Along with the idea of existentialism becoming a common philosophy portrayed in literature, came distraction from this seemingly meaningless life in the form of wild activities. People in society were simply trying to forget the painful realities they had endured. They were also, in a sense, rebelling against the culture and government that had brought the country into war in the first place. In essence, “the war had made many Europeans simply give up on their own societies” (MacMillan). People were moving away from traditionalism towards, in a sense, types of hedonism. This societal transition is portrayed in Eliot’s The Wasteland; “What you get married for if you don’t want children? / Hurry up please it’s time” (164-165). In these lines, Eliot tells the story of two women drinking until closing time in a bar. He is showing a clash between traditionalism, in this case a wife having lots of children for her husband, and a newer modern movement in which, in this case, the wife seems to rebel against this by taking birth control pills. Generally, as shown in The Wasteland, in British society, traditional ideas slowly begin to be rejected as individuals sought ways to live out an apparently meaningless
Along with the idea of existentialism becoming a common philosophy portrayed in literature, came distraction from this seemingly meaningless life in the form of wild activities. People in society were simply trying to forget the painful realities they had endured. They were also, in a sense, rebelling against the culture and government that had brought the country into war in the first place. In essence, “the war had made many Europeans simply give up on their own societies” (MacMillan). People were moving away from traditionalism towards, in a sense, types of hedonism. This societal transition is portrayed in Eliot’s The Wasteland; “What you get married for if you don’t want children? / Hurry up please it’s time” (164-165). In these lines, Eliot tells the story of two women drinking until closing time in a bar. He is showing a clash between traditionalism, in this case a wife having lots of children for her husband, and a newer modern movement in which, in this case, the wife seems to rebel against this by taking birth control pills. Generally, as shown in The Wasteland, in British society, traditional ideas slowly begin to be rejected as individuals sought ways to live out an apparently meaningless