The Sun Also Rises: Chapters 15-18 Educational Resources K12 Learning, Literary Studies, Reading Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

We have gone through the "Greatest Generation," the "Beat Generation," and the "Pepsi Generation." What does it mean to be part of the "Lost Generation?"

Many of Ernest Hemingway's early writings emphasized the theme of the "Lost Generation."

This term refers to the group of men and — to a lesser extent — women, who fought in or experienced World War I. Since World War I was considered the first modern war, many participants were unprepared for the carnage that modern weaponry inflicted on soldiers who were fighting using nineteenth-century tactics. Soldiers in World War I were the first to be diagnosed with "shell shock," an early term for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), due to the intense psychological situations that were experienced on the battle fronts. Many of the writers of the 1920s who wrote about the Lost Generation in their texts were themselves members of the group because they participated in World War I. Hemingway, for example, was an ambulance driver during the war.

To learn more about the "Lost Generation," read the following article. As you read, take notes on the conditions soldiers faced in World War I, and the resulting aftermath of these experiences, in the journal that you started keeping during the first lesson in this series. Read Lost Generation, by Kate O'Connor (University of Oxford), courtesy of Creative Commons.

After you have read the article and taken notes, take the following comprehension quiz to see what you learned. If you miss any questions, re-read the article:

When you've answered all of the questions correctly or have reviewed the article to learn about the answers that you missed on the quiz, read Chapters Fifteen through Eighteen in The Sun Also Rises. As you read, take notes in your journal or notebook on the main character's reaction to the Pamplona fiesta and bullfights. You will use your notes to help you answer the questions in the Got It? section and complete the activity in the Go! section.

When you've finished reading and taking your notes, move on to the Got It? section to review the plot and characterization from Chapters Fifteen through Eighteen.