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| Pamplona, Spain |
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| Running of the Bulls, San Fermin Festival |
A strenuous hike, the painful coldness of the stream, foliage that is “green and fresh”: Hemingway establishes a marked difference from the desensitized, chaotic nature of the expatriates’ lives in Paris. Throughout the fishing expedition, Hemingway chooses to depict Jake’s newfound focus on the minutiae of sensations: “It was so cold my hand and wrist felt numbed,” “the wine… tasted faintly rusty” (123)(126). We see a shift from Jake describing feelings as “pleasant,” “nice,” and “funny” - loaded with vague, concealed significance - to his descriptions of immediate sensory details and their physical effects. In this new setting, abstracted from social constructs and, literally, surrounded by a different language, consider Jake and Bill's fascinating discourse and how it differs from that of Paris. (e.g. Bill’s crack at Jake’s impotence (120), or “I couldn’t tell you that in New York. It’d mean I was a faggot,” (121) or “Our stay on earth is not long. Let us rejoice and believe and give thanks” (126), etc.)
"Do you still love me, Jake?"
"Yes," I said.
"Because I'm a goner."
"How?"
"I'm a goner. I'm mad about the Romero boy. I'm in love with him, I think."
"I wouldn't be if I were you."
"I can't help it. I'm a goner. It's tearing me up inside."
"Don't do it."
"I can't help it. I've never been able to help anything."
"You ought to stop it."
"How can I stop it? I can't stop things. Feel that?"
[...]
"I've got to do something. I've got to do something I really want to do. I've lose my self-respect [....] I don't say it's right. It's right though for me. God knows I've never felt such a bitch."
"What do you want me to do?" (187-188)
A few questions at the end of this exciting Race Day 2019.
1. Claire asked me at the end of class about what I—and obviously Hemingway—mean by "the values" that we've been talking about the last couple days. What do you think Hemingway means by "the values" and their importance in the novel? And as Jordyn asked me a couple days ago, what are the values you most abide by? Name two and say why these particular values: what do they provide you?
2. Brett feels like "such a bitch." Cohn, according to Mike, called her a "sadist"—to which Jake pointedly asks her, "'Are you a sadist, Brett?'" (170). When she stops being nervous talking with Romero, Jake says "she looked lovely" (189). The townspeople stare at her and Cohn calls her "Circe" (148). She is, I think, the most complicated character in the novel; and the most divisive to readers. So what do you think of Brett? Go ahead and quote in your response.
3. Charlotte at the end of class yesterday said the book frustrated her. She didn't like the characters and it seems like nothing happens in the book (I'm not sure this is all Charlotte, but some of it is definitely her). So in three sentences—not one, not two, not four or five—write what you think the novel is about. This is not a summation of the narrative: a group of expatriate friends go to Spain to drink, fuck, swear, chase young bullfighters, drink some more, and then drink some more. But the question is what the story is about. Three sentences.
See you tomorrow!
1. I think some of the values that Jake, and Hemingway, emphasize in the novel include decisiveness, likeability, and a strong work ethic. Jake likes to think that he finds these values necessary in a friendship, indicated by his reasoning behind his hatred of Robert Cohn. I make the distinction that he likes to think that these values are necessary, because, even though he is in love with Brett, she is more indecisive the Cohn, and appears to share his weak work ethic, and isn’t much more likeable than Cohn. Personally, the two values I most abide by are probable morality and kindness. I know that morality is quite vague, I meant it to be vague as it is hard to put into words. Essentially, I like to think that I have a strong moral compass, and value those who do, too. Kindness is much easier, I try to be as nice as possible to those around me, and value those who are kind as well.
ReplyDelete2. I don’t like Brett that much. I think that she uses people’s, especially Jake’s, feelings to manipulate them for her benefit. The best example of this is from 187-190, when Brett has Jake, even though she knows that Jake is in love with her, set her up with Pedro Romero. Brett claims that she is in love with Jake, but, as Claire said the other day, “walks all over him”. She doesn’t just do this with Jake, either, we see her act this way with a lot of the men in this book, like with Mike, her fiance, who she talks to about all the men she is sleeping with. I realize that Brett can’t help how the men in the novel can feel about her, but I find how she uses their feelings for her own gain dubious.
3. (1) Though it has been barely mentioned, I think this story may partially be about the after-effects war has on veterans. (2) In class, we mentioned the characters that are veterans, and there is a distinct difference between them and those who aren’t, like Robert Cohn. (3) The veterans have been affected by the war in ways that the non-veterans haven’t, like in Jake’s case, where the war, and his injury, has made him dry and sarcastic, or “hard boiled”.
