Repression And Rebuilding

Hemingway is one of the greatest American writers in the twentieth century.The Sun Also Rises is his first novel and also one of the most important masterpieces inhis life time. The novel depicts a group of American expatriates living in Europe afterthe First World War. With its unique historical character and artistic style, The Sun AlsoRises has exerted a great deal of discussions. Studies at home and abroad mainly focuson five aspects as follows: narrative style (such as "Iceberg Theory"), interpretations ofexistentialism, symbolism reading, psychoanalysis of new females, social historicalcriticism. All these efforts have made remarkable achievements includinginterpretations to “the lost generation” in specific cultural historical context,Hemingway’s anti-war attitude from religion and morality point of view, Hemingway’s“hero code” and the projection of Hemingway’s own life experience in his works.However, the inner mental status of key characters has not been dug deeply enough,and that’s why those interpretations could not explain the abnormal existence ofself-repression and indulgence. This dissertation is intended to interpret Jake Barnes,the protagonist of The Sun Also Rises, from the perspective of psychoanalysis criticismback in its historic background. By utilizing Freud’s Typographical Model, the DefenseMechanics and Life Dead Drives theories, the dissertation aims to scrutinize thepsychic status of the post war traumatic generation who are desperate about life anddisillusioned of their dream, however, yet strive persistently to rebuild their own belieftowards a new life.Hemingway’s rich life experience laid a solid foundation for his works and for hischaracters who suffer in wars and disasters. Hemingway infused his own experienceinto his protagonist, Jake Barnes. Jake got seriously wounded in Italy in the FirstWorld War. After the war, he is tortured by sexual impotence, severe insomnia, alcoholdependence and disillusionment in religion both physically and mentally. The abovedetails faithfully reflect the hidden psychiatric realities of Jake Barnes, therepresentative of the post-war generation who repressed themselves, escaped from the reality and got disillusioned in their social morale.However, Jake is not entirely pessimistic and self-indulgent in spite of all thesufferings and diseases he stood. Spanish bull-fighting provides Jake a perfect chanceto get very close to the death again and therefore to study the death after the war. Bychallenging man’s determination, courage and techniques, bull-fighting demonstratesthe merciless contest between life and death, as well as human’s superior controllingpower over life. Pushed by life and death drives, Jake strives to re-build his spiritualmasculine power in this arduous journey. Upholding man’s dignity and persistentlybuilding his own faith when enduring sufferings and desperation, Jake’s undisputableimage is the first hero code in Hemingway’s works and also the first demonstration ofhis anti-war attitude in his literary life.Apart from introduction and conclusion, this thesis consists of three parts.Chapter one dwells on the overview of psychoanalytical reading and its application inmodern literature criticism. Chapter two focuses on historical context of The Sun AlsoRises and Hemingway’s attitude towards war. Chapter three devotes to apsychoanalytical reading of Jake by applying the theory of typographical model andlife death drives to reveal his post traumatic mental status after war, his abnormalbehavior and the psychological reasons behind his actions of repression, escapism anddisillusionment and finally the spiritual renewal he gains from the masculine anddetermined Spanish matador. Based on previous three chapters, this dissertationreaches the conclusion that on behalf of the youth who took part in the war, JakeBarnes is not a “lost generation”, but represents the hard struggle of a resolutegeneration, who have survived the war, even if imperfectly, for carving out the value,justice and courage on their own terms. Although still far away, the answer lies in thehope of “the sun also rises”. Suffering but persistent as Hemingway chose toemphasize from the very beginning, the character rooted in his own war experience isof such a power of truth and fearlessness.