The Sun Also Rises Literary Criticism

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It seems as though through these couple chapters, Jacob has been given a break from almost all of the issues that he has encountered every single day for the entirety of the book up until this point. This pause is not only to just give the character some time to reflect on his life and what has happened. But it also provides a break for the reader. Up until now, we have been getting the same scenery, the same activities and day to day schedule, and the same problems that are persistent through the chapters, but now, the reader also gets some time to reflect on what has happened so far.

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This is done through the dialog, or the way that the characters talk to each other. As the reader, it gives the peace of mind of knowing that all is well at this moment. There are no struggles weighing down on the main character, no major arguments, and it’s not the same routine.

It’s peaceful and finally gives the reader and the protagonist alike a break from the grimy, unlucky circumstances and setting that has been weighing on the character and the reader. A time in which the characters can fish, talk, and play bridge can be refreshing to read. The only issue with this form of storytelling is that a nice, tranquil break such as this is usually right in the eye of the storm in terms of plot. This may be foreshadowing an event such as more problems with Brett, Mike, or even Robert.

Although the reader does not know what is coming next, and may be thrown off by the sudden happiness, be sure that this will not be the end of the desolation and hardships that Jacob will face throughout the novel.

Chapter 13 begins with Jacob enjoying his time at the inn with Bill. They had finally just received a letter from Mike saying that Brett had passed out on the train and that they had taken time, being multiple days, for her to recover. Mike said that they would be waiting to hear from Bill and Jacob about a way for them to meet back up. This makes Jacob immediately want to meet back up so he, and Bill, get back to the bus to go back. On their way, they happen to see Harris who told them multiple times upon seeing them just how glad he was to have met them. Bill and Jacob then continued on their way back. When they finally made it back, they met up with Robert, Mike, and Brett. After so long apart, they all decided to go watch the bulls that would be there for an upcoming festival. One by one, each bull is let out into the main area. When the bulls would get there, they would be directed by the Steers. During this lengthy and dangerous process, one of the Steers is killed, but all of the bulls were successfully loaded into the right places. After they were done watching the bulls, they all went out to drink and Mike became drunk again. He repeatedly insulted Robert, talking about how he knew of the affairs that Brett had with other people. He compared Robert to the Steer, as Robert was staring at Brett, and said that he only cared that Robert had acted so pitifully about it. After they went back to the motel, Jacob couldn’t help but feel badly about how his friends treated each other, and even worse, how he almost liked that Mike would tend to insult Robert when he was drunk.

Just as both the characters, and the reader were getting comfortable, both were thrown back into reality when Jacob received the letter from Mike about how Brett had passed out. After days of potentially worrying, not hearing a thing, getting news like that surely put Jacob into a panic. He immediately wanted to head back and meet up with them to make sure that his love was okay. He may have said that he did not care for her anymore, but actions speak louder than words, and his actions directly contradicted anything he could have said. After getting back it seemed as though everything was okay between the friends, everyone was in good spirits for the most part, and they went to see the bullfight. However after the drinks were poured at the bar later that night, it turned pretty quickly from a friendly gathering to a hostile situation. Mike had started insulting Robert, knowing about the affairs that his fiance was having. This left a conflict inside of Jacobs heart, Robert and mike were his friends, but he knew that he loved Brett deep down. He almost wanted someone to be mean to Robert at the end of the day, Robert had betrayed him and fooled around with the girl that Jacob was in love with. That may be the reason that he enjoyed someone calling Robert out on his actions. It may have been jealousy, or just the fact that he wanted someone to help him realize that what he did was wrong. All of these things left Jacob contemplating his relationships with his friends and whether it was good to be around them or not. It seems as though the eye of the storm is ending again and the story will be heading back into chaos.

