Jake Barnes In The Sun Also Rises

Jake Barnes, the narrator and main protagonist of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises¸ embarks upon many journeys, of which he experiences a naturally developing adventure. This novel conforms to idealistic properties of a classic travel narrative as well as disguising some of these conformities as other traits. In this paper I will analyze Hemingway’s work, The Sun Also Rises, as a narrative of travel, and expound upon the many ideals and motifs behind the covers of its characters and events. Hemingway carefully crafts his characters to become infected with wanderlust and embark upon a voyage of discovery. The Sun Also Rises follows the narrator as the protagonist, Jake Barnes, a World War I veteran working as a journalist in Paris,
while he attempts to ignore his longings for Brett Ashley. The relationship between Jake and Brett becomes more intricate and straining as the novel progresses. Brett admits that she loves Jake, but refuses to accommodate his impotence, thus failing to commit to a relationship with him. In the opening, Jake and his friend Cohn discuss the idea of a weekend trip. Jake makes an easy suggestion of traveling within France, but the proposal is shot down by Cohn’s over-reacting partner, Frances (Hemingway 56). The following winter, Cohn travels back to the United States, in search of a publisher for his novel in New York. It is here that Cohn gains a new sense of confidence that he had not sought to find in his travels. Cohn returns after being applauded for his work on a novel, mingling with many women that prove to be much kinder than his partner, and winning several hundreds of dollars by playing bridge (Hemingway 2). Upon his return to France, Cohn approaches Jake and requests his aid in traveling abroad. He becomes uneasy with the idea of wasting his life and the fact that his “life is going so fast and [he isn’t] really living it” (Hemingway 15). Cohn begins to expose a quest of wanderlust once his pallet catches the scent of adventure. He becomes concerned with his lack of understanding other cultures and visiting the places around the globe, which reflects his own search for understanding himself. It is evident that he is simply meandering through his life currently, and his short-lived excursion to the United States ignited a spark hidden in his character. Jake Barnes is a character with much depth, most of which develops long before the novel initiates.
Jake was wounded in World War I, and while he does not explicitly state any issues that derive from the event, it is referenced a multitude of times that he is now rendered impotent (Hemingway 12). Through this, Jake shows a lack of security regarding his masculinity. The love of this life, Brett, discounts any chance at a relationship with him due to its lack of sex. He can easily be categorized as part of the “lost generation” of individuals that endured circumstances through World War I that destabilized their belief in their current world, mainly justice, morality, and love. Without these ideological principles to guide them, this generation embarked upon a meandering life, particularly Jake as he wanders the streets of Paris, and the surrounding taverns and pubs. Jake however, recognizes the lacking of the “lost generation”, and acknowledges the pain that he, not only endured from the Great War, but endures from his unreciprocated love for Brett. An interesting parallel for the reader, as Jake recognizes this predicament of the “lost generation”, but remains ensnared within
it. Brett Ashley, however, manages to allure everyone she meets with her attractiveness and captivation. She lingers throughout the novel to exert great power over the men she meets, and continues to present a strong, independent figure. Interestingly, she continues to voyage from man to man, refusing to commit to any one and remaining in control of her own independence (Hemingway 15). She confides to Jake that she is despondent, leading an aimless and unsettled life, much in line with that of the “lost generation”. She represents the ultimate temptress in this narrative; she disrupts relationships between men simply by being present, and need not provoke either party. “[Brett] can’t go anywhere alone”, Jake remarks. She spawns a threat to Pedro Romero, by endangering his career and not conforming to customary female behavior. Romero is a key character that arrives later in the novel once the group has made it to Spain (Hemingway 80). The novel is a story encompassing a meandering narrative for each individual character, fighting to discover themselves in a world that has been knocked off course from the Great War, not long ago.
Each individual character is on their respective quest for self-discovery, and upon their arrival into the foreign land of Spain, they begin to pit against each other in efforts to claim the temptress for their own. Jake, seemingly becoming the hero, is the only one that doesn’t take part in the subtle battle quickly erupting between all of the men. The stark difference between the calm of France and the wildness of this foreign land is heavy and clear as the men lash out and burst forth into brawls (Hemingway
151). Robert Cohn becomes the scapegoat which compounds his own insecurities. Cohn’s own insecurities derive from his life as an outsider from growing up as Jewish minority. He dabbles with the temptress Brett with the same intentions as the other men in the group. Each seem to have a desire to tame her and bring a sense of traditional behavior about her. Cohn however attempts to abide by an outdated value system, where honor still plays a role. Once Jake and Romero go too far, Cohn brawls with them, knocking both of them unconscious I (Hemingway 142). Most of his remnants of loyalty and honor exist from the fact that he didn’t face the same world that the veterans did during World War. Even with the complexity of each character, they continue to be stuck in this “lost generation”, meandering through their daily lives in search of themselves. The overall story arc of The Sun Also Rises can be conformed to a classic travel narrative, complete with the protagonist, Jake, that is not eager to leave his familiar home, the temptress, Brett, who easily obtains control of all the men around her almost unknowingly, and the mystical foreign land, Spain, where the group adventures to in the novel. Each character learns slightly more about themselves, but the book closes before drawing any jarring conclusions in depth.