relativity

Lost Generation Match Up… Take a look at your list. Can you find pairs that go together in some way. How would you describe the relationship between these pairs? Draw a line connecting the pairs you can find on your handout.

Theory of Relativity Freudian Thought Existentialism Surrealism Newtonian Law Enlightenment Christianity Realism Guess what historical event this line represents… WWI Now answer the question on the bottom of your handout: How have people’s Philosophy and Ideology changed?

The Lost Generation Cornell Notes- Pg 123A/B Lost Generation Quotes Paper- Pg. 124A