The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
Protagonists
Jake Barnes: Jake is the principal protagonist in the novel and the novel's first person narration is from his perspective. Jake embodies the archetype of the flâneur as he is characterised as an aimless wanderer searching for meaning in the post-war society.
Lady Brett Ashley: Brett represents the 1920s 'New Woman' due to her independent and self-assured characterisation. Brett is the source of affection for several men in the novel, including Jake with whom she is in love despite feeling that they cannot be together.
Key Themes
Robert Cohn: Whilst being friends with the other protagonists, Robert is the subject of frequent antisemitic sentiment throughout the novel. He is in unrequited love with Brett and as a result, the other characters view him as weak and annoying.
Masculinity: Masculinity is an important theme relating to Jake's character as having sustained an injury during Wold War One, he feels rather emasculated. Therefore, Jake arguably lives vicariously through the hyper-masculinity and bravery demonstrated by the bullfighters with which he is so enamoured.
Pedro Romero: Pedro Romero is the young talented bullfighter. He enters into a relationship with Brett and subsequently engages in an altercation with Robert over her affections. Brett and Pedro ultimately end their relationship as he attempts to make her more feminine.
Mike Campbell: Mike is Brett's fiancé. He is a rather aggressive character who drinks excessively and torments Robert. Moreover, he is bankrupt which symbolises the hedonism and commercialism which characterised the 1920s.
Bill Gorton: Bill is Jake's friend who accompanies him to Spain where they fish together, eat and drink generously, and attend bullfights. Bill is arguably the most likable character in the novel and he is relatively removed from any conflict in the narrative surrounding Brett and those that are in love with her.
Brett and Jake's relationship is at the core of the novel as they love each other and yet feel as though they cannot be together
Literary Modernism: Hemingway's terse and economical prose adheres to the parameters of modernist literature, a breed of prose conceived as an artistic response to the changing modern world. Therefore, the novel's embodiment of this kind of prosaic style suggests that the theme of modernity and the changing world are intrinsic to the novel.
The Flâneur: Linked to the modernist style of the novel is Jake's characterisation as a flâneur which is a convention of this breed of prose. The novel's narration is ultimately propelled by Jake's endless travelling which when coupled with his relative isolation and emotional distance from the other characters, he undoubtedly represents this modernist archetype. "I went out onto the sidewalk and walked down toward the Boulevard St. Michel, passed the tables of the Rotonde, still crowded, looked across the street at the Dôme... Some one waved at me from a table, I did not see who it was and went on." (37)
Post War Generation: Linked to the flaneur style wandering of Jake and the other characters, is the theme of the 'lost generation.' Following the war which signified the horrors of modernity, rose a generation of disillusioned survivors who struggled to adapt to a world following the war where morality was significantly more ambiguous.
Hedonism: All of the characters in 'The Sun Also Rises' engage in excessive drinking and appear to spend much of the novel going to bars, restaurants and generally engaging in a hedonistic lifestyle. This sense of hedonism and partying is synonymous with 'the roaring '20s' as a result of WW1 ending and economic success. Thus, the novel's protagonists represent this behaviour popularised in the 1920s. However, the protagonists' hedonism is more indicative of their sense of moral aimlessness following the war as their constant wandering is redolent of how they are seeking a purpose in life.
Bullfighting: The characters go to Spain in order to attend a festival where bullfighting is the main attraction. Jake arguably projects himself onto the masculine bullfighters because he feels as though he himself is emasculated due to his war injury. The bullfighting adds a sense of exoticism to the novel as it is so intrinsically Spanish. Furthermore, the fact that the characters are able to travel to Spain for an extended period of time just to watch bullfights intensifies the sense of hedonism and aimlessness characterising their lives.
Key Locations/ Journey
Paris: Jake and Robert live in Paris and Brett comes to visit the city at the beginning of the novel. The characters mostly engage in copious amounts of drinking and going to bars and restaurants whilst in Paris. "We went out to the Café Napolitain to have an apéritif and watch the evening crowd on the Boulevard." (21)
Bayonne: The first stop on the protagonists' hedonistic odyssey is Bayonne. They stop here for the night after getting the train from Paris. "Bayonne is a nice town." (96)
"We'd better keep away from each other." (34)
Antisemitism & Racism:The protagonists' dislike of Robert is largely to do with their antisemitic perception of him; a form of prejudice that was rife during the era. For example, Mike says "Take that sad Jewish face away." (181) Furthermore, the characters also adopt racial slurs when discussing the black boxer in Vienna; "Had a nigger in it." (76) Therefore, the characters evidently reflect the collective racism and antisemitism that permeated 1920s Europe and indeed America.
Pamplona: After stopping in Bayonne, Jake, Bill and Robert go to Pamplona in Spain. Initially Jake and Bill only stay for one night as they plan to travel on for the purpose of fishing, however Robert stays in Pamplona whilst the others leave as he wishes to greet Brett and Mike who planned to join them in Pamplona.
Burguete: Jake and Bill then travel from Pamplona to Burguete for the purpose of fishing in the Irati River whilst Robert waits for Brett and Mike in Pamplona. "As we came to the edge of the rise we saw the red roofs and white houses of Burguete" (114) "We stayed five days at Burguete and had good fishing." (129)
Pamplona: Jake and Bill then return to Pamplona where Brett and Mike have since arrived. The characters enjoy the fiesta whilst in Pamplona and they attend several Bullfights. However, Pamplona is the destination where tensions surrounding Brett and the men who have feelings for her are the most potent. Indeed, the other characters' dislike of Robert reaches its peak as a result of his desperate attempts to impress Brett and he, Mike and Jake have an altercation. Brett also falls in love with Pedro Romero, and true to character, Robert also has an altercation with him.
"He was telling me about the bulls coming in tonight." "Let's find the gang and go down." (138)
San Sebastian: After the Fiesta concludes in Pamplona Jake, Bill and Mike travel back to Bayonne whilst Brett leaves with Pedro Romero. At Bayonne the three men disperse and Jake travels to San Sebastian where he spends some time alone prior to receiving a telegram from Brett asking him to meet her in Madrid.
"At noon of Sunday, the 6th of July, the fiesta exploded." (157)
"He knocked Mike down, too" (194)
"I say, he did hurt Pedro Romero," Brett said. "He hurt him most badly." (209)
Madrid: Jake then joins Brett in Madrid where it is revealed that she and Pedro have ended their relationship. The novel concludes with the sentiment that belies the entire novel; that whilst Brett and Jake love each other, they cannot be together. Indeed, the last line of the novel is "Isn't it pretty to think so?" (250) with reference to them being together, implying that it is only a dream that cannot come to fruition. Madrid is the final stop in Jake's journey and also where the novel ends. "Outside the curtained window was the summer heat of Madrid." (247)