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Analytic Questions

1. The narrator Jacob Barnes is likely a reliable narrator as he is honest about his impotence and does not hide behind emotions. 2. Main themes are the "Lost Generation" of disoriented post-WW1 youth, the importance of sport, love, sex, and notions of masculinity. 3. The only major female, Brett, is empowered but aimless and toys with men's masculinity. She is drawn to superficial pleasures like sex and alcohol.

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Ana Oršulić
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54 views5 pages

Analytic Questions

1. The narrator Jacob Barnes is likely a reliable narrator as he is honest about his impotence and does not hide behind emotions. 2. Main themes are the "Lost Generation" of disoriented post-WW1 youth, the importance of sport, love, sex, and notions of masculinity. 3. The only major female, Brett, is empowered but aimless and toys with men's masculinity. She is drawn to superficial pleasures like sex and alcohol.

Uploaded by

Ana Oršulić
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ANALYTIC QUESTIONS

THE SUN ALSO RISES

1. Who is the narrator and how reliable is he?


Jacob Barnes is the narrator and the protagonist of this novel.
Although 1st person narration can be deceiving and unreliable in
most cases, since characters are often subjective story-tellers, Jacob
Barnes might actually be somewhat reliable. He is honest and is a
successful newspaper man, which suggests that he could be neutral to
a certain degree while narrating. Jake is subtle about his impotency,
but he is not hiding it, and that is an important trait of a reliable
narrator, not being completely taken over by emotions. His objectivity
allows the reader to be in the middle of his world as it is:
straightforward and without disguises.
2. What are the main themes in the novel?
Main themes in this novel:
THE LOST GENERATION
The novel begins with a Gertrude Stein quote: ˝You are all a lost
generation.˝
A Lost Generation is a term that refers to the generation that came of
age during WW1, means disoriented, wandering, and directionless.
The term is particularly used to refer to a group of artists, and
particularly American expatriate writers, living in Paris during the
1920s.
The majority of the characters could be described using this term,
since their lives are absolutely unfulfilled and their existence is
pointless and thus they are creating drama to feel alive. For instance,
Brett Ashley is constantly seducing men, without thinking of the
consequences. Cohn is doting over Brett, seemingly desperate, even
though she rejected him a couple of times.

SPORT
Sport plays a major role in the novel, as the characters are simply
drawn to sporting events. We have Robert Cohn, who is a professional
boxer, and Pedro Romero, the young bullfighter. Bill and Jake are
often going fishing in Spain, and everyone agrees with going to
Pamplona to see the bull-fights.
LOVE AND SEX

NATURE
MASCULINITY

3. What are the women like in the novel? Think about the
female identity. Provide quotes to exemplify.
Women in the novel are kind of empowered, doing what they want.
The only major female character in this novel is Brett. Because of that,
all the male characters are drawn to her, except Bill. Brett’s behavior
is aimless; she doesn’t know what she wants for the long run and
thinks only of living in the moment. She toys with the male
character’s manliness. Her hair is short, the conversations she leads
are very superficial, and she is always looking for men to have sex
with. We could say that she is the only character in the novel who
displays masculinity.

4. What are the men like? Think about the male identity.
Provide quotes to exemplify.
The men in this novel are very insecure about their masculinity. The
best examples are Mike and Cohn. The way Brett handles them both,
leaves them confused and questioning their manhood. Mike is angry
with Brett’s behavior, but he does not know how to handle it and it
frustrates him, so he continues drinking trying to forget about it. Cohn
is obsessed with Brett, although she is constantly refusing his feelings
towards her. He even uses physical violence towards other men Brett
likes. Bill is very neutral, he is only trying to resolve the issues among
his group and entertain them, so they all can have a good time. Jake is
also mainly unbiased, in spite the fact that he also has feelings towards
Brett. He is handling it really well and focusing on other things. He is
actually the only person with whom Brett can really talk.

5. Think about the following issues in the novel: love, sex,


heroism and grace under pressure.
Love – love is mainly avoided in the novel, characters are restless and
focusing only on superficial pleasures, like sex and alcohol. We
witness Cohn’s unhappy first marriage, and his second relationship,
which is also unsatisfactory. Later, he falls in love with Brett, but she
only used him for her own pleasure. Jake is in love with Brett, but she
subtly rejects him for his inability to perform sexually.
Sex – Brett is a sexual being, she is young and active and enjoys it.
She has sex without being marries and is not ashamed of it.
Heroism – Jacob Barnes is a tragic hero, he fought in the war, got
wounded. He takes care of Brett, the woman he loves, even though she
rejected him, and comes to him only when she is broken or in trouble.
He enjoys all the manly stuff: drinking, fishing, bull-fighting, he is
outdoorsy. He might not be a typical hero, but he creates new values.
Jake is always in control of his feelings, even while drunk.
Grace under pressure – it is very obvious how some characters are
being forcefully polite, even though they are not pleased with behavior
of others or with their suggestions.
For example, Jake is being polite when Mike suggests he and Brett tag
along to Spain. He says: ˝It would be grand.˝, but it seems though he
was not amazed by that idea.

6. What do we learn about the characters’ past and how does


the past affect characters’ behavior?

7. Loss is one of the main features of modernism. How is it


represented in this novel?

Jacob Barnes lost his ability to perform sexually. – he lost a


generation, and also probably lost the love of his live and a potential
long-lasting relationship
Mike and Bill lost Brett

8. Can you draw any parallels between the characters in this


novel and The Great Gatsby?
The lost generation and the loss of the American dream, decadence
and the frivolous lifestyle of the wealthy
Nick Carraway comes to realize the corruption that surrounds him
9. Choose a favorite quote/character and explain your choice.
Bill – favourite character
10. Hemingway and his writing style.
Simple, direct, unembellished,

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