Hemingway as a War Novelist: Pessimism in The Sun Also Risesand a Farewell to Arms
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Abstract
The Sun Also Risesand A Farewell to Armsidentify modern world’s rootless
ridge, world war and its destruction, and frustrated worldview, where spirituality is
defeated in surge of the materialism leading towards the pessimistic dread. Hemingway
explores doomed way of human psyche and dark side of human life. He finds victory is
less important than ruin, and brighter side of life does not remain when the dark side of
life becomes stronger. His heroes-Jake Barnes and Frederic Henry-are the victims of
dark side of life, so they find their life always pessimistic.
Most of Hemingway’s literary career is intern into the war literature–the quest of
peace in war, search of devoid of violence, and regain of exquisite beauty. There is no
heyday nor glory but only mortification and humiliation in the heroes who are battlefield
soldiers in his novel. His heroes’ heart always echoes for human happiness but nowhere
finds the repletion peace. This unnecessary violence of war and death of human being
creates pain and anguish into the heroes’ life, which makes them pessimistic. Because of
the death of human beings, even the death of the colleagues, their own disabled
condition, great depression, and prevailing hopelessness in the war period, Jake Barnes
and Frederic Henry become disdained.