Hemingway—The Spokesman of“Lost Generation”

Ⅰ. Introduction

Hemingway is a prominent master of American modern literature， who once was praised by western critics as “the most famous writer in the world after World War II and his novels have a great impact on the United States and even the whole western modern and contemporary literature. As a result， over the years， scholars at home and abroad in the study of Hemingway has achieved fruitful achievements. Most of them are concentrated in Hemingways life， works and the comparative study on Hemingway， for example， Carlos Becker published in 1969， Ernest Hemingways Life etc. However， the study of Hemingways thoughts and mental processes are less concerned， also did not cause enough attention， so few achievements about it come out.

Ⅱ. Hemingways Lost

1.The Beginning of Hemingways Lost

The title of his first important book， The Sun Also Rises， referring to the biblical “Ecclesiastes，” emphasizes the nothingness of life itself. For the preacher of the Ecclesiastes is downright nihilistic in tone when he says， The sun also arise， and the sun goes down， and set to its place where it arose， and The thing that hath been， it is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done； and there is now thing under the sun. The book describes the miserable life experiences of a group of young men and women living in Europe after World War and profound changes in their spiritual world.

Ⅲ. Hemingways Awakening

1.The Awakening of Hemingways War Consciousness

（1） For Whom the Bell Tolls

The novel describes a touching story about the hero Robert Jordan， a young American who blew up a bridge to cope with a guerrillas operation and sacrifice. For Whom the Bell Tolls is an excellent anti-fascist novel. The hero Jordan， unlike the protagonist of Hemingways early works， had no confusion and disappointment， escape from the reality and he has a high degree of sense of justice and responsibility as well as firmly believed that he died for the struggle against fascism is glorious and noble. This work is one of the strongest ideological works of Hemingways medium-term creation， which overcome and get rid of loneliness， confusion and pessimism as well as the Lost Generation shackles in a considerable extent and pay more attention to depicted the reality. In this book， Hemingway changed his views on the war.

（2） Analysis on the Motif and Effect of the Novel

The author praised the sacrifice spirit of the hero who fought against the fascism from the democratic stance， thought that the hero fight for democracy and died was worthy and meaningful and show his noble dedication spirit to the cause of justice. Since then， there has been another protagonist in Hemingways novel who is the tough guy.

2.The Opening of Hemingways Hardboiled Literature

However， the social concern that occupied Hemingways mind in this period led to a significant change in his tragic vision of man and his world.

In 1950s， Hemingway welcomed his literary career of late， but also the golden period， the novel The Old Man and the Sea made him become on of the Nobel Prize winners and take on the top of the world literature. This is a fable novel. The story plot is extremely simple， but the meaning of the novel is very profound. Hemingway himself thought it is the best one that I can write in my life.

The Old Man and the Sea describes the old fisherman Santiagos fishing experience at sea. Santiago did not catch fish consecutive 84 days in the sea， but his hope and his confidence had never gone away and finally he hit a marlin bigger than his boat on the 85th day. Having gone through all kinds of hardships， he eventually subdued the big fish and still fought against sharks in the case of exhaustion. Knowing that he could not compete with the sharks alone but he still insist on fighting to the end until he has no strength. But what he can take back only is a big fish bones. Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated， this is Santiagos belief in life and the authors ideas what he want to show in The Old Man and Sea. That is， finally having gained nothing， but the value of Santiagos life has been fully embodied in the process of chasing Marlin.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

Hemingways work has a strong autobiography style. Young Hemingway went to the European battlefield with enthusiasm. The war did not make him feel glory， but left him the whole body scar and incurable wounds in his heart. Witnessing the bloody massacre， death on the battlefield and post-war social moral loss， the ideal of people burst， all values collapsed， he fall into hesitation depressed state for a long time and began to escape from the reality， imprisoned himself in a small space and was indulgent with himself. With the acceleration development and gradual maturity of Hemingways thought， getting rid of self catharsis from his past personal frustration， he starts to focus on individual fate charge into focusing on the common destiny of mankind.

Hemingway is no longer confused， no longer choose to escape， but rationally participates in the war， and eulogizes the progress in the war and the progressive people and it reflects his war consciousness awakening. From the original lost and escape from the reality to the active participation of now， Hemingway has been a qualitative change in his thought.

作者簡介：牛小鵬， 河南人， 云南師范大學研究生英語筆譯。