Hemingway’s Expression of the Zeitgeist in The Sun Also Rises
By Wang Yuze
In partial fulfillment of the requirement
For the B. A. degree
Department of English
College of Liberal Arts
Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology
May, 2018
Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to appreciate Professor Zhao Yamin who is my supervisor and teacher of my History of American Literature course. Her class made me interested in this related subject. During this time, she offered me plenty of specialty help. In addition, she led our group to get over all difficulties. She gave us lots of available suggestions and important information. Without her supervision and care, we can not complete this project.
Second, I want to give my thanks to Professor Zhang Jun, my Advanced English teacher who has a wide range of knowledge. In his advanced English course, I not only pursued higher learning of English, but also gained a serious and rigorous study attitude. Many of his words had a profound influence on my study and life.
Finally, I am particularly grateful to my family and friends. They are the most solid foundation and my most steadfast supporter. They provided me with all kinds of help, both physically and spiritually. These made me feel very confident to finish this article.
Contents
Abstract 1
1. Introduction 2
2. Basic concepts of the zeitgeist 2
2.1 Confusion 2
2.2 Indulgence and rebellion 3
2.3 The desire for humanity 3
3. Hemingway’s description of zeitgeist from this novel 4
3.1 Portrayal of the characters 4
3.1.1 Jack Barnes 4
3.1.2 Brett Ashley 4
3.1.3 Robert Cohn 5
3.1.4 Pedro Romero 6
3.2 Realistic writing technique 6
4. A brief analysis of the causes for the formation of the zeitgeist 7
4.1 The upheaval of the world order after the war 7
4.2 The change of traditional values 8
4.3 Economic development and the emergence of new things 9
5. Conclusion 9
Hemingway 's Expression of the Zeitgeist in The Sun Also Rises
Wang Yuze
Department of English
College of Liberal Arts
Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology
Abstract: The Sun Also Rises, the first full-length novel written by Ernest Hemingway who was the greatest writer in the 20th century, depicted the zeitgeist in 1920s based on the lives of "the Lost Generation". It was regarded as the representative work and proclamation of "the Lost Generation". Firstly, the main characteristics of the zeitgeist will be epitomized with a holistic view. Then this paper will analyze how Hemingway describes these characteristics. The underlying causes of the zeitgeist’s formation will be summarized in the later part. These researches are still significant for us to build the youths’ values in the present, and future.
Keywords: Ernest Hemingway; The Sun Also Rises; the Lost Generation; zeitgeist
摘要：《太阳照常升起》是20世纪美国著名作家欧内斯特·海明威所著的第一部长篇小说，作品的主线是“迷惘的一代”的生活，书写了20世纪二十年代的时代精神，被视为“迷惘的一代”的代表作和宣言书。本文将首先从整体上概括时代精神的主要特征，其次分析海明威以何种方式书写这些特征，最后总结时代精神产生的深层原因，这对我们为当下和未来青年人价值观的培养仍有极大意义。
关键词：欧内斯特·海明威；《太阳照常升起》；迷惘的一代；时代精神
- Introduction
Ernest Miller Hemingway is known as one of the greatest American novelists who flourished in the 20th century. Ordinary people’s sincerity and bravery is the theme of his works. On July 21, 1899, he was born in Oak Park, Illinois, an outskirt of Chicago.[1] He had a deep love for sports, fishing and bullfight all his life. After the outbreak of the First World War, he volunteered to go to the war and become an ambulance driver on the field. Finally, he returned home because of the serious injury in the war. Then he turned to Toronto, Canada and began his new journalists' career. From then on, he began his writing career. In 1961, Hemingway shot his head with his favorite shotgun and ended his life by this way.
Hemingway published 17 works and won many kinds of literary awards. He began to write and entered the literary with some short literary texts in early 1923. As the most famous novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926. This was a full-length novel of Hemingway’s early time. The iceberg theory was used obviously in the novel, including incomplete story, hidden plot and open ending. As the most perplexed period of Hemingway, all the stories came from real life without modification and became the most obvious distinction from other works. Therefore, it is very appropriate to study Hemingway's description of the zeitgeist in the 1920s.
- Basic concepts of the zeitgeist
The novel narrates the life and mentality of a group of British and American youth who strand in Paris after the First World War. At the beginning of this book, the author tells us the First World War has just ended. But we can discover some key words and clue from the text. The wounds of the war still exist in this generation’s hearts, despite the fact that many years has passed since the end of the war. This group of American intellectuals is injured from the damage and destruction of the war from many aspects, including physical, spiritual, moral, psychological, family, or economic losses. The war shatters their life and their hopes. Their ideals and pursuit of life are all lost at the smoke of the war. They are decadent and pessimistic in spirit. They are perplexed and wandering in thought. They spend the days cruising the bars and clubs of Paris in order to fill the void of spirit and replace the disillusion ideal with hedonism by carousing. They wander aimlessly around the street. This generation is the youth who is labeled as "the Lost Generation" in the history of literature.
