Ernest Hemingway once said, “Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” Hemingway illustrates throughout The Sun Also Rises how most of the men in the novel are going to the end of their lives in almost the same manner, but they have also done little things that distinguish big differences in the ways they have lives. Most of these differences are either reinstating their masculinity to others or trying to take another man’s away. In the The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway shows masculinity through the underlying competition between Jake Barnes and his friends.
The men in Ernest Hemingway’s novel were involved in World War I, at war that affected many men physically and mentally, changing society's view of what it meant to be a man. One person in this novel who was affected greatly by the war was Jake Barnes, a young man living in Paris in the 20’s. During the war, Jake was injured and became impotent as well as met the love of his life, Brett. Due to Jake's impotence he constantly feels insecure and can never escape the constant pain that he will never be able to be with Brett. Along with Jake, Hemingway introduces many men throughout the novel who struggle with their
…show more content…
How a woman should act like and what a man should be is blurred throughout The Sun Also Rises. Brett encompasses the idea of women being strong and sticking to their ideals even if her own personal feelings are different than what she knows she needs to do. The men throughout the novel all deal with problems that they need to face and find ways to deal with them; even if their own personal ways are different than their friends. Hemingway is showing the even greater picture throughout the novel of no matter whether you’re a man or woman, everyone has insecurities in their lives that they are trying to find ways to deal with