SAMPLE A
Mrs. Oehrlein
IB English 3
23 October 2008
The Portrayal of Love in The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby
The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby present different perspectives of being in love,
both of which are effective in criticizing stereotypical opinions of love and uprooting the
idealistic views that readers may possess. Both Hemingway and Fitzgerald use precise diction
consistently throughout these novels to express the complexity of their characters’ relationships,
or lack thereof. Through simple yet purposeful language, these authors provide two uniquely
compelling social commentaries on the deteriorating image of love, the most extraordinarily
profound human emotion.
Hemingway and Fitzgerald both create characters who label love seemingly without
justification, and oftentimes too quickly. In The Sun Also Rises, both men and women utter the
words “I’m in love with [him/her], I think” (Hemingway 187) incessantly throughout the novel.
Jake Barnes makes claims, such as “Oh Brett, I love you so much” (Hemingway 61),
pronouncing his apparent attraction to a woman who is the object of desire for numerous other
men. This persistent repetition of the phrases “I love you,” “in love” and even “she’s so lovely”
displays Hemingway’s criticism of naïve and stereotypical lovers. By labeling interactions as
love, one can justify his relationships and enable himself to feel close to someone else.
Hemingway presents love in a careless manner, satirizing the superficial standards of mankind.
In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, characters identify themselves as being in love more
hesitantly. Nick holds back when contemplating his relationship with Jordan, as he sees flaws in
her and is not truly in love with her; “And for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slowthinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires” (Fitzgerald 58.) Fitzgerald’s
narrator speaks in more complex, thoughtful sentences that subjectively, yet truthfully express
his opinions of love. Fitzgerald’s intentions seem less satirical and lean more towards
demonstrating the waning existence of true love.
True love cannot be defined nor pinpointed, as it is personal and different for all people.
Throughout the course of history, literature has fostered the development of an idealistic, fairytale perspective of this true love that is based on extreme passion, emotional attachment, and
physical and sexual attraction. Both The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby portray elements
of this widely accepted sentiment without exactly labeling what love really is. In The Sun Also
Rises, men are attracted to the charismatic Brett, driven by her beautiful looks and their sexual
motivation. Although these men proclaim their love for Brett, she chooses to reveal her feelings
to Jake, the one man she cannot have sex with. Hemingway insinuates that there is more to his
characters than rushed love and love making, as Jake and Brett are coupled together and
understand each other on a more profound level. This becomes apparent when Hemingway
describes a scene in which Brett and Jake look into each other’s eyes; “She was looking into
[his] eyes with that way she had of looking that made you wonder whether she really saw out of
her own eyes. They would look on and on after everyone else’s eyes in the world would have
stopped looking” (Hemingway 34).
Similarly, in The Great Gatsby, Daisy and Jay Gatsby supposedly had an affair many
years ago, yet their love seems to encompass much more than just a sexual fling. Their
relationship is intense and obvious to those around them; “Their eyes met, and they stared
together at each other, alone in space…she had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan
saw. He was astounded” (Fitzgerald 119.) Fitzgerald’s tale of Gatsby’s unattainable dreams
deviates from the stereotypical happily ending love story; however there are distinct moments in
this novel where Fitzgerald’s profound tone and warm diction expresses that true love exists:
“But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed; without a
word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room”
(Fitzgerald 89.)
Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are
two American novels that delve into the inexplicable human emotion of love. Hemingway’s
story of a promiscuous beauty and the men who are attracted to her provides a commentary on
the annihilation of true love in modern society using declarative, terse sentences. Fitzgerald tells
the lyrical tale of unrealized, impossible love. However, both authors appropriately offer
remarkable social insight on a topic that is so very personal and delicate to mankind.
SAMPLE B
Mrs. Oehrlein
IB English 3
24 October 2008
The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises Compare/Contrast Essay
The 1920s was the decade of the Lost Generation. By indulging in parties, alcohol, jazz,
and sex, the younger society was slowly moving away from past generations’ principles and
values. This new generation especially congregated in the cities like New York and Paris where
partying and socializing was the norm. Both The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and The
Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald employ the use of geography to compare and contrast the
values of the Lost Generation to those of previous generations. These differences in values can
be identified through the various scenery, morals, and lifesyles of each location. While the
lifestyles of the East in The Great Gatsby parallel those in Paris of The Sun Also Rises, the values
of the West in The Great Gatsby parallel those in Spain’s countryside of The Sun Also Rises.
