Gender Roles In The Sun Also Rises By Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises may be one of the most factual novels of all time, it intensively mirrors the modern world. Written in the 1920’s by Ernest Hemingway using modernism style; it is based on the life of a war veteran name Jake Barnes, an American soldier whom during WWI was burdened with an injury, which unfortunately left him impotent. Frustrated with his injury, Barnes decided to migrate to Paris, where he filled in as an unremarkable writer. Barnes way of living changed completely, he became a slightly bearable alcoholic who spend his days drowsy after a night of drinking. Although his life was no longer the same as it used to be before the war, he never stopped trying to fit in. Barnes’ relocation to Paris was a hopeless excuse

Despite knowing Brett is promiscuity habit and the fact that she was on the verge of getting married, did not stop him from making advanced towards her. The Sun Also Rises provided a great clarification on how WWI changed lives of men and woman. Before World War I, each gender had specific roles, especially women, they were not allow to work during this time; their times was to be spent at home in the kitchen and with their children. Although women rights’ movement started in the late 19th century, but it was not until after the war women was able to enter the workforce to help battling the great depression. Men spent their time proving their masculinity and figuring out their sexual orientations. “It raises questions about identity, challenging conventional definitions of manhood and womanhood, and ruminates on the bounds of human nature, asking which parts of oneself, if any, may remain unchanged and how loss can affect one's core identity. Through its exploration of these topics, the novel is also able to speak about the complexity of modem relationships, both sexual and platonic, utilizing Jake's impotence as an allegory of the condition of the modem world” (Literacy Reference Center

“PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event”. The experience might be as disastrous as aggregate war, or as humiliating as assault (ptsd.va.gov). Historically, ex war veterans usually come home with a psychological illness, the most common one is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Pride sometimes cause these veterans to ignore the signs of mental illness, some would do anything to hide the symptoms from friends and family. Similar to Barnes, some veterans with mental illness use alcohol and lust to distract themselves from accepting their injuries. Every character in the book have are dealing with their disorder in a way they should nor, for examples, Brett is sexual promiscuity, and Mike whose anger problems causes him to fight a lot; his insecurity because of Brett is behavior would cause him to attack people for no reason. The Sun Also Rises may be used as a useful book for psychologists that are trying to understand their ex war veterans patients; it may help them understands their patients’ psychological