Wrapping It Up

Brett calls Jake back to where she's staying through a desperate sounding wire. Classic love yet completely abstract at the same time. Their relationship is so complicated throughout this story, but it's one of the most compelling parts of the novel. As they drove down the street on the last page, I had a flashback to the nights in Paris where they rode close together to no particular place. It made me wonder how many previous times they've been in and out of each other's lives due to Brett's jumping around. "We sat close against each other. I put my arm around her and she rested against me comfortably" (pg 251). Here we go with the "comfortable" talk: the fiesta is over so Brett goes back to her normal ways with Jake. Brett goes on to say, "'Oh Jake we could have had such a damned good time together.'" I found this almost hurtful because she's the one who's choosing not to be with him! She either means they'd have a good time married or could have had a good time during the fiesta. Either way, it's her careless nature coming into play!

I hope Jake and Brett worked out their complicated love. I hope they settled down somewhere or continued to be "expatriates" and traveled. Even after I've finished the book and understand it's FICTION, I keep wondering what became of them. I guess that's the beauty of literature: we can escape the daily confusion of our own lives and make up happy endings for someone else. (:

Tim O'Brien, here I come!

What I didn't know then

So about all the alcohol... It wasn't just in the time period that they drank a lot. It was because of all the previous happenings, especially to the men in the novel. As the story winded down, I began to realize that the consumption of alcohol was a way to free these guys minds from everything going on around them. Jake drinks because of Brett, which I think she understands since she told him not to drink and that "he'll be alright" (pg250). Also with the first world war just having ended, drinking was an escape from the horror for the veterans. Hemingway had drinking problems himself and may have strongly pronounced alcohol in the story since it was a popular escape by most in the 1920's.

So about the sexual references... Brett represents the independence of women growing about in the 1920's when the story took place. She didn't need one man to tie her down and felt no commitment to any of the men she had affairs with. Sex in the novel also brought about problems: Cohn turned from quiet to outspoken and violent when he found out Brett had been with Romero (pg 206). Jake and even Mike suffer because of Brett's infidelity and inability to maintain a permanent relationship.

Smooth Sailing

Chapter 29 is full of words indicating the resolution of the novel. It starts off, "In the morning it was all over. The fiesta was finished." Everything has died down after the bullfights. The waiters aren't in a hurry, Jake sits "comfortably" in the wicker chairs, and we are reminded yet again that the "fiesta was over." It's as if the energy and excitement that came about with the fiesta has been drained out of the city and replaced with a calm atmosphere. People are "walking" not hurrying. When Jake got out of the cab by the hotel he "rubbed the rod-case through the dust [on the car]. It seemed the last thing that connected [him] with Spain and the fiesta" (pg 236). This seems fitting; it's like the expression goes- leaving it in the dust.

Jake seems at ease when he drinks a bottle of wine for company and swims in the sea all day. One never would know the craziness of the fiesta, the injuries of the war, or the burdens on his heart the way Jake calmly strolls around. He casually drinks it away.

Belmonte

For some reason, I feel for this guy! Here he is watching Romero capture the hearts and eyes of all spectating. Belmonte came out of retirement to try and accomplish what only Romero could do. "He had meant to have a great afternoon, and instead it was an afternoon of sneers, shouted insults... Sometimes he turned to smile that toothed, long-jawed, lipless smile when he was called something particularly insulting" (pg 218). I don't think Belmonte is trying to be rude by smiling back, but merely trying to push past not only the physical pain, but also the pain of once-fans shouting out him. However, the fact that he came back and sort of played the bull-fighting system by giving tragic sensations to those in the crowd makes me frown on his lack of honesty in the sport he once was an 'aficionado' in.
To me, he symbolizes all who have tried and failed to recapture passion for something whether it be hobbies, relationships, or careers only to be overshadowed by the more interesting of the age. He could also be those who look for the glory for themselves and have a hard time sharing the limelight. "Glory fades and all we're left with are the memories made."

"I'm So Paid"

"You paid some way for everything that was any good. I paid my way into enough things that I liked, so that I had a good time. Either you paid by learning about them, or by experience, or by taking chances, or by money" (pg 152). Deep! Hemingway obviously had a point to make by devoting a whole page to the concept that "the bill always [comes]" to those who have anything good. There is always some sort of expense or giving back that has to be done in return for an achievement or happy moment. Jake poses the philosophy that "maybe if you found out how to live in [the world] you learned from that what it was all about." This philosophy carries with it so many levels! First, there's the concept that by experience, one becomes wiser. Second, if we achieve through an "exchange of values" so to speak, then is there ever a point we stop making achievements? I mean, there's only so much of ourselves or our money we can give. There are those that give, and there are those that take. But here, it's plain to see that a balance between giving and taking must exist to make the exchange recognizable and worthy of happiness.

