The sun also rises - Essay Example

Even though the generation following the war was usually referred to as “The Lost Generation”, the title of the book and its closing content is quite optimistic. Of course there may be many reasons why Hemingway chose this title and this paper will review his reasons for why he chose it. Jake Barnes, the main character and the narrator of the novel, was a veteran of The World War I, who later worked as a journalist in Paris. This book is a narration of the problems he had faced following the war and how he finally recovered from them.

The author probably takes this as the theme behind the title. The initial pages of the book, recounts an injury that had caused many troubles to Jake, one among which included his inability to have sex. This had made Jack feel insecure about his masculinity and that he is less of a man that he was before. The fact that Brett, who was the love of his life, refused to enter into a relationship with Jake because of his impotency had made him feel very unhappy and depressed and had added to his insecurity.

In many ways Jake was a typical member of what Gertrude Stein called “The Lost Generation”, which referred to the generation that experienced the grueling effects of World War 1, and when people had lost their belief in morality, faith and justice. The people of the Lost Generation lived an aimless life and spent their time engaged in worthless activities like boozing and dancing. In the early chapters of the book Jake’s character reminds the reader of the people of the Lost Generation, as he spent most of his time in the bar getting drunk.

However, in the later chapters of the book and true its title, the sun does begin to shine on Jake. It narrates how Jake learned to find a solution for his problems, and how he no longer considered his impotency as a major issue. One realizes this for the first time when Jake goes out fishing in Burguete with his friend Bill Gorton. There, Jake truly enjoys his