Karl

A REVIEW OF THE SUN ALSO RISES BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY

For those who haven’t found meaning in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, you haven’t looked far enough. Many novels have their fair share of symbolism and in depth perception but few come close to the style that Hemingway offers. The range of characters in this fluid novel have the ability to evoke emotion from the individual. The plot, which moves quickly, isn’t supposed to fulfill the idea of an action packed thriller but makes you wish you could party and live the through the drama that only a vacation in Spain would entail.

Your host is Jake Barnes, who walks you through his travels for a few weeks and invites you to his personal ego. A very deep character, Barnes undergoes a revival that you see from the beginning to the end. He is able to overcome his insecurities that do not limit themselves to the masculine Bret and the social deviants seen by Cohn and Campbell. The beauty behind Hemingway’s characters is their diversity. Most are war veterans, ex-patriots, and writers, but that’s only the external stuff. The characters are revealed through their encounters, conversations, jokes, how they take their drinks at 8 in the morning, and so on. The novel is full of detail but full of strong detail, it is pretty much straight forward – or so you think.

Going into this novel, the reader should understand a little bit of history. I know, World War I was fought in trenches, but stop and ponder about the post war era. Hemingway’s purpose was to expose the war’s loss. An entire generation of men were ripped to shreds, and those who survived were torn to pieces elsewhere. Barnes, because of the war, is sexually impotent and as crude as this is, you need to know this in order to have a better understanding of his frustrations. Every major character suffers from alcoholism and Hemingway doesn’t brush over this. The beginning starts off with ex-patriot gang waltzing through Paris with no direction, trying to make an appearance in every bar in the down town. Here and there, Hemingway describes the moments when Barnes is sober. All of this definition gets you lost in the content and if you try to remember “what happened” you can’t. It’s as if you joined Barnes and his $400 weekend bar tab. The style emphasizes the ongoing struggles, further elaborating Hemingway’s focus.

Eventually you will be brought out of your hangover and be able to take part on a fishing trip and then a  vacation in Pamplona. A beautiful landscape, dynamic humor, and impactful imagery ensues. Location, location, location. The novel exploits the concept of location because with each change in scenery is a change in action, and in feeling. The bull-fighting keeps the reader on edge, not so much for bulls but for the ex-patriot gang and their fight for Bret. The only woman among the main characters, Bret picks up a role that would have been more fitted to a womanizing trophy husband. She dresses like a man, drinks like one, sleeps around like one, manipulates the young and pure (the handsome Romero) and suffers with the rest over an identity crises influenced by desire. During these struggles, the writing reflects Jake’s mood at the time. These struggles are depicted as they are but also through the bull fighting, the deaths, the dancing. The multitude of connections are not endless but include enough for a full study. Jake’s personality and thoughts are wide open and yet some things are shaded over a bit. However this guides your view of the surrounding characters.  Your allegiance is to Jake Barnes, where your full sympathy lies.

As cut and dry as the novel seems, Hemingway does not bother to explain his work. This leads some to hate the book because “nothing” happens. Look a little deeper. The bulls, the drinking, and the Spanish people (most notably the handsome Romero) are big parts of the novel but you will be surprised at the little things and how they shape the rest of the book. The traditional wine sac, the fiesta, the dancers – these are the details that are beautiful individually and contribute to Jake’s search for relief. Your perception is your reality but try and open your eyes or fix your glasses with Cohn. To fully appreciate this book, imagine yourself enjoying your time there. Let the awkward and embarrassing notions of the characters affect you and then can feel an attachment to the work. This is what gives the book the meaning, the emotions evoked by the reader or rather the emotions that Hemingway invokes in you. Hemingway has masterfully created, with care, a tribute to this era of anxiety. Anyone can read The Sun Also Rises but I implore you, understand what Hemingway’s novel offers – you can thank me later.