Here’s to Hemingway: How to Avoid Becoming a Lost Generation

Hemingway was a member of the Lost Generation, a group of writers and artists who embraced existentialism in an effort to find a sense of purpose in post-war America and Europe. For those of you who need a refresher, existentialism, simply put, is a philosophy that encourages human beings to seek out ways to find meaning in their own lives despite the unpredictable and jarring nature of the world around them.

“A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is the short story that perhaps best embodies Hemingway’s musings. Rooted in modernism, there is not a concrete plot in this short story. Instead, Hemingway brings readers into a scene, allowing them to see what is going on inside and outside of the cafe, as well as inside and outside of the patron’s minds.  For readers, Hemingway effortlessly provides a collection of people, young and old, and places them in an idyllic cafe. Lonely and in despair, the patrons fulfill one another’s needs by simply sharing the space. Once they leave the “well-lighted” place, they wander into darkness of the night. 

What can Generation Z learn from Hemingway and the other members of the Lost Generation? Well, to start, they can learn how to avoid becoming aimless, jaded and disoriented. “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is an interesting read for Generation Z, as the children born in the early 2000s are often described as desiring human connection and meaningful moments more so than the previous social media-driven Millennial generation. Reading Hemingway and exploring how the writers and artists of the past tried to derive meaning from the senseless occurrences of the world around them will illuminate the way for future college students as they, too, tread an unknown path.