The Sun Also Rises, like countless other novels, has certain "running gags" that persist throughout. They fade in and out of focus, but remain ever present. Things like hating on Cohn, discussing irony, and occasionally acknowledgement Jake's injury would fall into this category. However, the strongest physical theme of the novel would have to be drinking and alcohol, one that I believe ebbs and flows in things such as Jake's mood, the perspectives of the characters, and even pastoral symbolism far more than anything other aspect of the novel.
While in the bar with Georgette, the first alcoholic drink we see consumed is pernod absinthe. Jake describes the qualities and details of the liquor on page 23:
"Pernod is green imitation absinthe. When you add water it turns milky. It has a good uplift, but drops you just as far."
The question is, why does Jake include this description? While informing the reader of the actual substance of the beverage, he goes out of his way to describe its depressant-like effects. His feelings toward the drink largely reflect his opinion of Paris as a city. Although Jake trots around the Paris and its many clubs and bars, the seeming fun of his adventures are nullified by his isolation. Jake mentions that he has been wandering recently on page 19, replying that he has "tried all that" in response to Cohn's urge to go South America. The wandering reflects his dissatisfaction and displacement in the Parisian scene, that the "imitation absinthe" pernod, a usually natural botanical combination made artificial, perhaps mirrors as well. After all, in the page previous (18) Jake mentions that the only people who live their lives up fully are bull fighters, indicating his passion for the different pastoral environment of Spain.
Once Jake actually enters Spain, the tone of his drinking becomes much less depressing and far more sociable. Take the fiesta scene on page 158:
"The fiesta was really started. It kept up day and night for several days. The dancing kept up, the drinking kept up, the noise went on. The things that happened could have only happened during a fiesta. Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed that nothing could have any consequences"
Immediately the context of drinking changes in Jakes eyes. With liberal drinking during the fiesta, Jake seemingly submits to pastoral desire of the common people and draws a sharp contrast to his normally restrained, depressant use of alcohol in Paris. Although, there is a common theme emerging with Jake's consumption of alcohol; he utilizes it as a mental distraction. Whether it be his depression in Paris or the need to let go of boundaries and consequences in the fiesta, he drinks whenever he needs to emotionally detach himself. On page 150 he even drinks to numb himself from the constant worries and troubles of his friends. "Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people."
The theme continues of the alcohol being a reflector of emotion and and straightforward conversation on page 152, where Jake qualitatively analyzes the drunken tendencies of the main characters.
"Mike was a bad drunk. Brett was a good drunk. Bill was a good drunk. Cohn was never drunk."
This quick, apt description by Jake summarizes each character's ability to deflect while drunk, as well as the general opinion of each other held by this circle of characters. When Mike gets drunk, his words are not ironic. His drunken speeches get down to the things that are bothering him, which is mostly Cohn. Therefore, his angry and straightforward words make him a "bad drunk". Cohn is unable to deflect emotionally or ironically with the other characters because he never gets drunk. These two and their inabilities to join the ironic drinkers sets them apart socially from Brett Jake and Bill throughout the novel. Alcohol determines the characters motives and boundaries yet again!
All in all, the drinking in The Sun Also Rises takes on a variety of forms and consequences, from ironic banter to full on fights in Spain, but serves a purpose that the characters hold true to themselves and each other in deflection. Jake deflects his pastoral longing of Spain while in France and his feelings towards Brett. Mike deflects his general sadness in life, rage for Cohn, and disappointments for his financial situation and Brett. Cohn by staying sober loses his ironic shield and opens him up for jabs by Mike and social exile in the main characters grouping. Overall, each character and their interactions with alcohol define their position in the novel.
You mention that Cohn's sobriety 'opens him up to jabs,' but I feel that his performance when drunk is more important. During the fiesta, Cohn gets drunk and, instead of joining the party, he passes out. It seems there's an implicit feeling of Cohn proving once again how he doesn't fit in or understand their social cues; he can't (consciously) participate in their main form of socialization, namely getting drunk.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you describe drinking and alcohol as a "running gag" in The Sun Also Rises, because although the theme of alcoholism does at times lighten the mood and bring out the humorous sides of some of the characters, it also is the cause of much of the tension throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you make the point that Cohn is unable to fit in with the rest of the group because he is the only one who doesn't drink. This raises the question: if Cohn was a drunk too, would he not be the scapegoat of everyone's problems? Perhaps Cohn being a Jew is somewhat of a red herring, and his personality and ability to cope with alcohol are bigger factors in why he is constantly ostracized.
You definitely drew an excellent parallel in comparing this descriptions of drinking and alcohol in the two main settings of the novel. Paris can definitely be described as having many ups and downs, though it definitely is depressing when Spain is considered. The drinking in both places can both be communal, but there's a certain happiness that Jake only experiences while in the pastoral environment of Spain. Rather than wallowing in his emotions, he allows himself to be taken in by the friendly environment, as we can see in your second quote.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite "gag" moments with drinking in this novel is when Jake is arguing about the rate at the hotel in Burguete, but then asks if wine is included in the bill. Of course, the wine is included. So he and Bill proceed to put away a monumental amount of wine, and the matron keeps looking in and counting the bottles in dismay. Jake quips, "We did not lose money on the wine." These are not the guys to invite to an "all you can drink" sale!
