Where Do They Go from Here?

“The three of us sat at the table, and it seemed as though about six people were missing.”

-The Sun Also Rises, p 228

This sentence sums up the general mood of the denouement. Cohn has left Spain, his spirit shattered. Brett has also left the city with Pedro Romero, though considering her past, it is anyone’s guess as to how long the relationship will actually last. Now only the three comrades remain: Mike, saddened and lonely now that his fiancée has left him; Bill, always happy and cheerful, now sobered slightly by the events of the past few days; and Jake, the man who has stood by and helped allow these events to happen.

The fiesta’s closing reflects the end of the conflict concerning Cohn and Brett. Just as the people of the city must now try and revert back to the way things were before the fiesta, so must these three try and return to the lives that they lived before the fiesta. This sentence is rather melancholy and bitter in nature, yet it accurately reflects the problem that these three men will now have to face. How will they move on after such an explosive fallout? Unfortunately, considering only twenty-three pages remain, I am not sure the reader will find out.

Breaking Point ("I Do Not Like Robert Cohn," La Quinta Parte) (External Conflict)

“‘I’ll make you tell me’—he stepped forward—‘you damned pimp.’

I swung at him and he ducked. I saw his face duck sideways in the light. He hit me and I sat down on the pavement. As I started to get on my feet he hit me twice. I went down backward under a table. I tried to get up and felt I did not have any legs. I felt I must get on my feet and try and hit him. Mike helped me up. Some one [sic] poured a carafe of water on my head. Mike had an arm around me, and I found I was sitting on a chair. Mike was pulling at my ears.

‘I say, you were cold.’”

-The Sun Also Rises, p 194-195

Finally, we see some action! This fight between Cohn, Jake, and Mike is at last tangible proof of the external conflict of The Sun Also Rises. Cohn’s struggle with his obsession with Brett has caused him to conflict with Brett and, by extension, Mike, Bill, and Jake as well. Throughout the novel, Cohn’s “Jewish stubbornness” has isolated him from the other friends. Instead of enjoying the company of his friends, he follows Brett to the point of stalking. He refuses to accept the fact that Brett does not love him; he is blinded by his own foolish and naïve belief that he is truly in love with her. This belief, coupled with his short-temperedness, constantly drives Cohn to be at odds with the rest of the party. In this passage, it is clear that Cohn has finally snapped. What worries me is what he will do next.

The Price of Money

“‘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.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

“‘No, don’t come up,’ she said at the hotel. She had rung and the door was unlatched.

‘Really?’

‘No. Please.’

‘Good night, Brett,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry you feel rotten.’

‘Good night, Jake. Good night, darling. I won’t see you again.’ We kissed standing at the door. She pushed me away. We kissed again. ‘Oh, don’t!’ Brett said.

She turned quickly and went into the hotel.”

-The Sun Also Rises, p 71

I feel it is about time for me to vent my frustration over the rather annoyingly confusing relationship between Brett and Jake. It has been indicated that the two were once involved in some sort of romantic relationship. It has also been revealed that the two still love each other—or at least they claim to still love each other. Brett and Jake have also shared a total of four kisses within seventy-one pages. Despite these facts, Brett is engaged, and Jake does not seem to care.

Now, I can definitely understand former lovers remaining close friends with each other. I can also understand the statements that they still love each other. The kisses, however, contradict their current situation of separation. If Brett is engaged, and if Jake thinks Brett’s fiancé Mike is as great a person as he claims, then why do they insist on complicating these matters? They both have acknowledged the fact that nothing is going to happen between the two of them, so this romantic masochism seems utterly pointless.

Hemingway's Cop Out ("I Don't Like Robert Cohn," La Deuxième Partie) (Stereotype)

“‘Oh, go to hell.’

He stood up from the table his face white, and stood there white and angry behind the little plates of hors d’œuvres. ‘Sit down,’ I said. Don’t be a fool.’

‘You’ve got to take that back.’

‘Oh, cut out the prep-school stuff.’

‘Take it back.’

‘Sure. Anything. I never heard of Brett Ashley. How’s that?’

‘No. Not that. About me going to hell.’

‘Oh, don’t go to hell,’ I said. ‘Stick around. We’re just starting lunch.’

Cohn smiled again and sat down. He seemed glad to sit down. What the hell would he have done if he hadn’t sat down? ‘You say such damned insulting things, Jake…. You’re really about the best friend I have, Jake.’

God help you, I thought.”

-The Sun Also Rises, p 47

In this passage, we see a glimpse of that “hard, Jewish, stubborn streak” (p 18) that Jake had already mentioned earlier. By writing Cohn like this, Hemingway places him within the stereotype that was held by mainstream America at the time concerning Jewish people. Cohn is depicted as extremely stubborn and rigid in ideals. He is also portrayed as increasingly short-tempered and testy. Yet Hemingway then proceeds to show that Cohn truly is not a fighter; in fact, it only takes a sarcastic apology from Jake to immediately put Cohn back at ease.

By giving Cohn such weak qualities and then repeatedly commenting on Cohn’s Judaism, Hemingway implies a stereotype that was prevalent at the time. Hemingway does nothing to refute the idea that Jews are stubbornly short-tempered, yet easy to please and, therefore, rather dim-witted. Considering how important Cohn seems to be to the plot, it almost seems like Hemingway is avoiding creating any sort of depth beside the expected depth of a Jew at the time.