The Sun Also Rises

Jake Barnes, a journalist and World War I veteran narrates The Sun Also Rises. He is impotent due to a war injury. Jake is in love with Lady Brett Ashley, a beautiful and independent woman. Ashley and Robert Cohn (writer and former amateur boxer) are in a tumultuous relationship. The characters are part of a circle of expats living in Paris. They seek to escape the emptiness and disillusionment of post-war society.

The group travels to Pamplona for the annual festival of San Fermín. They immerse themselves in the festivities, including bullfights, drinking, and casual relationships. The bullfights serve as a central motif throughout the novel, symbolizing the struggle and violence inherent in life around them.

As the characters navigate their relationships in The Sun Also Rises and engage in various escapades, they grapple with their dissatisfactions and the inability to find true fulfillment. Jake's impotence serves as a metaphor for the emasculation and loss of purpose experienced by the Lost Generation.

Brett, in particular, embodies the spirit of the era. She is a free-spirited woman who rejects traditional societal roles and seeks independence and pleasure. Her relationships with multiple men, including Jake, Cohn, and the charismatic bullfighter Pedro Romero, highlight the complexities of love, desire, and the pursuit of authenticity.