ReplyDeleteOne of the huge things you hit on here was the difference in Jake's view towards drinking in Spain vs. in Paris. In Paris, Jake views drinking more as mundane, daily task that he must do to fit in, but in Spain, Jake finds joy in the shorter, but much more energetic, drinking atmosphere of the fiesta.
ReplyDeleteI like the point you bring up about how one's relationship with alcohol really is a defining feature of their personalities, especially in their eyes. It isn't just an activity, and instead it reflects on them as this venue for behavior that might not normally happen. It is a common thread amongst them and the fact that Cohn isn't affected in the same way is indicative of his lack of the requisite character to be fully accepted.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a very interesting point, particularly with the pernod. Jake's description of it in itself is somewhat sad, and not only do the quantities and purpose of drinking change as the setting does, but the drinks change too. I would assume pernod is a heavier liquor, while wine is less so and goes along with meals. The drinks become lighter as Jake's attitude changes.
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out that the alcohol was a way for Jake to escape the environment he was in. He liked to act like he was having an enjoyable time while bar hopping around Paris, but the main point wasn't to enjoy the company around him. He was using the bar scene to hide the fact that he was drinking because he was unhappy. The dynamic changes in Spain, with Jake drinking in social situations because he was with other people. He enjoys the company more than the drinks, instead of the other way around like in Paris.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the theme of drinking in this novel is a potentially necessary aid to emphasizing Jake's opinions and emotions. Another facet of the pastoral comparison you made between France and Spain with Pernod is that when Jake reaches Spain, he makes a point to drink lots and lots of absinthe, the liquor Pernod is supposed to be imitating. This could be a subtle hint that Jake feels that Spain is worth being treated like it is authentic. And when in France Jake tips the waiter when he receives his drink, in Spain, the waiter returns his extra money, assuming he miscounted the price. And let's not forget the bus scene with the goat skin wine sacks! Drinking in Spain really drives home the pastoral feeling.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Jake's perspective of alcohol and just the social activity of drinking in general changes when he and everyone else moves from Paris to Pamplona, but I think this may be more of a reflection on the different attitudes towards drinking in the two places. For example, in Paris, it seemed like drinking and getting drunk was more of a way to pass time and nullify or even deny reality, while in Pamplona, alcohol was drunk with more of a 'party' or 'fiesta' attitude, where it was used more as a way to enhance reality and consciousness rather than ignore and suppress it.
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point here. The effects of alcohol is certainly different for each character. But with certain characters we see a trend. Like you mentioned, Bill is a bad drunk, all the time. But for characters like Bill and Brett, it seems routine. Their drinking seems to be soothing for them, even though many times we see Brett drunk she is miserable. I think it's interesting to follow the patterns of each character and their personal motivation to drink.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast in Jake's perception and attitude towards drinking when he is in Spain, vs. France, was quite important to my reading of the novel. Jake's gloomy attitude towards both the drinking and the city of Paris contrasts heavily from the lighthearted attitude that he has to it in Spain. (I don't think Jake would've dranken wine out of a stranger's bottle, on top of a bus, in Paris!)
ReplyDeleteI saw this contrast as largely the result of a dissatisfaction with Paris where he lives and works as an expatriate, as opposed to Spain, which is his vacation destination, a place of all fun and little to no work. Jake basically goes to Spain to relieve himself of the dissatisfactions, as an expatriate, he has with Paris, where he moved to get away from the US, in the hopes of gaining satisfaction, a feeling which ultimately wore away as he became accustomed to the region. In our class, we talked a bit about Hemingway's own experiences as an expatriate, and we saw Jake's views towards France and other places as being very representative, if not the same, as those of Ernest Hemingway itself. These views are depicted in numerous ways throughout the novel, though looking at it through the context of alcohol is an interesting and effective one, because it is a recurring and almost omnipresent theme throughout the course of the novel.
This is a really interesting point. I do think that the characters' treatment of alcohol is affected somewhat by their location just because of the different attitudes towards. For pretty much everyone in Paris, alcohol is an escape from reality and from other people; in Spain it's a much more communal thing, meant to connect you to everyone around you, not isolate you from each other. But in terms of Jake's personal connection to it, I just think the way he describes the different drinks is pretty telling. The quote about the pernod—"It has a good uplift, but drops you just as far"—yeah, that's pretty depressing. But the moment Jake gets to Spain, he's drinking with the Basques, and in their culture it doesn't seem like it's supposed to be an escape. Jake doesn't feel like he has to isolate himself, and his tone lightens immediately.
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