Theme of PTSD in The Sun Also Rises and The Greek Myth Medusa (Essay Sample)

During World War 1, many British soldiers experienced shell shock, also known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). “The syndrome became increasingly observed during the Civil War and World War I” (“Iribarren”). Roughly 80,00 soldiers experienced PTSD after the war and it ruined many soldiers’ lives. In the novel, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, the main character Jake Barnes was a World War 1 veteran that is experiencing PTSD or shell shock from the war. After the war, Jake moves to Paris and becomes a newsapaper consultant. To stop himself from thinking about the war, Jake starts consuming significant amounts of alcohol to try and ease the pain. The Greek myth Medusa also relates to PTSD because the three main elements of the myth are “paralysis, rage and disembodiment” (Medusa). These three elements are all common symptoms of PTSD. The novel The Sun Also Rises, and the Medusa myth explores PTSD, as well as people’s isolated and wounded personality traits. 

In the novel The Sun Also Rises, the main character Jake experiences many symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after coming back from World War 1 and starts drinking heavily to try and fix his issues.  “Words, objects, or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experiencing symptoms” (Post-Traumatic). In the novel, Jake experiences these symptoms when he is with a large crowd of people. The large crowd makes him think back to the war and reminds him of all the wounded soldiers he saw on the battlefield. The large crowd makes Jake feel like he is “re-living the traumatic experience or seeing it before his eyes” (Psychiatry). Jake leaves the crowd and isolates himself in his room which helps him relax, and not be “stressed and angry” (Post-Traumatic). Throughout the course of the novel, Jake drinks substantial amounts of alcohol to try and relieve his PTSD and to keep his mind off of certain things that are hurting him and stressing him out. “I was a little drunk. Not drunk in any positive sense but just enough to to be careless” (Hemingway 29). Although, Jake is numbing his pain by drinking “having PTSD and alcohol use problems at the same time can make the symptoms of each worse” (PTSD). Later on in the novel, Jake continues to drink saying, “I’m not getting drunk, I am just drinking wine. I like to drink wine” (Hemingway 250). Jake doesn’t realize what he is doing to his body and doesn’t realize that he is making his PTSD “2.0 times” worse (“PTSD”). Jake continues to suffer from PTSD throughout the novel, but still consumes significant amounts of alcohol to try and take his mind off of his past thoughts. The novel shows how Jake Barnes suffers from PTSD and shows how it leaves him isolated and wounded. 

Similarly, the Greek myth, Medusa explores PTSD as well as people’s isolated and wounded personality traits. Medusa was a “greek monster” who was a symbol of rage which is a symptom of PTSD (“Medusa”). The three main elements in Medusa are “paralysis, rage and disembodiment”, which are all symptoms of PTSD (“Shannon”). “Numbing, freezing, and immobilization,” are other symptoms of PTSD that can cause a rage that relates to Medusa (“Shannon”). When you freeze up you are not able to think and it makes your body shut down. Medusa’s rage portrays PTSD through many symptoms and it shows how many people feel when they have PTSD and they get these certain symptoms.

More than 1.7 million kids are being diagnosed with PTSD each year. Many kids are not able to focus in school and have trouble being in school due to their PTSD. A simple solution to this problem would be to require any student with PTSD to talk with a counselor. Talking to a counselor can help students learn relaxation skills, so if they experience symptoms they know what to do. When students talk to their counselors, it can also help them clear their thoughts so they aren’t having flashbacks of their PTSD. Schools should require students with PTSD to go to a counselor to help them clear their minds and make sure that their PTSD isn’t getting in the way of their life. Schools should also have a class on PTSD, so students with PTSD can learn about their trauma. When students learn more about what they have, it helps them deal with their trauma better. For example, when a student with PTSD learns about how to handle their symptom of having flashbacks, it can help them deal with the flashbacks easier. Learning about PTSD can teach students about their trauma and can help reduce their trauma because they now know how to handle it. 

All in all, the novel The Sun Also Rises, and the Medusa myth explores PTSD, as well as people’s isolated and wounded personality traits. In The Sun Also Rises, Jake Barnes suffers from PTSD and consumes a significant amount of alcohol to try and stop his pain, which is the opposite of what he should be doing. The Greek myth Medusa also explores PTSD through the three main elements of the myth “paralysis, rage and disembodiment” (Medusa). These three elements are common symptoms of PTSD. Both Jake Barnes from The Sun Also Rises and Medusa from the Greek myth explore how PTSD can change a person’s life.

Works Cited 

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises.

Iribarren, Javier, et al. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence-Based Research for the Third Millennium.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: ECAM, Oxford University Press, Dec. 2005, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297500/.

“Medusa.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Nov. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa

“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder#:~:text=Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, physical violence, and military combat

Robinson, Lawrence. “Emotional and Psychological Trauma.” HelpGuide.org, 16 Nov. 2021, www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/coping-with-emotional-and-psychologica

“What Is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?” What Is PTSD?. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd

God, The Girl. Medusa: Terrible, Terrifying-and, Terrified - by Laura Shannon, 1 Jan. 1970, thegirlgod.blogspot.com/2019/12/medusa-terrible-terrifyingand-terrified.html.

“VA.gov: Veterans Affairs.” Problems with Alcohol Use, 1 Jan. 2007, www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/related/problem_alcohol_use.asp.