The Sun Also Rises Research Paper

Ernest Hemingway, a famous American novelist, wrote his first novel The Sun Also Rises, which was published on October 22, 1926. The Sun Also Rises is a fictional book which is set in Paris, France. Throughout the novel, the narrator is Jacob Barnes who was an army veteran from a war, which is presumed to be World War I, interacts with Lady Brett Ashley who was a nurse for the war and cared for Jake. Characters that are also involved in Jake and Brett’s life are Mike Campbell who is going to marry Brett, Robert Cohn who is a friend of Jake and is very enthused by Brett, and Count Mippipopolous who has an exquisite taste for wine. Throughout The Sun Also Rises relationships are the key to the novel, however not all relationships are meant to happen nor last and the reason for this is due to fate.
Fate according to dictionary.com is something that unavoidably befalls a person, otherwise known as fortune. Jake Barnes is from Kansas City, Kansas and it is assumed that he was drafted for the war. The war was in the European countries and Jake was sent to France where he was wounded. Through that action Jake met Brett Ashley, who was a nurse in France.
After the war, Jake and Brett met up in a dancing nightclub. In my opinion, I believe that fate had a major role in the relationship of Brett and Jake, only due to the fact that if one of the previous factors stated had not occurred then the likelihood of Jake and Brett actually knowing each other would be slim to none. Although their relationship is mostly due to fate, they are not consumed by it. Brett is the one that hinders the relationship by having other males in her life, just because Jake cannot fulfill Lady Ashley’s desires.
Brett and Jake’s relationship is a tragic one, a tragic relationship to me would be going through tough times such as the loss of a job or in extreme cases the loss of the significant other.
In Jake and Brett’s relationship there is the element of tragedy by Jake loving Brett, but Brett not feeling the same way. Brett has no formidable feelings for others, she just continually drinks. Mike Campbell, the man who is going to be rich, interferes with Jake and Brett’s relationship as do Robert Cohn and Count Mippipopolous who just believe Lady Ashley is astounding. The tragic element in their relationship is that one strongly loves the other while the other only cares for money and booze. If you could call what Jake and Brett have a “relationship”, then the more practical one of their relationship would be Jake
Barnes.
Although Brett and Jake were brought together by fate they cannot be together forever. All of the factors that brought them together during the war are tearing them apart. Jake should just move on from Lady Ashley and hopefully fate will take him somewhere enjoyable. Jake could find someone that loves him the way he is. Marcus Aurelius said the following “accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”