FEATURED ESSAYS 1. Ernest Hemmingway 2. Alienation Paper Hemmingway 3. The Sun Also Rises 3 4. The Sun Also Rises By Ernest H 5. Mt. St. Helens 6. The Sun Also Rises: A Hero 7. Review Of Hemmingway's "In Our Ti... 8. The Sun Also Rises - Response 9. Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises 10. The Sun Also Rises By Ernest H 11. The Sun Also Rises : Moral And So... 12. Aggression 13. The Sun Also Rises - Betrayal 14. Ernest Hemingway: Allegorical Fi...

Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises


 In the novel The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, a reader I is
forced to decide weather the spite that the Jake has for Chon originates
from Jake's racist background, or his deeply seeded jealousy of Chon for
having a brief affair with Brett. Even though it is clear that Jake has
racist views, the hatred he has for his former friend Chon  Chon is
strictly based on the jealousy he feels towards Chon for the weekend he
spent with Brett.
 Jake goes in to great detail about Chon's early life. He speaks highly
and admiringly of Chon, but in a condescending  way. A reader get her
first hint on page one that Jake has some racist feelings toward Chon. He
speaks of how Chon's nose was flattened in a boxing match and concluded
the sentence with "...and it certainly improved his nose" (11). This can
be taken as a reference to the stereotypical “Jew” nose that is often
associated with Jewish people.  Jake and Chon are close friends, and Jake
likes him up to the point where he becomes involved with Brett.  Jake goes
on and on about  all of the relationship mistakes in Chon¹s  life. There
is an hint of jealousy that appears in Jake's tone. He states that women
began to become attracted to Chon as he got older, and that it  ³changed
him so that he was not so pleasant to have around² (16).  There is
racism in Jake¹s tone, but Jake¹s problem with Chon is is strictly one of
jealousy.
 By this time Jake has already developed an extreme distaste for Chon’s
endeavors with women, but these feelings their peak when Chon and Lady
Brett have a brief affair. Jake, having unconditional love for Brett,
blames the entire incident on Chon. In turn, Chon makes as point to rub it
in Jake¹s face. Jake says ³...it was giving him pleasure to be able to
talk with the understanding that I knew there was something between them²
(106). Jake has a great deal of trouble dealing with this. It has nothing
to do with the fact that Chon is Jewish, Jake is merely jealous of him. It
would not be manly for Jake to openly admit his jealousy, and blame the
jealousy on his harsh feelings toward Chon. As a result Jake falls back on
the fact that Chon is Jewish, and uses that as an excuse for  his anger.
 One of the reasons that Jake was so hurt by Chon¹s affair with Brett was
that Jake knows that Brett will always love him, and has no feelings for
Chon other  than a temporary lust. Chon is unable to accept the fact that
Brett does not care at all for him, and he makes it very difficult to for
people to enjoy his company. Bill says he makes me sick and he can go to
hell,and I am damn glad he is staying here...²(108). These is not a racial
based opinion, Chon just has an unpleasant personality. Everyone in the
group agrees that Chon’s presence  is not  enjoyable, but nobody feels it
the way Jake does.
 In this story Jake allows the woman that he to loves run his life and
occupy his thoughts.  Jake is a bitter person, and he is living in a time
of unhappiness and depression that resulted from the war. The hate he
feels for his former friend Chon  Chon is not one of racism; before the
incident with Brett they were close friends. This is just another case of
a woman coming in between two male friends. The affair might not have even
affected that relationship, it is Chon's reaction to the affair that
spoils the friendship. Jake is jealous of Chon because he knows that Brett
loves only him.

 Word Count: 647