one place to another But these activities do not give them peace or purpose Their lives feel empty inside They are unable to find meaning Jake s Unfulfilled Love with Brett One of the strongest examples of the lost generation in the novel is Jake Barnes himself Jake fought in World War I and was badly wounded His injury left him impotent unable to have sex This injury makes his love for Lady Brett Ashley painful and hopeless Jake loves Brett deeply but he can never have a complete relationship with her At one point Jake asks Brett Couldn't we live together Brett Couldn't we just live together Jake is asking Brett if they can make a life together But Brett rejects him She knows she will always need passion and sex from other men which would only hurt Jake more Jake s unfulfilled love is a symbol of the whole generation s sense of unfulfillment So Jake becomes a strong representative of the lost generation The Expatriate Lifestyle and Alienation Jake and his friends are shown as people cut off from their homes and past lives They choose to live in Paris and Spain far away from their own countries This shows their alienation They feel that they do not belong anywhere We understand this when Jake tells Cohn You can t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another Here Jake means that no matter how much they travel drink or change partners they cannot escape their inner emptiness This captures the restless spirit of the lost generation Loss of Ideals After witnessing the horror of World War I many people lost old values and ideals We also see this loss of old values in the characters of this novel especially in those who fought in the war They feel empty inside Alcohol becomes a way to forget the scar left by the war for Jake and many others in his circle As Jake says Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy Robert Cohn did not fight in the war So he still holds on to romantic ideas about love and honor Irony of the Title The title The Sun Also Rises suggests renewal and hope It means that even after dark times the sun rises again But there is no sun rising for the lost generation of this novel For example Jake knows his love with Lady Brett will never be fulfilled At the very end of the novel Brett becomes emotional and says she wishes she and Jake could be together But Jake answers with the famous line Yes isn t it pretty to think so This is Jake s realization that his dreams with Brett will never come true In conclusion The Sun Also Rises is one of the most important works that records the life and problems of the lost generation Through Jake and his friends Hemingway portrays their sadness drinking travel broken loves and sense of emptiness