Modernism in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises

Abstract

Hemingway’s writing with “Theory of Modernism” in The Sun Also Rises truly reflex t the story of modernist society. He maintained his status of modernist writer and discussed the issues of modernism. All of his characters are away from the normal social norms and values. They tend to move from one place to another, one form of relationship to other games. Sense of disillusionment can be seen in the characters resulting alienation, dissatisfaction and identity crisis in their life. It can be seen in Jake, Brett, Cohn, and Romero. They indulge in alcoholism, sex abnormal appetite and so on. They became assimilated in others cultural and socio-political environment and lacking their original identity.

Hemingway lays emphasis on the issues of struggle for individual freedom and confinement. A close look into the novel makes us aware that it is quest for identify. Although all the characters in the novel trying to live life freely but they became frustrated and alienated by moving here and there and assimilating in others culture to forget their individual suffering. Social estrangement made them disillusioned and brings expatriation in their life which is the strong feature of modernism. The more they are trying to be free, the more they are falling into chaos and meaninglessness. Characters presented in this novel are not within their native country wandering in search of opportunity. Instead of happy life they feel some sort of dissatisfaction so the characters have intoxicated themselves in order to forget their pain. To support this claim idea of disillusionment has been selected as the strong feature of modernism and justified with the idea of different critics of all walks and further elaborated the idea with so many features of modernism which can clearly seen in the text.