The Sun Also Rises: the Fishing Trip

Ernest Hemingway wrote the novel “The Sun Also Rises” in 1925 and was published in 1926. It is about a group of British and American ex-patriots that travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, to see the Running of the Bulls and the Bullfights. Bill Gorton and Jake Barnes leave Paris or as Hemingway puts it “shove off” to Burguete, Spain, where they go trout fishing on the Irati River. Many may ask why the fishing scene is so important.

In this essay the reader will get a better understanding of how two adult men have a coming of age experience on the trip. The fishing trip is significant as it shows that going to a different place is free from the complications of Paris and the distress women may cause. Barnes even states that “women made such swell friends. Awfully swell” (Hemingway, 1926) suggesting that women are more harmful than helpful. Gorton and Barnes were free to communicate to each other and developed a relationship which is open from the pressure of having women present.

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This added a layer of drama and depth to the city itself. Barnes and Gorton are in an area that is extremely different from the fast pace city life that Paris brings. On the trip, Gorton and Barnes are able to express themselves since they are surrounded by nature and not bound to the social structure of their society. The men open up to one another with little to no fear. An example of this is when Bill tells Jake how he feels about him.

“And you're a hell of a good guy. Anybody ever tell you were a good guy?” “I'm not a good guy.” “Listen. You're a hell of a good guy, and I'm fonder of you than anybody on earth. I couldn't tell you that in New York. It'd mean I was a faggot (Hemingway,1926). Barnes trusts Gorton because he knows that Gorton is not going to take what he said out of context. Today one may call their relationship a bro-mance.

There is a certain love that only a friend can give you. They have a special bond and a female would not be able to replace that bond. Not having the formality of the city both men are able to open up and express their thoughts and feelings without repercussions from others. There is certain acceptance of the turmoil in both of their lives. The fresh air and the surroundings of the river, provides each of the men with clear way of thinking and a better understanding.

Irati River had a special serenity and peacefulness to it. Barnes painted a beautiful image of the river, “Way off we saw the steep bluffs, dark with trees and jutting with gray stone. That marked the course of the Irati River” (Hemingway, 1926). All stress that the city may provide is left behind. Gorton and Barnes behave in a manner that does not reflect the city life. The trip mends the broken spirits. The fishing excursion is very important part to this novel as it gives hope for the “lost generation”. The war has left such destruction and devastation behind but there can be a rebirth and life can go on, as tomorrow is and new day and “The Sun Also Rises”.