1.For me, “the values” seem to me like what you look for in a person, what you admire, what you aspire to be like, or an attribute you abide by (something you base your actions and decisions on). It it something your characterize as possibly a part of your moral compass or belief system. In doing so, I believe almost anything could be a “value”. In Brett’s case, the possibility of having “no values” could be a value in it of itself. We talked a lot about in class how Jake is so interested in bullfighting particularly for his admiration for courage and bravery. That could possibly be seen as one of his values. These values establish more information about the characters in the story and possibly alluding to why all of them are so broken inside. Perhaps they are losing their own values? As for me, two values that are dearly important to me is respect and relativity. I am a strong believer in treating everyone you meet with respect before treating them any other way. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, and I believe you must treat people with respect first before confronting them about anything. Bringing respect to the table brings a civility and humanness of some sort to people. In addition, I also believe relativity to be one of my values. In more specific terms, I believe you could argue that almost everything is relative. I believe it is important to account for the background information, contextual clues, and the general upbringing before making decisions about people. As we probably have heard many times before, everyone has their own story, regardless if it is apparent or not, and we should not be so quick to make inferences.
ReplyDelete2.For me, Brett is a very complicated character. She just seems so broken, and in doing so, she is scared of commitment. On one side, Brett is a drastically radical character, one who defies all stereotypical connotations of the time era as well as the contemporary time era now. She is an important female figure in this story who has a certain power over others. She can be brash, outspoken, and in a sense a “boss” aura. However, she can also be very problematic in many situations. For example, it is no question that she herself is very manipulative of people’s feelings. This example is shown when she asks Jake to set her up with Romero, knowing fully well about his love for her. She plays around with people, asking Jake if he still loves her anymore and still asking for favors. Ina sense, it is almost as if Brett’s values are to having no values.
3. I believe that this book focuses on the brokenness of ex-patriots and those who served in war, particularly when talking about Jake. Each character struggles to accept and maintain their own reality, distracting themselves in an internal war of hatred, love and “occasional” alcohol along the way. In doing so, the tension of Americans in Paris become increasingly apparent as the characters all long for what they can not obtain.
Prompt One: The values of the novel are, what Count Mippipopolous might say, modes of life that maximise happiness. For instance, when drinking alcohol one might finish it quickly and alone, hoping to get drunk. The count would disagree with this method, though, for in the same drink was so much wasted potential. It could have been had slowly, or with friends. What the count is really saying is “Don’t pass up opportunities (things in your control at least) to be happier.” For Jake, this could be as simple as stacking trout, and for me it would probably be going to bed a little earlier (so that I wake up before my alarm), and drinking lots of water each day, so that I am more aware and focused.
ReplyDeletePrompt Two: I think that Brett is really manipulative. I think back to the beginning of the book when Jake walks by the puppet master and his assistant: “I stepped aside… girl assistant manipulated the boxers… the thread folded in her hands” (43). This puppet girl feels like Brett because around her fingers she has wrapped many men who will fight for her—think about Cohn and Mike—all who are just like the boxer puppets.
Prompt Three: This story is about the cycle of life. Dealing with the past. And adapting to the moment.
1. I think Hemmingway would describe values as something someone is passionate about. He leaves what he means by values open ended because they have different meanings based on each character. For example, Count Mippi finds value in concrete things such as drinking, while Jake holds value in more abstract ideas such as having order in his life. Over the course of this book, we see a “shifting in values gradually”(156) especially in Jake. Jake is guided by his values of having a routine throughout the book, but when he goes to Spain he learns to find value in the little things such as drinking and fishing which help him live his life less passively. Two values I abide by are helping people and curiosity. These values are important to me because they are values my parents have emphasised throughout my whole upbringing.
ReplyDelete2. I agree that Brett is the most complicated character. Brett is able to manipulate the men in her life without doing it to be cruel. I believe that she gets involved with so many men because she looks for self affirmation in them due to the fact that she is very insecure. We don’t know enough about Brett’s background or perspective to detail her insecurities, but we know they exist because of her excessive drinking, the fact that she says she is miserable, and her seeking affirmation in men, “I’m a goner. I’m mad about the Romero boy. I’m in love with him, I think”(187). I do not think that she actually loves Romero, but knows that he will make her feel wanted and important, something that she seems to not be able to do herself. Because Brett reads as a very insecure character, I do not think that the way she treats Jake is intentionally cruel.
