Heather Ostman’s article “The Sun Also Rises” from the Encyclopedia of the American Novel begins with an explanation of the book’s title. The Sun also Rises gets its name from Ecclesiastes, which is also quoted at the beginning of the book along with a quote from Gertrude Stein about the Lost Generation. Ostman notes that the connection of Ecclesiastes hopefulness with Stein’s hopelessness sustain the feeling of meaninglessness and alienation of the characters of the book following the Great War. In The Sun Also Rises as well as other books from the time period, love seems to fail time and time again, as relationships cannot be sustained or produce children. Love seems futile in this era, Ostman points out in this work as well as in T. S. Eliot’s
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Though he feels alienated, he also tries to pray and to encourages Brett to as well. This is to show that even though it seems faith is lost, Jake continues to try, just as humans have not yet given up on finding purpose in their lives and progressing after almost all was destroyed by war before. I agree with Ostman’s analysis of The Sun Also Rises. She goes in depth of several different areas of the book: the importance of the title, symbolism of the characters, the disillusionment of the Lost Generation, the role of alcohol, Hemingway’s writing style, and the underlying hope of the novel. The front matter of this book holds a lot of meaning; Hemingway could have chosen to call the book “The Sun Also Sets” or “The Sun Goes Down” but he did not, and this is to symbolize the hope underlying in both the book and the Lost Generation. Jake Barnes and Lady Brett’s inability to be intimate due to his injury is the reason that Brett cannot commit to him. Their relationship, as well as the many other failed relationships in The Sun Also Rises symbolize the futile attitude towards relationships in the era. Early on in the book, Jake asks, “‘couldn’t we just live together, Brett? Couldn’t we just …show more content…
I’d just tromper you with everybody. You couldn’t stand it… It’s my fault Jake. It’s the way I’m made’” (Hemingway 55). In this conversation, both characters admit their love for each other, but due to Brett’s free spirited personality and lifestyle, she cannot commit to Barnes. Brett’s lifestyle
Though he feels alienated, he also tries to pray and to encourages Brett to as well. This is to show that even though it seems faith is lost, Jake continues to try, just as humans have not yet given up on finding purpose in their lives and progressing after almost all was destroyed by war before. I agree with Ostman’s analysis of The Sun Also Rises. She goes in depth of several different areas of the book: the importance of the title, symbolism of the characters, the disillusionment of the Lost Generation, the role of alcohol, Hemingway’s writing style, and the underlying hope of the novel. The front matter of this book holds a lot of meaning; Hemingway could have chosen to call the book “The Sun Also Sets” or “The Sun Goes Down” but he did not, and this is to symbolize the hope underlying in both the book and the Lost Generation. Jake Barnes and Lady Brett’s inability to be intimate due to his injury is the reason that Brett cannot commit to him. Their relationship, as well as the many other failed relationships in The Sun Also Rises symbolize the futile attitude towards relationships in the era. Early on in the book, Jake asks, “‘couldn’t we just live together, Brett? Couldn’t we just …show more content…
I’d just tromper you with everybody. You couldn’t stand it… It’s my fault Jake. It’s the way I’m made’” (Hemingway 55). In this conversation, both characters admit their love for each other, but due to Brett’s free spirited personality and lifestyle, she cannot commit to Barnes. Brett’s lifestyle