Ben Myers Group B Blog Post 5: The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises has many cyclical themes specific to each character. A few examples: Jake continually struggles with his manhood, Brett goes from guy to guy, and Robert never learns from his rash financial or romantic decisions, the list goes on. I will focus on the day to day cycle in this novel that affects all characters: heavy drinking.
Jake introduces us to his love of alcohol in his office, which has a downstairs bar. Robert calls it a “good place,” and Jake agrees, “there is a lot of liquor,” implying that quality of a place can be measured by quantity of liquor. In the next chapter, he invites a girl to his table by asking her “what will you drink,” and she selects “Pernod,” an “imitation absinthe,” which is unbelievably strong. We are then introduced to Paris’ club scene, and like all clubs, it is motivated by alcohol. Brett and Jake take full advantage of the liquor, while Robert is less enthusiastic. The next morning, Jake invites a chauffeur to have a drink with him. That night, Jake is right back to drinking with Brett and the Count. When they go to Spain, the drinking picks up. Hemingway even mentions Robert drinking “sherry.”
Characters are judged based on if they get drunk, or “daunted” easily. The secret to George’s success, as Bill claims, is that he can drink, but he doesn’t let the public figure out that he is “daunted.” Bill has respect for Harvey Stone, who “was just a little daunted” after “he hadn’t eaten for three days.” Brett introduces her fiancé Mike Campbell as “this drunkard,” humorously addressing the fact that he drinks a lot. Jake, who loves to drink, consistenly calls Mike a “drunk” in Spain, which is strange considering how much Jake drinks, and it only worsens the situation, making Mike verbally unleash on Cohn.
Robert rarely drinks, but alcohol still affects him because it makes Brett make rash decisions, Mike get angry at him, and finally, he chooses to drink and passes out. His friends had him trapped in a drinking cycle, and it finally vomits him out.
Robert’s blacks out is messy and angry reaction is messy, and he loses his few friends, but at least he escaped this alcoholism and can start anew. Unfortunately, he will have to start searching for friends or love again, which seems to be a cycle specific to Robert.
Jake introduces us to his love of alcohol in his office, which has a downstairs bar. Robert calls it a “good place,” and Jake agrees, “there is a lot of liquor,” implying that quality of a place can be measured by quantity of liquor. In the next chapter, he invites a girl to his table by asking her “what will you drink,” and she selects “Pernod,” an “imitation absinthe,” which is unbelievably strong. We are then introduced to Paris’ club scene, and like all clubs, it is motivated by alcohol. Brett and Jake take full advantage of the liquor, while Robert is less enthusiastic. The next morning, Jake invites a chauffeur to have a drink with him. That night, Jake is right back to drinking with Brett and the Count. When they go to Spain, the drinking picks up. Hemingway even mentions Robert drinking “sherry.”
Characters are judged based on if they get drunk, or “daunted” easily. The secret to George’s success, as Bill claims, is that he can drink, but he doesn’t let the public figure out that he is “daunted.” Bill has respect for Harvey Stone, who “was just a little daunted” after “he hadn’t eaten for three days.” Brett introduces her fiancé Mike Campbell as “this drunkard,” humorously addressing the fact that he drinks a lot. Jake, who loves to drink, consistenly calls Mike a “drunk” in Spain, which is strange considering how much Jake drinks, and it only worsens the situation, making Mike verbally unleash on Cohn.
Robert rarely drinks, but alcohol still affects him because it makes Brett make rash decisions, Mike get angry at him, and finally, he chooses to drink and passes out. His friends had him trapped in a drinking cycle, and it finally vomits him out.
Robert’s blacks out is messy and angry reaction is messy, and he loses his few friends, but at least he escaped this alcoholism and can start anew. Unfortunately, he will have to start searching for friends or love again, which seems to be a cycle specific to Robert.
This is interesting and after reading this blog post I have made an interesting connection between the alcoholism in The Sun Also Rises and the setting the story. The story is set in 1924, soon after the constitutional Prohibition against alcohol was enacted in 1920. If the drinking culture in the United States was so strong that the government felt the need to prohibit the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcohol and The Sun Also Rises stresses the pervasiveness of alcohol in 1920s Europe, then it is likely the alcohol culture of the 1920s was global and not just in the United States. Considering this, I would not consider the role of alcohol in this book as any more significant than the drunkenness it caused the characters and he or she's actions because of their intoxication.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting view on alcohol use in the book. Within the cycle of alcohol use, variation does occur as the characters change location. This could be due to the differences in drinking culture by country. When the alcohol content decreases, the activities that the characters participate in tend to be more relaxed. This correlation could indicate a connection between drinking and the characters' attitudes.
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