The rarely thinks of Brett and no longer

The rarely thinks of Brett and no longer

The Sun Also Rises as it applies to the novel as a whole The novel The Sun AlsoRises is set directly after World War I. This was a time of confusion formankind.

It can metaphorically be compared to the sun setting on people. People,in many parts of the world, had horrifying memories from the war, and this,naturally affected their lives both physically and psychologically. Thegeneration following the war is often named the lost generation or thewalking wounded. Yet, the title of the book, the Sun Also Rises isoptimistic. Hemingways choice is not accidental.

Once reading the novel it isclear that Hemingway meant to pass a message through the title. Throughout thenovel Hemingway shows the constant cycle of ebb and flow in characters andevents. Jake could easily be considered the main character in the novel.

Throughout the story we learn about his problems. We also see him grow andrecover. This can easily be related to the title of the book which shows ongrowing development. At the beginning Jake talks about his injury from the war.Apparently this injury has caused him many troubles such as the inability to bewith the lady whom he loves.

Jake maintains that he can be hard-boiled at day,but once night comes down he is no longer as strong It is awfully easy to behard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing(pg. 42). Jake is in great despair. He is constantly in tears and is alwaysdepressed.

He feels very low and insecure. During the later part of the book,some signs of the sun rising for Jake are visible. Jake learns to deal with hisinjury and no longer sees this as a big issue. This realization, however, isportrayed through acts that play as a learning process. The first act is whenJake is in Burguete, where he goes fishing. There he actually seems to be havingfun day and night. He only rarely thinks of Brett and no longer concerns himselfwith daily regular problems and concerns.

He communicates with nature, whichmakes him feel fully good about himself. A feeling he had not felt for quitealong period. Another situation arises in Pamplona. It is a difficult time forJake.

Jake does not enjoy himself. He disappoints people, and even gets in afight. Nevertheless, these acts make him stronger and more self-aware. By theend of the novel, it is apparent that Jake starts accepting himself as a flawedhuman being, however this is just the beginning.

This is seen when he talks toBrett and rather than hoping they could get together he replies to her questionisnt it pretty to think so? (pg. 251). This is why those events couldbe seen as the sun rising on Jake. Brett is another main character in the novel.The process of the sun rising on her is along process. In the early pages of thenovel, she seems to be very miserable, and hopeless Oh darling, Ive beenso miserable (pg. 32).

She is described to be very shallow and for instancecan not have in depth conversations. She appears to have a very simple notprofound character, and she lacks any sense of values. Brett does not finish hersentences, which shows carelessness and perhaps superficiality. When she firstmeets Jake, she doesnt seem to be too happy with her life I just feelterrible (pg70), and although she seems cheerful, the reader can see that sheis not fully blithe. This is probably caused because of her unsuccessfulexperiences with men. Luckily, she acknowledges this and perhaps this can beconsidered to be the first step to the sun rising on her. Like Jake, the sunrising on Brett is also portrayed in many events.

The probably most importantone is Romero. This, essentially is what caused Brett realizes that life is morethan shallow heart braking romances. Brett first sees Romero in the Bullfighting on Pamplona. From the first time she saw him she felt something forhim. Then she asked Jake to meet between them.

From then onwards things startedto develop between Brett and Romero. Normally, Brett would go out with the youngman for a few weeks and then dump him with out a lot of thinking. However, thistime, something different happens and this is why it is common to relate this tothe sun rising on Brett. One day Jake gets a fax from Brett asking him to comeand save her. He goes only to discover once again that she dumped the guy.Nevertheless, this time her reason from breaking up with him is because shedidnt want to ruin him, she for once refuses to be a bitch.

Brett allowsherself to feel proud and good about herself. It is almost like she isrediscovering herself, just like the sun rediscovers itself every new day. Thebullfights are another very clear example to how the sun rises.

Jake reallylikes this sport Motoya always smiled at us as though bull fighting were avery special secret between the two of us (pg. 136). In the last fight,Hemingway spends time explaining the positions of the fighters.

This obviouslymeans it is important to the story. There are three bull fighters. The one onthe right is Marcial, then Romero and lastly Belmonte.

As the matter of factthere are two way for interpreting the situation. The first way is looking atthis as if its the life cycle. The sun goes through a single life cycle everysingle day.

This in a way, is like the bullfighters. Romero is at the beginningor perhaps middle of his life cycle as a bullfighter. He is young and talented.The crowd loves him because he is good, and with a lot of energy Romero didalways, smoothly, calmly and beautifully what he, Belmonte could only bringhimself to do now sometimes (pg. 219).

Belmonte on the other hand, is aretired bullfighter. His time of glory has passed on to another generation,Romero. Belmonte is not a good fighter anymore, the crowd dislikes him and theythrow vegetables at him. Nevertheless there is another way to interpret thiscase. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

Looking at the way allthree matadors were standing. Marcial has the potential to become a greatfighter; he therefore stands in the East, where the sun rises. The sun is at itsgreatest potential and strength when it is in the center of the sky.Hence, Romero’s position the center in-between Marcial and Belmonte. Becausethey were against Belmonte, the public were for Romero(pg. 219).

Belmonte ismetaphorically speaking, in the west, where the sun sets. He has had his greattimes, but they are over. It is time for him to set down now. Those are the twodifferent ways to try and understand what Hemingway meant. There are a few moresymbolic acts concerning the life cycle. The journeys the characters took may befurther looked at. When Jake and Bill drive through Spain they notice severalthings.

One of them is the contrasting idea Jake sees. He speaks of an oldcastle, which he sees on the way along with a field of grain. An old castle,with buildings close around it and a field of grain (pg. 99). The old castleis a sign of decay and death.

The castle once used to be new and modern but notthat time has passed. The field of grain, on the other hand is just growing. Itis still just developing and renewing. This again, shows the life cycle ofthings growing and dying, of the sun rising and then setting. Another idea thatHemingway talks a lot about is cleansing. Almost every time after the charactershave done something sinful they go and take a shower in order to cleansethemselves. This is perhaps and attempt for a renewal for a fresh clean start.

One time, after Brett comes back from San Sebastian she claims she has to gotake a bath Must clean myselfmust bathe (pg. 80), later on we learnthat she slept with Robert. Another time, Jake feels he has disappointed manypeople, he tried to cleanse by taking a shower, but not water is coming out,therefore he cant clean himself. There is one more event that is worthmentioning. In book 3, we can see that the story continues after the fiestaended. Many believe Hemingway should have ended the novel there.

Nevertheless,he probably wanted to show that the sun also rises a day after the fiesta. Thatthere is always a continual to everything. When a thing ends, it is a beginningto a new one. The novel The Sun Also Rises shows many examples that match thetitle. It also speaks of a lost Generation a generation that has noworries, not concerns and no problems whatsoever. This generation, is thegeneration that comes immediately after World War I. At the beginning of thebook it is apparent that the characters have no direction wherever they go.

Theytake unplanned trips and do not have a worry in the world. However, by the endof the novel, is seems as if the world takes some meaning. As if the sun risesand new ideas come into the peoples minds.

This title, for obvious reasons,was not chosen accidentally. Hemingway probably wrote the book and only thendecided what the tile is according to the plot of the book. The title definitelyhas a meaning, and we can see it by reading all the little hints he gives thereader. Since by the end of the book some hope can be seen, perhaps this is lookinto the future. A future where people have a meaning to their life, perhaps nota lost Generation.English Essays