The Sun Also Rises provides insight into the lives of those who lived through WWI. Focus is placed on a group of adults (around their 30s) who mask their painful recollections with alcohol and other substance and partake in partying at clubs. They do not enjoy this however, these activities are a medium which they can temporarily escape their overwhelming feelings of emptiness, loss, and sorrow. The character Jake, a WWI survivor, embodies the insecurity of manhood that came about during the post-war cultural change. Due to his war related injury he can no longer produce offspring; this causes him to feel inadequate, and is intensified with recurring rejection from Lady Brett, the woman whom he is in love with. Lady Brett Ashley is a strong sexually independent woman who embodies traditional masculine qualities. This causes an increase in the male characters’ gender anxiety and in one case it results in violence. Jake’s relationship with and emotional loyalty to Lady Brett results in the loss of other relationships and is portrayed as a self destructive love affair… more accurately an obsession. Hemingway creates a sense of aimlessness within the characters lives that are lacking purpose and affection. Relationships among the characters come off as fake; they are not genuine, but temporary arrangements.