The Sun Also Rises; A Look into Betrayal

Lost in the Lost Generation

In the time following World War I novels such as The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway were written in a time period know as The Lost Generation.  In a time of rebuilding after the war, authors used their writing to portray forced emotion and false love.  This time period was not packed with realists but more so suffocated with emotional unstableness lacking commitment.  In The Sun Also Rises, the main characters Jake and Cohn, as well as a gentleman named Mike all fall in love with Brett, the ideal woman of the time period.  Through this love triangle emerges tension and the struggle to win the girl’s heart.  In the plot of a Spanish fiesta where people attempt to go head to head with massive bulls, the poor decisions of the people in this society relate exactly to the poor decisions of the main characters in this novel.  While the end of this novel embodies some sort of cliché happy ending, it also resembles the idea of betrayal rather than trust.   

The idea of betrayal and lack of trust are apparent in the friendship between Cohn and Jake.  A friendship that began at the start of the book between two tennis friends exploded into a romantic duel and an ugly betrayal.  When Cohn and Jake are fighting because Jake won’t tell Cohn where Brett has gone, Cohn is angered by Jake’s stubbornness.  Jake is in love with Brett and doesn’t want Cohn near Brett because he doesn’t trust Cohn after the antics he pulled at the bar in the previous week.  Their argument soon ends in Cohn calling Jake a pimp and then fleeing the scene.  While this may be an accurate description of Jake, Jake is hurt and Cohn issues Jake to his hotel room later and attempts to beg for his forgiveness.  Jake responds with nothing more than, “Forgive you, hell” (Hemingway, 198).  These are the words of betrayal from Jake, and the assurance to Cohn that he has lost Jake as a friend.  While some associate betrayal with relationships this is a betrayal of a friendship.  The sarcasm in this quote when Hemingway writes ‘hell’ suggest the surprised nature of Jake that Cohn would even try and apologize for his actions.  Jake would no longer tolerate the rude and unnecessary comments of Cohn with no consideration to his injury or the pain it has brought in his life.  On the scale of betrayal to trustworthy the friendship of Jake and Cohn most resembles betrayal.

The concept of betrayal also can be seen in Brett and Jake’s relationship throughout the novel.  Their relationship struggled from the start as Jake suffered an injury in the war that prevents him from having sex.  Since the injury Jake and Brett’s relationship has always lacked completeness and emotional connection.  Brett has also struggled with the trust barrier because she knows herself well enough to know that she will cheat on Jake simply for intimacy.  The last line of the book illustrates their betrayal as they reflect on what they could have been, Cohn says, “Isn’t it pretty to think so” (Hemingway, 251)?  The hope and wish of this statement by Jake shows the act of betrayal and Jake’s acceptance to the end of their relationship.  When Hemingway writes ‘think so’ it is clear that their relationship was only a fantasy and only something they could ‘think’ up in their minds rather than something they could have in reality.  While in a sense this is a happy ending because they will not completely dissociate themselves, the affection and feeling comes to an end between Jake and Brett reiterating the absence of lasting trust illustrating betrayal.

 We continue to see the absence of lasting trust between Mike and Brett, another relationship that ends poorly.  While Brett has began to have hopes to marry Mike, it is only because Mike can offer Brett what Jake can’t, physical affection.  Brett is often times open with Jake about her future plans with Mike, but as the novel progresses we see Mike as an aggressive drunk that Brett loses interest in.  She also loses interest in Mike because she is scared that if she chooses Mike, Jake will be left all alone.  As Mike and Brett’s relationship continues to dissipate due to Brett’s uncertainty Mike is heartbroken.  After Brett has left for Madrid Mike and Bill are casually chatting and Brett is mentioned in conversation.  Mike says, “Brett’s rather cut up.  But she loves looking after people.  That’s how we came to go off together.  She was looking after me” (Hemingway, 206).  The use of the past tense in this conversation shows how Brett ‘was’ looking after Mike and she isn’t anymore.  The way in which Mike is speaking about Brett when he says ‘she loves looking after people’ shows that he is thinking about her and that he misses her presence in his life.  Brett is no longer looking after Mike and her presence is missed by him resulting in another one of the many betrayals in this novel.  

In the time following World War I The Lost Generation seemed to define an era of betrayal and hardship.  In a time that lacked simplicity Brett finds herself as the main focus of Mike, Jake, and Cohn as a complicated nature began to congest their friendships.  The excessive intake of alcohol became the plot of the story, as civilians in the society challenged bulls in a battle surely to be lost.  The fiesta- like atmosphere displayed the chaos that had taken place, and once that uproar had ended a rebirth began for the characters.  In the end readers can perceive this novel as one consisting of a slightly positive ending, but more so one that ended in betrayal.