Stubborn as a Jewish Bull (Symbol)

“It was the bull that had sprinted out and killed the man in the morning running….When he had finished his work with the muleta and was ready to kill, the crowd made him go on. They did not want the bull killed yet, they did not want it to be over. Romero went on….The bull watched him. Romero spoke to the bull and tapped one of his feet. The bull charged and Romero waited for the charge, the muleta held low, sighting along the blade, his feet firm…The bull tried to go forward, his legs commenced to settle, he swung from side to side, hesitated, then went down on his knees…”

-The Sun Also Rises, p 223-224

I am starting this blog entry by stating that this may be seen as a bit of a stretch, but this is an observation that I made as I was reading this passage the first time. As I was reading the description of the final bullfight, I could not help but think that the bullfight was rather symbolic of Cohn’s struggles. Cohn seems to parallel the bull in several ways. Just as Brett constantly leads Cohn on, so does Romero lead the bull to his death. Yet even though the bull likely realizes to some extent the danger of his charge, it stubbornly plows on in its attempt to get its way. Similarly, Cohn has had several encounters with Mike and others that warn him of the foolishness of his obsession with Brett. Yet Cohn blindly ignores these warnings, charging on.

Finally, just as Romero kills the bull in its final charge, it is in Cohn’s final violent attempt to win Brett that his spirit is ultimately broken. Whether Hemingway intended the final bullfight to be symbolic or not, he draws a strong connection between the bull killed for pure enjoyment and the man whose spirit is broken because his friends enjoy his suffering.

"Love"

“‘I’m a goner. I’m mad about the Romero boy. I’m in love with him, I think.’

‘I wouldn’t be if I were you.’

‘I can’t help it. I’ve never been able to help anything.’

‘You ought to stop it.’

‘How can I stop it? I can’t stop things.’”

-The Sun Also Rises, p 187

Reading this passage, it occurred to me that romantically, Cohn and Brett are actually remarkably similar. Both display a sort of romantic naïveté; upon meeting a person once or twice, they both believe they are in love. Cohn fell in love with his first wife because she was nice to him, then fell in love with Frances because she stayed with him. Now he is in love with Brett because of their vacation in San Sebastian.

Brett is not much better than Cohn; in many ways, actually, she is worse. First she is in love with Jake, and still claims to love him; yet she is also in love with Mike, despite her clear annoyance with him. Now she is in love with Pedro because he’s dangerous and graceful. Without knowing really anything about Pedro, other than the fact that he’s a bullfighter, Brett claims that she is “in love with him.” To me, it almost seems a bit unfair that only Cohn is being criticized for his romantic endeavors; Lady Brett has been doing the same thing for years.

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.