The Process Of Healing In Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises

In the late 1920s, society drenched itself in the excess- the extravagant materialism, superfluous drinking, and lavish parties, which were held more often than not. Ernest Hemingway emphasizes this aspect of the era in his novel, The Sun Also Rises. There were two themes prevalent in this novel: the lost generation and the process of healing. At first glance, these two themes seem to have no mutual ground on which they stand. However, Hemingway makes sense of this in his novel, intertwining the two themes, whereas they work as one. In the midst of all this chaos, the main character makes a choice between excessive partying and drinking and a process of healing, which does not necessarily look productive on the outside. Hemingway’s genius portrayal of these themes and their relationship are worthy of discussion and an evaluation.
The Sun Also Rises focuses on the aspect of the late 1920s when people were careless about spending excessive amounts of money, time, and ultimately, themselves (they also were not able to handle all the alcohol and partying). Hemingway fixated the readers’ attention on the aimlessness of the generation- that people
Jake, narrates this story. Throughout the novel, Jake is sarcastic and cynical; this makes him an unlikeable character, so much so that the reader has doubts he can overcome the troubles in his life. However, this is a key element of his character. What Hemingway did in this novel was, and still is, ingenious. Another theme that the novel portrayed was the focus on the process, not the outcome. Suffering from PTSD, Jake needed to overcome his stressful situation. Since one of his interests was fishing, he went on fishing trips to experience it. Jake did not go to catch fish, he went in order to heal himself. Jake takes the readers on the fishing trip with