Ernest Hemingway, 1917

Cohn seems to be haunted by the expansive absense of true meaning in his life. He is also extremely distressed and dissatisfied by where he is, both location and occupation wise. As someone who knows what it feels like to have a generous sum of money, and an extremely comfortable yet more importantly stable life style, it is obvious that he yearns for something more in life. Cohn wants something to define him as a person, and has trouble in doing that. This feeling of inadequecy is consistent with the modern and post-modern rejection of pre-conceived life; by that, I am talking about how before world war I and II, we collectively defined ourselfs through advancements in science, medicine, exploration, diplomacy, etc. As people recognized that these values led to the horrifying wars, common thought on how to live and what to be drastically changed. Cohn, and, I suspect, much of his generation are in constant pursuit of something to define themselves as people.