The Sun Also Rises

On the inner cover of the book The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, a quote by Gertrude Stein states: "You are all a lost generation." Hemingway's intention for specifically adding this quote as a motif is to refer to the state of men and women after world war 1, but most importantly breathing a bit of insight to the readers concerning the coming-of-age characters in the book. A sense of belonging was hindered after the war and infiltrated in all people who remained lost in their lives due to that displacement occurring because of the war.
"It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost that disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people" (Hemingway 146). The quote above refers to the displacement mentioned earlier, this uncanny, undecipherable feeling of estrangement. Robert Cohn is pressed with this odd sensation to travel the world in hopes that his life will come together for him away from his problems. While Jake Barnes has his own set of troubles, and a maimed body due to a direct result of the war. Both suffer from the stillness of their lives and rooted tension that cannot make it's way out of their bodies.
Besides the sincere lostness that poses a problem, an answer for Cohn and Barnes and all of the others is drinking. Most every single one of the characters in The Sun Also Rises drinks uncontrollably to numb the hurt- this isn't odd that most all would be alcoholics. The restraints of war, even after the war held many in gridlock refraining them from moving on with their lives.

The Sun Also Rises

What I found interesting about The Sun Also Rises was that the gender roles were reversed. In the novel, it is the men who want to settle down and the woman who has commitment issues. All the men in the novel want to be Brett's one and only, but Brett would rather live the single life being a bachelorette.
Brett loves attention. She flirts with every guy she encounters. She loves to be chased. She loves to have men pine over her, however, the moment that she notices that things are getting too serious, she runs away, leaving the man heartbroken, (no man is a better example of this than Cohn).
Though Brett seems to prefer to "mingle" rather than remain with just one man, you get the sense that Brett's lifestyle does not bring her much happiness.

" I mistrust all frank and simple people, especially when their stories hold together... but I finally had somebody verify the story from Spider Kelley. Spider Kelley not only remembered Cohn. He had often wondered what had become of him."(4)
This intriguing paragraph at the beginning of The Sun Also Rises tells us not only a great deal about Robert Cohn, but also about the enigmatic narrator, Jake. Insights into Jake's character unfold slowly throughout the book, but these few lines explain so much-- why he is in love with Brett (whose unabashed lack of faithfulness or loyalty were in itself a source of relief for Jake, who knew he could never really be hurt by her), and his eventual hatred of Robert. It also accounts for the group of people he associates with, most of whom seem to have only a vague notion of what conscience or moral scruples entail. Abusive, vulgar, and frequently "tight", these people are certainly not likable. Using Robert as a scapegoat for various grievances, they ultimately destroy him. Even Jake himself has a hard time justifying his friends' behavior to himself, but seems to prefer not to try (especially since he finds Robert annoying in any case.) On rereading this paragraph, I found it interesting that Jake should distrust "frank and simple people" when he himself fits that description so well. He is never embroiled in the vicious or petty bickering that takes place among his companions, and is often used as the "neutral middleman", despite the passions he keeps hidden-- hate, love, anger and sadness.

The Sun Also Rises

I was surprised at how much sexuality came up in this novel. As Brett being the only female of importance in the novel, Hemingway portrayed her as this sexually liberated vixen, who has no problem with promiscuity. She was so carefree and had no cares as to how her sexuality had an effect on others, especially Jake. Brett was so caught up on sex that she refused a chance with the love of her life because of him being impotent. But one has to ask, what is a relationship without sex? Is it really that big of a deal to hold out and love someone for other reasons ? Or is it impossible to be in a committed relationship with someone knowing that sex is ruled out ?

~ Amy S♥

The Sun Also Rises: A bunch of Alcoholics.