For the next two days, the town spends their time preparing for the festival that will be taking place. Meanwhile, the group of friends is getting along quite nicely in the days leading up to the festival. After the festival starts, the entire town turns into a partying harbor for bad decisions. Bill, Jacob, Mike, Brett, and Robert all go out for the night. The entire first night is spent partying and drinking. Jacob went back to the hotel at around four in the morning, and the rest stayed up all night in the streets. He woke just in time to see the bull fight from his balcony, and the others were still awake to watch it from their place on the street. When Jacob gets down to the others, Robert warns him to not look at the bulls as they tear apart the horses in the fight, adding in a comment that he hopes it would not make him bored to watch. This comment further upset Bill and cemented his opinion of Robert. After the fight was over, Brett talked about how amazing it was even through the horses were killed. Robert, having not listened to his own advice, felt sick to his stomach from watching. This made Mike criticize Robert and laugh at him, calling him weak. The next day, Brett and the others sit and watch the most talented bullfighter, calling him much more talented as opposed to the other fighters.

For the first time in the novel, all of the characters seem united and they actually act like friends. This is a huge contract from the usual arguments that they frequently get in, not to mention the competition that Mike, Jacob, and Robert have over who will get Brett’s love. It seemed as though prior to this section, the group of characters were slowly going their separate ways and were not getting along as well as they used to. If there was one thing demonstrated through this chapter, it’s the fact that each and every one of the characters were able to push through their own drama between others in the group, and stick together to have a fun time. It is also shown that some of the tension between Mike and Robert has gone down. Both of them are staying civil, and Robert has not said a thing about his affair with Brett since the night that it came up in conversation. It seems as though this is one thing that Robert Cohn does not want to deal with in terms of drama. The tension between Robert and Bill also seems to have gone down to a level of annoyance rather that full arguments over how condescending Robert is to his friends. All of these different aspects of their friendships seem to be improving dramatically. Could they actually be a friend group that may be good for one another?

Section 16 opens on a day with terrible weather there aren’t any fights today, however the celebrating proceeds inside. That night, Jacob is visited in his bedroom by Montoya, who reveals to him that someone requested to have a group talk with Pedro Romero and another bullfighter named Marcial Lalanda. He is worried that Romero getting engaged with Americans won't be beneficial for him, and Jacob feels the same way, but he doesn’t know what to do, so he starts with encouraging Montoya not to pass the message along to Romero. Jake goes to join his companions, and walks in, seeing them eating dinner while downing multiple drinks. Bill keeps buying more and more shoe-shiners for Mike. Pedro is likewise in the lounge area, and asks Jake to go along with him, where they relax, have some drinks, and talk about the fighting until Brett adds and demands that Jacob present them. Mike is beyond the point of no return and was causing a scene, shouting to Pedro, which Jacob finds humiliating. Mike is furious that Jacob wouldn't let him have a conversation with the fighter, and afterward starts insulting Robert again, Saying that he’s a bad person and that he doesn't have a place with them and isn't needed. At the point when Robert won't leave, Mike stumbles up and is ready to start a fight, seeing the potential issue between his friends, Jacob steers him outside. Mike quiets down outside, and Brett and Bill turn out to go along with them to watch firecrackers show that is going bad. They leave, and are joined by a lady who is a companion of Bill's from Biarritz. When everyone comes back together, Brett is mad and says that Robert is stupid for not knowing that what happened between them wasn’t love. Everyone heads in for the night at the end of the chapter.

There are some very interesting points to be made about this novel, and in the article, “Confession, Charity, and Community in ‘The Sun Also Rises’” by Doris A. Helbig, she makes good points about the way life is lived through this book. The main point that was made was that in the novel ,all of the characters experience growth that they had no clue they were going through. Each and every one of them is constantly changing, but they’re all changing together. All of these characters are going through drastic situations in their otherwise carefree lives, but as they continue to face hardships with each other and through each other, they continue to slowly build in number of people and in closeness to those people. They all recognize that they have done wrong, both to others in the group, and people outside of it, but they are always helping each other out no matter what. They are always building up a community between the few of them that there are. Nothing could be more true in the last few sections, all of the characters have struggled in one way or another, but they all made it through together.