Fal$e Friend$

Bill put it best when he called Mike 'Old Mike the spender." Mike claims on page 141 that his debt came in two ways, "gradually and then suddenly." He admits to having a lot of false friends, friends that may have multiplied because of his money. Life is simple for Mike because he borrows money and eventually pays it back. In another instance, Hemingway makes a point to bring up again the 'friends' one can make due to spending money. Jake over tips to make friends, saying "[France] is the simplest country to live in. No one makes things complicated by becoming your friend for any obscure reason. If you want people to like you you have to spend a little money" (pg. 237). The dark humor here stands out like a sore thumb: Practically buying friends, like Jake does by over tipping waiters, is an obscure reason to become someone's friend!Hemingway is telling us that we can't buy friends, nor can we buy happiness. No matter how many people Jake tips or how many places he ventures too, he's never going to be really happy. His friends will be false and he has no real place to call home in the end.

The Bull Fighting Obsession

While the bull run in Pamplona, Spain looks and sounds fairly violent, the
positive connotation that comes with the whole bullfighting scene is unique to
Spain. There is an evident passion for the bullfighters, fiestas, and bulls that
accompany the fights. On page 136, Jake tells that "an aficionado is one who is
passionate about the bull-fights. All the good bull-fighters stayed at Montoya's
hotel; that is, those with aficion stayed there." This alone links Montoya to
passion for bullfighting since he tends to let the 'aficionados' stay with him;
however, Jake dives into an anecdote about the photographs Montoya kept and the
pride he had for bull-fighters at his hotel. Bull-fighting isn't a game to him,
and Montoya respects Jake for thinking the same way. Montoya also feels the need
to protect Pedro Romero, since he was an aficionado. When Romero starts turning
towards Brett and the Americans, Montoya begins to avoid eye-contact with Jake.
He can't forgive Jake for the interference Jake may have caused in Romero's
passion for fighting with the passion for Brett.

I found it interesting the culture that comes along with the bullfights and how there is not a direct translation. Page 177 tells of the importance of the bull run and fights in Pamplona, Spain. It's almost untouchable to the outside world; the English think it would be called Corrida de toros, or running of the bulls. The French call it the Course do taureaux, but "there is no Spanish word for bull-fight," making the event almost sacred.

Fight and Flight

Chapter 26 immediately begins with a bad omen: "In the morning it was raining. A fog had come over the mountains from the sea... The plateau was dull and gloomy, and the shapes of the trees and the houses were changed." All of the diction in this weather description indicates bad things to come. As the day progresses and the chapters proceed, we find ourselves reading about Vicente Girones who was killed during the bull run by a bull who was eventually killed by Romero... the bad omen doesn't let us down! Cohn later beats up Romero, who has the final fight the next day. Jealousy takes over Cohn, and after he hurts Romero significantly, he flees! We don't hear from Cohn the rest of the novel (which in my opinion is a relief!).

On page 222, there is one large exaggerated sentence describing the actions of Romero with his bull before he kills it in the center of the ring. The length of the sentence depicts the smooth, yet exaggerated nature of bull-fighters as they dodge the bulls. Parallelism comes into play as Romero kills the bull "that had sprinted out and killed the man in the morning running" (pg 223). As Romero defeats this bull, his actions are paralleled with the fight he had earlier with Cohn. "The fight with Cohn had not touched [Romero's] spirit but his face had been smashed and his body hurt."

The gloomy weather lingers over the deaths of bulls and men in the run of the last day of the fiesta.

Come on Brett, Really?