2.1 Confusion
The key word of the spirit during this short period which lies in the first place must be “confusion”. In the preface of this book, Gertrude Stein told us “you are all a lost generation”. Hemingway also mentioned this opinion in his novel by the tone of Bill, a friend of Jack Barnes.
“You’re an expatriate. You’ve lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed by sex. You spend all your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see? You hang around cafés.”[2]
During the First World War, this generation of youth inherited the essence of American spirit. They held fantasies about reality and keep idealism in their minds. These twenty year old young people joined the war with their dreams and the enthusiasm of Crusade to defend the democratic ideal. Under the support of the American spirit, the Lost Generation writers also embodied the American pursuit of freedom and happiness in their works. Especially, it was reflected in the pursuit of wealth and eternal youth and beauty. But the Treaty of Versailles signed after the war, let them find that they do not realize their ideals.[3] History just played a joke with them. The end of World War I destroyed not only the order of the old world, but also the traditional values of this generation. The original intention of the belligerent countries was not what they had imagined. Their dreams were replaced by endless perplexity and confusion.
2.2 Indulgence and rebellion
We believe in the values which the world gives us and devote every effort to fight for it, only to find that they are only the wheeling and dealing between politicians. These fiery youth are only the tool for politicians to play this game. So, not only the roles in the novel, including Jack, Brett, Bill, but also Seven Sages in the Bamboo Forest or modern recluses in Japan, become their victims. Both of their hearts are damaged by the outside world. The original values and beliefs collapse, and the new ideas are not established. So the only thing they can do is seek spiritual comfort from wine, music, bullfighting and so on.
After the end of the First World War, the young people left the battlefield. They began to look for ideas and cultures that could guide their life while they were rethinking of the war.
Many of them came to Paris, the European cultural center. They attempted to find the answers in their hearts, including young Hemingway and other famous artists. They opened their eyes and appreciated the French’s handsome and romantic sentiments. Plenty of young men and women emulated French’s styles and became a new fashion. The young men wore coonskin jacket, carrying a travel kettle. The young women ironed her hair and wore miniskirt. Their actions and clothes were not bound by the tradition. The gap between Americans disappeared and the communication between each other increased. People can contact and talk at any time with the emergence of new media. The new fashion in Europe swept across the United States quickly. There is a most typical example. Parisian people can drink freely. The young American ignored the 18th amendment of prohibition passed in 1919. The sales of liquor were increasing and the cocktail were more and more.
2.3 The desire for humanity
This generation had never lost their desire for humanity, although they considered their future were very perplexed, empty and disillusioned. When Brett falls in love with matador Romero, Barnes said, in the face of Brett, he (Romero) looks very handsome. When his friend makes fun of him, what he thinks in his mind is to let him go on. The protagonist has a good control of himself from the beginning to the end, not causing trouble or showing negative emotions to others. In addition to pretending to enjoy life, he also needs to help Brett, help her to control her appetites and emotions. To assist her to maintain the relationship between them, when the devastating things happen to him, he still keeps his human morality, rationality and dignity. This is also the positive side of this generation.[4] No matter how bad the world is, and how terrible a life you have, you still have to make great effort to find the pleasures of life and struggle to live on. As the name of this novel, no matter what happens, the sun will also rise tomorrow.
- Hemingway’s description of zeitgeist from this novel
3.1 Portrayal of the characters
3.1.1 Jack Barnes
The protagonist in this novel, Jack Barnes, reflects some experiences of the author himself, his world outlook and his traits after the war ended. Jack Barnes is a young American who was seriously injured in the First World War. Then he sojourns in Paris, France, as an American newspaper correspondent in Europe. The war not only made him physically and mentally disabled, but was even more embarrassing and unbearable for him. The war made him lose his sexual ability. This completely deprived him of his qualification as a man. This situation made him unable to break through the romantic relationship. Although Jack knows that his love is absurd, there is nothing to change the tragedy of his personal fate. In his life, he loves Brett Ashley. But the disability left by the war makes it impossible for him to enjoy sexual love with his lover. On the battlefield, Jack did not have a chance to prove that he is a warrior or a coward, even without any confrontation with the enemy. Then he was wounded by flying shrapnel. This is perhaps the most dejected and regrettable thing in his life. However, nothing can heal the wounds in his heart and fill the emptiness of his spirit. He is an alcoholic and tries to forget the spiritual pain in drunkenness. But it proved in vain.
