Ernest Hemingway’s quintessential portrait of the Lost Generation takes a poignant look into the disillusioned and tragic lives of the survivors of war. Following the journey of one of the most unforgettable characters in American literature, Jake Barnes, readers explore how the Great War has affected both his perspective on the world and on his life. In The Sun Also Rises, Jake’s experience in the war afflicts him both emotionally and physically, and leads to both alcoholism and his tortured relationship with Brett. Through exploration into Jake’s physical and psychological damage incurred during the war, Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises unveils the driving force behind Jake’s self-destructive and unfulfilled relationship with Brett. Jake’s …show more content…
At the end of The Sun Also Rises, Jake is very much changed. He finally accepts his tragic condition and the impossibility of his relationship with Brett. He has also reached the end of his painful struggle to connect with reality and no longer needs alcohol to bury his pain. Jake’s character development shows when finally comes to terms with his injury and feels comfortable enough with his own body to go swimming in the pool. This is especially significant since it is the first time in the novel that the readers see Jake naked. In the last moments of the novel, Jake’s character change shines through when he refrains himself from drinking excessively. The ending of The Sun Also Rises is ultimately tragic, because when Jake finally accepts that his hopes and dreams will never come true, the readers are left with a lingering feeling of hopelessness and resignation. When Brett says, “Oh Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together,” (251) she uses the conditional perfect could have had, signifying that this was a possibility in the past. Brett says that their relationship could have happened in the past, but now it is too late, and will never happen. It signals the end of any possibility of a future together. Jake sarcastically replies with perhaps the most significant quote in the novel, “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” (251) He dispels all his illusions of a possible future with Brett. The thought of being with Brett is now an unattainable dream, a dream Jake inevitably relinquishes and