Brett irritates me. I'm not a fan of women who lead guys on for their pure enjoyment only to dump them and move on in the end. That's got Brett written all over it! Throughout all of The Sun Also Rises, Brett found herself with men ranging from Jake to the Count to Cohn to Romero. She must get bored! Mike wraps it up nicely (even though he was drunk, no surprise there!) when he says on page 210, "Brett's got a bull-fighter... She had a Jew named Cohn, but he turned out badly." What Mike doesn't know, is the past and love that seems to also exist between Brett Ashley and Jake Barnes. Brett then stands up after Mike's accusations and says, "I am not going to listen to that sort of rot from you, Michael." She thinks she can pull the I'm-mad-at-you-so-I'm-calling-you-Michael card after she just blatantly cheated on her fiance! How can Brett not feel guilty for being with so many guys when she's married to Ashley and engaged to Campbell at the same time!? It's completely unexpected that she should get up and tell Mike she's not going to listen to him even though she's the one at fault. I kept waiting the whole book for Brett to man (or woman) up to her mistakes; she only let me down!
And to top it off, she's got Jake wrapped around her pretty little finger. She asks him to walk with her, and he immediately falls in step next to her (pg 211). And then, after being with Romero, she wires Jake to come rescue her (pg 242) from the situation she finds herself in. Jake jumps on the Sud Express that same night. I understand Brett's feelings that will not disappear for Jake, but seriously. Let the man go, you're breaking his heart and making him drink more!

Pity and Irony

This section of the story confused me. They seemed to ramble on about a topic that makes no sense to me; come to think of it, Bill doesn't make a lot of sense most the time! On page 118, Bill presents the words pity and irony to Jake: "'Aren't you going to show a little irony and pity?' I thumbed my nose. 'That's not irony.'" For some reason, this was one of the most confusing parts of the story for me! I'm not sure if I was just thinking too far into it, but what is Bill talking about!? Bill then describes the words as the name of a band that's popular in New York. He tells Jake to ask the girl for jam in an ironical way, and when Jake fails to do so, Bill says, "That's not ironical. I wish I could talk Spanish." There must be something about the way Bill wanted Jake to talk to the girl so that his question could have been taken two different ways.
On the other end of the spectrum, maybe Bill is hinting at the irony and pity Jake tends to carry around in his life because of Brett. Irony that they both love each other, yet she's with other men; pity because it's a shame Jake can't get the girl.

In the Beginning...

Before the story begins, Hemingway starts his readers out with some "food for thought." The epigraphs posed at the beginning provide hints at the themes and messages found throughout The Sun Also Rises. Even though Hemingway quotes one Gertrude Stein saying, "You are all a lost generation," for some reason I don't think Hemingway is bothered by this. Hemingway spent his prime years in the 1920's. In his mind, his generation wasn't lost, but rather enjoyed the constant drinking along with no set lover which led to a carefree kind of life. The next quote is from the bible, which I found particularly interesting considering the subtle dissing Hemingway seemed to resort to. It starts, "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh..." and one gets the feel that it's just a constant cycle. No two generations are the same: take the '70's Hippie days and compare it to the proper manner of the '40's. Today's music, fashion, and sayings differs almost comically at the opposite end of what was popular 100 years ago. Hemingway poses two different questions for me despite all this: Did he use this novel to point out the things he was disappointed in? How can a generation really be lost?

"The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down...." Hemingway seems to use this theme that the world doesn't stop. In research I've done, I find an overwhelming amount of struggles faced in Hemingways life from war to drinking problems. He seemed to choose the brighter part of the previous quote for the title of his novel, perhaps in hope that he would be able to see the up-side of things instead of the sun going down to darkness so to speak. By saying the sun ALSO rises, he's indicating that there is another side other than darkness in life.

And How!

Just like the fashion of a decade, phrases develop and change. The diction in The Sun Also Rises reveals the time period's dialect and the slang words used at the time. On page 107, Bill reports that he "has some darbs." Darbs can be referred to as money or even clothing, though in this case it seems as if Bill is referring to 'darb' as a type of person, possibly a Jewish man. Also throughout the story, the word 'tight' is used to described those who have had too much to drink. Bill says Jake and himself will "get tight now at lunch on the wine of the country" on page 108, and he goes on to add that they will then take a "swell bus ride." When people use the word 'tight' today it means 'cool' or 'awesome'. The word 'swell' equates with 'fantastic' or 'wonderful.' The language of the 20's was more proper than that of today, but the slang terms exist no matter the decade or area of the country.

Talking to Yourself?

