The Sun Also Rises

First edition cover
Author	Ernest Hemingway
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Charles Scribner's Sons (USA) & Jonathan Cape (UK as Fiesta: A Novel)
Publication date	June 1926 (USA) & 1927 (UK)
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	259 pp (hardback first edition)
ISBN	NA

The Sun Also Rises is the first novel by Ernest Hemingway. Published in 1926, the plot centers on a group of expatriate Americans in Europe during the 1920s. The book's title, selected by Hemingway (at the recommendation of his publisher) is taken from Ecclesiastes 1:5: "." Hemingway's original title for the work was Fiesta, which was used in the UK and Spanish edition of the novel.

Plot summary

The novel is a powerful insight into the lives and values of the so-called "Lost Generation", chronicling the experiences of Jake Barnes and several acquaintances on their pilgrimage to Pamplona for the annual fiesta and bull fights. Barnes suffered an injury during World War I which makes him unable to consummate a sexual relationship with Brett Ashley. The story follows Jake and his various companions across France and Spain. Initially, Jake seeks peace away from Brett by taking a fishing trip to Burguete, deep within the Spanish hills, with companion Bill Gorton, another veteran of the war. The fiesta in Pamplona is the setting for the eventual meeting of all the characters, who play out their various desires and anxieties, alongside a great deal of drinking. The novel ends ambiguously, with the characters going their separate ways and Jake about to free himself from Brett's lure.

Main Characters

Jake Barnes: The narrator of the story, Barnes is an American veteran of World War I who suffered physical injuries that have made him impotent, and unable to pursue a sexual relationship with Brett. Having lost direction of his life as a result of his experiences during the war, Barnes attempts to content himself through hard work, drinking, and bull fights.

Brett Ashley: An extremely attractive woman who was divorced from her husband after World War I, Brett is the object of lust for most of the male characters of the book. Portrayed as elusive and promiscuous, Brett, like Barnes, also lacks direction in life and finds emptiness in activities that she would have normally enjoyed during pre-war times.

Robert Cohn: His status as an outsider as a result of being Jewish has caused Cohn to develop an inferiority complex. Despite attempts to be civil and courteous, Cohn is the object of scorn from other characters. The novel's plot turns on his attempt to recover a brief affair he had with Brett, leading him to tag along with the group of expatriates, much to their collective vexation.

Michael Campbell: A Scottish veteran of the war, Michael is close friends with Jake and Bill though attempts to hide his contempt for Cohn, his fiery temper usually manifesting itself during periods of heavy drinking.

Bill Gorton: An old friend of Barnes, Bill is also a veteran of the war and is less cruel than Michael in his attitudes towards Cohn. Despite also being a heavy drinker, Bill is often more light-hearted than the rest of his peers.

Pedro Romero: The star bullfighter of the fiesta, Romero is introduced to Jake and his friends, falls in love with Brett, and splits up with her when he recognizes her inability to commit to a sustained relationship. His autonomy, steadfastness, and commitment make him a model for Jake, who possesses none of these qualities even through he aspires to them.

Major themes

The novel has heavy undercurrents of suppressed emotions and buried values. Its weary and aimless expatriates serve as metaphors for society's lost optimism and innocence after the war. The topic of war is rarely discussed explicitly by any of the characters, but its effects are alluded to through the sexual impotence of Jake and his war wound, and the behaviour of the other characters, whom Carlos Baker described as "floundering in an emulsion of ennui and alcohol." ^[1] The war is also present as the tragedy that affects the way characters are able to deal with themselves, and post-war society. The themes of the novel are portrayed by the quotation at the opening of the book: "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever."

One way to read the novel is as an inverted novel of initiation. In traditional initiation stories, a young man leaves his home or community, goes through experiences that change his character or worldview, and returns to take his place in his community as a mature person. Jake Barnes, in contrast, leaves his autonomous position in Paris to join the group on their trip to Pamplona. His experiences there constitute an initiation, though not an initiation into the group but an initiation into self-reliance apart from the group. At the end, he renounces the detrimental influence of his friends and especially of Brett. If Brett is the sun of the title around whom the men revolve, he has succeeded in breaking out of the orbit and becoming an independent person (another sun) himself. Ultimately, the novel propagates the self-reliance and autonomy embodied by Romero, the bullfighter whom Jake admires.

Allusions/references to actual history, geography

The novel was a roman à clef, as many of the characters were based on Hemingway and his friends who accompanied him to Spain in 1924. The character of Robert Cohn is a savage portrait of novelist Harold Loeb, who aroused the anger of Hemingway by indulging in a tryst with Lady Duff Twysden in Normandy before bringing her to Spain. Lady Duff was the model for Brett Ashley. Kathleen Eaton Cannell was the model for Frances Clyne. Ford Madox Ford was the model for Braddocks. Sculptor Harold Stearns was the model for Harvey Stone, the failed expatriate of Part I. Bill Gorton resembles Hemingway's friends Donald Ogden Stewart and Bill Smith. Hemingway based the character of Barnes on himself. Jacob Barnes is also considered to be an allusion to Jacob in the Old Testament.

There is also a sarcastic reference to the Rif War, Jacob Barnes says, "O what a jam they would have gotten into in the Rif."

Hemingway's depiction of the running of the bulls at Pamplona is largely credited with introducing this ritual to the English-speaking world.^[2][3]

Criticism

The Sun Also Rises is considered Hemingway's best novel by a majority of critics, with A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls as runner-ups. It is considered ground-breaking in its economic use of language for creating atmosphere and recording dialogue. Upon its publication, many U.S. critics denounced its focus on aimless, promiscuous, and generally licentious characters. On the other hand, it was extremely popular with a young and international readership. Since then, the novel has gained general recognition as a modernist masterpiece.

While most critics tend to take the characters seriously, some have argued that the novel is satirical in its portrayal of love and romance.^[4] It shows Jake and Cohn, the two male protagonists, vying for the affections of Brett, who is clearly unworthy of the naive praise they heap on her (Cohn openly, Jake implicitly). On the whole, however, the text does not offer sufficient evidence to support this reading .

In The Sun Also Rises, gender issues are dealt with very seriously by critics, though there is little consensus among them. Some critics charge that the depiction of Brett as a 'liberated woman' is intrinsic to her divisiveness in relationships throughout the novel, and therefore that Hemingway saw strong women as causing trouble, particularly for the men who otherwise dominate the novel.^[5][6] Others have argued that Brett signifies the castration of Jake, meanwhile defenders suggest that Brett actually becomes the main character by being the only person Jake is truly interested in.^[7] Although the reasons vary significantly from critic to critic, the majority of critical opinion still labels Brett's character as an expression of misogyny.

Another point of criticism is Hemingway's depiction of character Robert Cohn, a Jewish man who is often the subject of mockery by his peers. Though some critics have interpreted this as anti-Semitism on the part of Hemingway, defenders of the book argue that Cohn is depicted in a sympathetic manner, mocked not due to his religion but due to his failure to serve during World War I. Interestingly, Hemingway is reported to have said that Cohn was the "hero" of the book, and Harold Loeb, the Jewish writer who served as a model for Cohn, defended Hemingway from charges of anti-Semitism.

See also

• The Moderns
• The Sun Also Rises (Song) by Brave Saint Saturn from the album The Light of Things Hoped For written by Reese Roper of Five Iron Frenzy and Roper.
• Sun Also Rises Post Hardcore/Indie Band from Oklahoma City.

References