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| Ernest Hemingway, Italy, 1918 |
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| Cafe Select, where Jake and Brett go in Chapter 4 |
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| Parisian fashion 1920s |
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| Paris 1920s |
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| Hemingway and son John ("Bumby"), Paris, 1924 |
"Never mind."
"What's the matter? You sick?"
"Yes."
"Everybody's sick. I'm sick, too." (23)
"You're not a bad type," she said. "It's a shame you're sick. We get on well. What's the matter with you anyway?"
"I got hurt on the war," I said.
"Oh, that dirty war."
We would probably had gone on and discussed the war and agreed that it was in reality a calamity for civilization, and perhaps would have been better avoided. I was bored enough. (24-25)
Dancing, I looked over Brett's shoulder and saw Cohn, standing in the bar watching her.
"You've made a new one there," I said to her.
"Don't talk about it. Poor chap. I never knew it till just now."
"Oh, well," I said. "I suppose you like to add them up."
"Don't talk like a fool."
"You do."
"Oh, well. What if I do?"
"Nothing," I said. We were dancing to the accordion and some one was playing the banjo. It was hot and I felt happy. We passed close to Georgette dancing with another one of them.
"What possessed you to bring her?"
"I don't know. I just brought her."
"You're getting damned romantic."
"No, bored." (30-31)
My mind started to work. The old grievance. Well, it was a rotten way to be wounded and flying on a joke front like the Italian. In the Italian hsopital we were going to form a society. It had a funny name in Italian. I wonder what became of the others, the Italians...[Padiglione Zonda] was where the liaison colonel came to visit me. That was funny. That was about the first funny thing. I was all bandaged up. But they had told him about it. Then he made that wonderful speech: "You, a foreigner, an Englishman...have given more than your life." What a speech! I would have liked it illuminated to hang in the office. He never laughed. He was putting himself in my place, I guess. "Che mala fortuna! Che mala fortuna!"*
(*"What bad luck!")
Brett came up the stairs. I saw she was quite drunk. "Silly thing to do," she said. "Make an awful row, I say, you weren't asleep, were you?"
"What did you think I was doing?"
"Don't know. What time is it?"
I looked at the clock. It was half past four. "Had no idea what hour it was " Brett said. "I say, can a chap sit down? Don't be cross, darling. Just left the count. He brought me here."
"What's he like?" I was getting brandy and soda and glasses.
"Just a little," said Brett. "Don't try and make me drunk. The count? Oh, rather. He's quite one of us." (40)
We kissed good night and Brett shivered. "I'd better go, she said. "Good night, darling."
"You don't have to go."
"Yes." (42)
This was Brett, that I had felt like crying about...It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing." (42)
Welcome to the beginning of one of the great, if not the great, chronicle of the "lost generation," a term coined by the Modernist writer and friend of Hemingway, Gertrude Stein. The term first appeared as the epigram to this book. Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was the preeminent American writer of the early to mid twentieth century along with William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He was a hugely popular writer as well as a writer who academics were interested in. He won both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize for literature. The Sun Also Rises (1926) is generally considered his best book, and it, as well as his short stories, influenced (and probably still do) a generation of writers. Hemingway was also, and for him inescapably, a war veteran, a 19 year old ambulance driver on the Italian front of World War I who was severely wounded. His wound (shrapnel to his legs from a bomb blast that killed several men around him)—like Michael Vronsky's undefined wound ("There's nothing. Just the usual complications," he enigmatically tells Linda), like the thoroughly defined wound of Ron Kovac, the psychological and physical wounds of the men and women in Alive Day Memories, the wounds of Emmett and his friends (not to mention those of Irene, the Hughes, Anita, and even Sam, survivors in their own ways of a war), and the psychic wounds of Tim O'Brien's characters—gets turned into the defining wound of Jake Barnes, the protagonist of the novel.
1. Characterize Jake Barnes, adding to, based on this weekend's reading, what we said in class on Friday. Quote once. And in characterizing him, talk a little about whether you find him a sympathetic figure: and if not, why not?
2. Lady Brett Ashley. Pursued by men; fashion icon; beautiful; smart; alcoholic; in love with a man with who she cannot physically make love with. How would you characterize her so far? And in characterizing her, talk a little about whether you find her a sympathetic figure: and if not, why not?
