Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, The Sun Also Rises, launched his career as one of the most important writers of his era. It was written during his stay in Paris with his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Hemingway moved to Paris with Richardson in 1922.
The Foundation of The Sun Also Rises
The novel focuses on the lives of American and English expatriates living in Paris after World War I. In addition to characterizing the lives of expatriates, it also provides loving and detailed descriptions of bull fighting. The details of the novel rely heavily on Hemingway’s personal experiences, as do most of his novels.
Hemingway’s First Encounter with Bullfighting
Hemingway first fell in love with the bullfighting culture when he attended the Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona in 1923. In 1925, Hadley and Hemingway returned to Pamplona with a group of expatriate friends. During their visit, Hemingway became interested in another woman in the party and was jealous of a friend who spent time with her. Out of these experiences, came Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, and Robert Cohn. A true novelist, Hemingway rounds out his cast with more characters and adjusts events to create a more dramatic plot.
Meandering Plot Movement
Because the novel deals with expatriates whose lives are unfocused and lived according to random whims, the first portion of the novel suffers from what seems to be a lack of plot. While it does give the reader a strong sense of place through Hemingway’s concise yet evocative descriptions and it does give the reader a good understanding of the characters, it drags.
Thicker Plot and More Interest
The novel picks up speed and becomes much more interesting during the last half to last third of the book. When the group moves to Pamplona, the reader becomes more engaged as the relations between the characters become strained. The heat of the festival and the brutality of the bullfights add to the tension felt between the characters and by the reader as he follows their story.
Poignant but Flat Conclusion
At the end of the novel, the reader discovers that nothing has been resolved and all that is left for the characters is ongoing heartache (which they escape through alcohol and perpetually seeking after the next diversion) and frustration. The novel ends where it began, which was Hemingway’s brilliant way of referencing the verse from Ecclesiastes that he uses as an epigraph for the novel.
While the ending doesn’t leave the reader feeling a strong sense of conclusion it does provide fascinating insight into the lives of those expatriates who were part of the Lost Generation and who lived lives of moral ruin, empty spirituality and fading illusions.
Learn more about Ernest Hemingway and his novels and short stories at Suite101.
Melissa Howard - I am a stay-at-home Mom. My college education was in English and History and my last job was as a Technical Writer. Now that I ...
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