Many considered the Lost Generation to be directionless or lost at one point. However, they also experienced significant loss in their lives. Born between 1883 and 1900, the Lost Generation is the oldest social generation currently recognized in the United States. Unfortunately, this generation experienced war on more than one front. World War I is considered the defining moment of the Lost Generation, but what they experienced after the war earned them their name.

The Lost Generation refers to those reaching early adulthood at the beginning of World War I. Many men from this generation fought in the first world war, and tragically, many died in the same battle. "Lost" refers to the disillusionment many felt after returning from the war when their previous thoughts and beliefs about warfare shattered. 

Who is the Lost Generation?

The Lost Generation is the cohort of people born between 1883 and 1900. Growing up after the Industrial Revolution, the members of this generation experienced a more consumerist and materialistic society than any other generation did in their childhood. However, despite these consumerist ideals, they maintained relatively conservative views before the war. 

The Lost Generation lived through many historical events in their childhood and adulthood, such as World War I, the Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Great Depression, and World War II. The first generational theory, created by a German sociologist named Karl Mannheim, states that generations are formed and divided by significant historical or cultural events.

Based on this theory and the many significant events the Lost Generation lived through, it's easy to see a connection between their name and all their life experiences.

How did they get their name?

Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), an American novelist, is credited with the term "Lost Generation." However, Stein wasn't the first to say the phrase. According to her friend and fellow novelist Ernest Hemingway, Stein heard a garage owner in France say it first to a young mechanic. The garage owner stated it in frustration to express the young mechanic's lack of direction. Stein thought the expression fit her comrade, and so she also expressed to Hemingway, "You are all a lost generation." The quote by Stein became popular after Hemingway used it as an epigraph in his 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises.

The phrase "lost generation" also refers to the American expatriate writers in the 1920s living in Paris. These expatriates, or people living outside their home country, are the subject of Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises. Although it is a fictional novel, Hemingway based it on actual events and real people from his life. His book focuses on expats in Paris, but it is also a criticism of the stereotypes of the Lost Generation. Many believed they were simply a group of disillusioned and directionless people. Hemingway wanted to express through his novel that the generation was strong and resilient after all. 

Historical events during their life

The Lost Generation lived through many significant historical events. From leaving for the battlefield in early adulthood to eventually watching their sons fight in a war, the Lost Generation saw the world change significantly. 

World War I

More than other events, World War I is the event that defined the Lost Generation. This cohort is known for being the generation that primarily fought during the first world war. World War I lasted from summer 1914 to November 1918. The United States entered the war in April of 1917. 

Due to not enough men volunteering to fight, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in May 2017, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. As a result, over 2 million American men were drafted to go overseas during World War I, and over 4 million served in the war overall. Of the American soldiers, about 53,000 were killed in combat, but more than 63,000 died from disease. In addition, over 200,000 men were wounded. 

Trench warfare, which has been traced back to the Civil War in 1861, is part of what made this war so brutal and caused so many deaths from disease. Trenches were deep ditches the soldiers dug to protect themselves from machine-gun fire and artillery attacks. But many of the infantry soldiers stayed in the trenches for weeks at a time. Despite the protection they offered, the trenches were dangerous.

Not only were the men vulnerable to attack if soldiers crossed enemy lines, the trenches were also rampant with disease. Because the soldiers would stay there in close quarters for so long, the conditions were less than sanitary. Diseases such as dysentery, cholera, and typhoid fever spread rapidly among the soldiers.  

Life back home in America wasn't easy either. Even though it was men who were drafted for the war, women helped out in their own ways. For example, many women took on the manufacturing jobs of men to fill in for their absence. In addition, wealthier women who were not as concerned about income volunteered in the war efforts to help those who were wounded or needed assistance. 

A time of loss

The first world war was a time of great suffering, especially for the women left without husbands and children left without fathers. The loss left a huge emotional burden on these families. Not only that, but this created a financial burden as well. Since the family ideal at the turn of the 19th century was for men to be the primary breadwinner, many families suffered greatly upon losing the man of the household.

The unmarried women were forced to become more independent due to the pressure of making ends meet. If they were still single at the end of the war, it was more difficult for them to be married. Both for men and women, the war left members of this generation bruised and broken, unsure of what they believed. This disillusionment caused the "lost" part of the generation name to stick.

Effects of the war

Far more than just the physical wounds or disabilities many men returning from war faced were the mental effects of spending a long time away from home and in combat. Many soldiers experienced "shell shock," which is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The brutal nature of the war took a toll on the men who made it home, which contributed to the "disillusioned" character the generation is associated with. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, was added to the American Psychiatric Association's manual in the 1980s. But PTSD was not a new disorder. In fact, physicians identified the symptoms of PTSD in soldiers who experienced combat several hundred years before its official addition to the association.

The parents of those in the Lost Generation had traditional and conservative values. Still, many members of the Lost Generation struggled to hold onto these values after the war. After what they saw and experienced, they felt these values were no longer relevant to the changing world they now lived in. Their response to the generation before them caused them to reject what they were taught and move on to other things.

Spanish Flu

The Spanish Flu pandemic was another historical event that significantly impacted the Lost Generation. Near the end of the first World War, the Spanish Flu Pandemic began in 1918. An estimated 500 million people were infected worldwide, and the virus killed about 675,000 Americans. 

What was so detrimental about this virus was that it affected younger, healthy people more than those who were older, like a typical virus. Unfortunately, this virus affected the same group of people who spent their young adulthood in battle. Many of the US casualties from the flu were servicemen fighting in the war. Tragically, the Spanish flu killed more US soldiers than the war did. There were four waves of the virus before it finally became less deadly in 1920. By 1921, the number of deaths from the flu returned to its levels before the pandemic.

