Darkness In The Sun Also Rises

Jake is a [seemingly] mentally unstable drifter who wanders into town with muddled and fanatical plans for a socialist uprising. He seems to be bipolar and his tone is ever changing; from knowledgeable rationality to angrily aggressive in a split second. Jake’s first few weeks in town were spent at Biff Brannon's New York Café. After finally meeting someone that he could relate to, Singer, he decided to stay in town and takes a job as a carnival worker. He is obsessive in his aspiration to see the labor force rebel. Jake is the only one, out of all the main characters, who does not have one confidant other than Singer. Jake spent a substantial amount of time sharing his hopes and dreams with Singer. When Singer dies Jake has a very difficult

While Jake is intent on being with Brett, Brett shows her ambivalence from the start, when in the cab ride after the bar she pulls away from Jake, saying that he “‘mustn’t’” because she ‘“can’t stand it, that’s all’” (34). Although she loves Jake, Brett cannot bear to be with him because of his sexual limitations. His impotence is a symbol of the war, and Brett alludes to the struggle of maintaining a relationship amidst a war when she says “‘I don’t want to go through that hell again’” (34). Brett does not want to leave Jake, but must in order to escape the memory of the war. To fully escape, Brett distracts herself with men not involved in the war, spending time with Count Mippippopolous, planning to marry Michael, and travelling to San Sebastian with Cohn. Opposite from Jake, Brett’s method of coping in the wake of the war is to run away from the memory of it, even if that entails ending a relationship with someone she loves deeply. Brett’s efforts to escape become even clearer when she meets Pedro Romero in Pamplona, immediately observing that “‘That Romero lad is just a child’” (170). A young and fit Spanish bullfighter, Romero is in know way reminiscent of the war and is nearly too young to have even been a soldier, which endears him to

How complimentary it is that Jake, of military background, continues to strive for bravery and

It shows how Jake is persistent and dedicated to his job, even if it always seems like he is in over his head. Jake, however, also departs from the film noir tradition when he lets his emotions get the best of him. The greatest example of this is seen during the exchange between him and Evelyn when he is trying to find out the truth about Katherine. Resorting for the first time to violence against a woman, the near desperation with which Jake pushes Evelyn to confess is an expression of his fears and anxieties about being completely lost amidst the lies that surround him. The result is the humanization of Jake Giddes’ character. He simply is not perfect, and ultimately fails to see the bigger picture of what he is involved with until .

Jake thought having the respect of Montoya to be worthwhile. Jake described their relationships as some special secret only shared between real aficionados. But Montoya’s respect faded like many other things do. His treatment toward Jake changed because Jake let Pedro Romero, a respectable bull-fighter and a real aficionado, hang out with drunks “Just then Montoya came into the room. He started to smile at me, then he saw Pedro Romero with a big glass of cognac in his hand, sitting laughing between me and a woman with bare shoulders, at a table full of drunks.

Hemingway is known as one of the great writers of the Lost Generation. Mike, Robert and Jake were three men being used by Brett. When she got what she wanted and left them,

It is in these scenes that we witness a much older, much more beaten down Jake who is balding and overweight, who is currently making living managing a nightclub and even emceeing at a strip

He demonstrates his propensity for extreme cruelty. Although he is a part of the generation, ironically he is different from the rest of them. He realizes the uselessness of the Lost Generation's way of life. He tells his friend Robert Cohn, "You can't get away from yourself my moving from one place to another." (19) Jake doesn't think highly of Cohn, but he puts up with him anyway. Interestingly, Cohn is also attracted to Brett and this fuels Jake's already heightened feelings of inadequacy; thus Jake takes a condescending attitude toward Cohn. Jake describes Cohn as weak and inexperienced, timid and easily intimidated by a strong woman (Frances). This condescending attitude toward Cohn is nothing but the reflection of Hake's very own insecurities about his manhood.

Moreover, the bullfighting scenes almost dependably work from two typical perspectives: Jake's point of view and the viewpoint of after war society. Case in

Jake and Robert Cohn and their relationship is another indicator of the theme of masculine insecurity. Hemingway plays up the tensions of competition and jealousy to demonstrate just how uncertain his male characters are. Cohn seems to sincerely be keen of Jake, and while Jake is normally nice toward him although he does not really seem to reciprocate Cohn’s warmth. Their relationship changes once Jake discovers Cohn’s fling with Brett. After this incident, he is more unfriendly toward him, and more critical of him. A conversation that happens later between Jake and Bill hints at Jake’s jealousy. Bill asks Jake if he was ever in love with Brett and Jake responds with “Off and on for a hell of a long time.” Bill apologizes for being inconsiderate, Jake them claims he no longer cares. Bill is skeptic of this though (128). The competition between Jake and Cohn relationship reaches its first peak, when he finds out about Cohn’s trip with Brett and their sexual affair and by Cohn’s belief that he knows Brett better than Jake does. His hatred for Cohn grows even more throughout the novel with Jake

     Jake relates to the other characters only superficially because he only looks at what he can get from them. Jake wants Brett Ashley so that when he gets older he’ll have companionship. Jake makes fun of Robert Cohn to make himself look better than he is by

He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Isn't it pretty to think so?’” (250) This small conversation between Jake and Lady Brett, which demonstrates Hemingway’s sparse style is nonetheless ironic and full of meaning.

The climax of Jake’s capabilities is illustrated in an early scene in the film where he engages in a fight while in bar by imposing greater damage on a well-built thug who appeared to have defeated every person in his sight until he met Jake. This is a significant scene since it shows what Jake is capable of doing. As one

The simple rule of doing something to earn something must have never occurred in their golden palace of a world. Besides, work? Bah, what a preposterous suggestion, people could be drinking in the time they are working! One way that can be easily seen to show Jake’s desires is in his depiction of Cohn. “Weak, Controlled by Frances, would never hit a man outside the ring.”

In conclusion, part of what makes Hemingway's style so unique is that he simply shows, without much telling. The matador scene in chapter 18 is rich because it provides penetrating insight with it's symbolism; Lady Brett with her elusive nature with men is captured through Romero's matador technique. The fact that Romero penetrates the bull with his sword accentuates the inherent masculinity that Brett displays—a sort of role reversal. Chapter 18 also highlights the character of Cohn, and his role as a foil and it's parallels to Belmonte's traditional