A Beaten Generation

Wagner, Linda W. The Sun Also Rises: One Debt to Imagism. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 103-115. Print.

Wagner’s article sheds light on the allusion to Ecclesiastes in The Sun Also Rises by explaining that the novel is not a picture of the lost generation. Wagner points out that the epigraph is in many ways intended by Hemingway to be a contradiction to Gertrude Stein’s remark. Overall, Wagner wants to show the symbolism between the changing times and ever changing social acceptability in society. Wagner's point of view is one of a scholar's train of thought at times and as a sociologist at others. She wants readers to think in depth about the use of repetition and imagery, but also wants to convey the inevitable gap that occures from generation to generation.

Wagner also makes the interpretation that rather than being a “lost generation,” they are a “beaten generation,” worn down by war and constantly changing social norms. This however begs the question, what generation is not lost or beaten down? Each generation experiences unique social hardships, however despite our difference we all coexist. Society is in a constant state of change and generational cohorts must find their niche. A connection can be made between Gertrude Stein’s remark about Hemingway’s generation and the inevitable generational gap that must have occurred between Gertrude Stein and the generation that came before her. It would be ignorant to assume that one generation is worse than the next or the last. At one point, Wagner refers to Jake as being a sacrificial figure, but that this is overshadowed by the death of a young man who was killed by a bull. The wording used in the article allows the reader to understand the connection between life and death as it applies to the title and the epigraph. The reader might notice the pattern that is conveyed through the epigraph is also carried out through the patterns in Hemingway’s story via Jake's narration.When considering patterns, one would be overwhelmed with the patterns and repetition throughout the novel. By pointing out even more patterns and incidences of repetition, Wagner inspires the thought of Brett as an image or as an allusion to the sun. That is Brett, herself, is an example of repetition. After all, she met Jake while working as a nurse during the Great War and cared for him until he regained his strength. Similarly, she fell in “love” with Romero, the bull fighter, while taking care of him after being severely beaten up by Cohn. Brett falls in love almost habitually. She comes into men’s lives, loves them, makes them fall in love with her, and then leaves, however in time she is likely to return again. If it can be accepted that this were the case and Brett were in fact the sun, then the title guides the reader’s judgment in a very different direction. Instead of perceiving Brett as a reckless man-eater, the reader might see her as an invigorating burst of fresh air in the lives of the stale and mundane men that she “loves.”