Student One( Cauleen)
During this weeks readings and video’s, we learn what the lost generation is what they went through and what life meant to those who were living it. According to the Video- World War 1- The Lost Generation, Veria Brittan had a brother- Edward, a Fiance Roland Lakeland and a close friend Victor Richardson enlist into the Army.
“Every ordinary household sounds became a torment, the clock marking off each hour of dred struck into the tension of the shattering effect of a thunderclap, every ring of the door suggested a telegram, Every telephone call a long distance message barring bad news…”- world war 1- the lost generation/ youtube video- Veria Brittan
In these descriptive words- we see a young lady awaiting word from her lover, brother and close friend on their return, state of being or any contact. According to the narrator it is an agonizing wait. Veria the young woman waiting for correspondence from Roland her fiance finally gets a letter from her fiance saying he is to land on christmas. A day before his date of returned she got a phone call stating her fiance had died in a hospital due to combat wounds. Setting the theme for the lost generation- it is showing us dred, loneliness, hopelessness and emptiness. Following her tragedy, her brother and her close friend dies as well. Another great example of what the lost generation was like, T.S. Elliot- Hallow Men, also describes lives of the men fighting the war. On several occassions he refers to the place where the dead go as ,” Death’s other kingdom.” (Hallow Men- T.S. Elliot) Bringing to light that he refers to the living as death’s first kingdom- showing us that the lost generations was desolate, full of death, sorrow, lonlieness, emptiness, hopelessness and tragedy due to the world war 1.
Modernist Era- Brake from Tradition
In the poetry and in the story writing from this week can gather together the brake of traditionby the style and format of each literary work. Ezra Pound uses simple description to compose a poem in two sentences.”The Apparitions of these faces in the crowd; petals on a wet, black bough.” – In a Station of the Metro- Ezra Pounds. Describing the atmosphere of the train station by blending all of them together with a firm Apparitions of these faces in the crowd. Highlighting the many faces who were there getting on the train more than likely the soliders who served and probably dies in the World War 1. As far as the second half my only guess is the fading of everything lively petals on a wet black bough- a transition from a flowers petal into a black bough. Another great illustration of style in writing during the Modernist Era is James Joyce- The Dead.A story of feelings and emotions dying and living- James Joyce descries a society which has been slowly dying careers slowly dying off. ” I often told Julia,” said Aunt Kate empahtically,” that she was simply thrown away in that choir. But she would never be said by me.” (The Dead- James Joyce). Implying Aunt Julia was replaced or slowly slipped away from her career, which we come to find out the Pope had replaced her. Many things in this story die, Ms. Ivors has a disagreement with Gabriel which shows how Gabriel feels about his country. ” O, to tell you the truth” retorted Gabriel suddenly, “I am sick of my own country, sick of it!”-The Dead, James Joyce. Both of these artists have the theme of desolation and lonliness as their worlds are gloomy and tragic.
I would like to edit the dead by james joyce, as I am a romantic at heart i would edit the tone, theme an voice. As the setting of the story is desolation and gloomy- i would change that for a more vibrant theme, tone and personality. Every portion of the story that allows for romance to intercede the lonliness i would intercede with romance- which livens up a story line. Instead of leaving off with a personal tragedy which, Gabriel goes through i would allow him his victory of his wife- as husbands should loves their wives as such. Stealing that victory is to damn yourself of the same pleasures.
Student Two( Brian Ore)
My initial reaction when seeing the term “lost generation†was the parallel to our current societal troubles. Our generation has gone through great turmoil, over a decade of war, social unrest, wealth disparities, and the same blaming of our parents for creating the world we live in. Before reading the generally accepted definition of the term, I aligned it to the loss of innocence, loss of ‘normal’ experiences (such as college), and loss of time that a generation in war lives through. When one leaves service or comes back from deployment, one can feel the helplessness because the world is worse off despite the hardships we went through to prevent that.
In Dulce et Decorum Est, the author shows those emotions. “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest…†(Wilfred Owen, warpoetry.co.uk), which shows that he has experienced the cruelty and reality of war because it is no longer a romantic notion to him.