Jack is not a hero, but a role that Hemingway elaborately shaped. He maintains the gracefulness under the great pressure and can not be beaten down. So he is an enriched and highlighted man. All these things, including incurable wounds of war, difficulty to achieve love, unspeakable pain, broken dreams and so on, do not destroy his willpower.[5]
3.1.2 Brett Ashley
Brett is the heroine in this novel. She is also hit by the war, but she tries to forget the spiritual pain by drinking and indulging in an arbitrary life. In the novel, she occupies an axis in the Lost Generation’s life circle where a group of men surround her to fight for a favor. The novel shows the Lost Generation’s complex love affairs by the description of her love and hatred with all kinds of men.
This British social butterfly looks gorgeous and graceful. These advantages certainly help to catch the man’s attention. She had been divorced twice. Even though she loves Jack, she does not want to be together with him, because that means giving up sexual satisfaction.[6] In fact, she is unwilling to give up any men who could bring her satisfaction and happiness. Brett is leading an aimless life, drinking all the day. To satisfy her passion and frenzy, she does not care what Jack think even if he is humiliated. It does not matter. Then she runs off with the matador. After cohabiting with matador, she finds that the matador falls in love with her. But she finally thinks that there is a large age gap between them. And the most important thing is she does not want to see the young and talented matador to go downhill with her. So she decides to leave him and return to Jack. Brett was dressed in a fashion and independent way. Her behavior, such as drinking, smoking, having short hair, dressing short and sexual clothes and so on, are manifestations of rebellious spirit.[7] But she never seems to get real happiness from her independence. Her life is also full of perplexity and regret as many of her contemporaries. At the end of the novel, Brett said to Jack that they could have a better time together. Her words reveal the pain and confusion from the war, although she has magnificent appearance. In other words, she is the victim of the war too.
3.1.3 Robert Cohn
Robert Cohn is an indispensable role in the novel. But he is a "negative protagonist" portrayed by Hemingway. Cohn, a Jewish American, graduated from Princeton University and was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton in his student days. He has just divorced his first wife and came to Paris in order to experience life and look for some new material for literary creation. His first book which was published in New York brought him the joy of success. But when he wants to write his second book, he can not make heads or tails and do not know where to begin. His second fiancee also follows him from New York to Paris and has firm control of him. But he ultimately abandoned her, instead to chase Brett. He encounters her at a wine party and gets attracted by her beauty and elegant temperament. Very soon they go to San Sebastian to cohabit in secret. He simply thinks that true love can overcome everything and Brett will belong to him since then. He even wants to marry her. To his surprise, Brett just plays with him for a while and disgusts him after that. She looks upon him as a donkey and even refuses to shake hands with him. It makes him feel puzzled and heartbroken.
In Barnes' life circle, Cohn is a special case. He does not join the cruel war and has not lived through the test of mental hardships. He still keeps the prewar traditional values and has unrealistic illusions of life and love. He is a stale romantic and a vain idealist. Barnes and him belong to different worlds. As a result, he seems asocial and even disagreeable everywhere. Despite his strong body, he is still a typical man of the immature American youth after the war. Just like the Lost Generation, Cohn is also a victim of the war.
3.1.4 Pedro Romero
The matador, Pedro Romero, is a real hero that Hemingway has created in this novel. Romero is only nineteen years old, but he is strong, virile and athletic. In others’ view, he is full of vigor and enthusiasm totally different from decadent youth. He is good at bullfighting, and his skill is exceptional. In the bullfight, he wins the worship of people with his exquisite skill and grace. In his social life, he is sincere in his dealings with people. He is a polite and elegant man when he communicates with other people and never looks like an unassuming man. He is neither the degenerate like the Lost Generation nor the hypocrite who give himself the airs of a hero like Robert Cohn. In order to gain the attention and love of Brett, he has a lopsided duel with Cohn. In this boxing match, he is not Cohn's adversary; he is knocked down again and again by his rival’s fist. But he is the winner in the spirit and defeats Cohn with his strong and indomitable will. He sustains his dignity and wins Brett’s trust and love logically. Romero is a representative of the tough men who often appear in Hemingway's novels. No matter how much pressure he faces, he will always keep the winner's demeanor. Of course, Romero is in deep contrast with others roles. It shows the tragedy of the Lost Generation from another aspect.