Quote once.
3. Chapter 3 and Georgette: she and her wonderful smile never appear again, yer she's as vivid a character as we've met so far. So why is she here? What does she do or say or think that helps us understand the narrative—the story, the book—better? Quote once.
Here's the first edition of the novel:
Friday, we established that Jake is a jealous, working class guy who seems to live through other people's lives rather than his own. Although Jake continues to focus on the lives of the people around him, he does give us a bit of insight about his own life. When Jake says, “Of all the ways to be wounded. I suppose it was funny,”(38) we understand that he suffered an injury in the war which explains some of his personality. Jake seems to try to cope with his wound through humor. He continues to find the people around him superior to himself and views his life as a sort of living hell. Perhaps the reason he’s threatened by people like Robert and his other friends in the bar is because his wound has made his feel emasculated. I am not sure I would categorize Jake as a sympathetic person even though he seems to be encaptivated by other people's lives and struggles. When he talks about others, he seems to talk about them in a bitter and envious tone. For example, even when he talks about Brett, someone he presumably loves, he ends his thought by saying “to hell with people”(39).
ReplyDeleteBrett describes herself as “miserable”(32), which I definitely agree with. Similar to Jake and perhaps some of the other characters, she tries to drink to forget her suffering. She suffers from an impossible love with Jake which she categorizes as “hell on earth”(35). I think that Hemmingway is trying to show how arbitrary being “pursued by men; fashion icon; beautiful; smart,” is to being happy. I think that a lot of Brett’s misery comes from being sympathetic toward Jake and how the war has changed him both physically and probably mentally as well. If she is sympathetic toward Jake, I don’t think she is considerate. At the end of the reading, when she goes to Jake's apartment then leaves with the Count, she was being rather egotistical by not thinking about how Jake would feel.
Georgette asks Jake the questions that the reader is also wondering about him like, “What's the matter with you?”(24). Because of her, we learn about Jake who rarely talks about himself. For example, he was wounded in the war and most of his friends are writers and artists. She is also important because she highlights the disparity between the experiences of the rich and poor in Paris. When talking to Frances, she adamantly describes the city as “expensive and dirty”(26). This scene between Frances and Georgette seemed to mirror the relationship between Robert and Jake and how class can completely change one's experience and perspective on the same
The first edition cover is so much more interesting than the cover of the edition we are reading now. I am not entirely sure what the cover is conveying, but it is definitely much more to look at.
ReplyDeleteI think Jake is just bored. He blatantly says, “No, bored,” when Brett asks him why he brought Georgette to the dance hall/bar/club/wherever they were. I do sympathize with him, no matter how difficult it is due to his disposition towards life. We see him crying in his room because he is in love with a woman whom he wishes he did not love. Jake and Brett both do an impressive job of existing, really, as it seems that they have been in this weird in-between, inescapable relationship-not-relationship for a long time.
Lady Brett Ashley is a really strange character. She reminds me of Holly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. They are both fashionable and beautiful and both drink a lot and are pursued by men. Brett and Holly also both have similar speech patterns and ways of doing things, which we see when Brett says, “Don’t be cross, darling” among other things, as she walks into Jake’s room at 4:30am, but what strikes me most is how on the outside they both seem so put-together and fortunate but they both have this inner turmoil that we do not see until later. Their important interactions take place in taxis with the men they love but believe they cannot love. Both characters are very difficult for me to understand, so it is a little confusing for me to sympathize with them because I don’t know what aspect of them I am sympathizing with. I think I need to get to know Brett a little more before I can empathize with her.
I think Georgette symbolizes the theme of appearances. Jake narrates, “With her mouth closed she was a rather pretty girl.” Every character in this novel has this inner turmoil that they work so hard and are really great at, for the most part, concealing. When they cannot conceal this pain, they crack; like Georgette’s smile into something that is not quite so beautiful, like Jake crying in the middle of the night, and like Brett appearing drunk in Jake’s doorway; but this inner (for lack of a better word, sorry Georgette) ugliness can be concealed so quickly, just by simply not smiling (in Georgette’s case,) which I think explains at least some of the characters’ unhappiness and disillusionment with the world.
