The Sun Also Rises: The Lost Generation

The horrors and losses of World War I greatly affected the generation to come. The young people who fought in the war and the writers and artists of the era experienced a detachment from the classical society, morals, beliefs, and traditions. Referenced at the beginning of Hemingway’s novel is a quote from fellow modern author Gertrude Stein, who, in conversation, called these people “a lost generation.” Other writers of the time, such as Ernest Hemingway, embraced this theme of the lost generation, and explored it in their writing, relating their characters to themselves and their peers. In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway shows the detachment and loss of direction the Lost Generation experienced through the main characters in the novel. The beginning of The Sun Also Rises shows the main character, Cohn, restless and unhappy with where he is in life, suggesting several times for his friend Jacob to come with him and travel the world

Near the beginning of the book, Cohn tells Jacob that he wants to move, that he wants to travel the world and leave Paris. After Cohn asks Jacob over and over again to go with him, and after being declined several times, Jacob says, “Listen, Robert, going to another country doesn’t make any difference. I've tried all that. You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There’s nothing to that” (Hemingway, p. 19). This shows that both of them have tried leaving and going from place to place to find some sort of meaning to their lives, which was a trait of the Lost Generation. They often lost a sense of direction or purpose in their lives, and they spent their days simply passing time. Jacob understands this and has tried it in the past, and he has realized that there is no point in trying, because it will end up getting them