Crux: Impotence

The Sun Also Rises – 3

The unspecified injury that stops Jake and Brett from being in relationship–to which Jake refers with the words “Besides, what happened to me is supposed to be funny. I never think about it”–has presumably resulted in his impotence. This impotence could be regarded figuratively. Jake and Brett, who symbolize modern culture, are incapable of generating anything new.

 

The Wasteland – 1

“That corpse you planted last year in your garden,
“Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?
“Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
        These lines from “The Wasteland” refer not only to death and decay, but also, to an inability to generate new things. This is a theme that’s echoed in other works associated with Modernism.