Ernest hemingway the writer of the lost generation course work

The aim of the work
is to study the main directions of the US literature in 
the first half of the 20th century and their representatives. 
The object of the study
is American literature
. 
The subject of the study
is works written in the first half of the 20th 
century in the United States. 
To fulfill the intended goal, the following tasks are set: 
1) to study the situation in society at this stage in history; 
2) to trace the interrelation of historical events and their reflections in the 
literature; 
3) to distinguish the main literary styles and describe their main features and 
representatives 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF FIRST DECADES 
OFTHE TWENTIETH CENTURY 
1.1.American novel of the first half of the 20th century 
 
The development of the American novel is due to the popularity of L. 
Tolstoy and F. Dostoevsky in America in 1910-1920, as well as the need to 
comprehend the gap between the «American dream» and the reality of social 
contrasts.
The novel developed in two directions:
1) realistic, oriented to naturalism (T. Dreiser, early D. Steinbeck); 
2) synthetic, containing all the novel traditions, including modern ones. 
The realistic novel is firstly represented by Theodor Dreiser's novelism 
(1871-1945) - a publicist, reporter, creator of the American novel. Dreiser 
attributed himself to the supporters of «mud razors» - a group of journalists who 
opposed the traditions of decency in literature. The creator of the great American 
novel came from a family of immigrants and learned a hard life early. His main 
method was critical realism. In early art, Dreiser was strongly influenced by O. de 
Balzac. So, Dreiser used the basic Balzac principle «to see the historical meaning 
of minor changes», and also used the type of a young man standing on the 
threshold of life and challenging it.
2
The first novel called «Sister Carrie» (1900) was not pleasant to society, it 
was forbidden as immoral, and the author was officially recognized as the «shame 
of America», which plunged Dreiser into poverty. In «Sister Carrie» Dreiser 
portrayed a changing society, writing about a young woman who flees rural life for 
the city and struggles with poverty, complex relationships with men, and 
prostitution. The next novel called «Jennie Gerhardt» and published in 1911 was a 
mirror image of the deceived wealth of Carrie. The theme of business, the subject 
of becoming a businessman became central to the trilogy «The Financier» (1912), 
2
BRAUN, E. 2011. The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde (San Francisco 
Museum of Modern Art). 1st edition, Yale University Press. p. 50. USA

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«The Titan» (1914), «The Stoic» (1947), which were written under the influence of 
Nietzsche's ideas. «An American Tragedy» (1925) is a novel about the death of 
two lovers, which was the result of their desire to achieve the «American Dream».
In the 1830 Dreiser’s weapon was anti-fascist journalism. Until the end of 
his days he continued his spiritual search and still remains in literature the main 
representative of realism. 
The next representative of this style is Jack London. His real name was John 
Griffith of London (1876-1916). It is a writer whose life was rich in events and had 
served as a source of creativity. The problems of social justice began to worry him 
early. His enthusiasm for socialist ideas was logical - London was interested in 
Nietzsche's philosophy, although the attitude towards him was ambiguous. All the 
free time London spent on reading and self-education.
3
In 1900 the first collection of stories «The Son of the Wolf» was published 
and in 1901 was written the collection «The God of His Fathers». At the age of 24, 
success, glory and material prosperity came to London. 
The popularity of the writer's novels is partly due to the literary situation. In 
the American literature of the turn of the century there was a strengthening of the 
positions of realism, the influence of the «tradition of refinement» was clearly 
weakened. In the new realistic works, in addition to social criticism, the hero-
victim of social conditions was depicted. J. London was a supporter of not a 
"mundane" realism based on everyday plausibility, but a realism of poetic, 
animated romance, exalting the reader over everyday life. London in his stories 
gives a different type of hero - an active man, asserting himself through energy, 
resourcefulness and courage. 
J. London’s poetic realism does not prevent the writer from exploring life. In 
1902, the writer goes on a business trip to London, and the result is the book 
«People of the Abyss». In 1904, London goes to the Russo-Japanese War as a 
correspondent. Rebellious moods were expressed in the novel-utopia called «The 
Iron Heel» (1907). That year London also travels on its own yacht built according 
3
CHANDLER, R. 1981. Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler. Columbia University Press. p. 239. USA

