Hemingway and Modernishm

Modernists were authors that broke away from many traditional standards of writing during the post World War I time period of the Lost Generation. “T.S. Eliot stated that, the inherited mode of ordering a literary work, which assumed a relatively coherent and stable social order, could not accord with the ‘immense panorama of futility and anarchy which is contemporary history.’ Major works of modernist fiction, then, subvert the basic conventions of earlier prose fiction by breaking up the narrative continuity, departing from the standard ways of representing characters, and violating traditional syntax and coherence of narrative language by the use of stream of consciousness and other innovative modes of narration” (Abrams A Glossary of Literary Terms). In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway uses theme, structure, style, symbols and metaphors to “break up the narrative continuity,” “depart from standard ways of representing characters,” “violate the traditional syntax and coherence of narrative language,” and represents an “immense panorama of futility and anarchy.” Because Hemingway uses these methods to break away from traditional standards, he is therefore a modernist. One of the aspects of modernism is “departing from standard ways of representing characters.” In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway breaks away from the standard representations of characters, most drastically seen in the character of Lady Brett Ashley. First off, this woman has a man’s name, initially suggesting that she is not a ‘normal’ lady. Brett also has traits that are not generally feminine, but rather masculine. For example, Brett is extremely independent, and she tends to have a great deal of power over every man she meets. She is always the dominant one in her relationships, and never commits to any one man, rather she prefers independence. She is manipulating and causes tension between other men, much like traditional male characters. Unlike traditional female roles, she is