One of the major themes in The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is love. Love can be seen throughout the novel and is seen as a good thing and a bad thing. Some of the main characters are searching for love but they never really end up finding a genuine relationship or true love. All of them use meaningless relationships to fill a void they’re feeling and most of them are scared to commit to someone. One example of love seen in the novel is through Lady Brett Ashley and Jake. Jake is in love with Brett Ashley and Brett has told Jake that she likes him. However, there are many other guys that Brett also likes and she can’t commit to a relationship with Jake because of his accident during the war. I think Jake and Brett would be good together because it would stop their cycle of pointless relationships in the past.
Another major theme throughout this novel is identity. All of the main characters and wandering around from country to country and none of them really have a purpose in life or anything they really want to do. None of them have a job they have to go to, which helps them be careless in their everyday lives because they aren’t responsible to anyone. I think all of them use alcohol to fill the void of them not being able to figure out who they are and what they want to do with their lives.
Great American Novels 