These vastly different locations help to emphasize the dramatic differences between previous
generations and the Lost Generation.
Both Hemingway and Fitzgerald use the surroundings of each location to define the
values which exist in that particular area. When entering the Basque country in Spain, Jake is
exposed to the Spanish countryside. “The land all looks very rich and green and the houses and
villages look well-off and clean…There were signs on the walls of the churches saying it was
forbidden to play pelota against them” (Hemingway 97). Hemingway’s use of the words “rich”,
“green”, and “clean” emphasize the Basque country’s natural surroundings, unaffected by the
horrors of the human pollution by the Lost Generation. By mentioning the presence of a church,
Hemingway also stresses the Basque people’s traditional Christian values. Likewise, in The
Great Gatsby, Nick reminisces on his Midwest home. “Sleigh bells in the frosty dark and
[seeing] the shadows of holly wreaths thrown by lighted windows on the snow” (Fitzgerald 176).
Similar to Hemingway, Fitzgerald creates a natural, almost refreshing feeling by using the word
“frosty” to describe the dark. Furthermore, Fitzgerald incorporates sleigh bells and holly wreaths
to subtly suggest the time to be around Christmas, a traditional Christian holiday. On the other
hand, both authors describe urban society in an extremely different manner. Georgette, a
character in The Sun Also Rises, admits that she thinks Paris is “expensive and dirty”
(Hemingway 26). This description shows the overall impact that the Lost Generation had on the
city. Likewise, Fitzgerald describes New York with a negative connotation as well. The valley
of ashes is said to be “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and
grotesque gardens” (Fitzgerald 23). Fitzgerald’s simple use of the word “grotesque” as
compared to his use the word “frosty” marks the sharp contrast between New York and Western
society.
Not only do both Fitzgerald and Hemingway use settings to convey the differences in
values between each location, but they also directly refer to the moral principles of each area.
When Jake in The Sun Also Rises is in Bayonne, a Spanish town, he enters a cathedral and begins
to ponder his own religious involvement. “[He] was such a rotten Catholic… [he] only wished
[he] felt religious” (Hemingway 103). These ideas completely contradict Jake’s actions when he
is in Paris. Here, he notices the “poules going by, singly and in pairs, looking for the evening
meal” (22) and eventually dines with one of them. Unlike in the Christian Spanish countryside,
Paris tempts Jake with prostitutes. These two conflicting moral values show how Hemingway
contrasts Spain and Paris. Like Hemingway, Fitzgerald contrasts the East and the West through
the different moral principles. Daisy refers several times to her childhood in Louisville as “white
girlhood” (Fitzgerald 19). Fitzgerald’s use of the word “white” emphasizes the purity of Daisy’s
childhood as compared to her carefree unrestricted lifestyle in New York. Unlike in Western
society, both Daisy and her husband Tom engage in extramarital affairs. Jordan tells Nick that
Tom has “got some woman in New York” (15) in which he as an affair with. As if this were not
enough, Jordan simply ignores the immorality of this by only being offended that this woman
called him during dinnertime. By marking the different cultural values of Paris and the East
from those of Spain and the West, both Hemmingway and Fitzgerald show the divergence in
moral values from those of the past generations to those of the Lost Generation.
The difference in lifestyles of the past generations and the Lost Generation is also seen
between the differences of the locations in each novel. While Jake is present in the Spanish
countryside, he envelopes himself in the worthwhile activity of fishing rather than aimlessly
traveling from bar to bar in Paris. While in Spain, he is directly told that his lifestyle is
demeaning and purposeless because of his overindulgence in sex and alcohol. “Fake European
standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed by sex. You
spend all your time talking, not working. You are expatriate you see? You hang around cafés”
(Hemingway 120). Through Harris, Hemingway stresses how the Lost generation has become
aimless wanderers who are only interested in sex, alcohol, and parties as opposed to previous
generations’ values. Similarly, Fitzgerald uses Nick, a Westerner, to describe the contrasting
lifestyles between the two locations. “It was sharply different from the West, where and evening
was hurried from phase to phase” (Fitzgerald 12) with “gleaming dazzling parties” (179). Rather
than working, the Lost Generation aimlessly socializes and parties without any thought to better
their lives or improve the world around them.
Throughout The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby both Hemingway and Fitzgerald
use geography to emphasize the differences between the Lost Generation and previous
generations. The contrasting scenery, morals, and lifestyles in these locations depict the drastic
differences between each generation’s values. While the Lost generation was obsessed with sex,
alcohol, and parties, past generations were more concerned with religion, family, and work ethic.
