On the voice of the lost generation---------“The sun also rises”

  Thesis Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of bachelor of arts

Lu min

College of Foreign Languages

May 2000

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Yu Jian Cun, my supervisor, without whose valuable advice and guidance this dissertation could not have been accomplished. Also, I would like to extend my thanks to all the lecturers who have provided me with knowledge of English Language and Literature, which is very useful to the writing of this dissertation. Finally, I should acknowledge a debt to those whose ideas or work have been adopted in the dissertation.

abstract

   “The sun also rises” was a famous novel written by Ernest Hemingway, who was viewed as the spokesman for what Gertrude Stein had called “ a lost generation”. This paper intends to answer why the book could be viewed as the voice of the lost generation and discuss the character Robert Cohn to get an insight into the real inner world of the lost generation at that time. In short, it points out that the novel met the satisfaction of the masses at the time, it also provided them with a solace and a way to have a better understanding of themselves.     

Introduction:

1.     A brief introduction of the lost generation 

2.     A brief introduction of the writer—Ernest Hemingway 

3.     A short summary of “The sun also rises”

II.  “The sun also rises” is the voice of the lost generation

1.        the 1920s was an age of anger, dissatisfaction, and disillusionment

 2.        The book “The sun also rises” reflected the attitudes and value system of its time.

III.  The character Robert Cohn of “The sun also rises” was the representative of the lost generation

1.      Robert Cohn was a typical of the lost generation.

 2.      Robert Cohn represented alienation in this novel

 3.      Robert Cohn was one of the most intriguing characters in this novel.