Examples Of Materialism In The Sun Also Rises By Hemingway

In the book The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, many of the characters tend to be very materialistic because they feel that their unhappiness will be solved by filling their lives with money, alcohol, and other expenditures. Many of the people after World War I seemed to lack direction in life; they were later called the “lost generation” for this reason. Cohn, Brett, and many others tend to be constantly drinking, dining, and going out with friends. Jake is the only one that one ever sees going to work and earning his living, while Cohn and Brett have enough money to support their luxurious lifestyle, and have money on the side.
Cohn is the most materialistic of all the characters because he just throws his money away. He attempts to …show more content…
A line from the book states, "Listen, Jake," he leaned forward on the bar. "Don't you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you're not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you've lived nearly half the time you have to live already?" Cohn recognizes that his life has no direction currently, but he still uses relationships with women to satisfy himself. Cohn becomes very full of himself, and seems too sought out physical comfort from mistresses rather than developing more meaningful relationships. The relationship Cohn had with Frances first appeared as love, but was unmasked as only a moment of lust after Cohn visited America. The book stated, “Then several women had put themselves out to be nice to him, and his horizons had all shifted. For four years his horizon had been absolutely limited to his wife. For three years, or almost three years, he had never seen beyond Frances.” This quote describes how Cohn was loyal to his first “loves”, but then in an instant his loyalty no longer meant anything. Cohn really has loyalty to no one because he only really cares about