At the end of his work about characters in World War I,
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque's character
Paul remarks,
Had we returned hom in 1916, out of the
suffering and the strength of our experience we might have unleashed a storm. Now, if we
go back we will be weary, broken, burnt out, ruthless, and without hope. We will not be
able to find our way
anymore.
Having written this
story not long after World War I, Ernest Hemingway captures this sense of loss of values
and aimlessness and isolation in the "lost generation" of post World War I. In a
dialogue that is without much emotion and sensitivity the American speaks
dispassionately about the girl's pregnancy. He wants no complications, for he is weary,
without hope. He can find no way for his relationship if it becomes complicated, and so
there is no decision made by the girl and the American.
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