The Sun Also Rises Research Paper

Gonzalez 1 Prompt: Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. Meagan Gonzalez Mrs. LeBas AP English Set 3 10 January 2012

Social Commentary in The Sun Also Rises Thesis: In the post-war novel The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway presents the disillusionment and cynical world view of the “Lost Generation” through the travels of American and British expatriates living in Europe after World War I. While money, alcohol, and sex act as the driving
And I have got arrow wounds. Have you ever seen arrow wounds?" "Let 's have a look at them." The count stood up, unbuttoned his vest, and opened his shirt. He pulled up the undershirt onto his chest and stood, his chest black, and big stomach muscles bulging under the light. "You see them?" Below the line where his ribs stopped were two raised white welts." (67) 3. Destruction of relationships following World War I • "I 've suppose I 've the usual medals. But I never sent in for them. One time the was this whopping big dinner and the Prince of Wales was to be there, and the cards said medals will be worn. So naturally I had no medals, and I stopped at my Taylor 's and he was impressed by the invitation, and I thought that 's a good piece of business, and I said to him: "You 've got to fix me up with some medals." He said: "What medals, sir?" And I said: "Oh, any meals. Just give me a few medals." So he said: "What medals have you sir?" And I said: "How should I know?"" (140) • "I turned off the light and tried to go to sleep. It was not necessary to read any more. I could shut my eyes without getting the wheeling sensation. But I could not sleep." (150) B. Tone and symbols of loss 1. Understated tone as a means to hide
When they seek equality in the relationship, or dominance, when they want to call the shots, she ends the relationship, giving up her conquered territory and moving on." (Hays 241) • "And it has become clear that Brett is the central figure in his psychic drama, the memory he cannot escape, the core of his lie even though they can never be married. But there is yet another context in which Brett must be perceived, for the full complexity of her character requires that she be considered in contrast to the other women in the novel. As a New Woman, she is remarkable not only when measured against men but in comparison to the women around her. It is from this perspective that the secondary female characters in the novel become particularly interesting. These other woman function in a variety of ways, from the promotion of lost-generation values, to reminding Jake of what he has lost, to setting Brett Ashley in relief, juxtaposed against alternate models of feminine behavior." (Nagel 99-100) • "Lady Brett Ashley best encapsulates the beauty of being "lost." She represents the dead aristocracy and constantly fends off the long-dead notions of romance best captured in the melancholy of Robert Cohn. Yet she also represents the future and the new feminism of the