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The Sun Also Rises Lost
Followers
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Every year there are people reading The Sun Also Rises for the first time. Many read the novel over and over, fascinated by the characters, dialogue and setting. Some travel to Paris and Spain in search of the excitement they've read about in the novel. Others change their hairstyle and clothes, hoping to emulate their favorite character. Words such as "tight" start to invade their conversations. They are from different generations and lifestyles, yet they all seem to connect with Hemingway's odd group of characters. Who are these readers, and what attracts them to this somewhat controversial novel?
I believe the common factor these people share is a form of dissatisfaction in their life, whether it is career, love, lifestyle, or government. Just as Gertrude Stein labeled Hemingway and his contemporaries the lost generation, his followers can also be labeled as lost. From post W.W.I, post W.W.II, the beat generation, and Vietnam era, many of the youth and college students of America and around the world became Hemingway fans. Their feelings allowed them to connect with the free-spirited characters Jake, Bill, Mike, or Brett, the American and English expatriates who seem to be wandering aimlessly, engaging in casual sex, and drinking their way through Paris and Spain. Or they may have been attracted to Hemingway's exciting descriptions of the locations, for what sounds more enticing than Paris' nightlife or Spain's bullfights?
The release of The Sun Also Rises in 1926 brought adoration from those who loved it and disgust from those who were offended by the obvious lack of morals in the characters. Today the novel still provokes this same sort of mixed reviews. Whether critics are Hemingway admirers or not, most agree that The Sun Also Rises is his best work. No one can deny the influence this novel has had on the literary and public styles of his audience.
Aldridge, John W. "The Sun Also Rises--Sixty Years Later." The Sewanee Review, Vol. XCIV, No. 2 (Spring 1986): 337-45. Rpt. as "Ernest Hemingway." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 61. 1990.
This essay discusses how Hemingway's ability to describe the excitement of Europe helped his readers identify with and long for similar experiences.
Baker, Carlos. "The Wastelanders." Modern Critical Interpretations: Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises." Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.
This essay discusses Hemingway's dissatisfaction with The Sun Also Rises becoming known as a book about the lost generation.
Bloom, Harold. Introduction. Modern Critical Interpretations: Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises." Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.
In this introduction Bloom comments on Hemingway s writing and popularity compared to that of his contemporaries.
Cowley, Malcolm. "Mr. Papa and the Parricides." Modern Critical Views: Ernest Hemingway. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1985.
This essay discusses how after Hemingway's death many critics were eager to downplay Hemingway s influence on American literature and culture.
DeFazio, Albert J, III. "The Sun Also Rises. " Literary Masterpieces. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000.
This book has lots of information on the critical analysis, responses, and influences of Hemingway and his works. It specifically discusses the influence The Sun Also Rises had on Spain and the bullfights.
Ernest Hemingway: His Life and Works. 23 June 2001. <http://ernest.hemingway.com>
This website contains almost any information you would want to know about Hemingway. I found especially interesting an essay by Kelley Dupuis entitled "On The Altar of the Goddess: Ernest Hemingway and the Cult of the Celebrity Artist." This essay remarks on Hemingway's rise to celebrity status.
Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises. 23 June 2001. http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/quickstep/1103/book71.htm>
This website contains an essay which gives insight into the history of the era The Sun Also Rises was written and comments on Hemingway's life and influence.
Farrell, James T. "Ernest Hemingway, Apostle of a Lost Generation." New York Times Book Review. 1 Aug. 1943: 6, 14. Rpt. in "Ernest Hemingway." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 61. 1990.
This essay discusses who in the general public was influenced by The Sun Also Rises and why they were drawn to this novel.
Fitch, Noel Riley. Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993.
This book offers a brief statement on the behavioral influences of the characters in The Sun Also Rises on the public.
---. Walks in Hemingway's Paris. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1989.
This book guides you through the sections of Paris which Hemingway frequented during his time there as an expatriate.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1926.
Hemingway's first novel which established him as a famous writer.
Hemingway Resource Center. 23 June 2001. <http://www.lostgeneration.com/hrc.htm>
This website has lots of general information on Hemingway, a HRC Writing Contest which features the latest winning essay, and a Lost Generation Bookstore.
Hemingway's Paris: On-Line Seminar. 24 June 2001. <http://www.mala.bc.ca/~lanes/english/hemngway/seminar.htm>
This website gives information on the writers and artists in Paris the same time as Hemingway, and it also has maps of the city, including a map of the Left Bank. It also takes you through Hemingway's Moveable Feast.
Nagel, James. "Ernest Hemingway." American Novelists, 1910-1945. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 9. Ed. James J. Martine. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981.
This essay discusses the influences The Sun Also Rises had on the young generation when it was first released.
Reynolds, Michael S. "The Sun Also Rises": A Novel of the Twenties. Twayne's Masterwork Studies No. 16. Boston: Twayne, 1988.
The book was very helpful. It discusses why people either loved or hated the novel, and gives insight into the characters and history of the story.
Rovit, Earl. Ernest Hemingway. Boston: Twayne, 1963.
This book discusses everything from Hemingway's structure and themes to his influences on literature.
Whissen, Thomas Reed. Classic Cult Fiction: A Companion to Popular Cult Literature. New York: Greenwood, 1992.
This book discusses how and why The Sun Also Rises acquired a cult following.
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Right: The statue of Marshal Ney which can be seen from
the terrace of La Closerie des Lilas. Hemingway's Jake Barnes in The
Sun Also Rises walks past this statue
on one of his many walks in the novel.
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