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“There ain't no answer. There ain't gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer. There's your answer.”                                                  - Gertrude Stein, Brewsie and Willie (1946)

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“There ain't no answer. There ain't gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer. There's your answer.”                                                  - Gertrude Stein, Brewsie and Willie (1946)

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Gertrude Stein was a remarkable woman at the center of the modernist movement, both in art and literature. An American expatriate living in Paris, she hosted a salon of the most notable names in modernism, including Picasso, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Matisse. She was an artist in her own right, as well as a mentor and a friend to many of the most influential artists of the era. She coined the name of the “Lost Generation,” and indeed was the leading figure of this group. She was an icon of modernism, essential to the work that came out of this period.

This quote by Stein, in my opinion, sums up the essence of modernism. Although she didn’t write Brewsie and Willie until 1946, and it was about GIs in World War Two, it applies perfectly to the sense of loss and utter confusion after the first World War. This was a time in which there were no answers, only questions that never ended; this period of art and literature was centered around coming to terms with that uncertainty and finding a way to live in a world that didn’t make sense. We saw this struggle in The Sun Also Rises, in the way Jake is unable to come to terms with the reality of his relationship with Brett; the two yearn for a relationship that they both know is never going to happen, yet they can’t let go of the possibility, making each other miserable in the process. If they could accept that “there ain’t no answer” to their problem and just move on, their lives would be much better, but they just can’t let go, and continue living in a vicious cycle of unhappiness.

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Those who have crossed                           With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom    Remember us-if at all-not as lost             Violent souls, but only                            As the hollow men                                 The stuffed men.                                    - T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men (1925)

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Those who have crossed                           With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom    Remember us-if at all-not as lost             Violent souls, but only                            As the hollow men                                 The stuffed men.                                    - T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men (1925)

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After the end of WWI, a “Lost Generation” was born, which was formed of the men and women who had come of age in the midst of the violence, and were left struggling to make sense of the world in the wake of so much death and destruction. The most iconic voices of this era were American expatriates living in Europe, and included T.S. Eliot, among others. These authors were able to put this sense of loss, confusion, and meaninglessness into words, and embodied the spirit of modernism. Although Eliot didn’t fight in the war, it had an immense effect on his psyche, as is clear through his writing. This poem especially, written by Eliot in 1925, speaks to the depth of spiritual death in the post-war era. This excerpt comes at the end of the first section of a five-part poem, and compares the men who actually died in the war to those who physically survived, but mentally will never be the same.

I think this poem is really important, and especially interesting to read after Hemingway. Both authors have a similar worldview—life is an empty, bitter experience, as man struggles to make sense of a senseless world. However, the difference in style of presentation between the authors is astounding. In Hemingway’s work, almost all meaning is veiled by short sentences and a lack of description; what isn’t said is often more important than what is. Almost no mention is given to the characters’ mental and emotional states. Reading “The Hollow Men” is a completely difference experience, as Eliot takes the reader on a journey through the damaged psyche of a broken generation of men.

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Scrublady, New York, 1920. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine

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Scrublady, New York, 1920. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine

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In the pre-WWI era, photography followed a style called pictorialism, in which a photograph was manipulated by the artist in order to show emotional intent rather than clearly portraying the subject. This was done by blurring the focus, changing the color of the print, or altering the photo through another medium. After the harsh realities of the war, both artists and the public lost their tastes for this idealistic style, and the modernist style of straight photography was born. In this post-war era, photos featured clear focus, stark lines, and an emphasis on the realities of life. The man responsible for this photo, Lewis Wickes Hine, was most well-known for his work promoting awareness for the child labor reform movement at the turn of the 20th century, but his post-WWI work is equally inspiring. In an application for a Guggenheim fellowship, he wrote that “this project should give us light on the kinds of strength we have to build upon as a nation.” His goal was to highlight immigrant communities and the richness and strength of character they brought to America in an effort to combat discrimination.

