Jake's Character Development

Jake’s complex relationship with Brett is the focal point of The Sun also Rises. As the novel progresses, the relationship becomes increasingly complicated in all regards. Rather than offering closure, the final scene creates further convolution, raising the question: does Jake display character development over the course of the novel, or does he end up right back where he started at the beginning of the story? 

At the beginning of the novel, it is quite apparent that Jake greatly desires a true romantic relationship with Brett. On their first taxi ride together, he displays immediate physical affection towards her, kissing and holding her close. Brett momentarily breaks contact, upset by the overtly intimate nature of the interaction, but quickly resumes her amicable composure. Jake inquires about her reaction, despite obviously knowing the reason for her conflicting feelings toward romantic interaction. He then asks “‘Isn’t there anything we can do about it [their incompatibility]?’” – a question that reveals his longing to attempt a normal relationship with Brett (Hemingway 34). He receives no answer and is forced to retract his own question – “‘there’s not a damn thing we could do’”. Later in the night, after the taxi ride, Jake walks home and prepares for bed, all the while busying his mind with unremarkable observations and tasks in a desperate attempt to keep Brett off his mind. After laying awake in bed for hours, Jake finally succumbs and thinks about Brett, prompting his first display of true emotions, a breaking of his “hard-boiled” facade: “Then I couldn't keep away from it, and I started to think about Brett and all the rest of it went away. I was thinking about Brett and my mind stopped jumping around and started to go in sort of smooth waves. Then all of a sudden I started to cry” (Hemingway 39).

Throughout the novel, Brett is generally dismissive of Jake’s feelings and does not display a true desire to engage with him romantically (aside from brief, spur of the moment escapades). Brett’s tendency to randomly show up in Jake’s life against his wishes reveals her disregard for his feelings and makes him seem like an emotional support person rather than her purported “ one true love”. One night when she shows up to his apartment uninvited after a night of partying, Jake suggests that they attempt living together, asking “‘Couldn't we live together, Brett? Couldn't we just live together’” (Hemingway 62). Brett bluntly rejects his proposal, indirectly saying that she would continue sleeping with other men and it would drive him crazy. Jake attempts once again, asking “‘Couldn't we go off in the country for a while?’” (Hemingway 62). She shuts him down once again, claiming that she would be unable to make the sacrifice of living a quiet lifestyle. 

Both Jake and Brett’s standing as characters seems solidified by the end of the novel – that is until the final chapter. After Jake picks up Brett in Madrid, their respective outlooks on their relationship seem to switch, with Brett leaning into the possibility of having a legitimate romantic relationship and Jake becoming skeptical of the idea. Prior to the direct confrontation in the taxi, Brett displays a previously unseen level of caring for Jake, urging him not to get drunk when his level of alcohol consumption at lunch becomes concerning. Later in the taxi, Brett voices a sentimental desire to pursue a relationship with Jake, saying “‘Oh, Jake… we could have had such a damned good time together’” (Hemingway 250). Instead of responding positively as would be expected based on his prior requests to Brett, he responds ambiguously, saying “‘Yes… Isn't it pretty to think so?’” (Hemingway 250). While it is impossible to decipher the intention of this response without the context of tone, it displays an obvious change in attitude, a shift towards skepticism in regards to his relationship with Brett.

Hemingway, Ernest, The Sun Also Rises, New York: Scribner, 2006.