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ReplyDelete1. I think Jake Barnes' main personality trait is feeling sorry for himself. Through the ways in which his whole view of the world is basically talking about everyone but himself, he makes it clear that he would rather be anyone but himself and yet also feels a sense of superiority above everyone else because he thinks he has it the worst and therefore knows more. He hates Cohn because Cohn has everything that he doesn't have but wants, and he feels better about himself when others are put down: "Dancing, I looked over Brett's shoulder and saw Cohn, standing in the bar watching her" (30). For some reason I took this quote as Jake Barnes feeling really good about himself because he knew that Robert Cohn wanted to dance with Brett, and yet Brett chose him instead and Jake enjoyed knowing that Robert Cohn was watching them together and probably very jealous. I feel like in some ways Jake is a sympathetic character, but other ways he's not. I can't help but feel sorry for him and in some ways relate to him because he embodies the natural feeling of jealousy that we all have, yet I also can't help but hate him at times because he is so self-pitying and thinks he is so much smarter and wiser than everyone else.
ReplyDelete2. I'm not sure what I think of Brett yet. She seems pretty heartbroken and devastated about Jacob and turns to bad habits, like alcoholism, in order to cope: "Don't touch me," she said. "Please don't touch me." "What's the matter?" I can't stand it" (33). It's almost like Jake has to comfort Brett about his own injury and issue and Brett is the one that is not dealing with it well. I feel bad for her because she seems pretty lost and hopeless, but at the same time she doesn't really think about anyone but herself and how situations or her actions only affect her and not others. She feels worse for herself about Jacob's inability than she does for Jacob, and she shows up drunk at four in the morning at his apartment just to stay for a few minutes and talk, and doesn't think about if he could've been sleeping or the disruption in the apartment building that she caused.
3. I think she highlights Jake's loneliness and desperation and as well lets us get to know a little more about Jake because she is asking him all these questions about information that he wasn't just going to give out otherwise because he usually doesn't say much about himself. Also, I thought it was really interesting how Jake kept mentioning her ugly smile and how she was a pretty girl until she opened her mouth: "With her mouth closed she was a rather pretty girl" (23). I think it is hinting at something about how everything may seem just perfect and great on the outside when on the inside, everything is not what you thought and it can get ugly. Maybe it's referencing Robert Cohn? To Jake, Robert has everything but maybe on the inside Robert's life is not all what Jake thought it was.
Prompt One: Jake Barnes is unhappy. In these chapters he laments his condition and even makes an offhand comment: “It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the day time, but at night it is another thing,” (42) which leads me to believe that his dissatisfaction with life is not new. We don’t know how long he has been in Paris, but his funds are running out (38). For one reason or another, his life will have to change. But which will first l incite such action? A lack of funds, or patience for Cohn and this sapping Parisian lifestyle?
ReplyDeletePrompt Two: I find Brett rather agreeable. She turns down a large sum of money from the count to stay with Barnes who is rather poor. But then maybe I don’t. “Half asleep I had been sure it was Georgette,” says Jake of her voice at night, and I think that this lack of expectation on his end indicates that she comes in and out of his life, and isn’t as reliable as I thought (40). If in the middle of the night, a woman comes looking for him, and he doesn't think it will be her, I guess he isn’t used to her attention (think back to how she was introduced) \... “With them was Brett. She looked very lovely and very much with them” (27).
Prompt Three: Georgette introduces us to Jake’s injury. In addition to that, she comes in and out of Barnes’s life just like that. This night he spends with her is fleeting, yet described in much detail by Hemmingway: “Pernod is greenish imitation absinthe…” the drinks don’t really matter to plot, but their inclusion is nice, a way to distinguish one club from the next (23). Brett also seems independent of Jake coming and going how she pleases. This got me thinking about the title of the book… The sun also rises… what else does it do? It’s here and then gone and then here again. Kind of like Brett and maybe like Georgette as well.
1. In class we made note of the fact that though this is told from a first person perspective, it is extremely difficult to characterize the narrator himself. Yes, we have learned that Jake Barnes is a hardworking, upper middle class man who was injured in war and thus cannot be with the woman he loves, but his own motives and desires are never explicitly stated. However I think that the fact that much about him remains untold reveals an important aspect of Jake’s character; perhaps because of his past trauma it is easier for him to live through and thus escape the pain of his own reality. Because of his “old grievance” and his obvious love for Brett, and the fact that he always tries to “...play it along and just not make trouble for people” (39), I see Jake as a sympathetic figure who is trying desperately to recover from the past.
