Analysis of Three Characters in The Sun Also Rises Dynn Javier 11th Grade

Following the tumult and terror brought upon by the First World War, the so-called “Lost Generation” was hopelessly scattered across Europe and often characterized by lost, aimless souls who were dissatisfied with hedonistic lives lacking in purpose and morality. Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises personifies several of these dark souls and their unsuccessful attempts to safely find balance and satisfaction. The males of the novel, notably Robert Cohn and Jake Barnes, struggle against feelings of feebleness and inferiority due to their respective woes, which are amplified in an unforgiving post-war setting. Cohn is alienated as he clings to his bothersome pre-war notions of love, chivalry, and honor and realizes how little genuine friends he actually has. Jake is left impotent by the war, a physical affliction which results in his prolonged mental anguish. Meanwhile, these two broken, emasculated souls bounce and swirl around the irresistible Lady Brett Ashley, who is largely dissatisfied and unhappy as well, cracked by the post-war world yet incapable of owning up to her true feelings. Through these characters, The Sun Also Rises reflects universal crises in truth with which the characters find themselves...