These contrasting ideas essentially define the controversial attitude by critics toward society
during the 1920s.
SAMPLE C
Alcohol in The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises
During the 1920’s, alcohol was prominent in many social scenes around the world. The
consumption of alcohol was a daily practice for many people, all of whom had different reasons
for drinking. Many empty relationships and false marriages during the 1920’s led to excessive
alcohol consumption in order to “fill” up the emptiness in their lives. For others, alcohol was
almost an hourly habit, which helped to make them forget of any problems that might be in their
lives. Both authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, utilize alcohol to symbolize how
its excessive consumption contributes to the worsening of a person’s troubles, which inclines
them to come out and speak their strong feelings that they had been inhibiting. Both books
indicate, to some extent, a consumption of alcohol during or before a climactic event. Alcohol
even serves as a catalyst for revealing people’s true feelings and relieving them from their
inhibitions. The different social settings seem to show differences on how alcohol influences the
emotionally subdued characters. By analyzing the frequent consumption of alcohol in both
novels, the authors’ true purpose of including this regularity of drinking in many character’s
daily lives begins to surface.
Investigating individual love relationships between two characters in both books show
how alcohol significantly affects the dynamic of their relationships, by leading an unsatisfied
character to exhibit their true feelings to the other. In Sun Also Rises, Brett’s excessive
consumption of alcohol leads her to stumble into Jake’s apartment in the middle of the night,
drunk, sharing her true feelings of love for him.
She looked at me, her hand on the table, her glass raised. ‘Don’t
look like that,’ she said. ‘Told him I was in love with you. True,
too. Don’t look like that. He was damn nice about it. Wants to
drive us out to dinner to-morrow night. Like to go?’(Hemingway
41).
The two preceding segments of a dialogue depict how Brett’s drunken state drives her to Jake’s
apartment building at night, in order for her to directly and plainly tell him that she is in love
with him. Hemingway’s use of simple sentence structure candidly displays how she arrives as a
drunken mess. The forthright dialogue indicates the importance of this matter. Although more
dramatic than her love actually was for Jake, alcohol leads her to pronounce her love for Jake
after holding it in since they went out on their first date. Alcohol gave Brett the power to march
into his room in the middle of the night and to tell him that she loved him and she would like a
date with him.
Likewise, alcohol is present in Great Gatsby. Nick first meets Jordan at Tom and Daisy’s
home as they all sit together and drink excessively. Jordan, in particular, is noticeably drunk and
inconsiderately gossips about Tom in front of Nick and Daisy.
‘Why-‘ [Jordan] said hesitantly, ‘Tom’s got some woman in New York’”(Fitzgerald 15).
Without any regard for Daisy, who is sitting with them, Jordan openly reveals to Nick that Tom
is speaking to his other woman, with whom he is having an affair, from New York. Jordan had
known about this relationship since before, and she finally comes out and announces it to Nick
and Daisy as Tom is talking to her on the phone. This leads to Daisy’s turbulent emotions and
broken feelings, and should Jordan have considered the implications before she announced the
affair to everyone, she could have avoided this situation. Fitzgerald seemingly uses alcohol in
this situation to show how Jordan was affected by alcohol in such a way that she carelessly and
ignorantly pronounced the affair to everyone. Fitzgerald uses a negative connotation on the use
of alcohol in this particular situation and how the result of Jordan’s consumption creates a bitter
and hostile mood.
Just as alcohol had a profound effect in individual relationships, it has similar effects on
small social gatherings, which were frequent in both books. The characters emotionally revealing
themselves in front of everyone results in an altered mood within the group. This has a negative
connotation on the character’s drunkenness, showing how it gives the power to characters to
attack other people without any constraints or limits.
In Great Gatsby, alcohol proves to be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back, as
shown with Myrtle Wilson. The strong, emotional feelings build up in someone until they cannot
hold it in anymore. They drink alcohol and that gives them the final “push” to let it all out.
Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood
face to face, discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs.
Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name.
‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’ shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it whenever I
want to! Daisy! Dai’ (Fitzgerald 37).
The aggressiveness of both characters is a result of their consumption of alcohol. The repetitive
sentence structure of Mrs. Wilson screaming “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” is used by Hemingway to
signify a strong, important point is being brought up. Alcohol seems to instigate the situation.
