Final answer:
The Lost Generation of writers criticized post-World War I disillusionment, fundamentalism, the Red Scare, and societal norms in American society, particularly skewering the middle class and materialistic culture. Key figures like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway wrote about alienation and the psychological impact of war, while also living as expatriates in Europe.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Lost Generation of writers critiqued several aspects of the society of their time. The disillusionment stemming from World War I, the moral rigidity of fundamentalism, the fear of communism from the Red Scare, and the discontents of a rapidly changing society all figured into their work. Renowned writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Edith Wharton, and John Dos Passos wrote about their sense of alienation and their disillusionment with the societal norms, especially critiquing the middle class and the materialistic culture prevailing in post-war America. Many of these writers chose to live an expatriate life in European cities such as Paris, Rome, or Berlin to gain perspective and escape the society they often criticized in their literature.
Fitzgerald's works like 'This Side of Paradise' and 'The Great Gatsby' expose the grim side of the pursuit of wealth and pleasure, while Hemingway's novels often deal with the psychological impact of war and the inadequacy of traditional societal norms in providing meaning to life after such traumas. Meanwhile, writers like Sinclair Lewis and Edith Wharton offered critiques on conformity, social expectations, and the loss of past values respectively. The Lost Generation's literature is an exploration of the cynicism, dissatisfaction, and critique of American values and the pursuit of the 'American Dream' during the 1920s.