Sun Also Rises War

In his novel The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway paints a vivid picture of what everyday life was like for members of the Lost Generation. These people grew up during the bloodiest and most widespread war that had ever occurred up to that point in history. They watched their friends and family members leave the United States to fight and die in the war. Some even served in the war and witnessed the bloodshed firsthand. When the war ended and when things returned to normal, these people felt lost and disillusioned as their ideals of hope, humanity, love, and purpose were shattered. Hemingway's characters in The Sun Also Rises – namely Jake Barnes, Brett Ashley, and Robert Cohn – perfectly exemplify the disillusionment, recklessness, and lack of purpose characteristic of the Lost Generation following World War I. The first character who typifies the Lost Generation is the novel's protagonist, Jake Barnes. Although all of the characters in the novel experience the psychological effects of growing up during World War I, Jake has been impacted by the war on an entirely different level. While serving in the war, Jake was injured in such a way that he became impotent (Hemingway …show more content…
Scarred by memories of World War I, these characters live dangerously, partaking in activities such as excessive drinking, sleeping around, avoiding meaningful relationships, and focusing on grandiose dreams and fantasies in order to distract themselves from their emotional distress. In his novel, Hemingway uses three fascinating characters to brilliantly teach this important lesson: those who experience the effects of an event as traumatic as World War I (on the home front or on the battlefield) can never quite live with the same sense of hope and purpose as they once