Life — March 30, 1922 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Hymn of Hate" by Dorothy Parker This satirical poem attacks the literary and social pretensions of 1920s Manhattan's cultural elite. Parker ridicules: **"The Younger Set"** — wealthy young people with literary ambitions who attend fashionable parties and readings but lack genuine talent or substance. **"The Male Flappers"** — young men who frequent trendy nightclubs (drinking "Orange Pekoe"), attend parties, and claim sophistication while being essentially frivolous and untalented. **"The Heavy Thinkers" and "Black Sheep"** — those who affect intellectual superiority, discuss philosophy pretentiously, and condescend to others. The cartoon at the top shows five representatives of these groups. Parker's satire mocks their posturing, wastefulness, and hollow intellectualism — the gap between their pretensions and actual accomplishment. It's a scathing critique of Jazz Age social climbers.