The connotation of “impassioned” in describing their voices shows us how they were very
ardently letting out their strong, built up emotions, due to the consumption of alcohol.
Moreover, this is observed in Sun Also Rises at many of the small gatherings at the cafes.
Alcohol seemed to have a profound effect on Harvey Stone and Robert Cohn at the café to such
an extent that it almost provoked a fight between the two.
“ “Hello, Robert,’ Harvey said. ‘I was just telling Jake here that you’re a moron.’”(50
Hemingway).
“ ‘You’re awfully funny, Harvey,’ Cohn said. ‘Someday somebody will push your face
in.’”(51 Hemingway).
This series of dialogue between Harvey and Robert display how after sitting at the café
consuming alcohol during the day gave Harvey the ability to insolently attack Cohn as soon as he
greets him. His lack of respect or regard for Cohn comes out in reality in a rude manner, due to
Harvey’s consumption of alcohol. Hemingway does this to show how Harvey reveals his true
opinion on Robert in such a harsh manner, reflecting Harvey’s true feelings. Alcohol serves as
the catalyst in allowing Harvey to speak his real opinion on Cohn.
Finally, alcohol is prevalent in large social groups or parties in both books. The overall
atmosphere of drunkenness at a large social scene shows specific instances in which characters
openly talk about their true thoughts and opinions, without regard to the consequences. Their
lack of inhibition is important in recognizing the author’s use of alcohol to show how characters
feel freer and more honest. In Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s large weekly parties at his house were a
gathering place filled with flowing alcohol and drunk people frolicking all around the place.
‘He’s a bootlegger,’ said the young ladies, moving somewhere
between his cocktails and his flowers. ‘One time he killed a man
who had found out that he was nephew to Von Hindenburg and
second cousin to the devil. Reach me a rose, honey, and pour me a
last drop into that there crystal glass’ (Fitzgerald 61).
Fitzgerald portrays, almost comically, how young, mindless, drunk women were running around
in a man’s home telling people that the host was a murderer and “second cousin to the devil,”
and then proceeded to drink more alcohol. Without any consideration for the host or for their
own personal integrity, drunken women were criticizing an alleged murderer; not thinking once
that it could have consequences. Excessive alcohol consumption clearly is used by Fitzgerald to
show how it leads to the mindless but true emotions and thoughts being revealed by these
drunken women at the parties.
Similarly, in Sun Also Rises Hemingway makes a close note of alcohol consumption at
the running of the bulls.
Just then another drunk started out from the fence with a blouse in
his hands. He wanted to do capework with the bulls. The two
policemen tore out, collared him, one hit him with a club, and they
dragged him against the fence…(Hemingway 200).
The influence of alcohol on the intense scene of the running of the bulls showed many fans
screaming and attempting to get into the running with the bulls. The drunkenness of many fans
gave them courage to do things they would not normally attempt to do, such as the mentioned
drunk in the above passage. The man ran out onto the fence, attempting to do capework with the
bulls, and was almost immediately suppressed by police. The drunks became rowdy and did
things they felt strongly about but would never do in real life. Alcohol lead them to do stupid
things such as jumping the fence and resulted in men getting horned by the bulls, resulting in
serious injury, described as a “gory” scene with blood and screaming. Hemingway’s utilization
of alcohol in this situation shows how these drunks did things they would never do in a sober
state, and as a result of drinking they were beaten by officers and injured by the bulls. There is a
negative connotation of consumption of alcohol in both scenes. In addition, both authors portray
in a both humorous and tragic tone how the effects of alcohol drive people to do inconsiderably
things without considering the possible consequences.
On the whole, both The Great Gatsby and Sun Also Rise’s authors utilize alcohol as
being a catalyst in revealing a character’s true emotions and their ability to relieve themselves of
inhibitions. This can be seen in individual relationships, group gatherings, or on a larger scale,
such as parties or sporting events. Alcohol allows people to speak what they really would like to
say, without any regard for consequence. In both books there is a negative connotation of alcohol
as it leads to hate, violence, and resentment. Both Hemingway and Fitzgerald use alcohol in
emotionally charged situations in order to portray how it truly affects a character’s ability to
speak their true, honest beliefs and emotions. In regards to the prevalence of alcohol in the
1920’s, both authors do a tremendous job in utilizing alcohol to give an accurate connotation of
alcohol as it truly did during the “Roaring Twenties”.
