Who in 1921 told Hemingway that he and his friends who had served in the war are lost generation?

Decadence- the idea of hedonism, or the pursuit of self-indulgences, followed the war because ideals were shattered so thoroughly. Many became reckless- splurging on materialistic items, aimlessly drinking and having parties (pictured right). Writers revealed the nature of shallow, frivolous lives of the young and independently wealthy, following the war.  Gender roles- after the war, many young men lost their "masculinity" due to the horrible destruction they witnessed. Some experienced post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depended on the women in society for various reasons (to nurse them back to health, or to work while they recovered)  Idealized past- the idea of a past with no horrors of war interested some authors during this time. This idea was unrealistic and unattainable, but it was nice to think about a happy, simplistic life.

Still from the 2013 Film "The Great Gatsby" - lavish partying

 The Lost Generation made an impact on society because the writings that came out of this period showed the effects war has on people. War was a terrible hing that made men lose their masculinity, gave people a sense of disillusionment, and made people want to return to a simpler, idealistic past. In their writings, the authors of this generation shed light on some of society's flaws- such as extravagant spending and excessive drinking. These works of literature confirmed that most people affected by the war and its destruction were lost souls. In addition, many of these works have been highly acclaimed and read for many years- and are considered classics today. 

Although there were many famous authors of the Lost Generation, a few of the most significant were Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, E. E. Cummings, and John Dos Passos. They all met in Paris, and shared the same views of post-WWI society. 

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was born in Oak Park, Illinois. During the war, he served as a Red Cross volunteer in Italy. There he cared for the wounded until he himself was seriously injured. When the war ended, he became a writer. His war time experience greatly influenced his writing, as characters in many of his stories suffered through physical or psychological hardships and were in need of courage. In 1921, three years after the war ended, Hemingway went to Paris and met with a many young American authors who had the same mentality as him. There he became the principal spokesman for a group of "disillusioned writers"- the Lost Generation.

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The Sun Also Rises- Written in 1926. This Ernest Hemingway's first big hit. This book helped define exactly what the Lost Generation was- disillusioned young people whose lives were affected by the terrible war. It is about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to Spain, during the 1920s. This story focuses Jake Barnes, a man who loses his masculinity after serving in the war, and his love affair with Lady Brett Ashley. Hemingway depicts all characters sharing feelings of disillusionment, frustration, and angst- the feelings of the Lost Generation. 

Farewell to Arms was published in 1929.  It follows the protagonist Frederic Henry, an ambulance driver during the war, and his love story with Catherine Barkley, a nurse who cares for him while he is wounded. This is pretty much a just a depressing post-war story, where Catherine Barkley dies at the end of the book, leaving Frederic even more lost and disillusioned than in the beginning. Like a lot of the other books from the Lost Generation, A Farewell to Arms strays away from the traditional male stereotypes of being heroic and masculine and shows how men love, suffer, hurt and even break. 

Brad Pitt as an old man (Benjamin Button as a 15 year old)

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born in St. Paul Minnesota. In 1918, he took a commission as an infantry second lieutenant in the US army. He was assigned to Camp Sheridan outside of Montgomery, Alabama, but the war ended before he was every deployed. Because Fitzgerald was never experienced foreign combat, he deeply regretted it. After the war, he observed the feelings of the lost generation, and wrote many books based off them.

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The Great Gatsby book cover

The detention center in La Ferte Mace- where Cummings spent 4 months

E. E. Cummings (1894-1962) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During the war, he served with an ambulance corps in France. He was forced to be in a detention camp because he was friends with a person who wrote anti-war letters home, which French censors found controversial. The experience he had at the detention camp led to his feelings of distrust towards officials. He relayed these feelings in his book, The Enormous Room. After the war, he wrote many books and poems based on his experiences in war and alternated between living in Paris and in New York City. 

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John Dos Passos with Ernest Hemingway in Key West, FL. Cute

John Dos Passos (1896-1970) was born in Chicago, IL. During the war, he volunteered as an ambulance driver, in the American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps (with E. E. Cummings), and later became a member of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He was shocked with the sheer brutality of war and wrote about it in his antiwar novels. 

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