3.2 Realistic writing technique
As the first full-length novel of Hemingway, it is also the work of his early and the most perplexed period. The most conspicuous feature of this novel is the realistic style. The protagonist's experience is very similar to Hemingway’s life. Barnes is one of the American young people who rush to the battlefield in Europe to join the First World War. In spite of being serious injury, he finds that his own value is not shown in this war but his future is destroyed by gunfire. It’s easy to detect Hemingway is the archetype of Barnes. He listened to the government's guidance and marched to the front in Italy with his patriotism and enthusiasm. He joined the field ambulance as an ambulance driver when he was 19. In one battle, the Austro-Hungarian Army's mortar shells landed and exploded around him. Two soldiers were killed beside him and he was seriously injured too. Finally, he was cited for his heroic deeds with two medals of Honor from Italian government.[8] At first, he was proud of his own injury, for he considered that he was hurt for a great event. There was no hero in this war, and all the soldiers were willing to dedicate their body. Luckily, his body is chosen, so he feels proud and happy. But after the war, the Treaty of Versailles completely debunked the imperialist politicians’ real features. In this injustice war, this group of young people is at the mercy of politicians and capitalists like the chess under chessman’s control. The so-called sacrifice and words “give their lives to the country” are only the politicians’ slogans to seduce youth to join the war. In this melee, Barnes and Hemingway both suffer a double blow both physically and mentally. They have got puzzled. They do not know what they are chasing for. They do not even know where they should go in the future.
Not only the role experiences come from reality, but plenty of scenes in the novel come from that times. For instance, Americans rarely or never speak French in Paris. Because they seldom talk to the local people, so it's unnecessary. In addition to providing services, there are few local French and Spanish characters in the novel. The description of the real scene can better reflect the daily activities of protagonists and the Lost Generation. Their wandering around the corner, the emotional switch in the bar, the state of drunkenness and the sleepless night are all based on the scenes in Paris which is the cultural center with prosperity in the1920s. The life of the characters in the novel is the epitome of the life of Hemingway and a large group of lost generation at that time. Therefore, the novel is the reality. The confusion of Barnes and Brett, the pretentious and arrogant behaviors of Cohn, the tough and indomitable spirit are the true reflections of the Lost Generation. Their characters and social activities show the key words of the zeitgeist.
- A brief analysis of the causes for the formation of the zeitgeist
Why does Hemingway choose Paris as the main stage of the story within several years of the end of the First World War? The different zeitgeist in every time span has numerous causes. Hemingway chooses this group of American youth as the protagonist and Paris as the background to describe his expression of the zeitgeist. There must be some reasonable factors. The following paragraphs will make a brief analysis of the causes for the formation of the zeitgeist from International situation, subjective factors and objective factors.
4.1 The upheaval of the world order after the war
November 11, 1918, German surrendered to the Allies. The First World War officially ended. This is a worldwide imperialist war that breaks out in order to redivide the world and compete for global hegemony with the imbalance in global political and economic development between imperialist countries. About 65 million people join the war, and about 10 million people are killed and 20 million are injured in the First World War. Besides, there are huge casualties and losses, the use of many new weapons like tank, aircraft, heavy machine gun, poison gas and so on. These also bring deep scars to the civilians and soldiers. What dismayed them most is the war’s nature contrary to their original intention. There is no justice for all the belligerent countries. It shows the clear essence of the war, particularly when the Paris Peace Conference (1919) opens in Versailles, France. The beginning of the Paris Peace Conference (1919) is full of optimistic expectation for peace. The United States, which for the first time participates politically in Europe, brings President Wilson's the Fourteen Points which is very popular for a moment. However, Wilson's idealistic view is quickly overwhelmed by the desire that victors want to carve up the defeated country and the anger that defeated countries attempt to revenge.[9] The so-called anti-war, national self-determination and other principles can not be implemented. Although the United States signs the Treaty of Versailles, Congress does not approve it. This leads to the failure of the United States to join the League of Nations and pushes its foreign policy into isolationism. The representative of Japan puts forward the suggestion of Racial Equality. Although it is supported by 11 votes to 6 votes of each country represented at the conference, it is strongly opposed by Australia and finally rejected by Britain and the United States. The news aroused the nationalist sentiment in Japan. And the contract's harsh extortion toward the defeated country, Germany, also buries the seeds of revenge. Ferdinand Foch, Marshal of France, declared: "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years".[10]
The world has been overlaid with a certain nervousness which isolationism, nationalism and revanchism mix together. This is not the result the American youth want. They wish to fight for the ideal world which is peaceful and democratic. Contrary to the American dream, the real world is cruel and unjust under the control of imperialist powers. The major and profound changes have taken place in the international situation. However, the appearance of new world order makes it difficult to reconstruct the value.
