Absurdism In The Sun Also Rises

“Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together.’ ‘Yes, Isn’t it pretty to think so?”. Their final discussion is right where they started in the back of a cab. Brett has just dug a hole even deeper into the abyss of disappointment that Brett has already given him. Jake has lost his masculinity in more ways than one. He has to live without Brett, and with his disability, denying him any chance at all with women. He has finally accepted the loveless relationship that has become of them, and will push forward knowing how it will never be.

In the story “Stop the Sun” there are two themes. One is to never give upon trying to understand someone or something. The second one is sometimes war can affect people forever. Terry feared to go out in public with his father because the war made his father act strange. Terry wanted to understand what was happening with his father so he could him. Terry learned the horrible things that his father had faced in the war. He also learned that his father was the only soldier out of 54 men to survive. Terry had to change to understand what his father went through. In conclusion Terry played one of the main parts in the story. Such as he created the theme of the story and he also learned to better understand his father.

The novel, rather than describing a complete lack of order, has characters trying to give meaning to events around them. This reinforces the theme of absurdity by strengthening the impact each instance of absurdity has on the novel. The film overlooks this through an overall lack of explanation, resulting in the overall theme of absurdity being collectively, less meaningful. By blatantly introducing absurdity, and attempting to understand the lack of reason, the novel provides a deeper understanding of the theme of absurdity than the film.

Although irony may be associated with negative events or actions, it can also be a sign of good for characters within stories. According to Dictionary.com, irony in literature is defined as “a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.” The use of irony is found within the novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini uses irony to portray and develop the main dynamic character in this story, Amir. Most of the major events Amir is faced with at a younger age seemingly come full circle when he reaches adulthood. Irony plays a role as Amir lives through tragic events that ultimately teach him how to become a better person.

By pushing men away, Brett is really displaying codependent behavior. She acts like she does not need the men to fulfill her emotions, but without men competing for her, her life is empty. Not only does she lean on Jake for emotional fulfillment, but she counts on men obsessing over her. She acts as if she would be alright if no men exclaimed their love for her, but she in fact thrives on it. Her fuel to live is turning men down, and she depends on that behavior to get by in her already empty life.

Today I’m going to talk about irony and paradox. Irony and paradox are two very important literary devices. This essay will talk about two stories that use irony and paradox.

Isn’t it ironic? From Amir and Hassan’s hidden brotherhood, and Hassan and Sohrab’s resemblance, to Hassan’s rape, Amir constantly faces ironic situations, in Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, making his life a source of repetitive irony. This however, develops this character’s personality, as well as shapes the person he becomes and his relationship with other characters in the novel. In particular, these ironic events affect the relation Amir has with Hassan and Sohrab, and induce Amir’s feeling of guilt.

“That Evening Sun” by William Faulkner is a good example of a great emotional turmoil transferred directly to the readers through the words of a narrator who does not seem to grasp the severity of the turmoil. It is a story of an African American laundress who lives in the fear of her common-law husband Jesus who suspects her of carrying a white man's child in her womb and seems hell bent on killing her.

He is constantly drinking to keep his mind off Brett, the love of his life, but drinking eventually leads him right to her. The reality is Jake is extremely self conscious. This has more to do with his impotence which has stripped him of his perception of manhood and resultantly wounded his confidence. He jokes about his impotency and remarks how “what happened to [him] is supposed to be funny. (pg 15)”

This reveals that Jake is emasculated by this horrific event. He is left with the constant trouble of never being able to give Brett, the woman he loves, what she wants the most. There is an awkward moment when Jake and Brett are sitting in the back of a cab and Jake remarks, “and there’s not a damn thing we could do” so Jake's only choice is to leave Brett unsatisfied (34). This decision reveals the powerlessness Jake feels not being able to please Brett because of his injury. The war that Jake was in stripped him of his manhood and resulted in him never having Brett's love because he cannot contribute equally in

Jake also at times seems to realize how bad his life is, but then never regrets it. He is in love with Brett Ashley, but she is always with other people, including Robert Cohn, which makes Jake jealous. This jealousy turns to anger when Jake gets into a fight with Robert and is then knocked out.

While the story progresses, Camus embeds his theory of Absurdism, a branch of existentialism. Camus, while very subtly, opened my eyes and broadened my mindset, introducing me to a train of thought I had never experienced. Absurdism explains meaning in the universe might not exist, leaving us with a random and vast universe, with possibly no meaning. Camus, unlike Nihilists, urges individuals to seek their own meanings out, while he declares that the universe is blind to you and has no set destiny for

Brett has just rejected bullfighter Pedro Romero, and her subsequent action is to turn to Jake for emotional help and financial help as well. Once again, she waxes nostalgic about the possibilities of their love. In short, she still relies on her old ways of coping with her chronic dissatisfaction and gloom. Interestingly, Jake no longer seems to entertain the delusions he had previously that he and Brett might be able to work something out. When Brett states “Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together,” he simply replies “Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?” (250). This simple response indicates that Jake is the only character who has undergone any character development whatsoever -- he now no longer pines for Brett, and has resigned himself to a life without her

"One generation passeth away, the passage from Ecclesiates began, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever. The sun also ariseh…"(Baker 122). A Biblical reference forms the title of a novel by Ernest Hemingway during the 1920s, portraying the lives of the American expatriates living in Paris. His own experience in Paris has provided him the background for the novel as a depiction of the 'lost generation'.

During the early twentieth century, the philosophical and artistic movement of Modernism permeated the world of literature. Thusly, Modernism, as a philosophy, is defined through the loss of traditional values and meaning in life; men, women and all people are isolated and alone, unable to fully communicate through language. Modernist writers portray the world as a harsh and unjust place in which their characters struggle alone with unrealistic and futile dreams. With this in mind, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is a novel that details the story of Jacob Barnes and his circle of friends. Most of the friends, including Jake, are World War I veterans who have been harshly afflicted by their experiences in the war and heavily indulge