No matter what, it is a never ending cycle. This cycle can take however long it needs, but, whether big or small, it always has an end and a beginning. In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway uses Jake Barnes and company to show themes of betrayal and trust throughout the novel. The Sun Also Rises explores the theme of trust far more than betrayal. In the novel the theme of trust is far more complicated and drawn out compared to the quick acts of betrayal. This long drawn out theme is what drives the book forward and makes The Sun Also Rises great.
In the novel, Montoya, Jake’s aficionado friend, puts his trust into Jake but no longer trusts him after Jake’s betrayal. When Jake, and his friends, are dining with Romero, he notes the way Montoya reacts to the current situation. “He started to smile at me, then he saw Pedro Romero with a big glass of cognac in his hand, sitting between me and a woman with bare shoulders, at a table full of drinks. He did not even nod” (Hemingway 180). In order for one to understand the latter, one must fully understand the context prior. Montoya and Jake are occasional friends, the type of friends that see each other every once in awhile and talk about something they have in common and that is it. However, recently, Montoya confronts Jake about whether to forward a message to Romero about going to dine with the American Ambassador. Jake says to not forward the message, which only corroborates what Montoya had been thinking as well. Montoya, and it appears Jake at that moment as well, believes that the American culture will ruin the pure spaniard bullfighter. Nevertheless, Montoya had gone to Jake not only because he is an American, but also due to the fact that Montoya trusts Jake’s decision making. It seems that Montoya himself could have made the decision, but, he trusts Jake has the better judgement. So, when Montoya catches Jake being a complete hypocrite, he is insulted and betrayed. He ‘did not even nod’, which goes against the repetitive trademark of Montoya’s. Some people will then say to look at how Montoya reacts to Jake throughout the rest of the novel, which is rather poor. Yes, you could say that Montoya was betrayed and that is why he is not talking to Jake anymore, but really it is about the trust that is no longer there. The betrayal is a one and done, but trust and lack of is always present before and after. Yet, this theme of trust being a driving factor in the novel is not a one time event.
We also see Mike put his trust into Brett and then lose it. After Brett runs off with Romero, Mike says in his drunken state, “I’m rather drunk… I think I’ll stay rather drunk. This is all awfully amusing, but it’s not too pleasant. It’s not too pleasant for me” (Hemingway 207). Mike mentions many times before of his acknowledgement that Brett will have an occasional fling here and there. He knows about Cohn and Brett; however, the only reason that Mike does not lose trust in Brett is because he knows, or thinks, that she still loves him. Brett constantly talks of how she hates Cohn, and Mike just ignores their brief affair. In his mind, her affair does not really matter if she still loves him, and that is why he trusts her. However, once Brett gets with Romero and it is apparent that she does not love Mike, he implodes. Without the love that Brett seems to give him he no longer trusts her. That is why he states that it is ‘not too pleasant’ and would ‘stay rather drunk’. With his drunkenness he can not face reality. The reality that Brett really does not love him and that he can no longer trust her. Once again we see that trust drives the novel farther than a single act of betrayal can, and Brett did this not only to one man, but to several.
One of those several was the narrator, Jake. Jake constantly trusts that Brett will always come back to him when something goes wrong. After her fling with Romero, Jake gets a telegram from Brett asking him to come and get her. In response, Jake sends a telegraph with haste and says to himself, “that seemed to handle it. That was it. 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. That was it all right” (Hemingway 243). The latter is far more direct than the other quotes and accomplishes a great deal. Despite personally handing Brett off to other men, he trusts that she will come back to him. He signs the telegraph with ‘love’ to convince Brett to trust that he is not angry, even though it is quite clear that he is by the descriptive paragraph following the quote depicting many landscapes as dreary. Off course he is angry and betrayed, but it is the trust that fuels this relationship. For if it were just betrayal, than why would she keep coming back to him and vice versa.
To cut things short, Trust was the driving force in The Sun Also Rises, due to its ability to keep relationships going as well as end them. Montoya trusts Jake in his decision skills compared to his own and he is then betrayed and loses his trust for Jake. Mike trusts that even though Brett will be with other men, she still loves him, which he later finds out is not true and stays drunk to keep the illusion that everything is alright. Jake knows that Brett will always trust him and sends her off with men knowing that she will eventually come back to him. All of these examples are processes that are driven by trust and makes the novel extraordinary.
I really felt that throughout the novel there was a recurring theme of trust. That trust moved the book forward and kept it going as well. Obviously there were many other themes that helped along, but trust was the overarching one.
Dylan, a unique take on the chaotic world of the Lost Generation, but you make your points effectively and I think you’re right. Trust isn’t what most point to in this novel, but in many ways it is a book about the power of friendships and trust. Thoughtful and original, well-done.