Hemingway's Sickness

Because of the War to End All Wars, which occurred previously to the events in the book, Hemingway alludes to how every character is suffering under a sickness. Despite the fact that not every character had direct contact with the war, they all incurred the resulting sickness of living when one is surrounded by death. This sickness occurs when one has stared into the face of death and survived, only to find the world you once knew to be completely decimated. Now, they are all suffering under the onerous sickness. However, the characters are not alone in this suffering: real-world war veterans often come home with PTSD, which is undoubtedly similar. Furthermore, even I can relate on a smaller scale. When I was younger, I was present in California
during a 5.0 earthquake. Afterwards, I remember feeling the effects of shock and horror at how people had died and how I had not. All in all, Hemingway alludes to his characters as suffering under the sickness of being alive when so many have died; and furthermore conveying that perhaps he too suffers under this sickness.