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Essay / The Negative Effects of War in The Sun Also Rises
In the novel The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway uses cyclical themes to communicate an underlying message about the negative effects of war. By integrating cyclicality into the novel's main characters, Hemingway describes how World War I created the Lost Generation, stuck in a turbulent cycle characterized by alcoholism, moral and religious confusion, and aimless lives in order to successfully reveal the horrors of war. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In The Sun Also Rises¸ Hemingway uses characterization that demonstrates the cyclicality of characters as the most direct means of communicating the perils of war. Consequently, the main characters, Lady Brett Ashley and Jake Barnes, are both members of the Lost Generation, prey to "false European norms... [drinking] themselves to death... [becoming] obsessed with sex... [and spending] all [their] time… doesn’t work” (120). Brett is guilty of indulging in all of these traits while Jake is unable to have sex and thinks "it's nice to go to work" (43). As Brett and Jake participated in World War I, their inability to be together following the various events resulting from the war causes them to fall into their respective patterns. Although they share many similarities, the biggest similarity between Brett and Jake is their need to escape reality in various ways. Throughout the novel, Lady Brett Ashley appears trapped in a cycle characterized by frivolous love affairs and bouts of depression. Brett's personality flaws, restlessness, and inability to be satisfied are a direct result of his scars obtained during the war. While Hemingway refrains from any direct characterization, through conversation he abruptly reveals his exploits during the war; "'she was a VAD in a hospital...[,] her own true love...began with dysentery'", and she married a crazed war veteran who made death threats (46). As a result, she leads a meaningless life and is content to be a reluctant romantic. As the novel progresses, Brett's actions become a pattern: falling in love, dating, breaking his or someone else's heart, and returning to Jake. This cycle is both inflexible and unsatisfying because it consistently leaves her right where she started. Brett maintains such relationships with Count Mippipopolous, an old veteran of "seven wars and four revolutions" who is not a member of the lost generation and personifies Victorian ideals, with Robert Cohn, a foil character who, not having served in the war, not part of the lost generation. does not fall into the cycle, and Pedro Romero, a young bullfighter who embodies innocence (66 years old). His incompatibility with those who are not members of the Lost Generation, whether for selfish reasons, as with Cohn, or for altruistic reasons, as with Romero, shows his inability to find real, emotional love, like the one he 'she lost in the war. . Brett's relationship with Count Mippipopolous is an example of this because, even though their values couldn't be more opposite, she stays with him for his money and he for his looks. When Brett finally gets agitated and refuses his money, the relationship ends, but not on bad terms. Although she's not heartbroken, Brett's inability to connect emotionally takes its toll and she finds herself alone again. Shortly after dating Count Mippipopolous, she had a.