The Sun Also Rises (Independent Study)

I chose The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway for my independent study project. Published in 1926, the novel describes the Lost Generation, the generation that came of age during WWI. The story is told from the point of view of Jake Barnes, who is an American expatriate living in 1920s Paris. Jake and his other expatriate friends journey from the wild nightlife of Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain to watch the bullfights. Although some elements of the story, like the numerous bars and the characters' constant consumption of alcohol (alcohol is all they drink really), seems repetitive, I enjoyed Hemingway's sparse, restrained style of writing. The restrained descriptions of the characters made me imagine how they would behave in real life. The novel also presents one of the most memorable characters in literature that I have read in Lady Brett Ashley, a promiscuous British expatriate who is wanted by many men, including Jake. Brett's masculine, independent nature is a trouble for the men, but they are attracted to her nonetheless. The book deals with post-war themes such as moral bankruptcy, unrealized love, and masculinity. It was especially interesting to compare these themes with those of The Wasteland, which deals with the same disillusionment of post-war Western society. Overall, I would give this book a solid 7 out of 10.

Ernest Hemingway trying his hand at bullfighting

in Pamplona, 1924. Right of center, in white pants

and dark sweater, facing charging bull