Ernest Hemingway Modernism

Ernest Hemingway is seen as the best modern writer in literary history, and his famous novel, the Sun Also Rises, really withstood the test of time. His legacy that he has developed still lives on to this very day. His writing styles are known to be the voice of the Modern Era. While he written his literary work outside the United States and written in a way that can be difficult to comprehend, his literary style is one of a kind and his mastery of the English prose makes him one of the voices of the Modern Era. Hemingway grew up in a very religious family. His family also had a very rich military background being that both his grandparents fought in the Civil War. From the very beginning, the stage was set for the outlying themes for many …show more content…
“Gertrude Stein used the phrase in conversation with Ernest Hemingway, supposedly quoting a garage mechanic”(the American Novel). Better two words can not be found to describe this group of talented American writers living in a society that is really “lost”. The Lost Generation was a subset of a larger Modernism movement. This literary era really took hold during the World Wars. Even though writers of the Lost Generation were a part of Modernism, their aim were antithesis of the former. These writers focused on the negative aspects of American life after World War 1. The main concepts that their works highlighted were: a switch in gender roles, Hedonism, redefining the past and a decline of the patriarchal society. They did their best in trying to capture life as an American citizen in the 1930s. What was very interesting was how most of these authors never really experienced this life for themselves, however people would not have known this from reading their works. Books like the Sun Also Rises, the Great Gatsby, Farewell to Arms and This Side of Paradise did a great job in bringing this to life. Reading stories and poems from these celebrated poets and writers is also a great way to measure how for the United States have come, and how much can happen in fifty …show more content…
This novel focus on American life after World War 1. The things that were very important to the American society as a whole at that time was: the material value of money, the stepping up of women, white supremacy and antisemitism. The other part of American society, especially with war veterans, was the decline of true love. The relationship between Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley is a good example. Kelly Wand describes them as honest cripples. Normally, it should be the man that takes charge and makes sure his girl is having fun. But it is the other way around. Brett is the one keeping them together. Jake, on the other hand, is suffering from a “sexual” wound. Because of this, his heart is not in the relationship. Another thing that the Sun Also Rises is focused on is the anti-Jew atmosphere that has been spreading, especially in Europe. Hannah Arendt summed it up nicely by saying, “ Annihilation of the Jews and of traditional life went hand in hand …...........”(Wand 63). This novel does have one good thing and it comes in the form of Robert Cohn. Robert Cohn is an American Jew who lives in New York, graduated from an ivy-league school and made a very successful career for himself. The characters in the novel makes fun of him and crack jokes at his expanse. However, he does not let them get him down. The last thing that is very important are the locations. At one point or another, the characters often find