ReplyDelete2. Lady Brett Ashley is first introduced as being desirable in almost every way. She is young, she is beautiful, she is fashionable, she is widely sought after. Yet despite this and all that she has, it becomes clear from her excessive drinking habits that she is unfulfilled and unhappy. Perhaps the root of her alcoholism stems from the fact that she is in love with a man that she can never truly have, and this inaccessibility is extremely frustrating to her, for she strikes me as one who is accustomed to getting what they want. Though I do think that some aspects of her character make her sympathetic, on the whole I am not drawn to her because she seems rather selfish and inconsiderate.
3. I think that Georgette is an essential character because without her we would not have learned important details about Jake’s life, such as the fact that he was injured in the war. I also think that she is necessary in highlighting the typical sort of casual romantic interactions Jake is used to having with women. These offhand relationships serve to further contrast with the intense, emotional connection shared by Jake and Brett. However, I do not think that Georgette is as transparent as she appears to be. As others have mentioned, I think that the details about her smile are significant: “She grinned and I saw why she made a point of not laughing. With her mouth closed she was a rather pretty girl” (23). The “ugliness” of her smile is symbolic and hints at the underlying issues that plague many of the characters while also illustrating how, though it is not revealed in the narrative, Georgette is a real person who has secrets and a complicated backstory as well.
1) Jake has an undeniable aura of dejectedness about him. He seems quite depressed, and while this is not surprising considering his injury and his damaged relationships, he is fairly introverted. I really like Jake. Even though he’s a flawed, sometimes rude character, I appreciate his honesty and admire his sense of calmness. The rest of the city seems to be frantic, and yet Jake appears relaxed and uninterested. I think he is definitely a character that many can relate to, specifically in his way of thinking. One quote that has stuck out to me even a year after reading it for the first time is “it is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing,” (42). Jake’s inner dialogue strikes me as one of the most simply accurate aspects of this book. The language isn’t extravagant, and yet Hemingway captures the human condition in thought perfectly every time.
ReplyDelete2) I think Brett is very différent from Jake, almost in every way possible. She’s outgoing, loud and provocative in ways I often admire. I appreciate her androgyny in fashion, especially considering the time period. I like that she’s confident and unapologetic about her own sexuality. I think she’s a bit self-absorbed, especially in the sense that she seems to be leading Jake on with no intention of being with him. She’s extremely multi-dimensional, and a very well developed character.
3) I think that the scene with Georgette serves as a way to illustrate Jake’s complacency with anyone other than Brett Ashley. Around Georgette, Jake seems bored, uninterested and detached. Georgette represents a contrast to Brett, as they are nearly polar opposites in Jake’s mind. Even the writing style changes when he is around Brett: his words are more descriptive, he seems more interested, and he shows emotion outside of his inner dialogue. Georgette serves as an example to show just how much Jake cares about Brett, because it is undeniably clear just how uninterested he is in Georgette.
1. Jake Barnes seems upset at the world. It seems like he had some bad luck, like getting injured in the war, and has become very cynical and sarcastic. In the way he describes Georgette’s smile, we can see his sarcasm. Georgette, as we know, has very bad teeth, and Barnes often will sarcastically call her smile beautiful, or something along those lines: “Georgette smiled that wonderful smile” (26). I think Barnes is a sympathetic figure, especially since, after reading Kovic and our other texts and movies, we can start to imagine how psychologically draining it is to be injured in a war, and to, in Barnes’ and Kovic’s cases, not be able to have sex. Barnes seems to be facing his injury by facing the world in a sardonic manner, almost sneering at everyone and everything. I think we, as a reader, can sort of understand what he’s gone though (as far as someone who’s never been injured in a war can), but Barnes isn’t very likable.
ReplyDelete2. I was very confused about Brett and Jake’s relationship. They both are clearly in love with each other, yet neither is happy about it, due to Jake’s injury. Brett, on the surface, seems like a high-class socialite, but as you go deeper you can see that she is almost as unhappy as Jake: “Oh, darling, I’ve been so miserable” (32). She is a hard character to connect with, at least because I’ve never been a super high-class woman living in 1920s Paris, and because we cannot see what is going on in her head, but at least for now she seems to be sympathetic. We definitely do not have the full story behind her and Jake’s relationship, and do not know why she’s been so miserable, so it is hard to sympathize with her now, but as a reader you do still sympathize with her misery a bit.