If there is one recurring motif I acknowledged in the novel, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is that of alcohol abuse. Excessuve drinking is mainly viewed as a negative aspect, but there is the one instance where it is looked upon as a good thing. When Jake and Bill went on the fishing trip, their drinking portrayed a positive lifestyle by relaxing, friendship enhancing and even male bonding. But getting back to the negative aspects of alcohol abuse in the novel, almost all of Jake's friends are guilty of having a drinking problem, and where ever they appear they drink, not in moderation but in excess. Excessive drinking provides a window of escape for these characters from reality, and to continue living even though they lack purpose and direction. Being intoxicated allows these characters to avoid their problems and allows them to put off thinking about their hardships. It frees their minds and souls from burdens. The author clearly provides the character known as Mike, he tranforms into a nasty, violent individual when he is drunk. However, more importantly, drunkenness mainly intensifies the emotional and mental corruption of Jake and his friends.

by: Cindy Gobin

Sun Also Relates to Exile

Robert in the story tries to pursway Jake to travel to South America. Robert has another motive to travelling and that is he wishes to escape all the troubles that he has in Paris. Jake says trying to go away to another place would not going to resolve the situation he has. Robert replies by saying that he wishes to see what South America has to offer. The conservation held between them appeals to a way that refugees and exiles would speak. In a life of a refugee, the person would escape their country in hopes to find a better life. An exile however would be forced to leave one's country for political reasons.
In a way, this would relate to Hemingway in that he too wished to explore life outside of Paris, because of its reputation for being called the "Lost Generation", after serving in the first World War. The "Lost Generation" is casualties that are left from the first World War, who have no family. This also may relate to today's society in that, to forget about the important things in life by doing other things or drinking the away pain. More closely relates when trying forget the death of close friend or family member.
I believe that the title has a more significant meaning in that wherever you go, your life and your past will still follow you.


-Keldy Ortiz

The Sun Also Rises

I noticed a very interesting quotation in chapter 2 of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Jake tells Robert that "You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There's nothing to that,"(11). Robert wants to leave Paris and travel around, particularly to South America. Jake's outlook seems to be that a change of location will not change your thoughts and feelings. This is relevant to the idea of nomadism. Nomads constantly change location, and their home can be anywhere. They also get along as a community, which is similar to how the clique in this novel can be viewed. Jake argues that travelling like this is useless because it will not have any psychological change on those involved. His ideas fall more in line with the thoughts of Naficy, who argues that "It is also possible to transit back and forth, be in and out, go here and there -- to be a nomad and yet still in exile everywhere." The state of mind that Jake and the others from his generation are in lend toward a sense of psychological exile that he does not believe can be altered by the physical action of moving from place to place.

-Patrick Kennedy

Peters on Exile, Nomadism, and Diaspora

In reading this article, it is evident that there are several components to exile and nomadism. Spiritually, our bodies are vehicles in which our souls travel. When the bodies, break down, or can no longer function, our souls dump them and move on. Our souls live forever, our bodies are temporary. Our souls live forever in exile. The reality is that our souls are nomads. Even in exile, nomadism is possible.

Presently speaking, all religious and cultural practices set up to reflect on those that have paid with suffering in exile, so that our emotions are not so heartfelt for them anymore. Time makes human beings more insensitive to movements and sufferings of the past. The question and concern is now, how is all is all off this relative, then? I am still trying to figure this out.

My burning question is…in a world of growing nomadism, can anyone really experience true exile? Or does the feeling of exile go away after some time and through nomadism and diaspora, disappear?

"The Sun Also Rises" An Overlap of Three Definitions

In Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises, one can see that there is clear overlap in Durham Peters three definitions of "exile, nomadism, and diaspora". The novel introduces a group of American friends and acquaintances that for various and very different circumstances end up living in Europe, and moving from place to place. They are all in a voluntary physical exile. One could say that, they are in a state of diaspora because they do not seem to long for their nation or their traditions; however, they do seem to be in a state of exile because they all have anguish and hope for an ideal lifestyle. Also, even though they have each other they appear to be so lonely at times, as if they had no connection, which also hints to a nomadic state. They travel from place to place without any strong attachment, they fall in love in a heartbeat and within that same heartbeat they fall out of love.
For example, even though the protagonist portrays a strong and durable love for Brett he still does things that someone in "love distress" would not be able to do. He helps her get together with man that she easily "falls in love" with. He seems to be able to detach himself from that love that he feels for her.