That reading is also a good example of the raw honesty of the post enlightenment movement. Enlightenment work was up and out, compared to the modernist down and in. There was no longer the focus on God, or beauty in nature. Rather, modernism was individual and gritty. Displayed was base humanity, in all its imperfection. In The Dead, Gabriel Conroy has self-doubt, overthinks, and is socially awkward, reminiscent of 21st century teen angst. “He was undecided about the lines from Robert Browning for he feared they would be above the heads of his hearers.†(James Joyce, glutenberg.org). He decides against quoting poetry, concerning himself with the opinions of his audience. The word used, fear, exemplifies the severity of his concern with societal opinions and his underlying need for acceptance.
If I could edit any of the works, it would be In a Station of the Metro. Author Ezra Pound gives readers a taste of where he is, not physically, but mentally, and then leaves them hanging. I feel he should have fleshed it out and dove deep into that layer he sees beneath the façade of sight.
Student Three (Summer H)
Many of this week’s readings used the central theme of death. Not only was death used in the titles of the works themselves, but it played a large role in the stories portrayed. The description of death by gas in “Dulce Et Decorum Est†began with “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning†(Owen 14) and went on to describe in great detail the death that was witnessed. Writers began using a lot of death scenes and references in their works because it was something they had lived through during World War I. The human death toll was horrific and many of the authors likely experienced a loss during the war. Feelings of alienation and hopelessness were also illustrated throughout these pieces. Gabriel in “The Dead†felt disconnected or left out when he had several failed encounters with the party guests. The phrase “He was still discomposed by the girl’s bitter and sudden retort†(Joyce) expresses the aftermath of one such encounter. Alienation comes to light again in “Death in the Woods†when describing the woman’s trips to town “She knew no one. No one ever talked to her in town†(Anderson). Hopelessness and despair come to mind in the phrase “Not many pleasant things had happened to her†(Anderson). Death, alienation and hopelessness are just a few of the ways to describe what it would have been like to be part of the lost generation.
Ezra Pound was a rule breaker and pushed the boundaries of traditional poetry. Most notably, “In a Station of the Metro†being only two lines long, “The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
petals on a wet, black bough†(Pound 1,2), yet still evoking the imagery he was known for. He defies confines again in his poem “A Girl†the first stanza is in traditional style, “The tree has entered my hands†(Pound 1) then in the second stanza he goes into more of an abstract, free-form style “Tree you are,†(Pound 6). Mixing two styles of poetry in the same poem was risky but also innovative.
If I were to choose one work to edit, it would have to be “In a Station of the Metro†by Ezra Pound. I find his work fascinating, incredibly descriptive and moving. However, the brevity of “In a Station of the Metro†leaves a lot to be desired, mainly because I want to know more. I want to see what he saw and feel what he felt, to understand exactly what he meant in those two epic lines. I would expand on the thoughts and feelings that brought the original image to mind.
Student 4….(Ronnie More)
ell where to begin. First I have to say that this weeks reading where interesting especially how each one painted a vivid picture in my mind. The one reading that caught my attention and made me think about the lost generation was Dulce Et Decorum Est. “Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs…” is one of the many lines that caught my attention and made me realize how different the war times were compared to what they are now. Back in the time, war meant living out in the war fields where both the living and the dead stayed at (Roberts, David). I felt like I connected more with the work of Wilfred Owen, Dulce Et Decorum Est.
I do not fully understand the question on how the readings broke from tradition but what I did see that each was different in the length of words as well description for the significant event it pertained to. For example, Dulce Et Decorum Est gave me a extreme chilling sensation when I read through it because it felt like I was literally there seeing what was happening and experiencing the deaths along with the firing of their weapons.
If I were tasked to edit one of the readings for this week it would definitely be In A Station Of The Metro by Ezra Pound. Why? Well first because it confused me how it is only composed of two lines and has a very general description of a metro station in my opinion. Even though I may not have been at a metro station I am sure there is more action, sounds, and events going on at the same time one is arriving to the station like individuals missing their ride or the clashing of groups of people both boarding or stepping off the metro.
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