Post #1: Hypocritical Advice

Jake Barnes, Ernest Hemingway’s highly praised character in The Sun Also Rises is a World War I veteran who is emotionally removed from the society in which he lives.  This detachment allows him to objectively view the world around him, but it also leaves him lonely.  Returning to civility with a life altering injury, Barnes must learn to live without the ability to love.  Praised by a liaison colonel for giving “more than [his] life” to the war, Jake Barnes lost the ability to reproduce (39).

            Losing the single most basic privilege bestowed upon nearly all of mankind caused Barnes to adopt a depressed and secluded outlook on life.  However, this separation enabled Jake to view the world in a different light than most, contributing to a gain of awareness.  Whether it is this injury that caused him to act differently, or whether it is simply his persona, his values differ from those around him.  After paying for a taxi that Krum, his co-worker, offered to pay, Krum replies, “ ‘You’re crazy, Jake,’ he said. ‘This is on me’ ” (45).  Jake is not a wealthy man either.  Only having “a balance of $1832.60” in his bank account he proves that his life is not dictated by money, unlike much of his generation (38).  As Barnes is continually surrounded with friend’s dilemmas, his outlook on life shines through.

            Jake’s acquaintance, Robert Cohn, is amid a mid-life crisis and lobbies the idea of moving to another country to Jake.  Barnes neither insults nor promotes the idea, merely saying, “ ‘You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.  There’s nothing to that’ ” (19).  Unlike Cohn, who is portrayed as shallow and insecure, Barnes seems to understand the world he lives in.  Although Barnes is able to make many thoughtful observations about life, he believes he cannot change these observations.  He narrates, “I suppose she only wanted what she couldn’t have.  Well, people were that way.  To hell with people” (39).  Jake’s wisdom is nearly useless, however, as he refuses to believe that he can make a difference.  He has the ability to objectively evaluate situations and decisions made around him, yet does not know how to apply it to his own life.  After illuminating to Cohn the foolishness of leaving the country to escape his problems, Jake asks Brett the same thing, “ ‘Couldn’t we live together, Brett? … Couldn’t we go off in the country for a while?’ ” (62).  Barnes lives in a depressed state, partially due to the seemingly insignificance of civil life after the war, partially because of his injury, and it disables him from being able to apply his knowledge to his life. 

            Jake Barnes has a gift that few of his generation possess.  Many who return from the war struggle to find meaning in civilian life.  However, whether it is due to self-pity, or ignorance to this gift, he remains living miserably, self-depriving joy.  Hemingway illuminates Barnes’ gift and his wasted potential perhaps to point out the difficulty in taking one’s own advice.  It is apparent that Jake is miserable, admitting “[t]hen all of a sudden I started to cry” in the middle of the night, yet he gives valuable advice to many of his friends (39).  There are a plethora of reasons why he is self-denying happiness, but the most apparent one is his decision to stay in touch with Brett.  He obviously can’t fulfill the relationship either of them desire yet continues to love her.  Advising Cohn to steer clear, Jake says, “ ‘[s]he’s in love with Mike Campbell, and she’s going to marry him’ ” (46).  Unable (or unwilling) to apply his advice to his own life leaves him in a dormant state, content with continually being led on by Brett.

(through page 71)