The Sun Also Rises Criticism

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As a member of the "lost generation", Ernest Hemingway presents a certain tone and mood in his writing - The Sun Also Rises is no exception to this. In this particular novel, the protagonist and his friends seem especially despondent and morose. Their war-torn lives and the subsequent harrowing consequences is made clear from the onset of the story. This characterization was one of the greatest sources of criticism for this work. Hemingway was often criticized for the following:

• Many claimed that the extreme sadness that was commonly displayed by the characters was unnecessary.
• Others argued that anyone looking for a respite from the reality of this generation would simply have to look elsewhere.
• While Hemingway was undoubtedly trying to make a point regarding the experiences of those like him, it was not a tone that was well-received by critics.

Other critics pointed to more central elements of the story: the characters and plot. The former, it was argued, were transparent and boring. They seemed to only be interested in their own needs and desires and did not add any sense of depth to the novel as a whole. The latter was equally dull to many critics. While there are some points of great drama in the course of the story, the novel itself seems to begin and end the same way. Little character growth is seen; few changes are made to their lives at the end compared to the beginning. Others, including Hemingway's own mother, criticized the crude nature of some of the plot elements, including the language of the leading characters. Despite these points of contention, though, Hemingway's novel went on to be one of his best-selling and most popular, both then and in generations to come.