It was the friend’s last night, so they decided to share a meal together. Mike flips over the table after yelling at Brett because he found out about her affair with Romero, yet Brett doesn't appear to be disturbed. Speaking of Brett, she wanted to go down to the church to pray for Romero's last bullfight, even though the novel had never depicted here as religious. She feels awkward and comes back to the lodging to think about Romero's wounds. At the bullfight Brett is so concerned about him that she doesn’t know what to do. Romero gives Brett his cape, yet she isn't sure how to manage it. Another matador, Belmonte, draws boos and judgments from the group when he doesn't give them gore they want. Belmonte had once been viewed as a bullfighting legend, yet when he left retirement and returned to the ring he was always unable to satisfy his heritage. The crowd considers him to be an illusionist, making the picture of strain while never being at serious risk. Romero performs quite surprisingly well withstanding his numerous wounds. He slaughters the bull that gutted the man earlier in the same night, cutting off and introducing its ear to Brett in the group. Romero is done like a legend of the ring. On the last night of the party Jake and Bill go out drinking. Jacob muses that Cohn will likely get back with Frances, and Bill depicts the holiday as a great bad dream. Jacob raises his glass to that, saying he puts stock in bad dreams. Brett and Romero leave for Madrid. Bill, Jake, and Mike share one last drink, however Jacob thinks 'it appeared just as around six individuals were absent.'

Through the course of the novel, the argument has been brought up many times as to whether this was purely a book or not. There was always a thought that it may be more. And upon reading an article titled “Hemmingway’s Hidden Metafictions” one thing was said that stood out from all the rest. The entire time, there was a conversation that the author was having with himself about what he should make this book be at its identity. Originally, the book was not going to be so sad and desolate, however something changed in the way Hemmingway thought about his book. Be began connecting it to his life and back to his prior experiences. One quote struck me quite heavily, the author said, “Jake Barnes was named Hem in the early drafts, and in the version he sent to his editor, Hemingway retained the conceit that the book was not merely based on his real-life experiences but was actually a memoir: “I made the unfortunate mistake, for a writer of first having been Mr. Jake Barnes.” This entire time, the reader has been lead on with nothing more than a feeling to direct this theory, but as shown above, this is truly what is happening. Before we, as the reader, had no clue if this book was meant as an account of his own life written by Jake Barnes, or if it was Hemmingway just telling a story. Those two things greatly came together and as we can now see, Hemmingway is Jacob Barnes. Therefore this is Hemmingway warning the reader about life and how truly terrible it can be. (Newyorker.org)

The last chapter takes place after the festival has ended. Mike and Bill decide to go back to Paris, and Jacob wants to spend another week on vacation. They say their goodbyes, and Jake receives a letter from Brett, who had ran away with Pedro, to meet her in Madrid. Quickly, Jacob gets there as fast as he can. When he shows up to the meeting place, Brett is there crying. She said that Pedro should’ve never been in the picture and that his friends were harassing him about her, saying that she should grow her hair out to be more of a woman. Brett wants to go back to Mike so they talk about it. They walk to another hotel to drink while they talk. And after they’re done they get on a train to go find somewhere to stay. At that moment, Brett tells Jake how good they would’ve been together. He then realizes just how beautiful of a thing that could be. At the end of the day however, he now knew that it could never happen and he was content.

This truly marks the end of the road for Jacob and his story. No matter how much he had been through with everyone, everything must come to an end eventually. In this case, his friends all left him one by one. The characters that the reader had seen struggle through the entire novel all slowly faded away. And Jacob finally has his closure, for the course of the entire book, he’s been battling with one person or another to try to win Brett over, however it was always in vain as she would have rathered to have slept with many other people over.

However now, he was truly at peace with nothing holding him back from happiness. At the end of the day, this may have been Hemmingway’s way of telling the reader that his days of sadness and discontentment are over, and so is the misery in this book. All has been set to as it should be, and all of the characters know what they must do for once. This truly the end of a rollercoaster of a story. (The Sun Also Rises ending -lostgeneration.org)