The Lost Generation

A detailed Summary of The Lost Generation


Ernest Hemingway believes the generation that came of age after World War I is a lost generation. This is apparent in The Sun Also Rises, where his characters lack any direction, wasting their lives in a foreign land drinking, partying, and traveling as a way to escape reality. Jake Barnes, the protagonist, sees this as "a swell life." (120). Hemingway is critical of this lifestyle, with his characters wandering aimlessly in a meaningless world.

Hemingway opens The Sun Also Rises with a comment that Gertrude Stein had supposedly made in conversation: "You are all a lost generation." She is addressing Hemingway and his fellow expatriates. The conflict of the war destroyed any faith these people had on traditional values that they were raised with. Their perception of love and morality has been clouded with the drinking and other pleasures of a foreign soil.

After World War I, many young men and women saw little purpose in their lives. Robert Cohn is a good example of this. Cohn says, "I can't stand it to think my life is moving so fast and I'm not really living it." (18) Cohn worries that he is wasting his short life, and that his brief time here is serving no ultimate purpose. Jake's response is not very comforting. He respon


Another way Hemingway shows the essence of the lost generation is to portray contrasting characters. This is shown through Count Mippipopolous and Pedro Romero. The Count is also an expatriate, and shares the same pleasures as Jake and his friends. The difference though is that the Count actually enjoys these pleasures, and they satisfy him. Jake and his friends use these pleasures to escape the void left by the war, with no avail. Pedro Romero is a passionate bullfighter who lives his life with purpose and meaning. He has a sense of dignity and confidence throughout the novel. This is the direct opposite of the group of expatriates. They have no passion in their lives, and hide this lack of direction with superficial activities. Hemingway uses these characters as ideal people to model our lives after, while showing Jake and his friends to be the complete opposite.

In Chapter 12, Bill summarizes Hemingway's critical feelings towards the values of the lost generation. "You're an expatriate. You've lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed by sex. You spend all your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see? You hang around cafes." He describes Jake's generation as one that is obsessed with drinking and sex

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 888
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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