SAMPLE D
Mrs. Oehrlein
IB English 3
24 October 2008
Obsession in The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby
Throughout The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby, the authors show Jake and
Gatsby’s obsession for the women that they love as a means of showing their willingness to
sacrifice everything they have in order to be with them. Both Jake and Gatsby give up their
chance at finally finding a purpose in life just so they can try to be with their love. Hemingway
and Fitzgerald paradoxically show how when they are trying to improve their chances of
reaching their dreams, Jake and Gatsby conversely ruined the slight possibility that they had left.
Although they both are truly obsessed with the person they love, Gatsby always remains
optimistic and has hope while Jake realizes that his efforts are futile.
Throughout both The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises, it is evident that Gatsby and
Jake have to give up their chance of possible happiness, which they are searching for, in order to
win over the girls of their dreams. Because Gatsby realizes that Daisy needs a wealthy upper
class man, he changes his identity and life in order to impress her, but he always worries that
“the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders,” (Fitzgerald 156). Fitzgerald
uses the metaphor of the invisible cloak to show how Gatsby is forced to hide and give up his
true self for the sole purpose of impressing Daisy. Fitzgerald further illustrates Gatsby’s
dedication to altering his life when he has parties at his house, hoping that Daisy will go to one.
However when he finally attends and does not enjoy the party, Gatsby does not have another
party at his house again. Similarly in The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway begins the story with Jake
dealing with his loss in identity after the accident from the war. Although his identity has
already changed, he finally is able to enjoy life when he is “on the top of the height of land that
was the part of the range of wooded hills, “(Hemingway 122). Hemingway uses the hill as a
symbol for life, and now that Jake is in the woods and is able to appreciate life, he is on top of
the hill. After searching his whole life and finding a place where he can enjoy life, Jake gives it
all away just to be with Brett during the fiesta in Spain. Both Jake and Gatsby give up their
opportunity of finding true happiness in order to pursue their obsessions.
Although Jake and Gatsby live their lives trying to reach their goal which they have
focused on for so long, they both contradict their ambitions and as a result, are responsible for
their failure. Since he desperately wants to be with Daisy and do anything for her, Gatsby takes
the blame for killing Myrtle. Subsequently, Wilson searches for and kills him, ending Gatsby’s
remaining hopes to eventually win over Daisy. Likewise, Jake also causes his own failure to be
with Brett when he introduces her to other men, such as Romero, even though he is still deeply in
love with her. Both Hemingway and Fitzgerald paradoxically show that while Jake and Gatsby
are willing to do anything for the women who they are obsessed with, their will to do so causes
their failure in achieving their dreams.
Although both men are obsessed with the woman of their dreams, Gatsby remains
optimistic about his chances of being with Daisy until the day he dies, compared to Jake who is a
pessimist and he gives up hope of winning over Brett before the book ends. Fitzgerald uses the
green light at the end of Daisy’s dock throughout the book as a symbol for Gatsby’s longing to
be with Brett and his determination to never give up. When Gatsby was waiting outside of
Daisy’s house waiting for a signal from her, he was “standing there in the moonlight-watching
over nothing,” (153 Fitzgerald). Through the narrator, Fitzgerald shows his admiration for
Gatsby’s ability to always be optimistic and his perseverance even when he clearly has lost his
opportunity to be with Daisy. In contrast, Jake is constantly saying “To hell with Brett. To hell
with you, Lady Ashley,” because he is forced to endure emotional pain the Brett causes him
(Hemingway 38). Towards the end of the book, Jake realizes that realistically Brett will never
love him and want to be with just him. When Brett says how they “could have had such a
damned good,” life together, a policeman who is directing traffic “raised his baton,”
(Hemingway 251). Hemingway used the policeman as a symbol to represent how Jake knows
that if he never had the tragic accident, he would not be so emotionally close to Brett and she
would treat him like everyone else. This emphasizes Jake’s pessimism and how he has finally
given up hope.
Both Jake and Gatsby have to change their lives and their chance at enjoying life because
of the obsession that they have with the women they love. Although they both cause their own
failure in achieving their goals, only Jake realizes that he has done so, while Gatsby remains
hopeful and optimistic until they day he dies. Hemingway and Fitzgerald emphasize Jake and
Gatsby’s obsessions throughout The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby to show how these
men are willing to give up everything they have in order to win over the women they love.
