Post WWI and WWII Literary Pieces - Essay Example

?POSTWAR LITERATURE Module Module ID: POSTWAR LITERATURE By looking into the history of theworld at large, it becomes crystal clear that wars and conflicts always bring death, destruction, devastation and despair in their wake, affects of which appear to be long lasting and dreadful ones for the future generations to come. It is particularly the case with the two Great Wars, which not only deteriorated the social, cultural and financial activities of the affected states, but also paved the way towards determining of new international boundaries by annihilating the previous map of the world at large. Being the reflection of the incidents taking place within a social establishment, refined pieces of literature portray the true picture of the developments being made in society in one way or the other; the same could be witnessed by going through the post WW I and WW II literary pieces, where on the one side, renowned poetess Rose Macaulay appears to be lamenting over the ruinations WW,I brought in its wake through her New Year 1918, and on the other side, the works produced by distinguished authors including George Bernard Shaw, Virginia Woolf and many others portray the gloomy post-war environment in their theme and diction; the same could be witnessed in a more morbid way by going through the post-WW II literature created by the writers, poets and philosophers during 1945-1975. The poems created by eminent American poet Theodore Roethke also depict the post-war cultural aspects of the domestic life led by the Americans. His famous My Papa’s Waltz also elucidates the same in a simple but powerful tone. The poem reflects the post-war decade as the beginning of the decline of moral values, where blood relations started tormenting and abusing their children, which was not actually the tradition before 1950s. Consequently, the social values started observing a serious blow, paving the way towards the fall of family life, and the strengthening the idea of generation gap between parents and children. Being the source of protection, inspiration, affection and care, the parents used to be considered as sheltering tree for the young ones both in occidental and oriental societies (1822). The global literature is replete with the example of sacrifices made by the parents for their growth and development at large. Somehow, the fathers, stepfathers, uncles and neighbors started crushing the social norms, moral values, traditions and customs under the chariot wheels of selfishness and lustrous/ carnal desires, where the respect of relationship found no shelter to escape from the deterioration of worst kind. There was a time when parents did not consume alcohol or tobacco in the presence of their children, so that the children could not get familiar with such condemnable articles and activities. Somehow, it started becoming a routine of everyday life, and the fathers and stepfathers started making the children the victim of their torture and sexual abuse even in the presence of mothers, which has been revealed in the second stanza that her mother’s countenance displayed frown towards the protagonist child instead of demonstrating kindness and benevolence towards the innocent creature. The poem also reveals the indifference witnessed by the mother, who had no concern with the safety of her ill-fated son going to be abused at the hands of his alcoholic father (1822). Hence, the son appears to be making struggle under the state of uncertainty and fear, where the sources of protection have turned out to be source of mental and physical torture for him. The same feelings of struggle could be seen by studying his In a Dark Time, where he submits to state that he is living in an era that could be viewed as dark, dismal, drab and dull carrying tedious and doleful memories of the horrors of war, which has put all moral values and traditional mannerism into grave jeopardy. The poem, in a highly sonorous tone, depicts the two aspects of the era, where on the one side the technological progress and economic development are in the state of constant wax, and on the other side the death waves its awkward clutches in the form of war, bloodshed and clashes of interests between the states and civilizations in the name of religion, culture and nationalism. The alluring dazzles of progress and prosperity entice human mind, while the fear of imminent war and destruction encages the wishes and discourages the feelings simultaneously. Consequently, the morbid realities of life appear to be eclipsing the gorgeous and pageant environment attributed to the second half of twentieth century. The unchecked and unabated developments, in the fields of science and technology, are devouring the beauties of nature, and fauna and flora, along with the humans, also look fast diminishing with the course of time. It is, therefore, the lord who is weeping to trees with the image of the absolute annihilation of objects of nature, as well as the natural simplicity and kindness the humans used to contain before the advent of war and technological progress (1828). Nevertheless, it does not mean that the poet is not celebrating the joys the progress and prosperity bring in the aftermath of them (1827). On the contrary, he is of the opinion that the developments in the fields of ammunition and defense strategies may darken the delights of progress because of the thick shadows of the hanging sword of bloodshed, battles and death. Thus, Roethke has pointed out towards the existing problems and grave concerns the people had been undergoing after WW II in almost all regions of the globe without discrimination. Roethke is not alone in respect of absorbing the melancholy out of his environment; rather, almost all of his contemporary US authors experience the same in one way or the other. The US writer of the same era Eudora Welty draws out nostalgic attitude through her A Memory, which carries the theme and style attributed to early twentieth century novelist Virginia Woolf and Welty’s contemporary female British authors Margaret Drabble and Toni Morison. In A Memory, the writer recalls to her mind the past days when there was peace harmony and tranquility all around, and the protagonist experienced the growing of feelings of love by the mid of teen-age. The memory of the lover haunted her mind in the same manner as Clarissa used to remember her childhood lover Peter Walsh while making shopping, as well as performing everyday chores and activities. Welty portrays water and swimming at the beach as the source of delight, peace and relief, which take her to a land where there are sweet chirping of birds, tender breeze, blue canopy and tranquil environment; she also describes other objects of nature including the glaring sun, shining sand, thunderous clouds and larksome waves (1895). The protagonist has nothing to perform but to recall the lover and have encounters with him through her vivid innocent dreams. Her intimacy with natural phenomena, originality of dreamful thoughtfulness and desire to explore the deep oceans of love reflect the author’s command over human psychology. Although the protagonist is head over ears in remembering the young lover, the boy is quite unaware of the ebbs and flows haunting her innocent heart. The dream is interrupted by the realities of life existing all around, and the girl reaches the present from the past memoir subsequently (1897). The story symbolizes human life where boy and girl represent human generation---innocent, artless, emotional and enthusiastic. The water, sunbeams, breeze and sand symbolize time, energy, compassion and mobility. Man develops dreams in early youth, and everything looks in his reach and conquerable. Somehow, everything becomes a dream with the passage of time, and the grown years load unpleasant burdens of responsibilities upon the delicate nerves of humans subsequently. The same could be witnessed by looking into the growth and development of cultures and civilizations of the world, which are simple and close to nature in the beginning; however, industrializations and technological advancements have divided societies into groups, and factions on the basis of class, community, creed, race, ethnicity, religion and socioeconomic statuses. Welty’s tale also alludes to almost same feelings where the African Americans underwent nostalgia because of their forced migration, in the wake of wars and battles, from their native land to a new region that is situated thousands of miles away from their motherland. The lover could be seen, but could not be accessed; the civilizations remain unconscious regarding the sentiments and emotions of others for long, till life replaces the old generation with the new one, making alterations in every walk and pattern of life. To conclude, it becomes evident that the post-war literature always portrays a dismal picture of the social fabrics; it is partly due to the very reality that the bitter, gloomy and excruciating memories of death and destruction are still fresh, which have drifted apart the lovers, blood relations, close friends and associates from one another. In addition, the foundations of rehabilitation process are also erected on the pile of ruination under deteriorating economic situation, where everyone has to toil hard by expanding work hours and shortening leisure time, which subsequently weakens the domestic and social ties, making the humans just money generating machines eventually. The moral decline and weakening of family relationships is also the outcome of uncertain and uneven socioeconomic and political situation prevailing in society. Reference Perkins, G. B. & Bradley, S. (2008). The American Tradition in Literature. 12th edition. McGraw Hill. Read More