I chose this specific photo because it depicts a side to this time period that we haven’t really seen too much of in our literary exploration thus far—the working class. The only story we’ve read that has really emphasized a character working for their livelihood is Hurston’s “Sweat,” in which Delia works as a washerwoman. However, for the majority of Americans, daily life wasn’t hanging out and drinking with friends all day; for many, it was hard work, day after day, and only barely scraping by. This photo also reminds of Langston Hughes’ poem, “Song to a Negro Wash-Woman,” that we read in class, especially the line “I know how you build your house up from the wash-tub / and call it home.” Although this woman is not black, and she washes floors, not clothes, the perseverance and strength of will she shares with Hughes’ subject is clear.

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My old man's a white old man                      And my old mother's black.                         If ever I cursed my white old man                   I take my curses back.                             If ever I cursed my black old mother              And wished she were in hell,                      I'm sorry for that evil wish                      And now I wish her well                            My old man died in a fine big house.               My ma died in a shack.                              I wonder where I'm going to die,                Being neither white nor black?                         - Langston Hughes, Cross (1926)     

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My old man's a white old man                      And my old mother's black.                         If ever I cursed my white old man                   I take my curses back.                             If ever I cursed my black old mother              And wished she were in hell,                      I'm sorry for that evil wish                      And now I wish her well                            My old man died in a fine big house.               My ma died in a shack.                              I wonder where I'm going to die,                Being neither white nor black?                         - Langston Hughes, Cross (1926)     

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As the Lost Generation struggled to find the meaning in life across the sea, the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance grew in the streets of New York City. During the Great Migration, thousands of African Americans moved from the rural south to northern cities, especially the Harlem neighborhood of New York. This coming together of people spurred a new era of artistic creation celebrating what it meant to be black in America. Perhaps the most well-known figure to come out of this New Negro Movement was Langston Hughes, who strove to portray the true experiences of black Americans, both the triumphs and the sorrows.

In this poem, Hughes grapples with what it means to be from a mixed racial background in a time and place when racial ambiguity wasn’t socially accepted. This exploration into racial identity is a central theme of Nella Larsen’s novel Passing, in which we see mixed race, light-skinned characters like Irene and Clare having to choose which race they want to belong to, and the psychological effects that choice has on them. Although race does not define a person, it does play a large role in identity formation. Living in an in-between state, as Irene and Clare do, is incredibly confusing in one’s concept of self-identity. Although Hughes didn’t face the issue of passing in his own life, he was clearly aware of the dual nature of his racial identity, and struggled to find where he belonged in a world in which there was only black or white, and no shades of gray in between.

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"Seeing the woman as she was made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times. So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish. They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty, a mood come alive. Words walking without masters; walking altogether like harmony in a song."                                             ― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)    

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"Seeing the woman as she was made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times. So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish. They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty, a mood come alive. Words walking without masters; walking altogether like harmony in a song."                                             ― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)    

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Along with Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston was one of the great names to come out the Harlem Renaissance. Her work focused on the black experience in the early 20th century American South, and often portrayed the realities of life as an African American woman. Her own life experience was the basis of many of her writings, especially her childhood in Eatonville, Florida, an all-black town. One of the more notable features of her writing was her use of black vernacular in an effort to portray her characters more realistically. She was also an anthropologist, and therefore wanted to preserve this facet of black culture in her writing.

This passage is from the beginning of Hurston’s 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, as Janie is returning to her old town after the death of her husband. As she walks back into town, the people living there sit on their porches, watching and judging her, because of her refusal to adhere to their expectations of what a woman should be. This is similar to the “male chorus” featured in Hurston’s short story “Sweat.” They, too, sit on a porch, watching Delia, seeing her pain and judging her for it, but not caring enough to help her. However, this situation in Their Eyes Were Watching God is interesting, because it’s not just the men doing the watching. While the men focus on her physical attributes, the women gossip amongst themselves about her dirty overalls and her mysterious return without a man. They watch her and form their opinions about her without ever considering her experience.