Day 15 • English 101 Section 1265
For Today:
15. W 10/24
The Sun Also Rises: second half of novel. ( Hemingway discussion:
context, Southern France & Spain. Research paper topic.)
 Attendance & announcements. (Collect quiz.)
 Discuss The Sun Also Rises.
 Discuss research project.
Next class:
16. M 10/29 THESIS STATEMENT DUE. PRESENT THESIS STATEMENT. (Hemingway
discussion: language and structure.) Read to discuss: William Adair:
Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises
•••
Bullfighting Notes

Corrida de toros (running of the bulls).

Fighting bulls are four years old and weight about 1,300 pounds.

The fights are ritualized contests between a man and beast that could, in theory,
easily kill the man. Fifty-two men have been killed since the 1700s.
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They were wild beasts in the mountains and forests of Europe well past 1000 AD.

The figure in all kinds of Eurasian mythology from the time of the Minotaur.
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Bullfights were held in the roman coliseum. One of many animals fought in the
Roman ring. Bullfighting rings look very much like coliseums.

Spain was a Roman colony and in some ways more Roman than Rome.

Vithgoths inhabited Spain after collapse of Roman Empire but followed Spain’s
Roman culture for several hundred years after.

Bullfighting’s importance in Spanish culture, like other aspects of festivals,
integrate pre-Christian symbolism and ritual.

Rhonda, a mountain town in southern Spain, is a historical bullfighting town and
home of the real Pedro Romaro.

Bullfights, according to Rhonda legend, were fought on horseback until Pedro
Romaro had his horse killed in 1783 and continued the fight on foot.
English 101 Research Paper: The Sun Also Rises
For your paper, you will conduct research in order to develop a thesis and support for one
of the topics below. It is crucial that you gather enough information about your subject to
develop an informed opinion. Your knowledge must support your thesis with your own
insight in conjunction with specific references to sources.
Research Paper Topics: (Choose one)
 Harold Bloom said, “A great style is itself necessarily a trope, a metaphor for a
particular attitude toward reality.” If this is the case, what can we surmise about
Hemingway’s attitude toward reality, based on the style of The Sun Also Rises?
 Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast was published nearly forty years after The Sun Also
Rises and, not surprisingly, gives a different view of life and times in expatriate Paris
during the 1920s. Examine some of those differences and account for them.
 Certain critics have referred to The Sun Also Rises as a war novel even though not a
single shot is fired. Speculate on whether this is true, and if so, on what implications
this has for the themes and style of the novel.
 Paris, Pamplona, Madrid, San Sebastian -- the locations of Hemingway’s story take
on certain attributes as if they were characters themselves. Address the role setting
plays in A Sun Also Rises, using specific details, and speculate on Hemingway’s
thematic designs for using his settings.
 Brett Ashley is, to say the least, one of the most singular woman characters of
modern fiction. Androgynous and sexually liberated, abused, alcoholic, infantile – all
these words have been used to describe her. What was Hemingway getting at and
was he being fair?
 A great part of The Sun Also Rises immediate success was due to its roman a clef
nature. Most writers use personal experience as subject matter, but Hemingway was
accused of calculating the value of this guessing game. Is this a valid accusation?
 Topic of your choice related to the novel (must be approved in advance).
Requirements:
Research papers must be thesis based arguments of 2000 words (about 10 pages) typed
using Times New Roman, 12 point font, and double-spaced. Sources must be
documented according to MLA specifications. All preliminary steps must be completed
in sequence in order to receive a grade for the final paper and a grade for the class.
Steps (All must be completed in sequence):
 Library workshop.
 Project thesis proposal (and revised proposal if necessary).
 Writing plan.
 Annotated bibliography.
 Research paper outline due.
 Research paper 1st draft due (two copies).
 Research paper 2nd draft due.