Gender Roles In The Sun Also Rises By Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises may be one of the most factual novels of all time, it intensively mirrors the modern world. Written in the 1920’s by Ernest Hemingway using modernism style; it is based on the life of a war veteran name Jake Barnes, an American soldier whom during WWI was burdened with an injury, which unfortunately left him impotent. Frustrated with his injury, Barnes decided to migrate to Paris, where he filled in as an unremarkable writer. Barnes way of living changed completely, he became a slightly bearable alcoholic who spend his days drowsy after a night of drinking. Although his life was no longer the same as it used to be before the war, he never stopped trying to fit in. Barnes’ relocation to Paris was a hopeless excuse

to find adventure and hide his emotions. Nevertheless, his impotence caused him to be sexually incapable, he never stopped trying to be with Brett, a promiscuous woman he had fallen in love with during his time in the hospital after his injury.
The novel interpreted the enthusiastic ways of living after WWI, its impacts and wounds it left in society. Hemingway thoroughly interpreted the effects the war had on the soldiers and their family through the novel. After the war, soldiers spent their time focusing on getting used to their new post-war lives and getting their lives back. Although many of them are suffering with PTSD, they kept moving forward. The unlucky ones who unfortunately got injured in the field were trying their best to live with their disabilities and illnesses. Those that were fortunate enough to get home without any physical illness were doing their all they could to have a life despite knowing that things could never be the same as as they were before the war. Hemingway used modernism style to clarify Barnes’ need to fit in with man like Cohn who was not castrated and in top of that was a boxer and he was rich. Meanwhile, Barnes was being slowly torturing himself with his need for earthly pleasures and lustful thoughts; he went from excessive drinking to trying to relate to other people is standards:
“You’re an expatriate. You’ve lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake Europeans standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed by sex. You spend your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see? You hang around cafés” (Hemingway, 120)
This quote helps readers understand how Barnes’ life was falling apart. Pride and masculinity would not let him surrender to his new life; a life he would have to live knowing that he is incapable of sexually satisfying a woman. He tried drowning his thoughts and feelings in alcohol nightly and went out daily to make himself feels good by hanging out with other male friends.
Barnes’ dedicated his time trying to prove his masculinity.

Despite knowing Brett is promiscuity habit and the fact that she was on the verge of getting married, did not stop him from making advanced towards her. The Sun Also Rises provided a great clarification on how WWI changed lives of men and woman. Before World War I, each gender had specific roles, especially women, they were not allow to work during this time; their times was to be spent at home in the kitchen and with their children. Although women rights’ movement started in the late 19th century, but it was not until after the war women was able to enter the workforce to help battling the great depression. Men spent their time proving their masculinity and figuring out their sexual orientations. “It raises questions about identity, challenging conventional definitions of manhood and womanhood, and ruminates on the bounds of human nature, asking which parts of oneself, if any, may remain unchanged and how loss can affect one's core identity. Through its exploration of these topics, the novel is also able to speak about the complexity of modem relationships, both sexual and platonic, utilizing Jake's impotence as an allegory of the condition of the modem world” (Literacy Reference Center

Plus).
Hemingway is interpretation of modern life through the novel is impeccable; he initiates modern day readers to not only visualize but also feel what some soldiers are go through after a war, especially the injured ones; how their experiences affect them not only physically but emotionally.

“PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event”. The experience might be as disastrous as aggregate war, or as humiliating as assault (ptsd.va.gov). Historically, ex war veterans usually come home with a psychological illness, the most common one is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Pride sometimes cause these veterans to ignore the signs of mental illness, some would do anything to hide the symptoms from friends and family. Similar to Barnes, some veterans with mental illness use alcohol and lust to distract themselves from accepting their injuries. Every character in the book have are dealing with their disorder in a way they should nor, for examples, Brett is sexual promiscuity, and Mike whose anger problems causes him to fight a lot; his insecurity because of Brett is behavior would cause him to attack people for no reason. The Sun Also Rises may be used as a useful book for psychologists that are trying to understand their ex war veterans patients; it may help them understands their patients’ psychological

difficulties.
The novel emulates the life of injured soldiers in the modern world that are trying to survive injuries and psychological illnesses, soldiers like Barnes who crave a life full of adventures and new experiences but unfortunately had that taken away from them. Most of these soldiers lived normal lives before going overseas to fight for the freedom and the well-being of the people of the country that they love so much and sometimes turn its back on them. “Jake suggests that it is only under the influence of alcohol that he loses this sickened feeling and can be happy. However, similar to his recollections of the war, there is a known tension, and the inevitable feeling that something would soon happen. Jake is unable to escape this feeling, though things such as travel, or alcohol might help for a little while, these feelings soon return”. Some of these soldiers would try to move on with their lives, creating new ways to succeed, seek psychological help to ease their disorders. Sadly, others would rather ignore their feelings and emotional disorders even if they know that hiding their emotions would only make things worse, and overworked, traveling and alcohol can only help for a moment (colfa.utsa.edu).