Hemingways Representation of Alienation of the Lost Generation - Essay Example

Hemingway’s Representation of Alienation of the Lost Generation Introduction Ernest Hemingway ed the book titled The Sun also Rises in his effort to depict the effects of the world war. The book focuses on describing the attitudes and behavior of expatriates living in Paris. Notably, Hemingway alludes to the period between 1924 and 1925, when the world was trying to recover from one of the destructive wars that it had ever witnessed. Many characters presented in Hemingway’s story were well aware of the post-war situation. Hemingway used Jake Barnes as the narrator in the story. Jake and his friends named Brett, Cohn, Bill, and Mike hang in different areas in Paris during the period after the First Word War. Evidently, the characters represent a lost generation that experiences a high level of alienation. This paper will highlight how the characters represent a lost generation facing alienation. The story begins with Jake and Con having a conversation. The author reveals that Jake is a veteran of the First Word War currently holding a journalist position in Paris. His close friend Cohn is a writer who expresses his distress over the fact that his girlfriend controls his life. He requests Jake that they may leave for South America, but Jake is against the idea. Jake has a girlfriend named Brett Ashley. The two of them met during the war, and Jake loves her. However, as the story continues, it becomes evident that their relationship has challenges. Hemingway introduces the reader to all the other characters at different joints in Paris, where they hang out with Jake, Cohn, and Brett. Apparently, Cohn expresses interest in Brett, who is engaged to Mike. Many of the friends consider Brett very attractive. However, Jake knows about Brett’s past and that she is a divorced socialite having multiple affairs despite her engagement (Fulton 62). Although Cohn thinks that Brett would never marry anyone that she does not love, Jake reveals that she has been married twice (46-47). On the other hand, Jake is impotent, because of the injuries he receives during the war. However, he manages to establish himself after the war and becomes one of the people contributing to the economy. However, the problem with his impotence strains the relationship between him and Brett. Due to his impotence, he realizes that he is less of a man. His close friend Cohn fails to recognize that Brett does not have an interest in him. Instead of staying away, he keeps pushing her to return his love, something that does not happen. An interesting aspect is that Brett seems to have motherly characteristics, an aspect that many readers do not expect from her. All the characters engage in a life of spending and having fun. Alcohol is a central product in their definition of fun. Many of the characters appear to be disillusioned although they make efforts of rebuilding their lives after the war. According to Toker, Hemingway represents a high level of alienation of the lost generation. The “lost generation” is a term used by Gertrude Stein in reference to people who served in the war and were affected by the consequences of the war losing their identity. Specifically, Stein highlighted that the lost generation needed to reestablish itself after the war. The current use of the term denotes intellectual and writers who lived to witness the First World War, and who adopted a new lifestyle after the war. Some of the characteristics defining the new lifestyles of the lost generation included idealism, excessive drinking, promiscuity, as well as alienation from the earlier social life (Toker 31). Therefore, the characters in Hemingway’s story qualify as members of the lost generation. As highlighted above, many of them struggle to establish themselves in a foreign country after the war. Although they live as expatriates, they have a sharp focus on materialism because money is the central aspect of their conversations. They hang out at drinking joints and have multiple love affairs as exhibited by Brett. The most interesting aspect of the lost generation is the kind of alienation they face. Notably, they are estranged to the dominant culture and live in a world of their own. In addition, some of the characters in Hemingway’s novel exhibit self-estrangement (20). Many of the characters in the Sun also Rises face different forms of alienation. Whereas some are alienated from the self, others face social and cultural alienation. The only person in the entire novel living in his home country is Bill. The rest of the characters are living in Paris, a foreign country. The fact that they are living in a foreign country exhibits their first form of alienation. Instead of mingling with other people with Paris, they prefer to hang out with fellow expatriates. They are not in touch with the Parisian culture, and their interest is making money and spending it. They have also lost touch with their families and friends in their native countries. Apparently, none of them seems to have any connection with family members back home. The narrator of the story Jake is one of the characters representing the lost generation and the highest form of alienation (Toker 25). After the World War, which completely altered his life, Jake starts his life in Paris. However, he has a physical injury that caused his sexual impotence. Therefore, he is alienated from other men, physically, emotionally, and socially. Whereas other men can engage in sexual intimacy, Jake does not have such capacity. One of the consequences of his impotence is that he loses Brett because he cannot give her what she wants. In addition, the fact that he lives in a foreign country and his focus is materialism, Jake faces alienation from his culture (Fulton 67). Brett Ashley also exhibits a form of alienation because she worries about the death of her fiancé as well as Jakes’s impotence. Notably, Brett is one of the characters discussed by the male counterparts throughout the story. Literary analysts have highlighted that Brett is alienated from womanhood because her behavior of having multiple affairs does not conform to the society’s definition of womanhood. In addition, other authors have highlighted that she is a person “trapped by her beauty”. Therefore, she is alienated from the world in many ways. She also highlights that she does not experience a meaningful relationship with God, indicating that she is also alienated from religion. The fact that she left her daughter with the former husband has also disillusioned her making her more alienated from family culture. Brett is engaged to Mike, who highlights she does not have the capacity to be happy. Although she takes pleasure in pursuing her interest in men, she ends up being frustrated. Although she wants to make something out of her life by settling down, it proves extremely difficult for her to achieve that. Robert Cohn also experiences a measure of alienation. In the first chapter, he complains about his controlling girlfriend, and he is willing to move on as exhibited by his pursuit and interest in Brett. However, he is one of the members of the lost generation lacking a clear sense of direction. From his behavior, it becomes obvious that he experiences high levels of loneliness and pushes Brett to provide him with the company he needs. He realizes that his fellow expatriates do not like him a lot. Therefore, he exhibits a high sense of instability and distortion, which are some of the traits defining alienation. In the first chapter of the novel, he highlights that he is not really leaving (Hemingway 48). Being a member of the Jewish ancestry, Cohn experiences a deeper level of alienation based on religious issues. Conclusion Without a doubt, Hemingway developed a powerful story depicting the challenges of the lost generation after the First World War. All the characters in the story fit Steins definition of the lost generation. As intellectuals working in Paris, they are actively involved in rebuilding their lives. However, they also indulge in alcoholism and undesirable sexual behavior. Most importantly, Hemingway highlights how the characters face alienation because they belong to the lost generation. As described above, Jake, Brett, and Cohn are some of the characters experiencing different forms of alienation. Work Cited Fulton, Lorie Watkins. "Reading Around Jakes Narration: Brett Ashley And "The Sun Also Rises.." Hemingway Review 24.1 (2004): 61-80. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York : Scribner, 2006, c1954., 2006. OhioLINK Library Catalog – LR. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. Toker, Alpaslan. "Ernest Hemingways Characters In The Sun Also Rises Trapped Within The Vicious Circle Of Alienation." Journal of Academic Studies 14.56 (2013): 17-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. Read More