Even on the Chilliest Days, The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway is perhaps one of America’s best-known authors. Over break, I got to see this popularity reflected in the long lines at some of his favorite hangouts in Key West, Florida. Aside from his unique personality and lifestyle traits, he is a renowned author of several classics. The Old Man and the Sea, a metaphorical tale about an old fisherman and a swordfish, is foremost among Hemingway’s best and most famous works. However, the novel I want to discuss today is a little lower on the list of bestsellers: The Sun Also Rises.

Hemingway's Home in Key West, FL

Hemingway’s Home in Key West, FL

For those readers who have not experienced a Hemingway novel before, I must first give a warning. Remember those rules that we learned in English class about writing—specifically about mixing up sentence structure so the writing doesn’t become boring? Well, you may want to consider repressing those rules for the duration of a Hemingway novel. Hemingway is perhaps so memorable an author because of his unique ability to break all the rules of writing yet write so well (in my opinion at least!). However, even among those who are driven crazy by reading pages of subject-verb, subject-verb sentence formations, Hemingway’s work still possesses literary merit in other aspects.

The Sun Also Rises is no exception to a common core of themes that is prevalent throughout Hemingway’s writing. These themes and ideas reflect much of his personal life experiences, including his service in World War I, his marriage, and his enduring love of fishing. In the novel, Hemingway traces the footsteps of a young, restless crowd living in Paris. Most of the men in the story had just returned from World War I and their difficulty in acclimating back to civilian life reflects much of Hemingway’s experience. The group of friends is composed of the narrator Jake, the agitator Cohn, and the selfish, free-spirited socialite Brett. Hemingway chronicles their restless movements from Paris, to Italy, and to Spain as the characters try to find meaning and purpose in their lives.

This novel, like many others of Hemingway’s, is ultimately a message about the “Lost Generation”: a coined term that describes an age category of people whose early lives were robbed by the war and were therefore doomed (in Hemingway’s eyes) to lead restless, aimless lives. Hemingway displays the aimless nature of his characters’ lives not by explicit words but by the stark contrast of their words and actions. Fueled by alcohol, the characters’ constant merrymaking and search for excitement masked their sorrow underneath. Their multitude of meaningless words and actions parallels their lives, which are devoid of any real meaning.

lostgeneration

Along with the lost generation theme is the theme of male masculinity. Hemingway uses several scenes to highlight the standard that men were held up to at the time; any signs of weakness or cowardice were frowned upon and made someone “less of a man”. This attitude towards returning veterans was representative of the time period: a time when the psychological effects of war were not clearly understood. In this aspect, Hemingway’s tale is a sad lesson on the attention that we must give our veterans when they return home, to ensure their physical and emotional well-being. Overall, Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises is a classic that offers insight into history and into the life of one of America’s favorite authors.

3 Comments on Even on the Chilliest Days, The Sun Also Rises

  1. Gabrielle Cilea
    February 15, 2015 at 11:19 pm (9 years ago)

    Hemingway seems to be a very lonely guy. His house looks beautiful from that picture though. I feel like I would not enjoy a novel like this because it would put me down. His style of writing seems interesting, for I am only familiar with The Old Man and the Sea. I have to admit I am not much of a classics person; I think the writing is too flowery and the subjects are not relevant to my life. I hope one day I could appreciate literature like you do!

  2. ybb5011
    February 15, 2015 at 7:06 pm (9 years ago)

    Although I have heard of the author Earnest Hemingway, I have never picked up one of his novels. I find it neat that you paid such close attention to the way the author structures his sentences. It’s great that you feel he was able to make such a “boring” writing style work. I agree that it is often difficult to make such a writing style work, as well as it being frowned upon by many English teachers. Unfortunately, I don’t think that I would enjoy reading this book because I am not a fan of historical novels. From your description of the novel, it sounds like it deals with some of the darker aspects of life. Hemingway sounds like a lonely man with no direction in his life. However, I like how he is able to reflect his personal life experiences in his books through stories rather than writing a biography.

  3. Chris Messner
    February 14, 2015 at 6:43 pm (9 years ago)

    The lost generation has always been a fascinating topic in my eyes. It truly is tragic how just a few generations before our time most people were mandatorily going to war and losing years of their lives, or maybe even their lives. The adjusting back to every day life would be so strange and so hard, and imagine the families torn apart and the loves lost and the mental breakdowns, it is all just so tragic. After living through all of that what would the characters in the Sun Also Rises want to do besides drink and forget and become distracted from the memories of the hellish nightmare they were just surrounded by? It is good that Hemmingway can express the struggles of this generation and at least attempt to show some of the people around these types of men what they were going through. I am certain the book was a great help to many people during the appropriate era, and it certainly is a reminder to us today what their lives were like back then. I have always liked that time period and if I ever find the time I would love to read it. I cannot promise that I would catch all the clever and masterful ways Hemmingway twists his syntax and diction, but I can promise I would enjoy the piece as a whole.

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