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Summary: The Sun Also Rises: A Storuy of Hope
Review: Ernest Hemingway has been called one of the greatest American writers of his time. He has also been called an expatriate, an alcoholic, a traitor and Papa. He was a man who never forgave his father for committing suicide, yet took his own life in 1961. Although being hailed as a great American writer, he spent much of his life living outside the US. The two seemingly contradictory epigraphs in the beginning of The Sun Also Rises were put together on the page by a seemingly contradictory man. Whether he did it intentionally or not, Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises in a way that keeps scholars and students in constant speculation as to his theme. His reference to his friend and mentor, Gertrude Stein's comment on the status of the post World War I society would make it seem that he is in agreement of her bleak and cynical outlook. The lost generation, like the ancient Epicureans were in the constant pursuit of moderate pleasure. They lived for the day and gave little though to the consequences of their actions, or to the low that usually follows a high. However, he does not settle for one epigraph. In reaching back to quote Ecclesiastes, a second century preacher and philosopher, Hemingway reveals that no matter how gray the world seems, there is a light to guide us. That light is hope. In his seemingly shallow characters intended to epitomize the lost generation, Hemingway shows - albeit briefly - the even they have traces of compassion and humanity left. The narrator, Jake, is a complex character. Having sustained an injury in the war, Jake is incapable of intimate physical relations with women. Jake is an authentic person. He has friends who, although some are shallow and egocentric, care for him and value his friendship. The fact that he is impotent, however, throws a shadow on his character. Although he is seen as one of the more genuine characters, it is conceivable that he would not be so virtuous without his affliction. Although Jake shows his dark and sardonic side on occasion, he is a testament that there are still people who care in the world. The fact that Hemingway made Jake incapable of siring children, is the author's way of not tipping the scale too far in the direction of hope. Pedro is another character who shows the hope of the novel. Pedro's naïveté is a refreshing change to the world weary characters representing the lost generation. All Pedro knows is bullfighting. It is his world, his life and he is good at it. Pedro, too, is not a perfect character. He is seduced by Brett, and as a result , falls in what he thinks to be love with her. He allows Cohn to provoke him into fighting. Pedro took his beating and did not let Cohn take his pride. Pedro is flawed like all men, but he shows with his youthful energy and vision, that there are good people. It is no coincidence that Pedro is a bullfighter. He stood tall in his suit of lights, a glamorous spectacle for all to see. Even in his moments of shame, Pedro managed to hang on to his dignity. Although Bill seems to be the logical character to turn to next, it is in Brett that Hemingway gives the most subtle yet poignant glimmer of hope. Throughout the novel, Brett is seen as an opportunistic, cynical and uncaring woman. Completely undeserving of her title-by-marriage. She shamelessly has an affair with Cohn, then tosses him aside to return to Michael. She continues her escapades by seducing Pedro, the innocent young bullfighter. Yet there is something within her that draws Jake in as her would-if-only-could-be lover and maintains him as a trusted friend and confidant. That alone is not enough to argue for her role as a character of hope. It is her affair with Pedro that shows her potential. During the course of their affair, Pedro believes that he is in love with Brett. Brett realized that she is not in love with Pedro, but with what he represents: youth, strength, courage and prestige. Brett's realization that she would hurt Pedro, perhaps irrevocably, and that she must leave him and all he represents, is what makes her a character on the edge. She is by all rights caught up in the mentality of the lost generation, and even after her epiphany, will be so caught up again, but her enlightenment was there. She had made the realization and crossed the line from pleasure seeker to enlightened soul. For one brief shining moment, she thought of the well being of another and not merely of her own. Brett saw the light and became a symbol of hope. Hemingway's novel paints a somewhat bleak picture of things to come in the post World War I years. His characters spend their time drinking and running from affair to affair. A shallow existence to be sure. Yet when in the country, there is less time wasted on pointless dialogue and more time spent on the description and appreciation of the beauty of the wilderness. His vivid description of the panorama is a salute to hope. The fact that even his most shallow character, Brett, can have an epiphany bringing her to making the only unselfish choice in her life is a true tribute to his idea of hope.
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Summary: The strength to go on . . .
Review: Hemignway was never one to pull punches about the hard facts of life in his writing, and in "The Sun Also Rises," the main character Jake is the embodiment of this view of life. An emasculated man, he is the linch pin that holds this band of homeless souls together. Each of the characters lives in a fantasy of their own to cushion them from the realization of how pathetic their existences are. Except for Jake. The strength he must have in order to face life in all its harshness without stumbling is nothing short of admirable. This is Hemingway's hero.