I thouroughly enjoyed Jake Barnes' inner discussions with himself throughout the story. They subtly revealed the not-so-nice-nature of Jake and his willingness to harbor feelings, especially when it came to Brett. The first person account of the novel made it easy to dig deeper into Jake's character since we can literally read his thoughts. One of my favorite inner conversations Jake has with himself appears on page 105 of The Sun Also Rises. He feels "the impulse to devil [Cohn]" as jealousy of Cohn and Lady Ashley's relationship get the best of Jake. He goes back and forth with himself talking about the reasons he hates Cohn, especially because he acted "superior at lunch" that day. Jake decides to stash the telegram from Brett and hide the news from Cohn. This part of the story reveals the human weakness of jealousy in all of us. When it comes to those we love, it is easy to find competition threatening to our relationships. Although Jake can't be with Brett, he tries to protect their complicated love in all ways possible.

Power of Prayer

With all the references to the Catholic Church, Hemingway is trying to get a point across. For the most part, he thinks some people who call themselves "Catholic" are jokes. As it is constantly discussed, dislike of the church is a common theme throughout the novel. The character Jake is one of those people who calls himself Catholic, but when it comes down to it, he can't "walk the walk." The first night in Spain, Jake finds himself in a cathedral where he begins to pray for everyone he thought of. The syntax changes during his prayer; the sentence drags on as Jake's thoughts shift from topic to topic, seemingly unable to stay in prayer. The length of the sentence enables readers to see the guilt Jake feels for his inability to pray and being "a rotten Catholic." Along with guilt, Jake is feeling sleepy, so his thoughts seem endless and random. He's shameful that he doesn't feel religious when he prays (pgs. 102-103). On page 129, Bill asks Jake if he's really Catholic, as if the answer will effect their friendship. Jake response is simple, but speaks volume: "Technically." How many people today would come up with the same answer!? I believe Hemingway is incorporating his feelings into Jake's character: although we may call ourselves Catholic, it is often difficult to live out that lifestyle in the world and customs that surround us.

Catholic References

Throughout The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway incorporates many references to the Catholic Church and seems less than pleased with the way the Church takes a stance on issues. The protagonist, Jake Barnes, happens to be Catholic. For instance, Jake Barnes says the Church's advice to dealing with unwanted people is "to hell with them" (pg. 39). Of course, this is not the Catholic Church's response, but it seems to be what Barnes has taken away from it even though he knows it's impossible to think carelessly about people one's angry with. Also, the tension between Protestants and Catholics of the 1920's is displayed on the train to Spain. I'm semi-unclear as to the exchange between Jake, Bill, and the priest on page 93, but this is what I took from it: Catholics got special treatment for dinner on the train, and when Bill asks the Priest when the Protestants got to eat, the priest says "haven't you got tickets?" This aggravates Bill enough that he responds, so the priest can hear, "It's enough to make a man join the Klan." Bill is alluding to the Ku Klux Klan, particularly to point out the hate for Catholics since the Klan is known for its despising of Catholics. Religious tensions, no matter where in the world, still exist. It seems humanly impossible for people to overcome differences of religion.

Just Drink Up, Bill!

Jake Barnes puts off every emotion and feeling he might have by consuming alcohol. Along with the men that make up his circle of friends, Jake is a WWI veteran which may play a role in his heavy drinking. He writes all problems off by offering a drink to someone. I turned three pages at most without Jake having some sort of liquor in his hand! Bill Gorton is a friend of Jake's and a war veteran as well whom Jake describes as "very happy" because he had a lot of money from his last book; to me this showed clearly the money-dependent lifestyle which people took on in the 1920's. I found it especially ironic how on page 76, Bill is describing his trip in Vienna and how it was not good because he was drunk all the while. Jake, who obviously cares little about what the man is saying, replies with an oblivious answer of "that's strange. Better have a drink" even though Bill has just said the drinking is what made his trip miserable!

What's in a Name?

I couldn't help but notice one of the earlier characters name and what it might signify. Hemingway didn't simply conjure up the name "Count Mippipopolous." No, I believe the name played a part in the characterization of the so-called count. He was described as a big man; likely so considering he "owns a chain of sweet shops in the States" (pg 40). His big, goofy name enables readers to understand more the silliness of his manner and speech. I can picture his walrus-like face calling Brett "dear" and talking about how having a title can cost one money (64) as the elk tooth which hangs around his necks dangles in the air. Just picture the guy! He resembles very nicely a Mippipopolous. His name also provokes the grandeur of his character compared to Jake and the friends he hangs around with because the Count is more proper in a sense that he does not jealously handle Brett; rather, he acts in a mature, sophisticated way.