Over the roller coaster ride of Ernest
Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises,
our knowledge about the characters deepens, and consequently, so does our understanding
of the characters. I would like to
talk about how Jake and his social circle changes as the story goes on as the
book comes to a close.
I want to discuss how Jake changes
through the end of the book, but actually (and this is perhaps in part due to
the short time frame that the book covers – only a few weeks as far as I am
aware) Jake doesn’t develop a whole lot.
Many of his fundamental views and behaviors remain unchanged. He’s still more or less in love with Brett
Ashley, remaining quietly jealous when a man he doesn’t approve of so much as
looks of her. (His behavior toward her slightly changes, though – more on that
later) He still rips into Robert Cohn whenever he can find a good opportunity. And so that everything remains bottled up (ha
ha) he still drinks so much that one might wonder how his liver looks. However, recently we got the opportunity to
see a relaxed and much happier Jake, the American aficionado who avidly watches the bullfighting and has Montoya’s
appreciation – A Jake who truly belongs
somewhere. I think that this attitude is
the biggest change to Jake over the entire book. I liked this happy Jake much more than the
usual gloomy one.
Jake’s friendships are sort of a
mixed bag in a sense: some turn sour, like with Cohn and Montoya, while others remain
the same, like with Mike and Bill. It
seems that the main catalyst for all of the drama and the bad dynamic that
develops between members of the group is Brett, which didn’t really surprise me
in the slightest. After Cohn develops an
attachment to Brett, all of the men act much harsher toward him, particularly
Mike who can’t seem to control his foul mouth.
Additionally, when Jake introduces the bullfighter Pedro Romero (I like
him, he seems like a decent fellow) to Brett, he loses his hard-earned rapport
with Montoya, and the other bullfighters look upon him with scorn. He gave up his place of belonging in mere hours. With Brett, however, the situation is much more
ambiguous. On one hand, Jake appears to
be trying to free himself from her grasp, as evidenced toward the much more detached
attitude he adapts when talking with her at the very end. On the other, the last sentence is very
ambiguous. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”
Was he being sarcastic, or genuinely
wistful?
In the end, I think that Jake’s social
circle changed a lot more than he did himself.
Do you think that Jake changed in any significant way as the story went
on? Do you think I missed something?
I definitely agree that Jake's social circle changes a lot more over the course of the novel than he himself does. He loses Cohn and Montoya from his circle, and makes friends with Harris. He also definitely changes in the novel though. At least in his attitude towards Brett, he seems to become even more resigned to who she is, and seems less interested in it than he was at the beginning of the story. Instead of being upset and trying to get her to try again with him, he seems to think that there is no way it could work, and he has accepted it.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Jake's social circle changes a lot through out the book, and I agree that Jake doesn't change a huge amount. That said, he definitely changes a little bit in how he thinks of Brett and even how he thinks about Spain and the bull fights. Although these aren't as explosive changes as some of the people in his circle, I still think they are still definitely important to the story.
ReplyDeleteI think that you make good points about how while some things in the story change, Jake remains the same at his core. Yet, I think that since this is a part of his life that has so much turmoil, like him losing his friends and everything with Brett, that this is a time when Jake learns a lot about himself. I don't think he changes super significantly, but I think that whenever someone has to adapt to new experiences and events and things, they often learn a lot of new things about who they are, and I think that his has happened to Jake. I don't mean to argue that he transforms, but just that he learns more deeply about him and his life. I also think that any social change will garner a personal change, to say that Jake by the end of the book became a different person, at least socially, because his friends have changed. For example, when he is around Brett he acts differently to when he is alone. If you interpret that as Jake's character being true when he is alone and influenced when he is with Brett is subjective. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think you make a good point about what changes about Jake. You say that it is his social group that changes and I agree. I also think your point about Jake not changing much himself is a good one and adding to it is the way the book ends with Jake and Brett in a taxi the same way it was at the start. It seems that Jake will stay with her even if she destroys his connections with people and that shows how little he changed.
ReplyDeleteTo comment on your point about Brett being the "main catalyst" of the conflicts among the guys. I just wanted mention the possibility that in the final line, Jake is being regretful. As you said, Brett essentially ruined most of the relationships of Jake with his friends. Maybe he is low-key blaming Brett for this.
ReplyDelete