3. The book raises the question of how people who are regular working class people find purpose and value in their lives. By writing about such unheroic figures, Hemmingway focuses on the way flawed characters interact with each other with such empathy as well as being cruel and vicious. Hemmingway challenges what it means to be a good person with complex characters such as Bill who is both anti-semetic but also a wonderful friend to Jake.
1. I think “the values” have to do with finding happiness and comfort despite tragedy. I think this is intertwined with the war because the effects make it difficult for the characters to possess “the values.” Jake finds a little bit of happiness in bullfighting, but otherwise, the characters are dissatisfied with their lives. Compassion and trust are two of my core values. People who are compassionate and trustworthy make me feel supported, and in my opinion, these values are the basis of good friendships.
ReplyDelete2. Brett is definitely a complicated character. I like that she is independent and willing to speak her mind. However, I agree that she is manipulative. She hurts the men around her, while also hurting herself. She has “lost [her] self-respect” because of these relationships, and while she has attempted to use alcohol to cope, she knows that she "can't just stay tight all the time" (187). But, I think I would dislike her more if I liked the characters she manipulates, but since I don’t particularly like Jake or Cohn, it doesn’t bother me quite as much.
3. I am breaking the 3 sentence rule because I’d like to clarify what I meant by saying that “nothing happens.” Clearly, the characters have done things (fishing, drinking, watched bullfights, etc.), but they have not had much of an impact on anything. They have no new accomplishments, other than catching a few fish. Most of the plot has consisted of them talking about or amongst themselves. Almost all the characters are writers, yet other than the occasional mention of Jake’s work, we don’t read about any of them being productive. I am used to more character development in books, and in my opinion, none of the characters have changed significantly. To answer the question, I think the book is about the difficulties people face in dealing with devastating events. None of the central characters have found a way to be content with their lives. Like Leo, I’d say this is due to the largely-unmentioned war.
1. I think that the importance of the values in the book are used to show the creation of a skewed reality. As onlookers, Paris seems like it should be appreciated, but the characters within the novel seem to ignore this idyllic setting aside from select instances in Jake’s description. Because of the somewhat strange values in Paris, Hemingway is able to contrast the values of the characters as they travel to the country. This allows Hemingway to not only expand upon the depth of the characters, but also display the effect of the setting on the tone of the novel. A value I abide by is routine because a routine allows you to live the type of lifestyle you strive for. I decide to make things I value a routine so they are no longer a choice, rather they are mandatory. The second value I abide by is loyalty. I think it is extremely important to stand by the people that have helped you from the beginning.
ReplyDelete2. I think that Brett is very powerful. Cleary, she has the ability to control men, but she also is cursed with the need to lead on multiple men. She states, “I can’t help it […] It’s tearing me all up inside” (187). She is burdened with this extreme independence where she cannot commit to anything. For example, she loves Jake which keeps her coming back, but she can’t commit to him. Brett lives in a harsh reality. All of her true loves are imperfect. For example, her first true love died of dysentery and Jake is impotent so they cannot truly be together.
3. The novel is about the process of recovery following World War I. The results of the struggle to recover are the alcoholism and a difficulty to find meaning and value in things in life. The novel, thus, focuses on the coping mechanisms of characters who are trying to live meaningful lives in a world where they do not know what is important to themselves.
1. I think by Hemingway linking such two polar opposite, yet also almost exactly alike, characters (Brett and Jake) he is defining and highlighting two very important values in the story. With Brett, he is valuing the importance freedom and spontaneity, and with Jake he is valuing the importance of ritual and routine. Brett doesn't seem like she ever knows what she wants, and she lives her life without a plan. I think she's afraid of settling down and having a routine, and she likes the idea of an unknown and unplanned future. She rapidly jumps from man to man, drink to drink, and place to place, without ever giving much thought about consequences. Jake on the other, enjoys having a routine. He goes to the same places, talks with the same people, and has a passion for bullfighting the because the outcome of it is predetermined. Personally, I think my values switch a lot depending on where I am in my life or how I'm feeling at a certain time. I think two of my main values are empathy and kindness. I think it's really important to be able to be there for people and also just overall be nice to people.
