To begin, The Sun Also Rises is a novel that takes place after World War I. It follow the main character Jake Barnes- the protagonist and narrator of the novel- an American World War I veteran who moves to Paris and become a journalist. Jake and his friends both engage in endless rounds of drinking and parties, however Jake is the most stable of all of his friends. Throughout the novel, Jake struggles with his love for Brett Ashley. Although it is established that they both have a love for each other, Brett will not engage in a relationship with Jake because of a war related injury that caused him to be impotent (i.e., erectile dysfunction), and she states that she cannot have a relationship with someone she can never have sex with.
Brett Ashley, an incredibly important character in which the novel’s conflict circles around, is a beautiful British socialite who is heavily into drinking. She has affairs with a vast amount of men, but can never become committed to them. Her life is one that is not much different than that of a member of the lost generation- one filled with aimlessness, and constantly leaving her wanting more.
Robert Cohn is also an incredibly important main character in The Sun Also Rises. He, like Jake, is an American although he was never directly involved in the war, which causes him to stand apart along with the fact that he is Jewish. Untarnished by the war, he still tries to hold on to the prewar ideals of love and fair play, despite the fact that these ideas now seem absurd. Cohn is often found the easy target to antagonize by Jake and his friends due to his status.
Bill Gorton, Jake’s alcoholic war veteran friend, is another important character in the novel. He spends a great deal of time with Jake throughout the novel, especially on their trip fishing and relaxing in Burguete, which only strengthens their already existing emotional connection. They have a genuine friendship that is arguably the only one shown in the entire novel, and because of this, Bill is quite an outstanding character.
Mike Campbell, Brett’s soon to be fiancé, is a man of short-temper and alcoholism. He is constantly found drunk, and in these drunken states is when he acts the most violent and temperamental. He has a lot of trouble coping with the fact that Brett cannot seem to be satisfied by just one man, and he often find insecurity in her infidelity, along with his lack of money.
Pedro Romero, the key piece to the novel, is the associate conflict. Brett essentially ditches Mike because she “falls in love” with Romero when she first sees him. Romero is a nineteen year old Spanish bullfighting prodigy who they meet at in Pamplona. He also appears to be untarnished by the lost generation ideals and tendencies, thanks to the help of Montoya keeping him in check. When it is discovered that Brett has spent the night with him and that they are having an affair, Cohn beats up Romero brutally, only to be discovered by Jake and Bill after they were also beat up by Cohn after an exchange of insults.
The novel concludes with Brett leaving Romero because she does not want to corrupt him like she has corrupted all of the other men she has been with. Brett calls Jake and requests him to come “save her” because she is unsure if Romero will actually leave and does not have any money. It turns out that Romero does leave, and at the very end of the novel when Jake takes Brett in a taxi to drive around town and puts his arm over her, she says, “Oh, Jake… we could have had such a damned good time together,” to which Jake responds, “Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?”
This last line is honestly my favorite throughout the entire novel, and I believe that it is a fantastic wrap up to everything that happens. It is clear that Brett still has a love for Jake, and that she still continues to fantasize about how fantastic their relationship could have been if only he was able to have sex, however Jake, by using the syntax “pretty to think” displays that he no longer fantasizes about how their relationship could have been. He begins to accept that even if he was able to have sex that their relationship would have most likely turned out the same way. This is a shining example of Jake’s growth throughout the novel and his ability to accept his relationship between Brett.
Jake’s inability to have sex with Brett, and thus never being able to go into a full relationship with her, appears to actually be more of a positive thing than a negative. This lack of advancement between Jake and Brett appears to actually keep their relationship quite stable, unlike all of the other men that Brett has been with. This stability and continual love that Jake has hints that maybe the love is actually genuine, and more than just the common lust that Mike, Cohn, and all the other members of the lost generation had.
All in all, the novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway was, in my opinion, a pretty fantastic read. It was interesting, engaging, and managed to capture my attention through most parts of the novel. I say most because there were times throughout the novel that progressed quite slowly, and although many of them maintained a subtle theme/moral- such as the fishing trip Jake and Bill go on- they left me feeling (for lack of a better word) uninterested. These parts of lesser engagement were quite sparse and not hindering to my overall enjoyment to the novel, and therefore I would give this novel four stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it, its theme of the destruction of sex and aimlessness, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good, realistic book to read.
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