How did the horrors of World War I contribute to this era?

• A. There were feelings of uncertainty, a sense of disillusionment, and a loss of faith in the American Dream.
• B. There were revived feelings of certainty in traditional values.
• C. Literature celebrated stable institutions and unchallenged authority.
• D. New optimism in scientific progress overshadowed doubt.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that World War I shattered faith in progress and in national myths, leaving a sense of uncertainty and disillusionment that shapes the postwar era in American literature. The horrors of the war exposed the fragility of the American Dream and the idea that society’s values were stable or triumphant. Writers then depict alienation, fragmented reality, and skepticism toward institutions and traditional beliefs, rather than renewed certainty or uncritical optimism. That’s why the option describing uncertainty, disillusionment, and a loss of faith in the American Dream best captures how the war remade the literary landscape. The other possibilities point to renewed certainty, stable authority, or unshaken faith in scientific progress, which don’t align with the era’s prevailing mood of doubt and critical reevaluation.