ReplyDelete2. Similar to many previous responses, I agree that Brett is very manipulative. She likes to have the world, and all of her men, eating out of the palm of her hand. She does what she wants with who she wants, but she also always knows how to keep everyone coming back no matter what she has done to them. It's honestly kind of sad. I think that she has to prove to herself that she is good enough by having all of these men because she doesn't feel good enough on her own. It's a sign of insecurity: "Do you still love me, Jake?"
3. This novel is about finding things in your life that give you purpose and make it worth it, no matter how big or small they are. It's about veterans finding meaning in their lives once again following the war. It's about trying to find distractions that keep from facing a reality that sooner or later will hit you anyways.
1) I think the “values” probably have a lot to do with the difference between wanting something and needing something. I’m not sure if Brett knows the difference between what she wants and what she needs, or, if she does, doesn’t do anything to stop herself from doing the unnecessary. I’m not saying every character should act solely on necessity, but I think a lot of the book’s problems could be solved if people stopped to think about what they were doing, and whether or not they were doing it for the right reasons. I think Jake knows what he wants is not always what he needs. He knows when to stop drinking, he is very responsible about getting his work done before partying, and he spends time relaxing with Bill because he knows it is good for him. I’m not sure what to call that value, but I know Jake has it. I think the Count has it too. He knows he doesn’t need alcohol, but he also doesn’t drink because he thinks he needs to. He drinks in a responsible and thoughtful way, whereas Brett and Mike drink like their lives depend on it and in unhealthy excesses. I think this value (though I really don’t have a word for it) is something I take very seriously in my own life. Marie Kondo’s whole concept of only keeping items in your life that “spark joy” is something I’ve adopted in a less literal of senses. I don’t listen to music if I don’t like it, I don’t watch a movie if it doesn’t make me happy, and I don’t spend time trying to be nice to people that aren’t nice to me. I buy that nice pair of jeans if I can afford to, and I don’t feel guilty for doing so because I’ve worked hard to make money and I deserve to let myself use it. But I do so without going broke, without hurting those around me and without drinking myself to death, some things many characters in this book don’t seem to relate to. I’ve gotten a lot happier living my life this way, and I’ve noticed my relationship with myself has gotten stronger. I value that kind of vulnerability a lot. There’s nothing I love more than listening to someone talk about the things most important to them, and I really value being able to do the same. I need that kind of unconditional support from the people closest to me, and I work hard to provide that kind of environment when they’re vulnerable themselves.
ReplyDelete2) I really admire that Brett goes out and gets what she wants. That’s a really impressive amount of bravery that (as I said above) I’m trying to implement in my own life. I do, however, think she needs to be a bit more aware of how her bravery affects the people she says she loves. I’m all for strong women being forward in relationships and taking control of their own sexualities, but when Brett asks Jake to help her hit on Pedro Romero, she is completely ignorant to the fact that this makes him absolutely miserable. And I don’t think that’s okay. Jake can’t help but gawk at this woman as she talks to someone that isn’t him, saying “She looked lovely” (189). Brett knows how horrible she’s making Jake feel, but does nothing to prevent it from happening again and again as she goes after what she wants.
3) The Sun Also Rises addresses the complicated struggle between each character’s search for happiness, and how each one overlaps with and affects the others. Some characters are aware of the weight their search carries, and how deeply it can affect the ones they love, while other characters are blissfully unaware of the fact that their pursuit of happiness prevents the happiness of others. None of the characters fully recognize the affect their search for happiness has on themselves, and fail to see how constantly chasing after what they want often does more harm to themselves than good.
1. The values of this novel, the things that allow the characters to live rather than merely exist, are friendship, romance, sex, and alcohol. I think that these values are shared by all of the characters. Bill and Jake especially value friendship. Jake and Cohn are both romantics which means that they value romance. Jake and Brett value sex. Brett cannot be with Jake, even though she seems to love him because she values sex too much. Jake values sex which is one of the reasons that he hates Cohn. Cohn can have sex but does not seem to value it as much as Jake. All of the characters, except for Cohn, value alcohol. Some value it as an escape like Brett and sometimes Jake, but others like Mippi and the Basques value alcohol and the camaraderie that comes along with it.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my values are dedication/hard work and humor. One of the most frustrating situations I find myself in is when I have put a lot of hard work and dedication into something like studying for a test or writing an essay and another person has put much less time and effort into the same task and he or she gets a more favorable result. It angers me so much because of how deeply I value hard work and dedication. I believe that these values are key to a fulfilling life. I also strongly believe in the value of humor. If you are not laughing or finding amusement then you are doing something wrong. I believe that life without laughter is not a life worth living.
