The Sun Also Rises

The spectacular failure of the prohibition era is a testament to the vicelike grip alcohols holds over the human psyche. Despite its bitter, burning taste, humans have always consumed and over consumed alcohol in copious amounts. When one brings this theory into the literary dimension, a whole world of alcoholic possibilities expands. By examining how it affects personality and bodily functions, one can use drinking as a way to accelerate plot and character development. In Good Morning, Midnight, Sasha, the protagonist, sinks into alcoholism as a way to cope with her divorce and financial situation. By contrast, Hemingway uses it in The Sun Also Rises to illustrate how his characters need the escapism—they almost exclusively exist in an alcoholic …show more content…
When Good Morning, Midnight is contrasted with The Sun Also Rises, the primary divergence between the two books is that Hemingway’s story is incredibly masculine, almost the polar opposite of Rhys’. Brimming with bullfighting and fishing and male banter, alcohol in The Sun Also Rises plays a different part than it does for Sasha in Good Morning, Midnight. A spectacular failure of the Bechdel test, The Sun Also Rises finds its protagonist in Jake, a scarred World War I veteran who personifies the Lost Generation. Like the other men in his friend group (using the term “friend” in the loosest sense”), he lusts after the oddly masculine Lady Brett Ashley, but has been rendered impotent by a war wound. This creates some friction amongst the group, especially since no one seems to quite like each other to being with. Alcohol in the novel acts as a peacemaker, another friend who everyone is more agreeable around. Like a haphazard pendulum, the favor of the group swings back and forth under the influence—Jake muses, “Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people” (Hemingway 34). When Jake is sober, he is quick to get annoyed, particularly by Cohn; he only finds his companions (with the exception of Bill on occasion) tolerable when drinking. In this way, alcohol acts as the “fifth friend” who everyone unanimously enjoys being around. However, it is important to note that Jake thinks that they all “seemed” nice—Hemingway connotes that his fuzzy feelings towards the other men are artificial distractions, and that even the buzz from the wine will fade and they will all begin fighting again. With every sip of alcohol, sobriety and reality are not far behind, problems that plague both Jake and Sasha. Furthermore, so personified is alcohol that the characters often resort to drinking alone to ease their