In Earnest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, he presents to us the idea that Life is a battlefield, and that each move we make contributes to the end result, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. At some point in this battle, we must be wounded deeply. In fact, in order to see the world properly, and to become truly profound as an individual, we not only must have experienced this "hurt", but, as he presents in his novel, we must heal from it as well. It is this learning process that defines a man (or woman, as the case may be) as a hero. Jake Barnes, his protagonist, certainly has experienced a Great Hurt. But according to Hemingway, he must heal himself completely for the hurt to even have been worth the pain it caused.
While in war, Jake Barnes suffered a battle wound to the groin that rendered him impotent. The woman he loves, Brett Ashley, loves him, but understandably does not want to pursue a more serious romantic relationship with him because of his-shall we say, handicap. This emotional hurt is likely far more devastating to Jake than his physical hurt. But, as Hemingway's exemplar, Jake suffers with dignity and grace. He does not become angry with Brett for her decision, in fact, he tolerates her promiscuity even though she continually insists that she loves him. That is not to say that Jake did not suffer, or to diminish the degree to which he suffered, but Jake keeps his pain internal so as not to further emasculate himself. "He is celibate, not passionless" (Bradley). But he is human, and he does suffer. He experiences more than one "dark hour of the soul" throughout his healing process: "I lay awake thinking and my mind jumping around. Then I couldn't keep away from in, and I started to think about Brett and all the rest of it went away. I was thinking about Brett and my mind stopped jumping around and started to go in sort of smooth waves. Then all of a sudden I started to cry" (Hemingway, 39). Jake's pain is nearly unbearable, and yet he conceals his misery in the presence of others to maintain "grace under pressure".
Jake's battle with his faith is a prominent theme within The Sun Also Rises. He is struggling with what he believes and how firmly he believes it, but he is searching. He is still praying. He even "regretted [he] was such a rotten Catholic" and "wished [he] felt religious" (103). Catholicism is largely characterized by an ignorance of suffering and a rather stoic response to pain-a sort of "sucking it up" mentality. When Bill Gorton asks Jake if he is "really a Catholic", Jake has to make a decision (128). He feels uncomfortable identifying himself fully as a Catholic because he does not feel that he participates fully. He feels that he is only "technically" a Catholic because he is unable to ignore his pain and endure it as if it were something deserved (129). But if he is still searching and praying, he is not lost. He knows what he believes in, and he knows his values, he just doesn't know where they fit in. He thinks he needs some sort of label to dictate his moral compass, but in reality he is the most devout and religious character in the novel. So is Jake searching? Yes. Is there anything Jake really needs to be searching for as far as religion? Probably not. He is looking for something he already has, and something he doesn't need.
How fitting it is that Jake is of military background, for all of his bravery and persistence. He has a code of honor, and he lives by it and sticks to it. The most obvious example of this is his love for Brett. He knows he loves her and that she loves him, or at least thinks she does. He further knows that they cannot be together in the long run because of his devastating injury. Despite all of this, he continues to love Brett and be available to her when she needs him and do everything in his power to make her happy. He only wishes more were within his power so he could do more for her. He even helps her get from other men what he and she both wish she could get from him. One can only imagine the pain and jealousy of a man arranging an affair between a woman he loves and a younger man. But, as with almost everything else he does, he sets aside his desires and discomforts for the sake of the woman he loves. If there is any aspect of Jake's life in which he is consistent, it is his love for Brett. Even when he knows their romantic love cannot progress, he loves her still. He realizes that he may even be too loyal, and even becomes slightly bitter about the situation: "Send a girl off with one man. Introduce her to another to go off with him. Now go and bring her back. And sign the wire with love" (243). But he drops everything he is doing, jumps on a train, and comes to her when she needs him, all because he loves her. What he is doing is pushing through the pain. He is "soldiering on bravely", like a good strong Catholic should. Maybe he isn't aware, but the alert reader catches it. He thought he wasn't truly a Catholic because he didn't "put up with" the pain, but that is exactly what he has been doing and how he has been growing. By the end of the novel, not only has he healed himself from his hurt, but he has also healed his broken relationship with God. He has come to terms with the fact that he and Brett cannot be together, and he has come to terms with his faith in the process. He has learned to take life at face value and enjoy it for what it is, rather than what it cannot be.
