The Sun Also Rises: Liberal Use Of Dialogue By Hemingway Essay, Research Paper
The Sun Also Rises: Liberal Use of Dialogue by Hemingway
The remarkable thing about the book was its liberal use of dialogue and how
Hemingway used it to carry the reader through the book. There was no plot in the
book in the sense that there was no twists, intrigue, or goals for any of the
characters and the dialogue was the only thing that moved the reader through the
book. Hemingway used so much dialogue that it was difficult at times to follow
who was saying what, but I believe this didn’t matter because any of the
characters, except for maybe Jake, could have been carrying on those
conversations.
I say anyone except Jake because he was different than all the other characters
in more ways than just being the narrator. He obviously had received a wound
from W.W.I that caused him to be sexually scarred and thus set him apart from
anyone else. Jake seemed to be an observer who was watching the lives of his
friends unfold and happen around him, but without his participation. I read that
Hemingway had purposely re-written the book in first person and this was
probably to spell out that Jake was an observer and was thus aware of what was
written on the pages. There is a scene towards the end of the book where Jake
finds all of his friends eating at a restaurant and thinks to himself that he is
too far behind to catch up. Jake always seems behind, or at least only a
marginal player put so in his position because of his injury. He must have had
relations with Brett before the injury and was a “player” before it, so this
leads to the assumption that Jake purposely removed himself from being a
participant.
As I was reading I was trying to make connections and read into the story to try
and understand if there was more there than what was just on the page. It was
hard, for me, to see more than just the story, but perhaps Hemingway just wanted
the reader to experience other people’s lives. I say this because many of the
experiences that occurred to the characters also took place in Hemingway’s life
and maybe he just wanted to share with us what it was like.