Article Summery

In “Life Unworthy of Life?: Masculinity, Disability, and Guilt in The Sun Also Rises,”  Dana Fore puts forth the claim that the force ultimately preventing the recovery of Jake Barnes is not simply the debilitating injury Jake has suffered, but rather his inability to separate his identity from that of a sexually disabled man.  Fore gives evidence to contextualize the strong cultural stigmas and fears surrounding disability, namely that an unsound body could lead to an unsound mind and that physical deformation could begin a mental and moral decline.  Fore further examines Jake’s sexual inability as it relates to his relationship to Lady Brett Ashley, noting Brett’s experience as a war-time nurse in order to make the claim that Jake’s mutilation is not the only obstacle to their romance, and that ultimately, it is Jake’s internalization of these stigmas and his self-enforced lack of agency that prevents him from a satisfactory relationship with Brett.

Prospectus

My paper will focus on the correlation between disability, masculinity and identity in The Sun Also Rises.  My area of focus begins with the dialogue between Brett and the injured Count Mippipopolous in which Brett tells the Count he “[hasn’t] any values.  You’re dead, that’s all.”  Here, we see that the Count, who suffered an injury that left him physically emasculate, is declared to be both devoid of morals, and functionally dead due to his inability to reproduce.  The Count himself refutes this accusation by asserting that it is because he has “Lived so much” that he is able to more freely enjoy his life.  The Count has accepted his wounded identity, and provides an example of some semblance of fullness of life post-injury.  I will seek support for the claim that it is Jake’s inability to come to terms with his wound that ultimately prevents him from reaching a comparable satisfaction in his life.

works cited

Fore, Dana. "Life Unworthy Of Life?: Masculinity, Disability, And Guilt In "The Sun Also Rises.." Hemingway Review 26.2 (2007): 74-88. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.

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