The Sun Also Rises

Throughout the entire book of The Sun Also Rises, hardly a page goes by without referencing any alcohol. From the very beginning of the book, the main character/protagonist, Jake meets a young prostitute named Georgette and they have drinks together. She states that, “Everybody’s sick. I’m sick too”. Bars, dance clubs, cafes where alcohol is served seems to be a place of escape for a majority of the characters. Jake Barnes, like the other characters, uses the consumption of alcohol to escape what realities he face at home, his lust for Brett, but also to forget the things of his past. “Everybody’s sick. I’m sick too”, Georgette. When reading this line, Georgette and Jake have just met for the first time and they are having drinks of Pernod together. Just saying this very small line, Georgette allows us to look further into the story of all of the characters. Then, we are not sure what exactly the sickness is, but we soon find out that everybody in the story are all basically alcoholics. The alcohol that they all are addicted to is their sickness. Not only that, but they are all facing some form of depression or loneliness that could be considered some form of a sickness along with the alcohol. At times, some of the characters cannot stand to be around one another, but at the same time, they do not want to face any form of loneliness. For example, Brett cannot stand to just have one man, she has to have multiple that she can run to just in case the first one does not work out. The bars, dance clubs, and cafes are the places that each character will go to as a way to escape the realities that they face at home. At the start of the book, the first major place where all the drama starts is at a dance club. Here is where the characters are living that night life. There is alcohol galore, music, dancing, women and men all in one building. They are having fun at that very moment and they feel good from the alcohol flowing through their bodies and every worry or care