My last blog for this book!!!!

I want to talk about the ending of this book. The ending can definitely be considered ambiguous. Jake says: "Isn't it pretty to think so?" as a response to Brett saying they "could have had such a damned good time together" (page 251). After reading this, I wonder what happens next. You are not sure what Jake means by saying this. He could be sincere and wishing they had been together. At the same time, he could be bitter because it was her fault for them not. Also, it may even be sarcastic because we don't know if Brett was saying this jokingly or in a serious manner. The ending was not bad, though. Sometimes I think these kind of endings just ruin the book, but this time it really didn't. I hope to think that Jake said this sincerely and Brett did, too. I even hope that they ended up being together because I really liked Jake the best!
Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book. I could understand it for the most part, and I even enjoyed the details. There was not too many like some books. I am not sure if I would have read this on my own, but I am not upset about reading it which is surprising since it was for school! (sorry!) Anyways, I next time I blog it will be about The Things They Carried.

Philosophy!

On page 152, Jake says "you had to be in love with a woman to have a basis of a friendship". I found this strange because I believe the complete opposite. I always think that a friendship is the basis to a relationship. In my Jesus and Relationships class, we learned that love grows from friendship, too. I do not agree with Jake at all because I think he is reallly wrong. Also, I think this 'philosophy' is what is making things worse for him and all of the other men in the story. By having a romantic relationship first with Brett, every single one of them besides Jake cannot be friends with her. I think this is saying something. In addtion, even Jake is having trouble being her friend because he still loves her. This way of thinking is just causing them a lot of problems. Without friendship, I believe a relationship can not last at all.

Last lit term..for real!

This will be my last literary term for good! I just keep finding them everywhere in this book. The last one will be a similie. Similies are literally everywhere in the story. Here's a few that I will list:

• page 49: "I'm like a cat."
• page 137: "...they were simply a little something shameful between us, like the spilling open of the horses in bullfighting."
• page 146: "Don't sit there looking like a bloody funeral."
• page 167: " 'You know English,' I said, feeling like an idiot."
• page 167: " 'He looks like a torero.' "
• pafe 186: " 'I feel like hell.' "
• page 226: " ' Low as hell.' "

All of these are different example of similies presented in the book. I think each of them provides more explaination to the reader. It is imagery because each of these things provides the reader with a picture in their mind. I know that this happened with me when reading. Also, it provides emphasis because it kind of exaggerates what is being said. For example on page 186, he doesn't just feel bad, he feels like hell. This makes a much stronger statement that just saying exactly what you feel. Similies are what authors use to describes things to a greater extent.

Cohn Climax

The climax of the book is when Robert Cohn hits Mike, Jake, and Romero. He loses control at this point of the book and goes on a rampage! He has so much jealously and sadness for losing Brett. I almost feel bad for him because it was all because of Brett he did this. He would have never had to leave his only friends if he had never been with her. Jake says Cohn will "pick up his old girl"(page 226) when he leaves all of them. That is sad because he will be so miserable then. Frances was terrible and very controlling of Cohn. He had no freedom and now because of Brett he is going to be back to that. Although I feel bad, at the same time I do not because it was just unnecessary to hit anyone. He should have controlled his actions. Mike has to go through the exact same thing, and he isn't out there hitting people. You can't control everything, and Cohn should have just moved on.

Mr. Mike

On page 234, Mike say "One never gets anywhere by discussing finances". I found this somewhat ironic because out of everyone Mike should be worrying about this. He has no money and on a few occasions he tells us that. I find it ironic also because if someone does not worry about this, then they will not get anywhere because soon enough they will be broke! Mike most likely has no money because he drinks so frequently and lives by this motto. I think in today's world no one follows this unless they have a ton of money or just don't care about the consequences. From this statement, I think they are not having as much financial problems as we are today. I think this just because its all that people worry about these days. It is rare to find someone who is not concerned about it. This statement kind of made me laugh a little because of the irony in who said it. I like how Hemingway did make the story somewhat humerous.

Ohhh Brett..

On page 212, Brett says: "Don't know why I get so nervy in church, Never does me any good". I just found this humerous when reading. She has every reason to be nervy in Church! She is not exactly a model person. She is not following the morals well at all. She is very casual with men and does not think twice about breaking things off. She is not what most women were at that time. She was much more masculine. I noticed that because she was in control in almost every relationship. She broke it off, and the men were left greiving and being upset. She did not think twice, except with Romero. For this reason, Brett is not what most woman were like in her time. She was very much the opposite. This caused her to not feel as welcome in places such as church where she was expected to be a certain way.

Passion

When reading, I was really interested when they explained what an aficionado was. Hemingway described it in the story as "One who is passionate about the bull-fights"(page 136). I found this interesting because it brought the Spanish culture into the story. It was almost like a teaching to those readers who are clueless like me! I have taken Spanish but never learned about the bullfighting like this book explained it. I actually understood it when Jake said the experiences he said. For Hemingway to write this, I am guessing he had to do a lot of research about it. He probably had to go to them and experience them firsthand to write about this. I have heard this word before but never in the contex of bull fighting,too. I just thought it was actually cool that there was a connection between the word and the culture. Just something I found interesting in the book.