Discussion Topic
Symbolism of Pamplona, Madrid, and Paris for Jake, Brett, and Robert in The Sun Also Rises
Summary:
In The Sun Also Rises, Pamplona symbolizes the chaos and passion of the bullfights, reflecting the tumultuous relationships among Jake, Brett, and Robert. Madrid represents a place of finality and realization, where characters confront their disillusionments. Paris serves as a backdrop for their aimless expatriate lifestyle, highlighting their search for meaning and escape from post-war disillusionment.
In The Sun Also Rises, what does Paris symbolize for Jake, Brett, and Robert?
Paris is a reflection of the inner selves of Jake, Brett, and Robert.
Each of the characters hopes to get something out of their time in Paris, but the city itself is ultimately a reflection of who each character is.
Jake is looking for himself in Paris; he wants to know who he is and what his personal life philosophy should be. Instead of actually working on his job as a writer, he experiences Paris by interacting with others and spending time in places like cafes. Part of the reason why Jake is unsure of who he is as a person is that he was injured in such a way that he can't have sexual intercourse anymore. He's lost but not unhappy about it. Paris is a refuge from who he used to be that allows him to explore these philosophical questions.
Robert, on the other hand, is disillusioned by...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
Paris. At first, he enjoys it in the same way he enjoys his relationships with women. It's free, easy, and exciting. When he stays too long—like in his relationship with Brett where he doesn't understand that she's going to continue sleeping with others—he's less happy and his life isn't the way he imagined it. He's sour and dissatisfied. This dissatisfaction shows itself in Robert's unhappiness with Paris. For example, in a discussion he says that he's sick of Paris and doesn't realize that he'd be equally unhappy anywhere.Ernest Hemingway writes:
"South America hell! If you went there the way you feel now it would be exactly the same. This is a good town. Why don't you start living your life in Paris?"
"I'm sick of Paris, and I'm sick of the Quarter."
For Brett, Paris is an exciting, changeable place that lets her live out her sexual desires. She's always looking for something to satisfy her and isn't aware that she's unsatisfied. Paris gives her the same type of thrill because it's constantly changing and offering her new experiences to meet her needs.
In The Sun Also Rises, what do Pamplona and Madrid represent for Jake, Brett, and Robert Cohn?
Much of the action of the novel takes place in Pamplona during the fiesta. Pamplona is important for each of these characters because it is where, under the influence of the fiesta, they each come to face their individual shortcomings.
Brett comes to Pamplona with one man (Mike) and leaves with another (Romero). Pamplona causes her to confront her own sense of self, and in particular her passivity in allowing herself to "go along" with whatever man is at hand. Her decision to follow Romero (and then to leave him) can be seen as a another case of her trying to define herself through a man, but ultimately, it is sign of her personal agency—she does seem to genuinely love him, unlike Mike, and she finally leaves him after she realizes that their relationship is untenable.
For Cohn, Pamplona is the place where he acts out all his personal insecurities. Driven by jealousy over Brett and enraged over her indifferent treatment, he beats up Mike and Jake and eventually leaves by himself to return to Paris. Cohn clearly is riven by the need to "be a man" and stand up for himself, on the one hand and his self-loathing and emotional neediness on the other. While events at Pamplona crystallize these aspects of his character, it's not clear if undergoes any personal change as a result.
Jake, of course, is a great observer. He functions as a witness to events, but Pamplona (and the bullfighting he watches there) serves to help him formulate a way of living that preserves his integrity as a person. The "purity" of Romero's fighting is a kind of emblem for the sort of life Jake would like to live.
If Pamplona is a kind of world of fantasy where emotional honesty is possible, Madrid, where Brett summons Jake at the end of the novel, represents a kind of return to reality. The end of the novel, in which Brett laments that she and Jake could have been happy, is bittersweet in the extreme, nonetheless so because such sentiments seem to belie her own experience and personality. Madrid, as the "real world," can be seen as a return to the kind of emotional disconnectedness these characters sought to escape in Pamplona.
Spain is a getaway for each of these characters in The Sun Also Rises, but it does hold different symbolic and practical meanings for these three characters – Cohn, Brett, and Jake.
For Cohn, Spain is a place where he can prove himself. The social hierarchy that existed in Paris is relaxed somewhat in Spain and Cohn takes advantage of this to try to win Brett and challenge the social order.
For Brett, the suffocating social atmosphere of Paris is left behind in Paris and she seeks a complete escape in Spain, where she falls for a young bull fighter and generally loosens all her social ties, including her ties to Jake.
For Jake, Spain is a place with honorable customs, clear, traditional roles and dignified people. In Jake’s view in particular, all of these characteristics of Spain are in sharp contrast to Paris, where his own role and relationships are unclear and undignified.