3. She is used to expand Jake as a character. She is used to introduce his injury, as an explanation for his pessimistic, sarcastic attitude. “She touched me with one hand and I put her hand away. ‘Never mind.’ ‘What's the matter? You sick?’ ‘Yes.” (23)She also helps to show that Jake is disdainful and sarcastic about everyone, not just to Robert Cohn. Since the book is from a first person point of view, and most of the characters know Jake already, Georgette, a stranger to Jake, is used to explain who he is to the reader.
1. Jake’s injury explains more of his character: his jealousy, his sadness, his loneliness, etc. Also, Jake explains that “what happened to [him] is supposed to be funny” and that he “never think[s] about it” (34). He tries to find the humor in his injury, and he lies about never thinking about it. He is trying to find ways to cope with his injury, despite knowing how much is affects his love life. I find him to be a sympathetic figure because of his love for Brett. They love each other, but because of Jake’s injury, they will never be able to be together.
ReplyDelete2. Because Brett is seen through the eyes of Jake, she is, at first, characterized only for her attractiveness and relationships with other men. However, as Jake spends more time with her, it is revealed that she is troubled. She drinks a ton and is repeatedly described as being “shaky” or shivering, and she also worries that she looks like “too much of a mess” (35). I would characterize her as vulnerable, despite her bold and confident appearance and demeanor. I find her to be a sympathetic figure because of her unhappiness and sad love life. The man that she loves is incapable of starting a family with her. She doesn’t feel like she will ever be able to have a future with Jake, yet she cannot help how much she loves him.
3. I think Georgette is used to understand Jake better. He treats her like an object, and he explains that he “picked her up because of a vague sentimental idea that it would be nice to eat with some one,” which shows how lonely Jake is (24). I also think she gives us more information about the time period. It shows that prostitution was common and that most people were in some way affected by the war and had a strong negative viewpoint of it. She also asks Jake questions that reveal a little bit about his past and view on war.
ReplyDelete1. Characterize Jake Barnes, adding to, based on this weekend's reading, what we said in class on Friday. Quote once. And in characterizing him, talk a little about whether you find him a sympathetic figure: and if not, why not?
After reading about Jake so far, it feels that he is missing something. It is as though he is trying to fill up a hole in his heart. He envies the people around him, pitying himself in the process. Due to this mentality, I believe he cannot be a sympathetic figure in this moment because he is too self-centered about himself. He keeps focusing on what others have that he doesn’t. One example is when he comments about Robert’s book, “The publishers had praised his novel pretty highly and it rather went to his head” (16). We talked a bit about this in class already. We know that he is a writer too, and presumably, he has not done so well, hence being envious of Robert’s success. In addition, there seems to be a reoccuring theme of people Finding Paris to be boring. At first Robert says it, then Brett says something similar. I think a part of Jake is trying to find something in Paris, whether it be love or success, however, when those around him tell him that Paris is boring, it is almost as if they are saying that he will never find what he is looking for in Paris.
2. Lady Brett Ashley. Pursued by men; fashion icon; beautiful; smart; alcoholic; in love with a man with who she cannot physically make love with. How would you characterize her so far? And in characterizing her, talk a little about whether you find her a sympathetic figure: and if not, why not?
Quote once.
This might be an unpopular opinion, however, I believe the people throughout this book so far are generally self-centered to the point where it is hard for them to care about the people around them. This statement would go with Brett. Throughout these chapters Brett describes herself of nothing short from miserable and heartbroken. This is shown when she describes love. “‘No,’ she said. ‘I think it’s hell on earth” (35). However, I do believe she has every right to feel miserable. With a similarity with Jake, they both seem broken, and in that brokenness, they try to help one another. They try to make each other feel better about themselves in the process. Many of the characters seem as though they are too caught up in their own lives to think about anyone else but their own needs.
3. Chapter 3 and Georgette: she and her wonderful smile never appear again, yer she's as vivid a character as we've met so far. So why is she here? What does she do or say or think that helps us understand the narrative—the story, the book—better? Quote once.
