Gender Roles In The Sun Also Rises By Hemingway

In our modern day society, nothing has changed since our parent’s time. Men are still regarded principally as strong, dominant figures who know exactly what they plan to do, and how they will carry out those plans. In short, to be a man means being powerful and the epitome of blunt force in human terms. Therefore, those who show weakness are looked down on or shamed, similarly to women who are seen as inferior in strength. In contrast, men are expected to put up a strong front and take out their emotions in a gratuitously violent way that romanticizes their strength. Consequently, what men present in a representation of themselves can often be someone very different from who they wish to be; society expects men to uphold dominance and
Hemingway alludes to how racism in the 1920’s was; it made Cohn feel the need to defend himself against others who might feel they were racially superior. Cohn learns to box even though he dislikes it, showing how even though he may have started out as a weak character with a continuing sense of inferiority throughout the book, Hemingway still instills a feeling of strength in his person. Jake and his inner circle of friends seem to display the sort of unabashed, uncaring attitude that modern day men display now towards Robert. Throughout the novel, Hemingway sets aside two main differences between all the men; possessive and controlling (to Brett) and “nice” or innocent (Count Mippipopolous, Pedro). Debatably, the signs of jealousy and possessiveness may be considered typical for men, or a part of the strength stereotype (if strength was not equivalent to being emotionally confident of one’s feelings) all of which can be seen in characters such as Jake (unknowingly being homophobic), Mike (being possessive of Brett and not being comfortable with her sexual promiscuity) and even Cohn (being confident that he can win Brett over and refusing to give