The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises
Hemingway utilizes the theme and allegory to express lessons in life of immorality. The characters in The Sun Also Rises tend to treat life as if it were never going to end. They live fast and hard by jumping from one town to the next drinking and unrealized love. The narrator, Jake, upon the end of the war is completely in love with Brett Ashley; whom seems to take the stage as the main attraction to all characters in the book. She is described as a beautiful British socialite who drinks heavily. The book describes her as separated from her husband and awaiting divorce. She is in love with Jake but she is unwilling to commit to a relationship with him because it means that she will have to give up sex. Brett Ashley takes up with many men, but is not willing to fully commit to any one of them. The bullfighting in the story seems to have a symbolic reflection to the episodes that have just occurred or are about to occur. At the beginning of the fiesta, the killing of the steer seems to lead up to the assault on Cohn, as well as, Brett’s destruction of Cohn and his values. The bullfights are symbolic in two different views; the view of the post war society and the view from Jake’s perspective. Just as the men in the story all were commanding Brett’s affections, the bull fighter was commanding the affections of the crowd. “Each bull-fight involves seduction, manipulation, maneuvering, and penetration by the bull-fighter of the bull. It is significant that, of all the characters, Jake, Brett, Romero, and Montoya are the most stirred by bull-fighting” (Shmoop Editorial Team).
Water is used in this book as a symbol of purification and relief. There are multiple instances where the narrator, Jake, escapes to a more peaceful situation in which involves the water. When Jake seemed stressed about Brett and Mike not meeting them, he and Bill left for a fishing trip in which they spent five wonderful days fishing, drinking, playing cards,
Hemingway utilizes the theme and allegory to express lessons in life of immorality. The characters in The Sun Also Rises tend to treat life as if it were never going to end. They live fast and hard by jumping from one town to the next drinking and unrealized love. The narrator, Jake, upon the end of the war is completely in love with Brett Ashley; whom seems to take the stage as the main attraction to all characters in the book. She is described as a beautiful British socialite who drinks heavily. The book describes her as separated from her husband and awaiting divorce. She is in love with Jake but she is unwilling to commit to a relationship with him because it means that she will have to give up sex. Brett Ashley takes up with many men, but is not willing to fully commit to any one of them. The bullfighting in the story seems to have a symbolic reflection to the episodes that have just occurred or are about to occur. At the beginning of the fiesta, the killing of the steer seems to lead up to the assault on Cohn, as well as, Brett’s destruction of Cohn and his values. The bullfights are symbolic in two different views; the view of the post war society and the view from Jake’s perspective. Just as the men in the story all were commanding Brett’s affections, the bull fighter was commanding the affections of the crowd. “Each bull-fight involves seduction, manipulation, maneuvering, and penetration by the bull-fighter of the bull. It is significant that, of all the characters, Jake, Brett, Romero, and Montoya are the most stirred by bull-fighting” (Shmoop Editorial Team).
Water is used in this book as a symbol of purification and relief. There are multiple instances where the narrator, Jake, escapes to a more peaceful situation in which involves the water. When Jake seemed stressed about Brett and Mike not meeting them, he and Bill left for a fishing trip in which they spent five wonderful days fishing, drinking, playing cards,
Cited: Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Sun Also Rises." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 05 Oct 2010. Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Sun Also Rises Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 05 Oct 2010. Spark Notes Editors. “Spark Note on The Sun Also Rises.” SparkNotes.com. Spark Notes LLC. 2003. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Sun Also Rises Drugs and Alcohol Quotes." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 05 Oct 2010. Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926.