SAMPLE E
Mrs. Oehrlein
IB English 3
November 10, 2008
Alcohol Usage in The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises
The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises both take place during the “Roaring Twenties,”
a time period of swinging parties and illegal alcohol due to Prohibition. Fitzgerald and
Hemingway portray the alcohol usage of this time period strategically in The Great Gatsby and
The Sun Also Rises to further develop their themes. The main difference in their strategies
however, is the relative abundance of alcohol in scenarios, and the points of view given by the
narrator towards alcohol. In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway uses alcohol superfluously, having
it appear on almost every page, while Fitzgerald uses alcohol more sparingly in The Great
Gatsby.
Each narrator differs in his personal views and experiences with alcohol. Nick, a man
who had “been drunk just twice in [his] life,” obviously does not spend his leisure time drinking,
and has a certain reaction to other drunks around him (Fitzgerald 29). Hemingway on the other
hand, created Jake, a man who thinks “it [is] pleasant to be drinking [and that] …a bottle of wine
[is] good company” (Hemingway 236). Jake surrounds himself with friends who constantly
drink, particularly at the fiesta in Pamplona, and he does not have a problem with alcohol. By
seeing it in everyday life, Jake has an indifferent reaction to seeing people get drunk. He and his
friends often walk “into wine shops … drink glasses of [alcohol] … [and ask for] one more
drink” (186).
Hemingway and Fitzgerald also use alcohol to induce fights between characters. Once
again however, their methods and strategies of incorporating alcohol into fights are different.
Alcohol is used abundantly in The Sun Also Rises, so the characters are often completely drunk
during their conflicts. Jake and Brett attempt “to keep Mike from getting so tight,” because they
know he can go too far (150). Fitzgerald’s style in The Great Gatsby is different because he uses
alcohol just once before the fight to switch the mood from friendly to hostile. He reserves the
alcohol factor for pivotal turning points, which means the characters are not drunk during the
fight, as opposed to characters in The Sun Also Rises. When Tom’s “temper cracked a little…
[he] bore to his lips the last of his glass of ale,” and soon after he gets into a fight with Jay
Gatsby (Fitzgerald 119). Even though Tom was not drunk during the fight, a touch alcohol was
still used here to induce a fight.
The tactical use of alcohol in both books is reflective of the time period in which they
were written. The parties and use of alcohol in The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby exist to
portray the lifestyle of the people in the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses alcohol at Gatsby’s
parties to express the lavish wealth that the upper class enjoyed during this time. At Gatsby’s
grand parties, “bars [were] stocked with gins and liquors… [and] floating rounds of cocktails
permeate[d] the garden[s]” (40). Hemingway uses alcohol socially in a different respect. When
used in groups of friends, alcohol is portrayed no differently than any other time in the book,
however when the social aspect switches to a one on one friend relationship, alcohol has a
different implication. By reducing the amount of alcohol abuse during Bill and Jake’s fishing
trip, Hemingway strategically changes the mood of the trip, setting a beautiful scene where the
two men can relax, as opposed to the usual lifestyles they lead in Paris, when they are
excessively drinking.
Both Fitzgerald and Hemingway portray their feelings about alcohol through conflicts,
narrators, and social relations. Their personal styles of integrating alcohol into the story however,
differ in many respects such as the abundance of alcoholic references. Hemingway uses alcohol
plentifully, while Fitzgerald uses it with more reserve. Although both authors use different
methods to depict alcohol, they each accomplish the similar desire of conveying their views to
the reader.
SAMPLE F
IB English 3
Mrs. Oehrlein
24 October 2008
Male Insecurities in The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises
Insecure, by definition, means subject to fears and doubts, not self-confident or assured.
Being insecure is a state of emotion that people feel in many aspects of daily life. When insecure
one is never fully able to mask that emotion, and the lack of self – assurance is visible as a result
of one’s actions. This idea is reflected in the novels The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises,
where authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, generate a central theme of male
insecurity among the characters in the books. Both books take place in the 1920’s when the role
of women had developed. Women became self-assured and took more control during this time.
The confidence of these women spotlights the insecurities of the men. In The Great Gatsby, Jay
Gatsby is the one guilty of having insecurities with himself. In The Sun Also Rises, Robert Cohn,
like Gatsby, is found culpable for a lack of confidence. This theme is perceptible by the author’s
success in making the characters state of insecurities noticeable through literary techniques.
Including dialogue, motifs, and diction. The many areas in which both characters experience
their insecurity include their backgrounds and past experience, their true identity, and in
relationships.
