Does a soldier have wounds that a doctor cannot see? Sometimes the most damaging effects of war are emotional wounds. Hemingway displays the theme that war causes emotional damage in his novel The Sun Also Rises. Some veterans suffer emotional pain from war, while others are able to grow from the experience. Hemingway's characters exemplify the effects of combat because World War I had a negative impact on them; veterans lead meaningless lives filled with male uncertainty. Jake and his friends (all veterans) wander aimlessly throughout the entire novel. Their only goal seems to be to find an interesting restaurant or club where they can spend their time. Every night consists of drinking and dancing, which serves as a distraction from their very empty lives. Alcohol helps the characters escape memories of the war, but ultimately only causes more commotion and even evokes anger in the characters. The war years not only made their lives unfulfilling, but also caused men to have anxiety about their masculinity, especially the narrator Jake, who "gave more than his life" in the war (Hemingway). Jake feels that the war has taken away his manhood because he is unable to sleep with Brett due to an injury. Although he wants to have a relationship with Brett and spends most of his time trying to woo her, she rejects him because he cannot have a physical relationship with her. At several points in the novel, Brett and Jake imagine what their lives together might have been like if he hadn't been injured in the war. Therefore, his physical injury causes him emotional distress because he cannot have a relationship with the woman he has always wanted. The traditional American perception of... middle of paper... a positive combat experience if they have a positive attitude. Although Hemingway accurately illustrates the negative impact war has on soldiers on an emotional level, he fails to address any positive learning experiences a soldier may have. Works Cited Spiller, Roger J. himself forgets the terrible and invisible battle wounds, once known as shell shock, later as combat fatigue, and now PTSD." American Heritage May-June 1990 : 74+. Gale US History in Context. 1 Feb 2011. 01 Feb 2011. .Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.