“‘Oh, don’t stand up and act as though you were going to hit me. That won’t make any difference to me. Tell me, Robert. Why do you follow Brett around like a poor bloody steer? Don’t you know you’re not wanted? I know when I’m not wanted. Why don’t you know when you’re not wanted? You came down to San Sebastian where you weren’t wanted, and followed Brett around like a bloody steer. Do you think that’s right?’”
-The Sun Also Rises, p 146
Another reason that I do not like Robert Cohn (though this isn’t really his fault) is that it is unclear whether or not he is the protagonist. In this passage, it appears that Cohn is in fact the protagonist, and Mike is the antagonist. In truth, however, I could see either Brett or Cohn dubbed the protagonist in The Sun Also Rises. On one hand, one could say that since Cohn’s obsession with Brett has thus far caused any action or plot progression that has taken. On the other hand, however, one could also say that if Brett had not gone on vacation with Cohn, and if she did not flirt with men other than her fiancé as much, then the plot would never have progressed.
The dynamic between Brett and Cohn clearly is an interesting one. If Cohn is viewed as the protagonist, then it appears that Mike—and, truthfully, all of the friends, considering no one wishes to stop Mike’s belittling of Cohn—is the antagonist. If Brett is viewed as the protagonist, however, the tables are turned; Cohn is seen as the likely antagonist. Brett repeatedly attempts to find love and peace of mind within her life, but Cohn’s obsession with her causes him to constantly get in the way of Brett’s pursuits. So…is Brett or Cohn the protagonist? You decide!
To me, Jake is the protagonist because (a) he's the narrator, (b) his connection with Brett is the most complex/deepest and (c) my reading of the ambiguous ending suggests that he has changed in some way. But that's just me.
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