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.
