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The Sun Also Rises By Ernest Hemingway

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The theme of male insecurity is a prominent theme in Ernest Hemingway 's novel, The Sun Also Rises. While many soldiers suffered from disillusionment with the Great War and how it was supposed to make men of them, Jake bore the additional burden of insecurity because of his war wound. Insecurity operates on several levels and surfaces in many ways through the characters we encounter in this novel. We learn from observing Jake and his friends that manhood and insecurity are linked sometimes unfairly. Despite his insecurity and inability to "perform" as a man, Jake proves to more of a man than any other characters in the novel. The disillusionment of the war caused many who fought to feel lost because they no longer held onto traditional American beliefs about war and fighting. Edgar Johnson notes that the brave fought in the war, but "they never understood" (Johnson 88). Jake, more than any of his friends, has suffered the worst injury of the war--one with which he struggles throughout the entire course of the novel. This struggle makes Jake the most complex character of the novel. In fact, his struggle and insecurity caused us to reconsider the definition of manhood. Robert Penn Warren claims that the "shadow of the ruin is behind the typical Hemingway situation" (Warren 35). However, the typical Hemingway character manages to salvage something from his or her situation. Warren also observes that this type of situation is what brings us to Hemingway 's "special interest in

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