After the last blog post, I figured I was finished talking about Septimus Smith, PTSD, shell shock, and war in general. Unfortunately, in The Sun Also Rises, we are introduced to another veteran with a complex past that makes us take an honest look at war and the effects it has on some of the soldiers.
Jake Barnes is a US Soldier working in France as a reporter after the war. We find from his opening dialogue to be awfully condescending and extremely defensive of his manhood. WIthout any context, he sound like an egotistical jerk. However, the more we find out about his injury, the more we understand the reasons for his actions. Because his injury is something we can’t visibly see (such as a missing a limb or leg), he doesn’t receive the sympathy that other wounded veterans would. However, his injury affects his “manhood” even more than losing an arm or leg ever could. We see this effect with him and Brett. Given their complicated relationship, certainly it would be a lot more defined without his injury.
In a broader context, the comparisons between Jake and Septimus might appear to be surface level, but they show distinct parallels that reveal the realities of the post war 1920s. The first similarity between them is that both their wounds are “invisible” to the naked eye. Although it sounds rather unimportant, the “invisible wounds” frame a slightly more nuanced situation than somebody who may have a more visible injury. In addition, both experienced some sort of psychological trauma, with Septimus having PTSD and Jake suffering something less diagnosable, yet equally as affecting. However, the biggest difference I would like to talk about is how they both handle their trauma. As I said before, Septimus stuffs his issues so deep inside he begins to feel numb. Meanwhile, Jake puts on a front as if it seemingly does not affect him, yet we find out it has a much greater psychological effect than it appears. The main takeaway from this is the breadth of issues that wounded veterans unfortunately had to suffer. It didn’t matter what reactive means they tried to use, they could never escape the trauma. The intense masculine culture could mask some of the issues in public, yet we find the issues exploded onto the conscious when they were alone. The term “Lost Generation” often refers to those who lost their lives in WWI. However, the greater impact may have been the diminished psychological state of those who survived. 
Pretty deep, DJ. I remember how hard it hit me when we were discussing the epithet of The Sun Also Rises that this generation really was lost, physically and emotionally damaged. The war inflicted a huge amount of pain and loss and suffering on this one generation, and history's just left with this gap. Yet time goes on, and we just kind of put it behind us. Yet some people will never be able to put it behind them. Even if their wounds aren't physically recognized, they just suffer in silence.
ReplyDeleteGreat post DJ. I think it's important to note that even though Jake is not as psychologically broken as Septimus, he's still dealing with a lot of trauma. I think both Woolf and Hemingway are addressing the psychological affect of the war because it was affecting so many people at the time they were writing and the people dealing with this trauma weren't being helped in any effective way.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. Both of these characters are extremely similar and different at the same time. Another similarity yet difference is society’s expectation of the two characters and their masculinity. With Septimus, he is constantly being told he isn’t masculine enough. This initially bothered him when he was younger, resulting in him joining the war. Then after his PTSD, he almost doesn’t care about it. As for Jake, we don’t know about his life before the war. I get the sense that before his injury, he was confident in his masculinity. However, after his injury, he is self-conscious and insecure about his masculinity. He is now putting pressures on himself but society is oblivious to him being injured at all.
ReplyDeleteIt's much harder to "diagnose" Jake in terms of post-traumatic symptoms, but it does seem clear that his physical injury has psychological effects (Freudians would consider this a slam-dunk case for analysis). Jake is much more able to maintain that tough, stoic, masculine facade that Septimus "enjoys" briefly after the war, but as we delve into the novel we see his woundedness and despair more and more clearly.
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