Theme

Well, now that I have officially finished one of the worst novels I've ever read, I think I can finally nail down a theme. Morality seems to play a huge part in the story. I think that Brett's problems all stem from her morality, or lack thereof. Had she stayed with one man, none of the conflicts in the story would have arisen, and all the men would have been happy. Instead, she stirred up trouble with every man she met. As a result, her life was far less enjoyable. I think that Jake said it best on page 46 when he suggested that Brett married men she didn't love (does paraphrasing count as a quote?). Because she didn't understand the meaning of love and slept around with everyone, her life was bitter, and, as she says on page 34, she's "paying for it now." It seems as though morality and karma teamed up to bite her.

Ambiguity

The end of the novel is ambiguous. Although Brett says on page 247 that she's "going back to Mike," she and Jake seem to be having a lot of fun together in the last few pages. I can't tell at the end if Jake and Brett are about to "hook up" or if they're just having another one of their flirting episodes. The fact that Brett had Jake travel to Madrid on a whim is really annoying. That part also contributes to the ambiguity. Did she really ask him top come to Madrid because she was in trouble? I don't think she did. I think that she is reconsidering her love for Jake, and she wanted to test his love for her. She truly has come full circle from "Don't touch me" to kissing him in her room.

Again?!

As soon as Jake begins to relax and forget his troubles, Brett has to go and bother him again. Her telegram "Could you come Hotel Montana Madrid am rather in trouble Brett" on page 242 probably made his heart skip a beat, but I'm sure he rolled his eyes at the same time. She just can't let him be. I truly feel sorry for him since he cannot escape her. He wants to love her, but she won't allow it, and she keeps taunting him with it anyway. It's not fair to him, and, as the reader, it's frustrating for me. But he gives in and even signs his response with "love Jake." She's taunting him, but he's the one who keeps falling for it. I feel somewhat bad for him, but they're both contributing to their own problems. Jake's suggestion on page 34 of "stay[ing] away from each other" would have been better for both of them.

Denouement/Resolution

The beginning of chapter 19 is very clearly the beginning of the denouement (that word makes me think of Mrs. Miles). The fiesta and all the excitement which accompanied it are over, and it's time for everyone to leave. Signs are torn down, hotels begin to empty, and Jake, Bill and Mike load up a car and leave. When they get to Bayonne, they begin going their separate ways with a "So long, fella" on page 235, and it feels as though the story is coming to an end. It's almost like when the day becomes night. Everything becomes quiet, and everyone relaxes. Since Brett was the center of the all the conflicts, the conflicts have all been resolved by her running away with Romero. But still everything feels unfinished. She just left and dropped all the conflicts. Nothing really got resolved. It was just dropped.

Motivation

The motivation in the novel is clearly love. That seems to be Brett's reason for existence, or so she thinks, and it surrounds her and many of the men in the book. First, she loves Jake. They have their past, but she's tried to move on. So then there's Mike. She says she loves him, and they plan to get married after she is divorced from her current husband. Then Cohn comes along. Brett and Cohn have a little "fling" in San Sebastian which means nothing to her and everything to him. And then he knocks out half of their "friends" because he wants to be with her. And finally, Romero. On page 220, Jake narrates "...he [Romero] loved Brett. Everything of which he could control the locality he did in front of her all that afternoon." He wanted to show off for her and prove his love/worth to her. All of this begs the question "Does Brett really love anyone?" But I suppose that as long as the men think they're in love, it's all the same to her.

Chaspter 18, But Less Angry

The one cool thing about chapter 18 is that the reader gets a lot of information about Spanish bull-fighting. I really like that all the facts and traditions were mentioned. The Spanish words like "muletas" on page 215 make the reader feel like they have an understanding of what's going on with the bull-fight. Also, the description of Romero's movements really helps the reader envision what's happening in the bull-ring. This also contributes to Romero's characterization. I think in this case it would be direct characterization. Hemingway tells the reader outright that Romero seems determined and focused. He has his eye on the prize, and he's not giving up until he gets what he wants and gives the crowd what they want.

Chapter 18

Okay so this chapter has me really confused. Why did Brett leave with Romero when she's supposed to marry Mike? Did I miss the break-up, or did she just decide to leave? Her relationship issues really bug me a lot. Why can't she just stay with one guy? She doesn't have to be with every man on the face of the earth to be happy, and she doesn't seem to understand that all it's doing is making her life worse. She complains about her life with "British aristocracy" on page 207, but she's just blaming them for her own problems. It really becomes apparent in chapter 18 that she needs to take responsibility for herself. Sure, Romero might love her, but she probably doesn't love him. She might pretend to, but she doesn't. Chapter 18: definitely annoying.