Ahh the final lines of the novel make the book slightly worth it. While I did not like this book much at all, I loved the ending."Oh Jake," Brett said, "we could have had such a damned good time together."Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me."Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"That's just a wonderful line to end on. I feel encouraged after Jake's last line because he seems to have seen somewhat of a new light. I think he is saying to her, well it's your fault we aren't together so don't complain to me. At the same time, he sounds somewhat like Bogart in an old time movie. "Isn't it pretty to think so?" It can mean so much, but it's up to the reader to interpret what would come next. Yes, it's a beautiful vision to pretend like they are in love, but if they were still in love they would not be having that conversation. Brett must have not been loved enough as a child because I don't think she is fully capable of true love.All in all, I am extremely happy that I am finished with this book because it was kind of torturous to read this. I loved O'Brien's book, but Hemingway...not my style. My favorite part of the entire book was the ending--not just because it's over, but because of that final line.Thank you, Jake, for making my reading experience a bit more worthwhile.:] Seeya on Monday Costello!
Posted in
Bogart,
Jake Barnes,
Lady Brett Ashley
As I see it, the major conflict in this entire story is love, namely so-and-so in love with Brett. Let's count up Brett's mentioned lovers!Jake Barnes: Our bleeding heart protagonist. He's a struggling writer/journalist who was changed permanently from the war. He met Brett during the war while she was a nurse and he was wounded. Michael: A lovely man who is constantly drunk, but who isn't in this story! He is engaged to Brett, but he definitely knows what he is in for. He knows that Brett fools around with other men and that she is not going to change any time soon. He even comments on how she is cheating on him with other men right in front of him.Count M: A random Count who buys Brett some alcohol and takes her out every once in a while in Paris. Apparently she has told him that she still loves Jake and yet he is perfectly fine with fooling around with her.Robert Cohn: Hopelessly in love with Brett--unrequited love that is. He went away with Brett for a weekend or so in San Sebastian, and he has been hooked ever since. He even beat up Romero because of his jealousy!Romero: The young, suave bull fighter. This may be the only guy besides Jake and her previous husband that she has actually been in love with. Believe it or not, Brett suddenly was unselfish and let him go so she would not interfere with his career.Those are the important lovers among possibly hundreds not mentioned. "Why didn't you keep him?""I don't know. It isn't the sort of thing one does. I don't think I hurt him any." [page 245].Brett never thinks she hurts her men any, but I'm pretty sure she leaves a much larger impact than what she thinks. I'm kind of over her at this point. Stop abusing love, Brett.
Posted in
conflict,
Count M,
Jake Barnes,
Lady Brett Ashley,
lovers,
Mike,
Robert Cohn,
Romero
"I know. Please don't remember it. I was crazy."
"That's all right."
He was crying. His voice was funny. He lay there in his white shirt on the bed in the dark. His polo shirt. [page 198].
I like the sense of parallelism that these sentences are written in-- He/His/He/His. Cohn has a major break down at this point in the story after he beats up Romero. He finally realizes that Brett will never love him no matter what he does. He breaks down to Jake and says he is going away. I believe his pain would be too much to bear if he stayed around Brett any longer. It can't be easy to hear that the love of his love does not love him, and yet he does not even know that Jake is in the same boat. Jake, though, is good at hiding it and not even thinking about his loving emotions toward Brett. Come to think of it, he only thinks toward Brett in an angry matter and not in a very loving manner even though he will do anything for her.
These characters are all fickle and it's kind of annoying after a while. I want to yell at them, "Get a back bone!"
Posted in
break down,
Jake Barnes,
parallelism,
Robert Cohn
"He nearly killed the poor, bloody bull-fighter. Then Cohn wanted to take Brett away. Wanted to make an honest woman of her I imagine. Damned touching scene." [page 205].Oh jealousy, what a vice it is. Cohn is cursed with that vice most of all. He wants what he wants and refuses to take anything less than just that. All he wants is Brett, but Brett does not want him. I'd feel bad for the guy if I actually liked him. Cohn's motivation for beating up Romero was his jealousy that he had spent time with Brett. Though Cohn shouldn't be protective of Brett, he definitely is. I think he is trying to just get her to love him even though it will never happen. She put him under her spell when they traveled together, and he has been a goner ever since. There's a point in time where Cohn should get the hint that Brett doesn't want to be with him. Oh, maybe the time where she decided she was in love with Romero!
Posted in
Lady Brett Ashley,
motivation,
Robert Cohn
"I must have been sleeping," he said."Oh, not at all," Brett said."You were only dead," Bill said. [page 163].Everyone is mean to Cohn. Granted, he generally deserves it, but everyone is still mean to him. This little understatement shows how Bill is so sarcastic, espcially toward Cohn whenever possible. He is their scapegoat and the one they make fun of the most. In this chapter, he was passed out while the others are drinking wine from the new wine skins the Americans are buying. Brett never passes out even though I'm pretty positive that she could drink the rest of the men under the table. Cohn on the other hand seems to be quite the lightweight for the tough guy he is. For a boxer, you'd think he could handle more alcohol in his system, but it seems to be just the opposite. Either that or he just endulges way too much every single time.
Posted in
alcohol,
lightweight,
Robert Cohn,
understatement
"He tipped the big five-litre bag up and squeezed it so the wine hissed against the back of his throat." [page 161].This anthropomorphism makes it sound like the wine is actually hissing while in reality that is a human or animal-like action. I like that word much more than personification :]I feel like this entire story is about drinking. I know I have stated this before but the drinking problem in this story is crazy. I can't say I know anyone who gets up in the early morning and drinks alcohol at breakfast on a daily basis. Drinking makes them all have more fun. It encourages their crazy behavior and they tend to become more promiscuous. The decent part about their constant alcoholism is that they speak a from a sober heart and they tend to get the truth out. Maybe they feel as if their lives have somewhat been wasted away and they are still dealing with after affects of the war so they decide to constantly get wasted. The lives they live still amaze me.
Posted in
anthropomorphism
Brett is a very interesting character with multiple levels to her personality. She is a static character in this story because she starts out as an independent, slightly crazy woman who refuses to be with who she actually loves, and she manages to not change throughout the entire story. When she is described, it is very ironic to me because I believe she is the opposite of how every man sees her. I feel as if Jake is the only one who truly sees her for who she is and that is why he can love her for so long without her love in return."There's a certain quality about her, a certain fineness. She seems to be absolutely fine and straight." [page 46] I cannot see Brett as fine and straight as Cohn describes her, because she acts just the opposite. The Count then says, "Mr. Barnes, she is the only lady I have ever known who was as charming when she was drunk as when she was sober." [page 66].I'm not a fan of her alcohol problem and the fact that she kind of gets rewarded because of it. Well, Brett is a difficult character to handle I suppose. I think she irritates me the most because everyone puts up with her because of her looks and her charm so it is difficult for her to change because no one is forcing her to.
Posted in
Lady Brett Ashley,
static character