4.2 The change of traditional values
This is the postwar generation; many of Hemingway’s peers in Paris are veterans of many battles. Hemingway is disgusted with his accidental injury in Italy, because he doesn’t care about whether to be a hero or a coward. In fact, the war is not over. In Germany, the inflation caused by war debts makes the country a holy land for tourists, but the nightmare of German. Berlin becomes the most decadent city on the continent. The next war will be caused by a peaceful settlement of the Occupation of the Ruhr. In the Balkans Peninsula, the Turkey and Greece are at war. In Italy, the fascists quickly push Mussolini into the peak of ultimate authority. The prospects for the future become obvious. But in Paris, the roads are dotted with bars where people dance with the jazz, sing and drink under shining light. Why the youth need to worry about the next war? No one will believe in the politicians’ words who have made the last war, and no one will believe in the values that have brought men into the trenches. The fame, glory, and state can no longer move that generation including Hemingway. For them, war is only a joke.
For this generation, you can watch the movie on the boulevard. You can drink and dance with the stars in the nightclub. You can get divorced quickly. You can dress in the latest fashion. The waltz, which once shocked the last generation, is now too stable and rigid. Instead, Charleston, Black Bottom and other jazz dances are popular for a time. The young women’s dresses change from longuette to miniskirts and blouses. With the rise of women's short hair, the long hair is missing. A cigarette butt with lipstick is a sign of the age. A truly brave and open young woman dares smoke in public. This is the first generation of American women who drink and smoke, the first generation of American women who take part in elections. It is also the first generation that regards divorce as a reasonable solution to unfortunate marriages. Those people who can afford the travel cost to Paris to take advantage of the imperfect divorce law, which make their marriage contracts dissolved more quickly.[11] This is the disintegration of traditional values. But the new values still need time to build up. So, these individual thoughts like confusion, indulgence and rebellion emerge in such a turbulent age.
4.3 Economic development and the emergence of new things
In this period, everything changes so quickly. The American government and munitions merchants make a big fortune, thanks to the war. The United States also becomes the most powerful country in the world. The car’s color is no longer monotonous. The new automobiles are very powerful and manoeuvrable compared with the old types. Although they are expensive, it is not a big problem for most people. With the rise of installment shopping, most of middle class families can buy the new and coveted things in the American dream. The condition they can watch the movie or listen to the jazz dance music everywhere is benefited from the development of film and record industry.[12]
We can see the causal relationship between the zeitgeist’s appearance and booming economy more clearly by deductive justifications. With the development of various industrial departments, new things can be manufactured rapidly. Thriving economy makes people easy to find a job in all fields. People can earn enough money to buy their favorite commodities. Even if it is very expensive, developed financial industries help them to achieve their dreams. Paying money in bars and cinemas becomes a kind of new fashion. In the final analysis, the primary cause of the zeitgeist’s appearance is the booming economy.
- Conclusion
This generation has been devastated by the war and shows a morbid mental condition. The only effective value in Jack Barnes' life is money. According to Jack himself, he is not a regular churchgoer. He wants to pray devoutly, but the way is hard and terrible. He confesses his guilty actions, but the pain is not relieved. Western philosophy holds that morality relies on religion to a certain degree. People without religious belief can not have moral integrity. From Jack Barnes' monetary values and religious morals, we can see that the Lost Generation lose themselves both mentally and morally.[13]
Barnes loses sexual ability. His garden becomes a desert. Pray fails and does not work. It makes Barnes feel confusion about the traditional distinction between good and bad. Life has greatly lost its meaning and its touch with former connection because of the spiritual disaster caused by the war. This is also a reflection of nihilism which the Lost Generation believes based on this novel. As the Ecclesiastes puts:
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever... The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose...[14]
It points out the theme of the novel and echoes the title. The entire novel emphasizes the zeitgeist in those days. But for the rest of us, alone with the continuous improvement of living standards, our youth should not feel confused about the future. Instead, we should chase for a bright future and better life.
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“Ferdinand Foch”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Foch. ↑
Julian P. Smith. New Essays on The Sun Also Rises [J], Journal of American Studies, 1989(1), p. 112. ↑
杨慧，《太阳照常升起》与消费主义文化逻辑，时代文学（下半月）， 2011年第6期，第170页。 ↑
程开玮.，海明威《太阳照常升起》中的“精神荒原”，三峡大学学报（人文社会科学版），2017年第1期，第151页。 ↑
Ernest Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises. Beijing: Dolphin Books Publishing Corporation (CIPG), 2017, p. 1. ↑
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