Dwyer 1
Brian Dwyer
ENG3UG-04
Ms. Kurtz
6 March 2007
Hemingway’s Characters: Epitome of the Lost Generation
The young adults of the 1920s were coined the lost generation by writer, Gertrude Stein
because they “had their dreams and innocence smashed by World War I, thus, merging from the
war bitter and aimless.” The characters of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, are the
embodiment of this aimless drift of people. Lady Brett Ashley was injured emotionally after a
great love loss, which brought about her bought with alcoholism. She moves from man to man
in an meaningless search for true love; ultimately associating herself with men who will never
fulfill this void. One such companion of Brett’s, Count Mippopolous, also attempts to fill a void
in his life. The count was hurt in the war. This physical wound left him highly sensitive.
Consequently, he too resorted to self-satisfying endeavors; the war produced an exceptionally
shallow man. Much like the count, Jake Barnes lives a life filled with torment and sorrow.
Engulfed in longing for the past, Jake’s war wound prevents him from moving forward. His
impotence has built an immense insecurity for him. His relationship with both men and women
are evidence of his sense of worthlessness. Thus, by focusing on various characters’ injuries,
Hemingway shows the lack of productivity and morals of the lost generation.
The rest of what I am writing here is simply to show you where your border will end.
Hold this paper up to a window with your work behind it to see if it matches in size.
The young adults of the 1920s were coined the lost generation by writer, Gertrude Stein
because they “had their dreams and innocence smashed by World War I, thus, emerging from the
war bitter and aimless.” The characters of Ernest Hemingway’s, The Sun Also Rises, are the
Dwyer 2
embodiment of this aimless drift of people. “Lady Brett Ashley was injured emotionally after a
great love loss, which brought about her bought with alcoholism” (Hemingway 23). She moves
from man to man in an meaningless search for true love; ultimately associating herself with men
who will never fulfill this void.
One such companion of Brett’s, Count Mippopolous, also attempts to fill
a void in his life. The count was hurt in the war. Filling space here Hemingway writes,
Consequently, he too resorted to self-satisfying endeavors; producing an
exceptionally shallow man. Much like the count, Jake Barnes lives a life
filled with torment and sorrow and the rest of this sentence is merely to show
a sample of how long the quotation should be before using the double indent
(Hemingway 65).
Notice that the discussion that follows is not a new paragraph. But a continuation of Engulfed in
longing for the past, Jake’s war wound prevents him from moving forward. His impotence has
built an immense insecurity for him. His relationship with both men and women are evidence of
his sense of worthlessness. Thus, by focusing on various characters’ injuries, Hemingway shows
the lack of productivity and morals of the lost generation.
Notice that the discussion that follows is not a new paragraph. But a continuation of
Engulfed in longing for the past, Jake’s war wound prevents him from moving forward. His
impotence has built an immense insecurity for him. His relationship with both men and women
are evidence of his sense of worthlessness. Thus, by focusing on various characters’ injuries,
Hemingway shows the lack of productivity and morals of the lost generation. Notice that the
Hemingway shows the lack of productivity and morals of the lost generation. Notice
that the Hemingway shows the lack of productivity and morals of the lost generation. Notice
that the.