Both Robert Cohn and Jay Gatsby are not comfortable with their own backgrounds.
Cohn was continually made fun of for being Jewish while Gatsby being from a poor family was
embarrassed by his lack of sophistication and wealth. Cohn uses violence and fights through the
book to show his attempt to hide his insecurity numerous times. When Cohn was at Princeton he
chose to box to “counteract [his] feeling of inferiority”; however, Cohn left his boxing title for
literary success, which gave him even more confidence (Hemingway 1). In The Great Gatsby,
Fitzgerald instead gave his character a new identity rather than using the motif of violence.
James Gatz transformed into Jay Gatsby, his ideal man with total confidence that he would have
nothing to be ashamed of. Cohn’s literary success is parallel with his confidence, in that when
he became more successful his confidence also rose. The same applies to Gatsby, his wealth is
parallel to his confidence. When Gatsby became more and more wealthy, he became more and
more confident. Both authors clearly express the insecurities Cohn and Gatsby feel about their
pasts with unique approaches.
The character’s insecurities are also noticeable during relationships through the author’s
use of dialogues and metaphors. Through the dialogue between Cohn and the character of Mike
Cambell, Cohn’s lack of confidence is yet again evident. In their conversation, Mike
metaphorically compares Cohn to a steer, in that he is continually “hanging about” (146). Even
after Lady Brett Ashley made it clear that she intends to have no sort of relationship with Cohn,
he denies it and continues to follow her around. Because of his actions, or lack of action in
moving on with his life, Cohn reveals his insecurity in that he is afraid of the rejection of the
women he loves. He doubts himself in that he could move on in his life for the better; however,
his lack of confidence makes him continue to stay attached to her, like a steer, with the idea that
there is nothing better. Through this metaphor, so much is learned about Cohn and due to his
resulting actions he proves himself insecure. A metaphor is also used in The Great Gatsby. “The
invisible cloak” that Gatsby wears compares to the false identity he has (Fitzgerald 73). This
metaphor, similar to the one in The Sun Also Rises, creates presents the insecurities the
characters have. On the other hand, Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby’s insecurities of that love in a
different manner. Gatsby was embarrassed when he first met Daisy that he wasn’t rich and
successful or even good enough for her. Because of this, Gatsby lied to Daisy and pretended to
be the wealthy and rich man he would later become, it is here that he puts on “the invisible
cloak” (73). Gatsby’s lie to Daisy proved he was insecure about his background and more
importantly insecure around Daisy. By lying to someone, more significantly Daisy, that lie
shows that he was not confident or self assured with every aspect of himself therefore creating
that lie and false identity of someone who would be confident and worthy of Daisy. All in all,
both The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby present male insecurities in relationships, yet
each author presented it differently.
Both Robert Cohn and Jay Gatsby’s insecurities are easily visible through their actions,
however in different ways. Hemingway uses the word “swallow” as a motif throughout The Sun
Also Rises. Whenever Cohn was feeling insecure or doubting himself the word “swallow” was
used to describe his face. As a conclusion from this, it shows that the numerous times the word
was in the book, the numerous times Cohn felt insecure. Cohn’s “face had the swallow…look it
got when he was insulted” (Hemingway 182). The result of this word choice as a motif is to
show how his “swallow” face was evident more than once throughout the whole novel
concluding that Cohn was insecure more than once throughout the whole novel. Gatsby, like
Cohn, was continually found insecure. However, Gatsby’s lack of confidence was shown
through his successes in life. For example, when Gatsby wanted to impress Daisy, he took her
on a tour of his extravagant mansion in hope to sweep her off her feet. Gatsby shows his lack
confidence in himself by trying to impress Daisy with his materialistic possessions, taking her
eyes on him and glued to his marvelous belongings.
The theme of male insecurity is presented in both novels, The Sun Also Rises and The
Great Gatsby. Both novels take place in the 1920s during the Lost Generation, when the role of
women changed. The women took more control and were more confidence. This counteracted
the males in both novels, in which they epitomized the male insecurities in the 1920s. The lack
of confidence can be picked up through the novels by the author’s choices of literary style,
including dialogue, motifs, and metaphors. The main insecurities are evident in numerous
aspects of the Robert Cohn and Jay Gatsby’s lives, such as, their backgrounds, their identity, and
in relationships. Being insecure is an emotion is which is nearly impossible to mask in that one’s
actions can reveal that said insecurity, of which Gatsby and Cohn were guilty.