2.
I want to not like Brett because she is an alcoholic and does not respect Jake’s feelings, but I just cannot help but like her. I like how she does not conform to the status quo and I also feel like Jake needs to just move on and stop following Brett around like a steer. Brett cannot stand Cohn’s “damned suffering” (186) and I agree with Brett that Cohn needs to move on. I understand that in the ‘20s sex really meant something, but Cohn needs to pick up on the cues that it did not mean something in this case. I appreciate that Brett does want she wants and does not let others hold her down.
3. A group of people must learn how to live in a post-war society. They must reevaluate their values based on what they want out of this new and not asked for world. They try to cope by consuming copious amounts of alcohol and exist without true meaning in the abyss that is life.
In an absurd world, there are no absolute ideals, or values that are true for everyone, but even if it’s an illusion, it’s important to believe in something and to live in accordance to those beliefs because it gives greater meaning to life. It stops life from being an endless cycle of drudgery, as Jake feels at the party he attends with Brett and Mippi. There’s also an implication, particularly when Count Mippi says it, that it has to do with seeing the worth, or being able to accurately judge the worth, of various things. It’s being able to determine what’s important in life, or even just keeping events in context and seeing that there is still something to live for when things fall apart.
ReplyDeleteBeing present - Sort of like Count Mippi and his appreciation of small, physical things. I’m very much a worrier and a planner. One of my greatest fears is that I will spend high school preparing for college, college preparing for work, work preparing for retirement, and before I realized it, race myself to the grave. Because it would be so easy for me to get caught up in the rat race, it helps me to remember to be grateful for everything that’s already happening around me. I’m no less alive now than I will be in college or in the workplace and there’s no point squandering the limited time I have and not living fully.
Accountability - I like to believe that I am in control of my own life and make my own decisions. This isn’t always true, but acknowledging that I choose my actions makes it less of a burden than a willing responsibility. For example, I choose to do my homework because I care about my schoolwork and grades. It’s something that matters to me. If I procrastinate by reading a book, that’s also a conscious choice I make with its own consequences. This way, I have fewer regrets and am more invested in what I do.
While I don’t think Brett is a sadist necessarily, I think she is selfish, which makes her carelessly cruel. Certainly, she’s sometimes purposefully cruel as well. As she says, “‘Do you still love me Jake?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Because I’m a goner’” (183). She makes Jake prove his love for her by asking him to set her up with Pedro Romero, which, besides throwing herself at another man while stringing him along, forces him to abandon his hard-earned respect among the Spaniards as an aficionado. He will not protect Pedro, the pure ideal of a bullfighter, from Brett like he did from the American ambassador. However, sadism is about liking other people’s pain, and it’s less about the pain than it is the power she holds over them. It’s about getting what she wants. Brett says, “‘I’ve got to do something I really want to do. I’ve lost my self-respect...I can’t just stay tight all the time’” (183). She doesn’t really care for her impact on the people around her, only easing her own pain through her conquests and drinking. Compared to Jake’s commitment to hard work and responsibility, I find it hard occasionally to not be disgusted by her dissolute, privileged habits, for all that she is as broken as the rest of them.
The story is about a group of disillusioned, expatriate veterans struggling to cope with the nonsensical, meaningless world they live in post-WWI. With varying levels of success, the members of the group attempt to find ways not just to survive, but to live purposefully, despite knowing there is no grand romance in the world. There is hope; although they often turn to dissolute drinking, dating Brett, and other self-destructive behaviors, Jake, at least, has found more joy in life on this trip to Spain and as lost as they might be, the generation endures.
I think that the values Hemingway speaks of are the characteristics in ourselves and others that we most cherish, find to be the most important, and/or strive to achieve. John, I have been thinking about confidence and authenticity, the chicken and the egg, etc, and did not come to a decisive conclusion as to which one I deem to be the most important, but luckily, you have given me two values, so I will say both: confidence and authenticity. I think these values go hand in hand. Confidence is the ability to share things with ourselves which then allows us to share these emotional, personal stories, little bits of ourselves, with others, which I think forms the basis of authenticity and the type of confidence that most people come to admire.
