Virginia Wilson
ENGL 2340
October 3, 2014
Simrill
'Sex explains it all': The Destructiveness of Sexuality and its Influence on The Lost Generation in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises
Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises is based on the lives of those in the Lost Generation, a group of men and women whose experiences in World War I undermine their belief in virtue, gender equality, sex, and love. This group of people lives their lives devoid of true emotion due to the harsh conditions and memories of WWI. Characterized by inevitable, self-inflicted cruelty, the main characters, Jake Barnes and Lady 'Brett' Ashley are tied together through their untraditional love story. Jake Barnes, a soldier of WWI and now expatriate French journalist, lives a life of self-loathing due to an injury from the war that, essentially, leaves him impotent. Lady 'Brett' Ashley is a strong, independent woman, who was a nurse during the war, where the two characters meet, where her then fiancé passes away as a result of dysentery.
The two are in love, but are torn apart because of Jake's injury that hinders his ability to satisfy Brett sexually, an aspect of Brett's personality that she is unable to overcome until the very end of the novel. In accordance to this thematic element, Brett is the most important and pivotal character. Brett 'travels' from man to man in hopes to fill the void she feels with Jake. Hemingway is using Brett to establish the negative consequences of sex. Brett and her carelessness in regards to sex and the men with whom she chooses to exclusively be involved shows the loss of values of the Lost Generation. By doing this, Hemingway establishes the destructiveness of sexuality and how it influences those in the Lost Generation.
The destructiveness of sex...