The Sun Also Rises
ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Exciting European Vacation & Heartbreaking
Emotional Journey
The hero, Jake Barnes, narrates with
brutal honesty his relationships with
Lady Brett Ashley and their entourage
during the 1920s in a rather
undisciplined search for thrills from
Paris to Madrid.
Silver Lining?
In the midst of the “Lost
Generation,” Jake distinguishes
himself due to his leadership
qualities and his spirituality.
His selflessness and sacrifice are
exemplary and heroic.
Silver Lining?
 I don’t see one, but I am impressed by Jake.
 Jake and Brett are still standing at the end of
the story.
 Perhaps Jake can be considered a hero not
from the wound he received in the war but
from his stoic endurance of emotional
suffering at the hands of those he loves and
his own mind.
Hemingway’s Themes and Style
 Many believe The Sun Also Rises is
Hemingway’s best individual
achievement in writing.
 He writes of human tragedy that is
horrific at times and hard to qualify
with any optimism.
 We will focus a great deal on style
analysis.
Theme: Everyone loses.
 It is in loss that an individual finds
the strength or the inability to
endure.
 Everyone gets broken by the world;
only some will be stronger.
 The mistakes made will be costly.
Theme: Individuals are victims of bad
luck and bad timing.
 This is very much like the classical idea of
Fate and much in the inheritance of Greek
tragedy.
 There is pity, fear, and eventually catharsis
which is akin to Aristotle’s ideas about
tragedy.
 There are forces of nature that people
cannot control, and war may be considered
such a force.
Theme: An individual can be destroyed
and not defeated.
 At the end of a Hemingway work, the hero is
usually still alive but has been permanently
maimed by a horrific experience. He
survives and learns from it.
 How individuals conduct themselves in the
struggle is the true test of character, and
some special individuals exhibit such grace
under pressure that they serve as examples
for the rest of humanity.
Theme: Work covers a multitude of sins.
 Every individual has a talent or gift for the world; if
an individual ignores the work, that is sinful.
 Hemingway’s religious thinking is tied to his craft.
This is in contrast to the outer Hemingway who
was so famous. –the outdoorsman, the heavy
drinker, the daredevil, the womanizer
 In fact, he was wholly dedicated to his craft and
rarely satisfied with the results – revising
endlessly.
Style: Overall Structure
 Hemingway carefully crafted all his works.
 SAR is structured into three sections, with
the final section having only one chapter.
 The novel is framed by setting – an
emphasis on place.
 Although it is narrated in a rather
chronological fashion, it is told in retrospect.
All of the events of the novel happened
before the first word of it.
Style: Allusions
 Hemingway makes interesting use of allusions
especially in his choices of titles.
 He relies on both Hebraic and Hellenic traditions.
 The passage from Ecclesiastes that is the basis for
the title also works in a symbolic way.
 The character Lady Brett Ashley functions as a
kind of Circe in the almost magical hold she has
over the men she meets.
Style: Code character and Hemingway
hero
 The code character is an individual who has
suffered and may continue to do so but
exhibits grace under pressure and can serve
as a model.
 The Hemingway hero tends to be the
protagonist of the story. He is a novice in
love or war and must learn the hard way.
 Hemingway does not consider either to be a
stereotype.
Style: Dialogue
 He is a master at creating dialogue which is
realistic and revealing.
 Sometimes it can be frustrating for a reader
because he does not identify the speakers.
 He makes the point that people
misunderstand each other, perhaps on
purpose.
 The conversations in this novel are
profound, painful, and deceptively inane.
Style: Irony and Understatement
 Hemingway’s work as a journalist
encouraged him to eliminate
unnecessary language, much like
imagist poems and minimalism in
art.
 There is a bit of dry humor.
Style: Foreign settings and languages
 Hemingway spoke at least six languages
fluently.
 He respected the language and rarely
translated for his readers.
 His prose is terse, but he emphasized
the settings taking the reader on a
beautiful journey to France and then to
Spain.
Style: Epiphany
 Hemingway’s characters come to an
important understanding, usually near
the end of the novel.
 Jake has already had his epiphany. It is
difficult to tell when he initially
experienced the important
understanding. He seems to already
know it when the novel begins.
Style: Symbolism
 Hemingway’s works abound with motifs and
significant details that help elucidate
themes.
 Beginning with the title, Hemingway
elevates this novel to a universal level;
everyone should be able to relate the angst
felt by the narrator and others in this
timeless story.
 Readers encounter repetition of important
motifs and understand they are significant.