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to its designs. The main result of the trip is the novel «Martin Eden» (1909). 
Autobiographical, the disclosure of the writer's psychology, pessimism - here are 
the main characteristics of the novel in brief. The book has largely become 
prophetic. Outwardly it was an example of prosperity, but the writer was in a deep 
crisis. This personal and creative crisis was largely related to a new time of broken 
ideals, in which the writer never found himself and in 1916 committed suicide by 
taking a large dose of morphine. 
William Faulkner (1897-1962) is Nobel laureate. He worked in the genre of 
a synthetic novel. The main themes of his work were the duality of the human soul; 
the problem of crime and punishment; the way of the person with ideals. The 
features of the writer's works are: 
1) using the principle of understatement, this allows the reader to create his 
own impression; 
2) innovation of form: there is no genre definition; the writer complicates the 
syntax (strives to express the whole in one phrase); uses the technique of the 
multiple narrator; repeat occurrence of events, violation of chronology, temporary 
shifts. Uses specific means of individualization of heroes (southern eloquence, 
slang, reception of oral story, peculiar humor); 
The main motives of his production are the motif of fate, sin, rejection of 
history or from ancestors, which results are the terrible consequences; biblical 
allusions. Faulkner's achievements are the use of regional mythology (American 
South), a tragicomic understanding of history, romantic-symbolic thinking. 
From the early 1920s to the outbreak of World War II, when he left for California, 
Faulkner published 13 novels and many short stories. Such a body of work formed 
the basis of his reputation and led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize at age 52. 
Faulkner's prodigious output, mainly driven by an obscure writer's need for money, 
includes his most celebrated novels such as «The Sound and the Fury» (1929), «As 
I Lay Dying» (1930), «Light in August» (1932), and «Absalom, Absalom!» 
(1936). Faulkner was also a prolific writer of short stories
Among many political movements, the twentieth centurywitnessed an 

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entirely different method of governing of the states. Bythe commencement of the 
twentieth century, the monarchy was still thegoverning system of many countries 
in the world. Queen Victoria, whoruled the vastest empire on which the sun 
never sets died with theadvent of the new millennium. Many believed her death 
would put an end to monarchy system which did not come true.In spite of the 
sensation of a great change, nothing actually changed in 1901 which had any 
significant effect on the lives of those who had been her subjects. That the old 
queen was no longer on the throne did not alter the way they went about their 
work, thought about their families, worshiped and prayed,sought pleasure and 
suffered, nor did it improve or worsen their real incomes and standards of living.
4
On the other side of the Atlantic, an assassination shook thepolitical 
atmosphere of America. William McKinley, the president ofthe United States, 
was killed and his vice president, TheodoreRoosevelt succeeded his office. 
All in all, these changes in greatpolitical roles did not change the political 
system in the states untilother authoritative sources made their way for 
changing the longlasting structures of governing. Migrations of early twentieth 
century,technological and scientific advances and great wars could be seen as the 
main reasons for political changes in the world in the first half of the twentieth 
century. Immigrations from Europe to America dramatically increased by 
the last decades of the nineteenth century and first decades of the twentieth 
century. People tried their chances in finding new life and job opportunities in 
their new land. So many people left their homelands because of religious 
persecutions and war. A magnificent growth in manufacturing machinery 
altered the appearance of the cities and lifestyle of their citizens. Horses and 
carriages were replaced with automobiles and consequently, stables gave their 
place to gas stations. The traditional way of posting envelopes was 
substituted by using the telegram or the newly invented telephone. Scientific 
advances and theories engendered a sweeping view towards the old-fashioned 
accepted way of understanding science and the world. The classic physics, which 
4
DEVOTO, B. 1936. A Generation beside the Limpopo. Saturday Review. p. 18. USA

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was founded by Newton spread the belief that everything in the world is 
predictable by the means of physics and its laws. The new perspective which 
was 
introduced 
by 
Einstein 
denounced 
conventional 
absolutism 
andbroadened the relative perception of different physical entities. Allthese 
factors were the primary reasons for alteration of the positivist view towards 
scientific knowledge and traditional approaches in science and governing states. 
By such reconstructions and social changes New Enlightenment prepared the 
conditions for a gradual shift towards democracy and abolished the dynastic ruling 
of states.