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Summary: The Voices and Sites Will Live on in My Mind
Review: I would think Hemingway closed his eyes, listened to voices he once heard and remembered sites he once saw then opened his eyes and started to write. His descriptions of the Spanish fiesta and bullfight are like listening to someone reminisce so passionately about an experience, yet the memory comes to life so much that even as a reader, it becomes my memory too and the voices and sights will live on in my mind perhaps as vividly as if I too were seated at the bullfight for the first time or dancing in the narrow streets of Spain. Hemingway does this to me. I get so involved in the relationships and conversations that I feel as if they've been planted as memories in my own mind
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Summary: I want to go trout fishing on the Irati River.
Review: Critics of this novel may cite that the characters are aimless, idle, and unworthy. Though simple in nature, The Sun Also Rises thrives on the desire to go trout fishing in Spain, the satisfaction of cocktails at dusk, and the longing for sincere love. Look deep within this novel and you will regret that only a lifetime remains to digest its contents
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Summary: The Lost Generation meets Generation X
Review: Lost Generations Gertrude Stein said, "You are all a lost generation." She could have describing Generation X, but she was fifty years too early. These words were spoken about another generation, a group of young people who, after World War I, were feeling disconnected from the rest of the world. Many of them were living in Europe, living the "expatriate" life. That meant they lived from meal to meal on borrowed money trying to develop an artistic lifestyle thousands of miles from everything and everyone they grew up knowing.
Just a few years ago, Seattle was a kind of Mecca among east coast Generation Xers. Everyone I went to college with envisioned Seattle as the place where we could be ourselves. Of course, we hadn't really defined who that was yet, and none of us had been there. Yet, somehow, we knew that Seattle was the place to be.
Paris was the place to be for the original lost generation and Ernest Hemingway became one of that city's most celebrated adopted sons. His semi-autobiographical novel The Sun Also Rises follows a group of young people trying to find themselves after World War I. Jake Barnes, the main character, is a veteran with an unfortunate war wound which puts a damper on his dating life. Lady Brett Ashley is the woman who loves him, and whom he loves, but also the woman he cannot have. They are surrounded by a cast of painters, writers, editors, drunks, and a bullfighter named Pedro Romero.
Romero becomes the linchpin of the story. Jake, Brett, and friends head off to Pamplona, Spain for the running of the bulls and the festival of San Fermin. Jake is a bit of an aficionado of la corrida de toros and looks forward to initiating his less experienced friends. He did not anticipate, however, Lady Brett. Brett is the female equivalent of a womanizer. When she meets Romero, sparks fly and Jake is put into the uncomfortable position of acting as a go-between for the woman he loves and another man. When the novel comes to a close, Jake is still lost, but is closer to finding himself. The problem is he's not sure he likes himself. Maybe he should go to Seattle, have a mocha, and try to chill out . . . or whatever.
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Summary: A great love story
Review: One of Hemingway's better novels, features Lady Brett Ashley and a young bullfighter. I found it a little hard to follow at some points, but an overall good book
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Summary: Favorite book of all time.
Review: This is the first book that ever had a profound effect on me. I read it just after returning from travelling through Europe and it makes me yearn to return to the lifestyle of an expatriate. You see passion and love dispersed throughout wonderful travels. I have read the book four times and it never fails to keep me up at night. By the way, Jake and Brett are like any other couple in love, they just call themselves best friends
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Summary: great read
Review: I got my name from Lady Brett Ashley! No joke! Anyway, this book is awesome so give it a try
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Summary: "The Sun Also Rises": Hemingway as Jake Barnes
Review: In "The Sun Also Rises", Jake Barnes' goal is to figure out, through his experiences, how to come back after war and live in the modern world accordingly - to try to discern true meaning and purpose of life. This came after a whole time period of lostness and lack of emotional feeling derived from war. This is the ultimate expression of Ernest Hemingway himself. This novel was esentially an expression of everything Hemingway had experienced in Spain about war, the courage and bravery in war, and life itself. This novel was his way of expressing his experiences along with his feelings. Jake Barnes is clearly Ernest Hemingway in this novel
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Summary: Not Bad....
Review: The Sun Also Rises was my first sampling of Hemingway's novel length works. My verdict? Clearly, this is a first novel, but a very good one. The first half of the book is slow and not exactly compelling, and yet by the second half, it really takes off, and I found myself engrossed. Basically, The Sun Also Rises is a portrait of the "lost generation", those who were so impacted by the war that their lives have no meaning in the traditional sense. They go about a series of meaningless activities that leave them feeling empty and unfulfilled. This premise is fairly existential and dark, and if that isn't your cup of tea, don't bother with the Sun Also Rises. That said, this novel does a great job of characterizing such members of said generation, and the style of the writing is attractively lucid and crisp, yet rich with symbolism. Despite the shaky start, I would reccomend reading this.
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