A topic I found interesting in The Sun Also Rises is the relationship between Jake and his masculinity -- specifically in the context of the gay men he comes across. With the "Iceberg Theory" in mind, I thought it was extremely illuminating how Hemingway shows both Jake's intolerance and the reason behind it. For Jake, masculinity seems to be a very sore subject, of course due to the injuries he has, and I noticed that it was heightened when he was mentioning the gay men. From what I gather from Jake as a character and the time period the novel is set it, I believe that Jake is essentially a homophobe because he finds homosexuality to be like a cruel mockery of his own situation. Jake's circumstances make him feel as though he is less masculine than a normal man and to him, homosexuality could look like men, who have all the "parts" required to be masculine, just throwing away that chance.
It would be interesting to see how the story changes (or would there even be a story?) if Jake didn't receive the same injuries he has now. Would he be more tolerant and less aggressive? Would he have more confidence in himself and allow love into his life? I guess it isn't really a fair thing to contemplate because so much of Jake's character is based on the scars but does raise some questions about the real world. I feel that everyone does things for a reason, whether they are aware of it or not, and we shouldn't be to quick to judge people.
I never questioned how Jake would be without his injury. You made some interesting points and made me wonder: would Jake still be homophobic if he had no injury?
ReplyDeleteThis might be pessimistic, but I think Jake would've been homophobic either way. He's also racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic, and I've never met someone who's all of those things, but also really accepting of gay people. (I guess you could argue that he would be less bad in those respects also w/out the injury, but those seem less related to masculinity, at least racism & anti-Semitism). So I think he still would've been a homophobe, but his reaction to the gay guys might've been less intense
ReplyDeleteI think that if he didn't have the wound, then he would still be homophobic and anti-semetic, but it would just be much less pronounced. Since it makes him sexually disabled, he is angry against people who he feels don't take advantage of their ableness.
ReplyDeleteI think masculinity as a topic in this book is pretty interesting because as you said, Jake does struggle with this. Hemmingway, who is known for his macho man writing, is still telling the story of a macho man in The Sun Also Rises. However, beneath the surface using this iceberg principle, we can see how his character does not mot match everything he is trying to present himself as. It does seem like this will be something that Jake continues to grapple with throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteI think Jake would still be bigoted without his injury because he's raised with the worldview that straight white men are superior to others, but he'd have a superiority complex instead of an inferiority complex. His bigotry would probably be less overt, though, since he wouldn't be overcompensating for his injury that makes him feel like "less of a real man". He wouldn't feel the need to make quite so many cracks at Cohn or harshly judge any man who shows interest in Brett. Jake has such a deeply embedded insecurity that makes him lash out at everyone, so he'd probably be chiller but casually racist and anti-semitic as well.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that Jake's homophobia results more from his own issues and his sex life more than other more traditional things homophobia results from, like religion or general closemindedness and intolerance, and so much more a personal thing for him. Especially agree with your categorization of his homophobia as a "cruel mockery" of his own situation, like "these guys are able to have sex and they have it with men instead of woman!?" What's interesting is this furor inside him against the gay men doesn't rise up really until they start talking and hanging out with Brett, which is pretty interesting because you think that's one reason that gay men shouldn't threaten him as much straight men like Cohn.
ReplyDeleteI sort of disagree- we didn't really see interactions with any gay people outside of Brett, and I find that narrative similar to the "every homophobe is secretly gay" narrative which is kind of harmful. Homophobia is ingrained in society, and so so many people without personal issues are hateful
DeleteIt is difficult to say what Jake would have been like if it weren't for his injury, but I think he would have been able to look at things more as a whole. Right now, Jake's whole identity in his mind is that of an injured person (specifically one with an incredibly emasculating injury). Therefore, all his decisions in life are based around that. If he weren't injured, he probably could have been more open to hearing opposing viewpoints and considering whether his views are right, but because of his injury, his views on masculinity are pretty much set in stone. Therefore, he expresses homophobic tendencies.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that war and the injury Jake received from it exacerbated his homophobia, rather than being the only cause of it. We can see that Jake has racist and anti-Semitic tendencies in addition to his homophobia. I think that all of these viewpoints were caused by the time period, society, and location he came from. I his racism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism were instilled in him from the start and perhaps exacerbated by his injury, which made him insecure, as well as bitter and hateful.
ReplyDeleteI really like the points you make here about how everyone's actions are a result of other aspects of their lives and we can't really separate Jake's behavior and prejudices from what lies behind them and exaggerates them. I think it makes a lot of sense that Jake, going into the world with a lot of anger and jealousy, would find gay men an easy outlet of his bitterness, when he may not have thought twice about them had he not been injured. That is not to say that he 100% wouldn't have been homophobic - plenty of people are, without any sort of trauma, but I think that his homophobia is a lot more personal and spiteful than it could have been.
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