While in war, Jake Barnes suffered a battle wound to the groin that rendered him impotent. The woman he loves, Brett Ashley, loves him, but understandably does not want to pursue a more serious romantic relationship with him because of his-shall we say, handicap. This emotional hurt is likely far more devastating to Jake than his physical hurt. But, as Hemingway's exemplar, Jake suffers with dignity and grace. He does not become angry with Brett for her decision, in fact, he tolerates her promiscuity even though she continually insists that she loves him. That is not to say that Jake did not suffer, or to diminish the degree to which he suffered, but Jake keeps his pain internal so as not to further emasculate himself. "He is celibate, not passionless" (Bradley). But he is human, and he does suffer. He experiences more than one "dark hour of the soul" throughout his healing process: "I lay awake thinking and my mind jumping around. Then I couldn't keep away from in, and I started to think about Brett and all the rest of it went away. I was thinking about Brett and my mind stopped jumping around and started to go in sort of smooth waves. Then all of a sudden I started to cry" (Hemingway, 39). Jake's pain is nearly unbearable, and yet he conceals his misery in the presence of others to maintain "grace under pressure".
Jake's battle with his faith is a prominent theme within The Sun Also Rises. He is struggling with what he believes and how firmly he believes it, but he is searching. He is still praying. He even "regretted [he] was such a rotten Catholic" and "wished [he] felt religious" (103). Catholicism is largely characterized by an ignorance of suffering and a rather stoic response to pain-a sort of "sucking it up" mentality. When Bill Gorton asks Jake if he is "really a Catholic", Jake has to make a decision (128). He feels uncomfortable identifying himself fully as a Catholic because he does not feel that he participates fully. He feels that he is only "technically" a Catholic because he is unable to ignore his pain and endure it as if it were something deserved (129). But if he is still searching and praying, he is not lost. He knows what he believes in, and he knows his values, he just doesn't know where they fit in. He thinks he needs some sort of label to dictate his moral compass, but in reality he is the most devout and religious character in the novel. So is Jake searching? Yes. Is there anything Jake really needs to be searching for as far as religion? Probably not. He is looking for something he already has, and something he doesn't need.
How fitting it is that Jake is of military background, for all of his bravery and persistence. He has a code of honor, and he lives by it and sticks to it. The most obvious example of this is his love for Brett. He knows he loves her and that she loves him, or at least thinks she does. He further knows that they cannot be together in the long run because of his devastating injury. Despite all of this, he continues to love Brett and be available to her when she needs him and do everything in his power to make her happy. He only wishes more were within his power so he could do more for her. He even helps her get from other men what he and she both wish she could get from him. One can only imagine the pain and jealousy of a man arranging an affair between a woman he loves and a younger man. But, as with almost everything else he does, he sets aside his desires and discomforts for the sake of the woman he loves. If there is any aspect of Jake's life in which he is consistent, it is his love for Brett. Even when he knows their romantic love cannot progress, he loves her still. He realizes that he may even be too loyal, and even becomes slightly bitter about the situation: "Send a girl off with one man. Introduce her to another to go off with him. Now go and bring her back. And sign the wire with love" (243). But he drops everything he is doing, jumps on a train, and comes to her when she needs him, all because he loves her. What he is doing is pushing through the pain. He is "soldiering on bravely", like a good strong Catholic should. Maybe he isn't aware, but the alert reader catches it. He thought he wasn't truly a Catholic because he didn't "put up with" the pain, but that is exactly what he has been doing and how he has been growing. By the end of the novel, not only has he healed himself from his hurt, but he has also healed his broken relationship with God. He has come to terms with the fact that he and Brett cannot be together, and he has come to terms with his faith in the process. He has learned to take life at face value and enjoy it for what it is, rather than what it cannot be.
