Sheena Lagria
Dr. Wilhelm Emilsson
English 1106.003
Nov. 26, 2013
Word count:

After World War I, millions suffered mentally. With the decline of value of morals in the generation that suffered the war, people became lost and believed that the traumatic experience of war was meaningless. Drinking became a huge part of the twenties and that is clearly seen in Hemingway’s novel. In the novel, the readers perceive moral decline and negligence during the fiesta when it started “The things that happened could only have happened during a fiesta. Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed as though nothing could have any consequences. It seemed out of place to think of consequences during the fiesta. All during the fiesta you had the feeling, even when it was quiet, that you had to shout any remark to make it heard. It was the same feeling about any action.”(158). This shows that the characters lost their sense of right and wrong when they drink. In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway uses drinking as a symbol to present the struggle to address inner psychological issues through Jake’s use of drinking to prove manliness and Mike’s continuous abuse of alcohol despite his awareness of it. Add

The effects of war had can be very damaging to one’s self esteem and manhood. Due to that, a person will do anything to get acceptance and to prove one’s manliness. The war can leave painful traces to a person who suffered through it when
Jake states (insert adj._____) “It was in reality a calamity for civilization and perhaps would have better avoided” (25). The physical injuries that he went through left him impotent. In order to escape from the feeling that life is meaningless, people drink and party. Often Jake meets up with friends to drink and at the end of the night, he ends up alone. In his apartment, he contemplates