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties was a more prosperous and optimistic time for this generation than they had experienced in their youth and early adulthood. The economy was booming, and many had transitioned from living on farms to living in cities. 

One of the most significant symbols from this period was the "Flapper." Flappers were women who wore short bob haircuts and scandalous clothing. They partied, drank, and were considered more promiscuous than women in the past.

This "symbol" of a woman certainly didn't represent the majority, but things were changing for women during this time. In 1920, the 19th amendment provided women the right to vote, and women were participating more than ever in the economy. 

Post World War I

Times began to change after the war. Many members of the Lost Generation rejected the conservative ideals of their parents and grandparents because they felt these values no longer made sense in a post-war world. They wanted to escape the pain they had felt for years and decided to live a life of luxury and decadence post the war. 

Many men who came back from the war dealt with the mental and emotional effects. But, it was more than just what they experienced. They also had to deal with the loss of their friends and brothers. It was a troubling time for both men and women after the war. 

The Great Depression

Another historical event that affected who the Lost Generation became was the Great Depression. It was the worst economic period throughout the history of the industrialized world. The Great Depression began in 1929 after the stock market crashed and lasted until 1939. 

President Hebert Hoover assured American citizens that the crisis would run its course. Still, things continued to get worse and worse over time. Finally, Congress passed the Social Security Act in 1935, which provided Americans with unemployment insurance for the first time. 

Strangely enough, women gained jobs during the Great Depression and the number of employed women rose 24 percent. The financial pressures occurring during the depression pushed many women into the workforce who weren't previously working. 

World War II

As the Great Depression ended, another crisis was about to begin. The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 led the United States into the second world war. Even though most members of the Lost Generation had already served their military time in World War I, they were now experiencing a different crisis. Members of the Lost Generation were now having to watch their sons go off to war in World War II. 

Sending their children off to war greatly affected these men, especially after experiencing the horrors of war themselves in their young adulthood. 

Characteristics of the Lost Generation

As far as the beliefs of the lost generation, it was still considered the ideal for fathers to be the ones to go to work and mothers to care for the children. However, the Industrial Revolution did have an impact on this family ideal.

The Industrial Revolution, a time of significant development within manufacturing processes worldwide, had come to the United States by the 1830s and 40s.

Before the Industrial Revolution, many men and women worked together. They may have worked together on a farm or done other craftsmanship at home. However, due to the rise in factory work, many men had to abandon agricultural work to work in factories. The days were long, and the work was difficult, so men had to leave their wives and children for long hours, sometimes to go to different cities to work. 

Born into a post-Industrial Revolution world, the children of the Lost Generation saw this as the ideal for families. Child labor was common during the Industrial Revolution, but by 1840, child labor laws were created. By the early 1900s, it was common in most of the United States for children to be required to attend at least a few years of school in early childhood.

Illiteracy rates were constantly dropping, but secondary education was still a luxury for most. Due to the increase in mass production, certain toys became popular in the late 1800s. Certain toys everyone is familiar with today, such as teddy bears, were produced for the first time in the early 1900s.

The teddy bear was named after President Theodore Roosevelt and inspired by a 1902 political cartoon. 

References to the Lost Generation

We mostly see the Lost Generation represented in literature by those who lived as a part of it. But how did they define their generation? The following are some of the themes we see present in literature about the Lost Generation.

Decadence

A solid representation of the decadent-filled lifestyle many turned to after the war is The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was known for expressing this lavish lifestyle in both The Great Gatsby and Tales of the Jazz Age. These novels are filled with the constant parties and recklessness associated with that time post World War I. 

Rejection of the American Dream

One of the most significant themes in The Great Gatsby is the idea of the American Dream being something deceptive instead of something to strive for. In the novel, Nick Carraway realizes that Jay Gatsby's wealth and lavish lifestyle have come at a great cost. However, it is Gatsby himself, at the end of the novel, who realizes that he was deceived by this idea of the "American Dream."

Change in gender roles

The shift in gender roles during the first world war sparked the changes that continued to progress throughout the 19th century. While the men were at war, women took on the roles of men in the household and the workplace. After the war, women who were left widowed or were still unmarried had to find a new life. They couldn't go back to the way they were living before if the primary breadwinner in their household was no longer there. 

Overview

The Lost Generation got its name from a famous quote by author Gertrude Stein, "You are all a lost generation." Although it was popularized by her friend and fellow writer Ernest Hemingway when he used the quote as an epigraph in his novel, The Sun Also Rises. 

Even though the Lost Generation refers to the group of people coming of age right before the start of the First World War, it also references the expatriate writers living in Paris during the same period. Part of this group are the authors Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Generational theory expresses that historical events are part of what causes generations to form and what impacts the characteristics of an era. The most significant historical event that this generation went through was World War I. Even though the "lost" part of their name typically references what many men felt after the war, it can also reference that an entire generation of men was lost. Whether it was men who were lost in battle or lost to the Spanish Flu pandemic, let us not forget this generation and their sacrifices.

1. Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961): An American novelist and short-story writer, Hemingway's works are characterized by his concise and understated style, deeply influenced by his experiences in World War I. He is best known for novels such as "The Sun Also Rises," "A Farewell to Arms," and "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

2. F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940): An American novelist and short-story writer, Fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. His most famous novel, "The Great Gatsby," is a critical depiction of the American Dream and excess of the 1920s.

3. Gertrude Stein (1874-1946): An American novelist, poet, and playwright, Stein was a central figure in the Parisian art scene. Her Paris home became a gathering place for many Lost Generation writers and artists. She is known for her stream-of-consciousness writing style and works like "Three Lives" and "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas."