The Sun Also Rises Parallel Reading

Taylor Simonette

The Sun Also Rises

Summary: The Sun Also Rises starts off not with our main character but with a description of his friend Robert Cohn, a middleweight boxing champ from Princeton. We are not even made known of the main character/ narrator’s name till Robert say it. Jake Barnes our narrator is a relatively mild mannered guy during the duration of the novel we never see Jake lose his temper or become overly emotional. Jake suggests to Robert fresh from a divorce to go on some sort of trip. Robert meets a girl, Frances, and moves to Paris and Jake comes to visit. While in Paris Jake picks up a woman of the night, Georgette, and goes with her all over town introducing her to people as someone who she is not. Even though she is an escort he leaves her at the dance-club when he sees his old friend Lady Ashley. Lady Ashley or Brett as Jake calls her have had some sort of romantic past yet they Jake never fully unravels that tread of what happened before. But in the course of a night they kiss but Brett follows up the rest of Jakes advances with not wanting to go through “that hell again.” But later in the night after he cried himself to sleep thinking about Brett she stumbled into his room drunk and asks him to dinner the following evening. The next day Robert seeing Brett and asks Jake about her relationship statues. We then find out that Brett is getting a divorce and is already planning to marry someone else. Later in the evening Brett arrives at dinner with her new bow. Brett also after Jake tells her that he loves her and wants to be with her that she could never be with him because she would cheat on him she also tells him how miserable she is with the count and this other man Mike she is seeing. Once again as Brett and Jake are saying their goodbyes she kisses him again, then pushes him away stringing him along.  Later in the week Robert sends Jake a letter from his fishing trip to meet him in Spain. Jake, Bill, and Robert drive a car to Pamplona. While in Pamplona they all go to many bull-fighting’s. Brett becomes particularly taken with one of the bull-fighters Pedro Romero whom she later falls in love with. Later in the night Cohn becomes violently drunk and beats up Jake and Mike after Brett leaves with the bull-fighter. After this row is over and a few hours have pasted Jake goes to Cohn’s hotel room where he finds Cohn crying over how Brett treats him. Cohn apologizes to Jake but Jake just takes the apology and leaves. The next day Jake watches more bull-fights and even a funeral for a bull-fighter who was killed by a bull. While at lunch with Brett and Mike, Mike becomes angry at Brett’s new affair and flips a table and Brett grabs Jake and storms out. After this they go to a bull-fight where Brett’s lover shows off his bull-fighting talents. Jake leaves Brett and travels to San Sebastian where he relaxes until he gets a telegram from Brett in Madrid saying she is in trouble. Jake leaves right away and goes to her side where she kisses him and tells him that she made Romero leave the day before, who was being very possessive. Brett tells Jake she is going back with Mike and will be leaving in a few days. The book end in a taxi ride that is brining Jake and Brett to dinner alone.

Quotes (7): “Nobody ever lives their life all the way except bull-fighters.” (Hemingway 18)

This quote is important because our narrator Jake is the one who speaks first about bull-fighting in Spain. Jake is also trying to convince Cohn to go to Spain to get away from all the mess of Princeton. This quote adds to the idea of having to live your life on the edge to even feel something. The quote speaks out to me because living on the edge is never enough for those who crave it. They will keep craving crazier and crazier adventures until one finally kills them. This line foreshadows Jake and Cohn going to Pamplona to watch bull-fighting and Brett inevitably falling in love with one of those bull-fighters. This quote reveals that Jake is unsatisfied with his life and craves much more excitement from life.

“I have a rotten habit of picturing the bedroom scenes of my friends.” (Hemingway 21)

This quote is important because it shows a different side of Jake, a darker side. This adds to the piece that Jake is going to have morally interesting inner monologues. This quote is important because it begins a series of morally questionable thoughts and actions. This quote reveals later in the book that Jake is in love with this girl Brett who has slept with just about every one of his male friends. So, by Jake picturing his friends “bedroom scenes” he is picturing Brett.

“I had picked her up because of a vague sentimental idea that it would be nice to eat with some one.” (Hemingway 24)

This quote is important because in this chapter Jake has picked up a woman of the night just to eat dinner with. This is a sad action done by a desperate and lonely man. It adds that Jake is morally questionable in his actions and we do not know until he leaves the women if he is going to be using her services. This quote stands out to me because what does it say about a person who chooses to pay his dinner companion rather than go out; find his friends or even make a friend. This quote foreshadows his treatment of the women around him and how he is being strung along by this girl and yet he strings along this prostitute. Jakes interaction reveals that he is desperate for human companionship in any form but is unwilling to fight for the real thing with Brett.

“‘Good night, darling.’

‘Don’t be sentimental.’

‘You make me ill.’” (Hemingway 41)

This quote is important because it demonstrates Brett and Jakes romantic relationship. This adds to the complicated relationship that Brett and Jake share with their push and pull relationship. These quotes stand out to me because they are the first of many good byes for Jake and Brett. These goodbyes end in a similar tone of unrequited love. Brett stings along Jake by constantly flirting with him and kissing him but once things get “sentimental” she pushes him away physically and emotionally. This foreshadows the tone of Brett and Jake’s relationship. It reveals the complicated relationship and constant cat and mouse games.  

“I thought I would like to have some money, so I prayed that I would make a lot of money, then I started to think how I would make it, and thinking of making money reminded me of the count, … regretted that I was such a rotten Catholic, but realized there was nothing I could do about it, …” (Hemingway 103)

This quote has significance because it shows the lack of morals. Jake wants to make money so he can have Brett like how the count has Brett. But instead of working for this money he prays, Jake is as he puts it a “rotten Catholic”. He is someone who will pray in the bad times and forget God in the good times. Brett does the same thing to Jake, when things are good with other men she dismisses Jake but the instant things are not picture perfect with these other men she calls Jake right back to help her. This foreshadows the lace of God’s presence in this book during the good times. They only think of God as the solver to their problems when they have no other solution. It reveals that although Jake says he wants to be a better Catholic he feels like he has no say so in his religious beliefs.

“Listen. You’re a hell of a good guy, and I’m fonder of you than anybody on earth. I couldn’t tell you that in New York. It’d mean I was a faggot. That was what the Civil War was about. Abraham Lincoln was a faggot. He was in love with General Grant. So was Jefferson Davis. Lincoln just freed the slaves on a bet. The Dred Scott case was framed by Anti-Saloon League. Sex explains it all. The Colonel’s Lady and Judy O’Grady are Lesbians under their skin.” (Hemingway 121)

This quote isn’t said by our narrator Jake, it is said by his drunk friend Bill. After some of his drunk ramblings we get a vital piece of this book. “Sex explains it all.” Throughout the whole book these men are doing whatever it takes to have Brett. Every action they do can be explained for them wanting to be with Brett. This foreshadows an idea of sex being an explanation throughout the book. This also reveals how toxic masculinity can keep men from expressing their true feelings towards each other even in a friendly manner.

“‘… The bulls are my best friends.’ …

‘You kill your friends?’ she asked.

‘Always,’ he said in English, and laughed. ‘So they don’t kill me.” (Hemingway 189)

This quote is said by Brett’s lover Romero, who is a bullfighter. The idea of killing your friends before they kill you can go back to how competitive all the men are for Brett. These men all say they are friends but they all are in love with Brett and will do anything to get her including betraying their ‘friends’.

Imagery/Symbolism:

Our main events in The Sun Also Rises takes place in Pamplona at the bull fights. These fights are open to an arena of people to watch and enjoy. In the novel, there are three main bull fighters, Belmonte, Marcial, and Romero. These fights are heavily sought out by patrons to watch. The crowd in the blink of an eye can turn on the bull-fighters and to keep the crowd’s attention and love takes real skill all while stabbing a bull in the back. The fights left many people injured and few with victory. Theses fights are a symbol of the fight for love. These men are trying to draw the attention of a young girl, Brett, by any means possible. Brett is so temperamental just like the crowd, one minute she is all over you and the next she is standing you up for a dinner date. These men are being wounded mentally by Brett (and sometimes physically by each other), unlike the bull who hurts the matadors physically. The act of bull-fighting is also a very passion sport, as we learn Jake is not physically capable of such passion which drives Brett away from him. His inability to perform leads to her inability to commit. Other men (fighters) show her passion and she cheers for them. The act of bull-fighting and being in a relationship are both so public any wrong steps and everyone will know about it. While bull-fighting and relationships are complicated adding in the societies pressure to make it look effortless adds pressure on everyone. This image of love is a battle field is classic and very well drawn in the bull-fighting scenes and parallels well with the battle for Brett’s heart.

Style and Rhetorical device:

From what I have read from Hemingway and about Hemingway and his life, he is not a deep writer. He writes what he writes about, seemingly. The idea of the bulls symbolizes passion, energy, and freedom. Bull-fighting is a very skilled and sensual sport, that requires a sort of seduction of the bulls. The bull-fighter must pull the sheet over the bull’s eyes and stand them in the back. Romero (the bull-fighter) pulls the sheets over Brett’s eyes by blinding her with adoration and gifts. After a passionate time, he stabs her in the back by holding her hostage from herself and tries to control her. These bull-fights are not only representative of actual fights for Brett’s heart but of her inner fight of who to be with. She knows who will treat her right when the day ends but her selfish reasons keep her under the sheet with other men.

Theme:

One overarching theme I recognized was how destructive and important sex can be to a relationship, be that physical sex or gender. The power both of these hold is immense and life changing. Brett is so consumed by the physical sensation of sex and the idea of being wanted by someone else that she ignores any chance of real intimacy (not just sex but an emotional and spiritual connection with another person). This closes her off to a world of possibilities and long term happiness. Brett’s need for instant gratification will ruin her in the end. Jake’s impotence is a deciding factor in their relationship for Brett. Jake wants to be with Brett no matter what, and no matter who is her current lover is. The idea of how sex can control the narrative is evident with each action these characters take. In the beginning, Robert Cohn is recently divorced and dating a woman, Frances, who is overtly jealous when Robert even speaks to another woman. Frances is worried about wondering eyes and the possible escalation from there. There isn’t a lot of knowledge on Frances given to us but, she is clearly a woman who has lost someone to possible for infidelity. She is clinging on so strong to Robert she ends up driving away the man she wants. Her drive to keep Robert away from the temptation for infidelity is what ultimately leads them to their break up, even the concept of sex can destroy a relationship. Jake shows his devotion to Brett by staying by her side through every little fling. It’s those drunken goodbye kisses that keep him coming back; that keep his hopes up for a future relationship with Brett. This constant back and forth cannot last long, no human can have their heart broken so many times by one person and keep coming back. Except for love; that surpasses sex by leaps and bounds. Sex might be what keeps Brett away in public but love is what keeps her back to him.

Personal Response: I enjoyed this text after reading the complicated William Faulkner. Hemingway is more straight forward than Faulkner. This text made me feel comfortable. I understood all the characters, I might not have understood all their choices but I can understand where they made those choices from. This book was written 1926, yet all the characters are people I recognize today. 1926 feels so dictated from 2018 but in reality, people have always been people and have always made the same mistakes. Jake will continue to chase after a woman who will never truly love him enough to be with him; Brett will continue to surround herself romantically with men who want to control her. The other characters in the story fade in and out of perspective as they all fall away from Brett. I enjoy how simple and straight forward some of the text is, yet it can be analyzed for a deeper meaning. I enjoy that sliding door of take it as is or keep pushing for more. That option almost makes the book a sort of choose your own adventure.

Thank You for Arguning Chatper 25

Chapter 25

Summery

    This last chapter was about Cicero’s five canons of persuasion which are invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. These methods were made for more formal settings but they work amazingly in a less formal environment. These tactics are in a very specific order for a reason because this is how you should order your speeches. First you should come up with what you want to say then decide what order you want to say it in. then determine how you should style your speech to your specific audience and put it down in writing to keep things in order and finally get up and talk to you audience.Another classical outline is introduction, narration,division,proof,refutation,and conclusion.  Another technique is named “modest name-dropping” which is where you refer to a respectable source so that the audience understands that you have knowledge and then you subtle ask who are you to question authority. The best bragging hides itself in modestly. Now with anything you have to invented what you are going to say. Now sometimes sitting down and just trying to write a speech can work but sometimes walking outside and just trying to think about what everybody wants and start with yourself. What do you want to happen or inspire because of your speech what is your goal? Next ask if your problem is complex or simple. If it is complex you should break the problem down into smaller issues. If simple just address the problem head on. What you should do next is imagine what your opponent might say. This can help you form your argument if you can combat the problems your opponent might have against you. Next you have to form your argument using ethos, logos, and pathos. This specific order has the best results you need to start by winning over your audience by getting them to like you through your values and your concern for their issues. You must make them identify with you. Now you are ready to apply logos by going into facts and making your case proving your point logically. By the end you will have gotten your audience all charged up and passionate about your issue. Logic rarely makes people do anything so if you can get them passionate about your issue using logic you can really change the state of the argument. One of the more popular tactics is the reluctant conclusion which is where you pretend that you came to your conclusion reluctantly. At the end of your speech you should restart your strongest points and the describe what you want.

