In Ernest Hemingway's, "The Sun Also Rises," the majority of the central characters are a part of the "lost generation." Their existentialism mirrors the same lost faith and viewpoint on death that Hemingway lived by himself. The novel's heavy abuse of escapism paves the pathway for this condition of existentialism. This hopelessness also defined as "nada", the "recognition of nothingness and the absence of meaning to life." (74) In the same sense, this condition is also present in Hemingway's short story, "A Well Lighted Place." One cannot question the brutal truth Hemingway's literature reflects on his own life experiences. .
Several characters in The Sun Also Rises have struggled with moral and psychological aimlessness as they searched for the meaning of life in a changed world. This search for meaning and these feelings of emptiness and aimlessness reflect some of the principle ideas behind existentialism. Traditional values that focused on God, love, and manhood dissolved, leaving those of the Lost Generation adrift. As a means to escape this reality, these characters drink alcohol and travel extensively – both are constant, futile attempts to capture a sense of meaning and happiness. Their reliance on materialistic objects exemplifies these characters' inability to capture substance in their lives. .
Alcohol is abused by most characters throughout the novel for their own respective causes. Jake, a sexually disabled World War I veteran, chooses to live a pragmatic lifestyle involving copious amounts of alcohol consumption after he is injured. His physical malady has profound psychological consequences: he realizes there is no hope for his relationship with Brett Ashley, a woman he is extremely emotionally attached to – even to the point he betrays his own morals as a puppet for her. Because of this, Jake turns to alcohol as a temporary escape from his hopeless reality.