I think the very fact that Jake interacts with her and stays with her for a period of time shows his brokenness or depression. Also, I thought the short scene when Jake introduces her with his friends was interesting. He announces her as his fiancee and then jokes that they called her the wrong name. “I wished to present my fiance, Mademoiselle Georgette Leblanc” (25-26). I am not really sure how I feel about this scene, however, it kind of shows Jake messing around a bit. Perhaps he feels free of constructive boundaries in this fleeting moment. However, I also believe that the scene that most struck me with Georgette was when she states her distaste for Paris. “No, I don’t like Paris. It’s expensive and dirty” (165). Much like Robert, she does not like Paris, creating maybe a recurring theme throughout the story.
1. Jake seems tired and unresponsive to the events in his life. I think that this characteristic is shown in him bringing Georgette to the bar. Jake is trying to create some sort of action in his life, good or bad. He states, “I don’t know, I just brought her,” when Brett asks him why he brought Georgette. I think this line shows he just wants something to happen because he finds his own life dull and mundane. I did not find Jake to be a sympathetic figure to begin with, but as the story has progressed my perception has changed. Knowing Jake was injured in war, cannot be with the woman who loves him, and struggles to be a good writer has made relate more to Jake and understand his views on Cohn from the first chapter. These ideas have explained his pessimistic attitude and make me better feel for his struggles.
ReplyDelete2. Lady Brett Ashley reminds me a lot of Linda from “The Deer Hunter” in that she leads on many men. Jake states, “I suppose you like to add them up," when he refers to Brett feeling bad for Cohn and sort of leading him on. Also similar to Linda, Brett seems to be a woman who looks put together, but has many underlying issues. This idea is shown through her alcoholism. Her life seems nice to look at, but she faces difficulties such as loving a man that she can’t express her affection for. I think she is a sympathetic character because she is supposed to appear very obviously flawed. She is not meant to just be portrayed as an attractive woman who has a nice life, rather she is portrayed as a woman with many problems.
3. I think that Georgette is important for two reasons. The most obvious of the reasons is that because she tries to touch Jake’s crotch and he says, “Nevermind,” and then later “I got hurt in the war.” The second reason she is important is because she shows that Jake is desperate for interaction and eventfulness in his life. Jake says, “I had picked her up because of a vague sentimental idea that it would be nice to eat with some one.” She is used by Hemingway to enter into Jake’s mind and learn more about his motives.
1. “[Rober Cohn] looked a great deal as his compatriot must have looked when he saw the promised land” (29). Jake describes Cohn’s infatuation with Brett quite mockingly. Jake’s mocking ton reveals his anxiety about his own masculinity. Jake worries that Brett will prefer Cohn because he knows that Brett wants a man with whom she can have sex. Jake, rather than outright professing his anxieties to the reader reveals his anxieties by his descriptions of others. By describing the monotony of his friends’ lives, he unveils that he feels an absence of purpose. He goes to work, drinks, talks with friends, goes to a café, drinks, has coffee, goes to a club, drinks, and goes to sleep. In a way, I relate to Jake feeling like his life lacks meaning, having anxiety that he will not measure up to expectations, and his competitiveness. I would like to think that I do not look upon the world in the same cynical manner as Jake, but I fear that I often do. I often find myself first laughing at the way Jake describes someone and then reading it again and feeling bad for the person he is describing. Jake feels very real. Even in his narration, he shies away from discussing himself, particularly the war and his injury, which is in keeping with the characters from other stories that we have read. While I do find Jake a sympathetic character, I also think he needs to get over himself. He has so much self-loathing that he takes out on other people. But as we see with his interactions with Brett, at the end of the day Jake just wants to have love and be loved, even if he will not admit it to himself.
ReplyDelete2. I want to like Brett because she is an independent woman who does not cling to men, but Jake describes her in such a way that I cannot help but be annoyed with her. I do not understand why she would make her suitor, Count Mippipopolous, drive her to Jake’s apartment so that she could tell Jake all the places that Count Mippipopolous offered to take her. She tells Jake that, “He just brought me here now, Offered me ten thousand dollars to go to Biarritz with him…Lot of money. I told him I couldn’t do it. He was awfully nice about it. Told me I knew too many people in Biarritz” (40–41). Is her goal to make him jealous? Why would she want to do that if she knows that he loves her? I think that it is hilarious that she refuses to go away with Count Mippipopolous because I bet that he has never been rejected. I just feel very bad for Jake because Brett does not seem to care about his emotional state.
