“‘Look,’ said Montoya. ‘People take a boy like that. They don’t know what he’s worth. They don’t know what he means. Any foreigner can flatter him. They start this Grand Hotel business, and in one year they’re through...He’s such a fine boy,’ said Montoya. ‘He out to stay with his own people. He shouldn’t mix in that stuff.’”
-The Sun Also Rises, p 176
This passage seems to be a slightly subtle commentary on commercialism. Montoya fears that if Pedro Romero becomes involved with foreigners who want to make him a star, then his talent will in fact drop. If Pedro has financial backers, it is likely that he would have to change his bullfighting style. Jake and Montoya have discussed that Pedro is one of the old-fashioned bullfighters who work dangerously close to the bull. I doubt that the men with the money would want one of their prize fighters to risk his life every time he fights.
Montoya’s description reminds me of the commercialism rampant in the music industry today. In this age of music where every song within a genre often sounds strikingly similar to countless others, it seems that the quality of music decreases as the amount of profit earned increases (I also discussed this in my blog this past spring). Sadly, the commercialism that Hemingway describes only gets worse through the years.
and I think it's the fact that commercialism waters down/destroys culture in some ways.
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