The ending concludes with Jake and Brett, "Oh, Jake,' Brett said, "we could have had such a damned good time together." Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me.
"Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?" (Loc 3153).This exchange summarises the extent of Jake's injury impacting his relationship with Brett. Even though they love each other, his impotence stands in the way of their relationship.

Jake exhorts a certain animosity toward Robert Cohn, as this can suggest he is inflicted with his own sense of purpose "I mistrust all frank and simple people, especially when their stories hold together, and I always had a suspicion that perhaps Robert Cohn had never been middleweight boxing champion" (Loc 13)

Jake served in the World War and also excessively drinks and parties"It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling, and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people".(Loc 1833) Therefore his character is living a life of debauchery and injury cause by the trauma of his experience with war.

This injury stands in the way of Jake's masculinity as well as he is conflicted with his love for Brett. His impotence is a barrier between his happiness and the definition of what makes him a man"You don't work. One group claims women support you. Another group claims you're impotent." (Loc 1413)

Brett is in love with Jake but cannot to give up sex to commit to him. This shows that her character is putting up a barrier between her happiness and what makes her feel powerful. Her debauchery acts as her one control, and giving it up to be with Jake ultimately leaves her in a vulnerable state

Robert Cohn is Jewish and a nonveteran, therefore he feels on the outside. Therefore, he learned boxing to "*counteract the feeling of inferiority and shyness he felt on being treated as a Jew."(Loc 5)* This emphasises how Cohn felt the extreme need to surpass being an outsider and be able to fit in a society

Robert is tied down with romanticism associated with life before war, which seem almost laughable in the present. As he is grasping at these ideals, life seems to be unfulfilled,"Listen, Jake," he leaned forward on the bar. "Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?" T9(Loc 102)his suggests Cohn finding difficulty being a part of this new era and his constant wishing for the past proves he stuck in a seemingly hopeless world which he cannot escape.

The liberty of Brett also brings negativity. As she views sex freely, having sex with multiple men and feeling no compulsion to commit to any of them. However, other characters view this promiscuity negatively,. "He calls her Circe," Mike said. "He claims she turns men into swine."(Loc 1804) Brett creates conflict between men due to her power over them. Instead of sticking together, Jake, Cohn, and Mike are set in opposition to each other because of their jealousy and anger over Brett’s infidelities.
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Pedro Romero is a bullfighter described as "just a child"(Loc 2098) and isn't a central character in the novel. Including his youth, we can acknowledge Romero as a newfound strength and hope in a world filled with debauchery,

Romero is extremely passionate of bullfighting, this highlights the extreme importance it holds for him. Unlike Robert and Jake, Pedro has purpose and meaning in this passion. In the era of Lost Generation, a time full of immorality and aimlessness,the character of Pedro is presented as one of the characters who isn't impacted greatly by the war. never made any contortions, always it was straight and pure and natural in line. The others twisted themselves like corkscrews, their elbows raised, and leaned against the flanks of the bull after his horns had passed, to give a faked look of danger. Afterward, all that was faked turned bad and gave an unpleasant feeling. Romero's bull-fighting gave real emotion, because he kept the absolute purity of line in his movements and always quietly and calmly let the horns pass him close eachtime. He did not have to emphasize their closeness (Loc 2113).

Jake's time in the war proved fatal as he got injured. It isn't stated directly what it was, but Jake hints it relates to his ability to have sex. [Georgette] looked up to be kissed. She touched me with one hand and I put her hand away. "Never mind." "What’s the matter? You sick?""Everybody’s sick. I’m sick too." )(Loc 149)

As Brett jumps from one man to the next, this compares with her fleeting mind in her aimless wandering. Her character shows another side to her in "I'm thirty-four, you know. (Loc 3097)I'm not going to be one of those bitches that ruins children." , showing her fear and distrust in her own self.

Brett's character as a whole threatens Romero's career as her unruly nature will ruin his good character. As Brett doesn't represent the stereotypical modest woman, this acts as a threat which could result in the downfall of Romero.

In the novel is shows Brett in a religious setting."Come on," she whispered throatily. "Let's get out of here. Makes me damned nervous."

"Don't know why I get so nervy in church," Brett said. "Never does me any good." (Loc 2641)We walked along.These quotes show Brett's nervousness around religion as a sign of an internal fear of her own character in pure, moral setting opposed to her promiscuous lifestyle,

Many characters do not seem to like Robert, Jake reflects on him ,,I have never seen a man in civil life as nervous as Robert Cohn – nor as eager. I was enjoying it. It was lousy to enjoy it, but I felt lousy. Cohn had a wonderful quality of bringing out the worst in anybody(Loc1187)

Jake is already afflicted with male insecurity due to his impotence. As well as this diminished masculinity, Jake is conflicted with a homosexual man's encounter with Brett. "I know they are supposed to be amusing, and you should be tolerant, but I wanted to swing on one"(Loc 215) Even though this man isn't a threat in conquering Brett, he is physically more masculine than Jake.

In a morally lost society ,Romero remains a character who's purpose is fulfilled with his bullfighting."The bulls are my best friends."(Loc 2350) as this connection with them gives his life a purpose. Romero is able to manipulate the bulls "smoothly and suavely"(Loc 2106) he is shown in a more masculine light as he"dominated the bull."(Loc 2116)"

Brett mentions "Oh, darling, I’ve been so miserable," (Loc 269)
disclosing the true nature of the Lost Geration suffers. Many reasons could be the sorce of this sadness for Brett. Her realistic approach to life and knowing her relationship with Jake could never be.
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The theme of male insecurity is prevalent throughout the novel, the idea of manhood was defined differently by he war.