"You are all a lost generation." - Gertrude Stein in conversation
"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever ... The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose ... The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it wirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. ... All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again." - Ecclesiastes
Originally, we were all pretty confused on the purpose of these two quotes and how they related to the novel. However, we now had a hunch as to where the title came from. Upon reading this, I was intrigued by what the novel would entail. A short while in, however, I realized it would be much more ambiguous than I had bargained for. The Sun Also Rises follows a castrated man by the name of Jake Barnes, and his unfulfilling monotonous routine of life in Paris. He's in love with a woman, Brett, but of course she's very sexually promiscuous and satisfies her needs with men that are not Jake. The book hints that they met many years ago, and Jake is still tormented yet infatuated by her presence. The author makes it clear that he's not interested in any other women, especially not sexually, than Brett.
All this made me wonder why the book is called what it is. From the Ecclesiastes quote, it is pretty clear that humans are just pawns in the bigger picture of the world. This made me consider the fact that The Sun Also Rises takes place right after the war, and Jake has lost a lot (specifically, his ability to reproduce). Though not all WWI veterans came out like he did, Jake represents the aimlessness and wandering of the Lost Generation. Like many others around him, he drinks and parties to dull the pain. However, he is never really happy when doing these things. He mentions repeatedly how the people he's surrounded by, his "friends," irritate him constantly. On numerous occasions, he expresses his distaste for a situation, then turns to alcohol as a way of comfort. When he sees the gay men dancing with Brett, he is so frustrated that he has to leave. "I walked down the street and had a beer at the bar at the next Bal. The beer was not good and I had a worse cognac to take the taste out of my mouth" (20). However, there are also times when he enjoys drinking. When Jake takes his vacation in San Sebastian, we get to see how being by himself changes his mindset. "I drank a bottle of wine for company. It was a Château Margaux. It was pleasant to be drinking slowly and to be tasting the wine and to be drinking alone" (232-33).
Overall, I think the reason for Ernest Hemingway including the Ecclesiastes quote is to hint at the general theme of this book. Jake, a lone soul who literally lost a generation (he's no longer able to produce any offspring), finds himself in a meaningless loop of existence. However, the novel ends on a relatively positive note. Brett and him are finally happy with each other's company, and are optimistic about their roles in society. I also think it is significant that the last page of the book emphasizes how "hot and bright" it is outside. As a matter of fact, Hemingway says this twice. It looks like the sun has risen after all.
The Ecclesiastes quote is still very ambiguous, which I suppose fits well with the novel. Your point that the quote describes Jake's situation and path through the plot makes a lot of sense to me, but definitely lends itself to a darker interpretation. The sun rising each morning could represent the end of each of Jake's long nights, but it also represents the continuation of a cycle with nothing to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteIn your post you said that the Ecclesiastes quote implied that we are just pawns in a bigger picture, which I agree with. While reading that, I realized that Brett uses Jake as a pawn a lot. He comes when called, and is always there to fall back on, so while this quote can be used to discuss the Lost Generation after the war, I think it also reflects Jake's role in Brett's life.
ReplyDeleteLouis is right that there's an ambiguity to the epigraph from Ecclesiastes--it expresses basically the same sentiment as the passage from Aurelius that Howie freaks out about, and whether we see it as ultimately a comforting image of the immortality of nature and the endurance of God, or an alienating image that calls our attention to the futility of all human affairs, is a matter of perspective. In this novel, the natural imagery in Ecclesiastes puts me to mind of the Spanish sections, and the way Hemingway writes about nature, and the way Jake and Bill seem so altered by that natural environment, and how it allows for an expression of affection among men, for example, that isn't deemed wise or appropriate in human society at the time. In all of this, there's maybe some comfort in the image of nature persisting despite the foibles of humanity. Jake seems to think so, at least. We don't get any of this "the world itself is without meaning" stuff from him, in contrast to Septimus. He just carries on, taking it one day at a time. This godlike view of human existence can lead to the kind of stoicism we see in Jake: he's aware of how small he is in the picture of existence, and he doesn't let this stop him from getting back to work.
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