The Son Also Rises - Essay Example

The Son Also Rises: Jake Barnes as a Hemingway Hero The character of Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises is a recurrent theme in many of Ernest Hemingway’s novels, namely that of the Hemingway Hero. The Hemingway Hero is qualified by his physical/mental inadequacy, usually as a result of participation in a war or some other traumatic experience. This imposed impotency makes the Hemingway Hero construct a new reality for his existence. His world loses scale and grandiosity; and as a substitute, he finds his peace by living through a comforting set of simple rules.

At the end of World War One, Jake Barnes returns a mentally and emotionally scarred human being. Paris, which had been his home previously, is no longer suitable for him. The city’s pace and vibrancy is something he cannot keep up with. The city also reminded him of his lover Brett, to whom he no longer can make love due to his physical impotency. Hence, he decides to go to the more laid back and picturesque town of Burguete. The slower pace of life here and the cordial nature of the town’s inhabitants enable him to start the process of recuperation.

More importantly, this place enables Barnes to impose order on his life and make an independent living. He is able to live life on his own terms and also maintain dignity. But the story of Jake Barnes’ confrontation with his physical and emotional marring does not end there, for his discontent with the sedate and lonely existence in Burguete forces him to continue his search for inner peace. This peace proves elusive and not until the end of the story does Jake Barnes able to somehow reconcile with his reality.

It is only when he moves to San Sebastian, does Barnes achieve some sort of stability and harmony, albeit with an element of resignation too. Hence, Jake Barnes typifies the Hemingway Hero in The Sun Also Rises.The other important character in the novel is that of the popular Bull fighter Pedro Romero, whom Jake admires very much. In fact, Jake takes comfort and pride from the successes of Romero. Hemingway is implying that Jake Barnes compensates for his inadequacies through the accomplishments of Pedro Romero.

The qualities that define Jake Barnes also differ sharply from the attributes of a typical Hemingway Code Hero. As opposed to a Hemingway Hero, the Code Hero, though dealt harshly by the circumstances of life, does not submit himself to its constraints. To the contrary, he refuses to be defeated by life and remains tough and optimistic. Romero is also shown to display humility and dedication to his craft of Bull Fighting. Seen in this context, while Jake Barnes could be classified as a typical Hemingway Hero, the character of Pedro Romero, who exemplifies courage and perseverance, could be called the Code Hero of the story.

While Jake Barnes moulds his lifestyle to suit his crippled body and mind, Pedro Romero ignores his physical discomforts once he enters the bull ring and is faced with a raging bull. This reference to the bull ring is a suitable metaphor for describing the qualities of Jake Barnes and Pedro Romero. These two heroes are also connected by their love affair with Lady Brett Ashley. But in the novel, both of them could not continue their relationship with Lady Brett for long. Hence, Jake Barnes is a true Hemingway hero in the novel The Sun Also Rises.