ReplyDeleteI am not entirely sure what to think of Brett. I am trying to figure out which is worse — being emotionally tethered to Brett or being in Brett’s situation myself, and I just do not know. They both sound pretty awful. Brett says, “I’ve never been able to help anything,” which can be taken two ways, as in she has never been able to fix anything (even though she was a nurse) and/or she just has very little self-control, and I think an argument can be made for both (even though we don’t know much about her nursing background.) Brett says, “I’m a goner,” multiple times to Jake. Brett is one of those characters I want to help so badly, but there is nothing that can be done to change her character; it is too late.
I think this novel is about the psychological struggle that is induced by choosing values in life. Some of us choose wisely, such as Mippi, while others choose poorly, such as Brett (men) and Cohn (crying in his Princeton polo), and must struggle to find a way to live with these mistakes/disillusionments/whatever it may be if they cannot be changed. I think that everyone comes across at least one time in their life when they are forced to question their values, some more critically than others.
Hemingway has painted us a picture of a chaotic, confusing world in which a young man is emasculated on a foreign country’s “joke front.” Hemingway implicitly shows on the arbitrary nature of war in Jake; it was completely arbitrary as to wether Jake would live or die in Italy. Jake lived, but he lived with an injury that will follow him for the rest of his life. In such a perplexing world, it is too easy to just succumb to alcoholism and wallow away; Hemingway’s “values” are one’s perspective on life. Jake could look at his life and think that it is over because he can never be with a woman or have a child, but he doesn’t; that is not the perspective he chooses. Mippi, in spite of all his time and injuries in war, takes an enjoyment-based perspective on life; he lives life to the fullest. Hemingway’s values are a choice about one’s perspective on life. Perspectives drive the progression and nuance of the novel: Brett’s perspective on love and romance drives her to Romero, Jake’s perspective on order causes his work ethic, Mike’s perspective on Cohn leads to Mike’s lashing out against him. I value work/productivity because it gives me a sense of purpose, that I am doing something worth doing in my life. It sounds strange to write based on my blog, but I also value perspective. I value responding to situations from a third person perspective because I believe it makes me less biased towards my own beliefs. I believe this perspective makes me more empathetic and enables me to see in a long-term focus.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for Brett and see why she acts the way she does: “Her own true love” died in a slow, arbitrary way in war (46). That being said, I dislike how Brett responds to her pain: self-destruction and manipulation. Jake explicitly tells Brett that he loves her, so Brett uses Jake to get her Romero, who will still not fix her problems. From Montoya’s reaction to Brett being with Romero, we infer that this distraction may hurt Romero later, but Brett uses Romero’s attraction to her in order to get what she wants from him. I understand that she is damaged and in pain, but she is just hurting herself and others throughout the book.
This is a true war story about the subtle psychological effects of war. It is about how war damages people physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is about how those damaged people try to wade their ways through the murky, confusing, arbitrary mess that war left them with.
1. As we have established in class, Hemingway does a good job of painting the postwar world as an absurd place in which all sense of meaning and order is lost. Because of the absurdity of the world in which they live, the characters have to redefine and reclaim what is important to them, and only once they have done that and established their values will they be able to live a meaningful life. It is important to note, however, that Hemingway does not clearly define these “values.” I believe the reason why the definition remains so ambiguous is because values differ from person to person, thus further illustrating how they are not predetermined notions, but rather intangible concepts that shift and change depending on the person, time, setting, etc (“....shifting in values gradually” (157)). Personally, two things that I value are integrity and empathy. However, I am not exactly sure if these two “values” would be categorized more as personality traits, or if they could be considered along the same lines as Hemingway’s “values.”
ReplyDelete2. I am extremely conflicted about what I feel towards Brett and her character, though I do agree that she is one of the most enigmatic and complicated figures in the book. I think that she simultaneously possesses both admirable and despicable qualities, and I do not think that these opposing qualities are mutually exclusive. Brett clearly is a strong, independent and sexually liberated woman, and I think that she demonstrates a lot of bravery in the way she interacts with the world of men. Despite her love for Jake, she has the ability to move on and have relationships with others. Yet it is this same disregard for Jake and for others that I find upsetting about her character. Throughout the book, Brett is always offering up excuses for her behavior and claiming how she just “...can’t help it. [She’s] never been able to help anything” (187) and this illustrates her lack of awareness surrounding others’ feelings and her lack of accountability.
3. The Sun Also Rises is about how war has affected society, and how the individuals within that society react. This story portrays a world in which nearly all sense of meaning and fulfillment are lost. In this absurd, meaningless world, each character must struggle to find value and reshape the world around him/herself in order to live a happy life.