Reflection

    This chapter was great I loved reading the different ways to form your argument. Cicero is one of my favorite characters and I love using his five canons to form a good argument. It was also very interesting learning about the specific order of ethos, logos, and pathos because they are the basic principles and putting them in this specific order really helped me see how they can be used in full effect. I also looked back on other historically successful speeches and they for the most part follow this platform of invention, arrangement, style, memory,and delivery. I personally like the art of rhetoric because of all the history that is in the subject. I love that this subject has art, history, and public speaking. It is everything that I am looking for in a subject and it is also very intense, anything could happen during a debate. I also like seeing that there is so many different ways to form an argument not only with the new tricks but with the multiple classic ways we can do it. This was an amazing book and I would recommend it to everyone who likes history, art and public speaking. It really touches so many subjects and it does not stand still, it never gets stale.

Thank You for Arguing Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Summery

    Chapter 14 is all about how to spot and what is a fallacy. The book starts off with the very common concept of the seven deadly sins but he says the seven deadly fallacies. He also states that every logical fallacies come down to bad logic. There is a checklist you can use to determine if it is a fallacy. The checklist is:

1.Does the proof hold up?

2.Am I given the right number of choices?

3.Does the proof lead to the conclusion?

4.Who cares?

All of these questions should be asked anytime you feel like something doesn't add up? An ability to see a fallacy will help you protect yourself. Each step correlates to fallacies such as bad proof, wrong number of choices and disconnect between proof and conclusion. Bad choices include false comparison which is putting examples into wrong categories and bad examples and ignorance as proof. The wrong number of choices is where you are offering just two choices when there are actually more available. Disconnect between proof and conclusion is where the proof and conclusion are the same thing. The red herring is a distraction tactic that is part of the disconnect between proof and conclusion along with the wrong ending where the proof fails to lead to any conclusion.  The first deadly sin is the false comparison which is about putting two things right next to each other that don’t compare. A common fallacy is the all natural fallacy where it assumes that the members of the same family share all the same traits. Kids use this fallacy a lot when they say things along the lines of. “But everyone else is going...” and “ Mom the other parents are driving their kids there!”. This type of fallacy almost very works because of how absurd and over used it is. Clearly not every parent can drive their kids and everyone can’t go to the party. This is also can be considered reductio ad absurdum which is reducing an argument to absurdity. When you do this you become completely untrustworthy and you lose credibility. The second deadly sin is the bad example such as a hasty generalization. A hasty generalization is the argument that offers too few examples to prove their point. The third deadly sin is ignorance as proof which is more commonly known as the fallacy of ignorance. This fallacy states that what we cannot prove, then it must not exist or if we can’t disprove it,then it must exist. This fallacy does not go over super well with devout religious people or UFO believers. The fourth deadly sin is the tautology which is basically just repeats the premise. Logicians call this fallacy “begging the question” is a better term. You are basically saying the same thing twice and sometimes you need repetition and sometimes it is just too much. The fifth deadly sin is the false choice this is where it looks like you are talking about one thing b ut it really is multiple things at once.It is very deceitful to the audience but sometimes it is your only choice. You have to make the audience believe that two of more issues can get merged into one. The other one was the false dilemma which is when you think you have two choices but you really have a lot more. This is used a lot in politics where they show you one side and hide the other ones. The sixth deadly sin is the red herring which is where the speaker brings up a completely unrelated issue to distract the audience. This a very common and if not done right it can be pointed out in an instant. The seventh and final deadly sin is the wrong ending which can be known as the slippery slope where if we allow this reasonable thing to happen then it will inevitably lead to an extreme version of it. This chapter was very interesting with its talk of deadly sins and fallacies but in the end it really helped inform me of the mistakes people make.

Reflection

    This chapter was much longer than any from before but it was just as good. It really opened my eyes to all the types of fallacies and to protect yourself from fallacies you must know them. I also saw how many of them I use without even knowing it. Some of them I was already aware of such as the red herring because of how popular it is. It is also very easy and can be spotted just as easy if not done right, just like with anything. If you only do half of a job and not the other both halfs look false and deceitful and people don’t like that. Either do it with everything you have or don’t do it at all. You should also try and keep yourself updated on the latest fallacies to protect yourself because no one likes being tricked.