3. Before Georgette, we did not know that Jake can not have sex, and through her, we get a glimpse at his inner anxieties regarding his masculinity. When Jake tells her that he is sick and she responds with “Everybody’s sick. I’m sick, too” (23). I want to know what she means by this. Does she mean that she has some sort of STI from being a prostitute? Does everyone in Paris have STIs? Is the sickness she referring to not physical, but mental? Later on, when she is talking with Frances she describes Paris as “dirty” and seems to have no enthusiasm towards the city of lights. She could be depressed. Maybe she lost someone in the war. It could be that she, like Jake, worries that she is not good enough and worries that everyone around her looks down upon her for being a prostitute.
For all that he feels superior to Cohn, who only has two friends in all of Paris, Jake is not particularly friendly either. In these chapters, it seems clear that the only person he genuinely likes in the group is Brett. The rest of his acquaintances seem to fall into a similar category as Cohn in his mind, evident through the way he quite scathingly describes them. For example, he says Mrs. Braddocks, “...in the excitement of talking French was liable to have no idea what she was saying” (18). Moreover, he’s willing to quite abruptly adds a prostitute to their party, and it’s implied that this is an insult to the quality of the wives of the other men. He is bored and sees life in Paris as monotonous and meaningless and so is willing to play these games. Seeing him in the club, we also learn that he loses his temper easily, that he detests silly, young, privileged men, probably for similar reasons that he condescends to and envies Cohn, and that he has a tendresse for the beautiful Lady Ashley. Their relationship is, predictably, quite messy, with both characters having plenty of baggage, not the least of which is that Jake cannot have sex because of a war injury. Certainly, he is greatly affected by this war, and has trouble sleeping at night because of his memories. So far, I find him fairly sympathetic; even if he behaves meanly and is quite judgemental, there’s enough backstory for me to see why he may act the way he does. I also tend to like the narrator simply because we see from their point of view unless they are completely intolerable. In this case, I enjoy his caustic judgements of those around him a little too much to dislike him yet. They are quite hilarious.
ReplyDeleteShe is, if anything, more privileged than Cohn. It appears that she lives a life of leisure, but for all her easy laughter, she seems pretty miserable. Part of this misery seems to be her relationship with Jake. She wants to be near him, but also not too near because she knows she can’t have sex with him. This back and forth is captured on page 26, when she says “‘I can’t stand it,’”, but later on the same page, says, “‘But darling, I have to see you. It isn’t all that, you know.” She’s trying to convince him a relationship isn’t all sex, but at the same time, is clearly maintaining some distance for that reason. There also seems to be something of Sam’s fascination in Tom in her dismissal of all the privileged young men at her heels in favor of Jake and all his baggage. Perhaps whatever it is making her miserable is also responsible for her seeking out someone more jaded, not boyish. I’m not sure I know enough about her to see whether she’s sympathetic or not. While she hasn’t been terribly annoying yet, she is also very privileged and used to it, which is always a little hard to stomach,
She gives us a clear insight into Jake’s character, both in his treatment of her, and the topics of conversation that come up. Very quickly, Jake is revealed to have been emasculated in the war, and his actions in hiring a prostitute anyways and bringing to the party out of boredom are also revealing. She also gives us a very different perspective on Paris and the French people. Jake may not be as wealthy as Cohn or Brett, but he makes enough of a living to travel in those booze-fueled social circles. Georgette, on the other hand, is a prostitute. At the very beginning of this reading, Jake describes, “the poules going by, singly and in pairs, looking for the evening meal” (14). Combined with her hunger after they reach the club, it’s clear that she’s only getting dinner if she’s successful in attracting a customer. In addition, her conversation with Frances shows two different Parises: “‘No, I don’t like Paris. It’s expensive and dirty.’ ‘Really? I find it extraordinarily clean...’ ‘I find it dirty’” (19). There’s grime underneath the heady, upper-class partying in Paris, and not a lot of happiness. Georgette is sharp and impatient and quite unhappy. Perhaps that’s not surprising considering the city just came out of a war.