Post-War Culture in The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises places a large emphasis on post-war culture. At the start of the novel, it causes quite a bit of confusion as it is so difficult to tell who is with who- Jake hires a prostitute, introduces her as his fiance, then meets his on-and-off girlfriend at the same place. There are many other things that may seem strange to us in the present. Brett has married and divorced two times, and its also hinted that she would cheat on Jake to fulfill her sexual needs if they ever got into a relationship. Cohn is in a situation that is somehow more complicated- he is engaged to a girl who divorced another man to marry him, but now doesn't want to marry that girl after she went through all that trouble. Furthermore, there is another complicated situation with Brett, Jake, and Cohn. Cohn instantly falls in love with Brett the instant he sees her (despite the fact that he is engaged), and when he asks Jake about her, Jake gets extremely defensive even though he knows he will never have a successful relationship with Brett. Because all of this seems so crazy and exaggerated, the question emerges: Is Hemingway mocking post-war culture, or more specifically, the crazy relationship lifestyle of people at the time? This is difficult to answer as even though it seems silly to us, it was normal at the time for many people. Perhaps it was cool to have multiple divorces. Also, while the relationship situations did seem silly, none of the characters were extremely exaggerated. I believe that if Hemingway was mocking this culture, he would have made the characters very dumb and weak-minded. Furthermore, Hemingway had a similar lifestyle himself- he married four different women throughout his life, and three of the marriages didn't last a decade. Additionally, there's another part of the story that suggests Hemingway is not mocking this culture. As we discussed in class, Cohn's seriousness and defensive attitude when Jake insults Brett was certainly made fun of, a jab at the old ideas of chivalry. Do you think Hemingway's depiction of post-war culture in the novel is mocking?

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 15, 2017 at 10:24 PM

    You make an interesting point about the situations being extreme but the characters being fairly reasonable. That was something that struck me too and it makes it seem more as though Hemingway is simply relaying things the way they were rather than exaggerating. Hemingway's writing style seems very straightforward, but also very judgmental, because Jake is judgmental (or I guess, Jake is judgmental because Hemingway is). This opens additional questions about his trustworthiness as a narrator.

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  2. Cedric SwearingenSeptember 16, 2017 at 1:12 PM

    It seems like mockery today, but I do see how this could be glorifying, or at least exposing positively the culture of ridiculousness of the time. The entire culture reminds me of "The Importance of Being Earnest" in how everyone is trivial and mocking everyone else the same way Algernon does. You make good points on why Hemingway isn't mocking the culture. This was very informative to me.

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  3. VicenteSeptember 16, 2017 at 2:47 PM

    It's interesting you brought up that the characters in The Sun are not exaggerated; it lends this mayhem of romances more credibility. Although I still feel The Sun pushes the melodrama to the max.

    This web of unrequited romances and flings and whatever reminds me a bit of like, high school behavior. Is the lost generation maladjusted and stinted in because they didn't have the opportunity to grow into society as normal?

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  4. ajSeptember 16, 2017 at 8:52 PM

    I agree that the book is really confusing in terms of relationships. You really have to read between the lines in order to get the full picture of the situation. I kind of think that the book is poking fun at American society. A lot of people after wars think everything is so glorious and perfect due to the peace. But in reality, there is still a lot of social complexities and relationships to deal with. I think this book does a good job of exaggerating those social complexities and displaying the fact that post-war society is not perfect.

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  5. MitchellSeptember 17, 2017 at 11:15 AM

    The question of Hemingway's relation to this decadent postwar culture he depicts is a slippery one--and if we see Jake as an embodiment of Hemingway's views, it remains slippery. Jake is at the center of this decadent party culture, where old standards of marriage and social hierarchy seem to no longer apply, and where everyone drinks alcohol all day--but he doesn't seem to be having much fun. Jake is both insider and outsider to the culture he depicts, distancing himself from the "too many" writers and artists on "this side of the river," but still hanging out with them at every opportunity. A lot of readers at the time got the idea of Paris as a pretty cool place for American and British expats to hang out, and our images of this period are largely due to Hemingway's portrayal in this novel. And yet for many readers, there's a depressing kind of emptiness at the core of this group--the moral laxity and rampant alcoholism and irony seems to almost drain them of substance. Does Hemingway even *like* these people he depicts? It's not an easy question to answer.

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  6. UnknownSeptember 19, 2017 at 12:56 PM

    You bring up a point that because the characters are exaggerated, their romantic life seems more reasonable. But the way I see it, I feel like the relationships are completely ridiculous. Brett "loves" Jake but is still getting married to some other guy and having a fling with Cohn in San Sebastien while Cohn is in a relationship with Frances but still goes on a trip with Brett. Another thing is that the fact Jake doesn't have a working penis adds to the ridiculousness of it.

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  7. EmmaSeptember 29, 2017 at 10:13 AM

    I think you're right, that the characters' multi-faceted personalities further draw attention to the absurdity of their romantic lives. I like that you connect this idea with post-war culture. The traditional marriage and gender roles have been thrown out the window in this novel. Hemingway could be satirizing how much has changed, but he doesn't paint it in a particularly negative light. There's a carefree, laid-back vibe that makes the new culture almost desirable.

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