A Critical Analysis of Jake Barnes

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Hemingway’s ambiguous ending for the novel reveals Jake’s stoic nature and tragic fate. Ian Crouch states that the novel ends in a “sharp, sad, and perfectly balanced ‘isn’t it pretty to think so?’ ” (1). A scholar suggests that Jake’s mere level of restraint is key to demonstrating his development: “He does not grovel. He does not beg. He does not surrender to sentimental, wistful, longing, imagining. He also does not respond in anger or resentment” (Collins 148). He adds “ Brett and Jake will no longer live under the illusion of lovers, damned lovers, fate-stricken lovers, lovers in thought, lovers in imagination or lovers at all. That is over” (149). However, Hemingway himself insists that the novel is “ a tragedy and not a hollow or bitter satire” (Rovit 128). Literary critic Peter Hays interprets the end of the novel saying that Hemingway’s “concept of the hero … is one of burlesque elements … if the hero does not win, neither does he lose. [Jake] holds life to a draw” (54). Therefore Jake may have “come to terms with his wound” and “emerged, at the end of the novel, transformed, changed, newer to himself” (Collins 150), but he still must live with an incurable would, leading to a tragic fate and promising pain and suffering. Essentially, Jake does not transform but instead reaches acceptance of his wound and what it entails.

Ultimately, Ernest Hemingway reveals the difficulty of living in a world of cultural decline after the war through Jake Barnes’ struggles in The Sun Also Rises. Although Jake survives the war with only one external wound, he experiences extreme emotional and psychological trauma. Through Jake’s character Hemingway highlights the powerlessness of many men and the disarray of life after war. Jake’s attempt to develop a relationship with Brett is in vain, as are his quests for happiness and meaning. While Jake many reveal some sense of transformation at the end of the novel, the reader must remember that his future still undoubtedly holds pain and suffering because of his tragic fate caused by the war.

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Works Cited

Cannistraro, Amy. “Voices in Crisis: An Exploration of Masculine Identity.” Diss. Scripps College, 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Collins, Jeremy. “Swimming Slowly, in the Sea, at San Sebastian.” Diss. The U of Georgia, 2002. Web. 18 Apr 2016.

Crouch, Ian. “Hemingway’s Hidden Metafictions in “The Sun Also Rises.” The New Yorker.

N.p., 07 Aug 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Hays, Peter L. The Critical Reception of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2011. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Rovit, Earl H. Ernest Hemingway. New York: Twayne, 1963. Print.