Jake and Brett

Jake and Brett

The two main characters in Ernest Hemmingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises” are Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. Jake is a man who is an American living in Europe after WWI. Jake served and was injured in the war. Jake seemed calm and depressed in the book. There was a lot of drinking in the book, which can be from depression. Jake was not a violent drunk and he did not seem bitter towards anyone or anything at all. Jake was a man’s man who had complete control over his emotions and seemed to be the friend that all of his friends could rely on. Jake would read the newspapers about bull fighting and he attended bullfights in Spain. Jake associated bullfighters as men who have the ultimate life. “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” (18)

Brett the female character and somewhat best friend of Jake, was not the conventional woman of her time. Brett drank and would hang out with her male friends on a frequent basis even though she is to marry another man. “Her name’s Lady Ashley. Brett’s her own name. She’s a nice girl, “ I said. “She’s getting a divorce and she’s going to marry Mike Campbell. He’s over in Scotland now. Why?” (46) When I heard the name Brett I automatically thought of a man. Brett’s name clearly defines her as unusual or as a tomboy.

There is a special relationship throughout the book between Jake and Brett, but it was discussed about what actually happened to them. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t want to go through that hell again.” “We’d better keep away from each other.” “But, darling, I have to see you. It isn’t all that you know.” “No, but it always gets to be.” “That’s my fault. Don’t we pay for all the things we do, though?” This discussion shed a little light into Jake’s and Brett’s relationship, but not completely described it. In a few sentences Brett said “When I think of the hell I’ve put chaps through. I’m paying for it all now.” (34)

It seemed that Jake and Brett had a love affair and Brett ended the relationship, but they both never got over each other. When Jake is alone he talks about his relationship with Brett “Probably I never would have had any trouble if I hadn’t run into Brett when they shipped me to England.” “I was thinking about Brett and my mind stopped jumping around and started to go in sort of smooth waves. Then all of a sudden I started to cry.” (39)

There was mentioned by Jake to Robert Cohn of his and Brett’s meeting “She was a V.A. D. in a hospital I was in during the war.” (46) A V.A. D. was a nurse, Voluntary Aide Detachment during WWI and WWII. Jake and Brett met while he was in the hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Jake must have become infatuated with Brett in the hospital. Brett seemed to have an effect on men “You’ve made a new one there.” I said to her. “Don’t talk about it. Poor chap. I never knew it till just now.” “Oh, well,” I said. “I suppose you like to add them up.” (30)

In reading I understood that Jake accepted his war injury and his place in life, but his association to bullfighting seemed to define him as a man’s man. Brett was a character who was not the typical conventional woman. In Scott Donaldson's article "The Wooing of Ernest Hemingway" he quotes Hemingway as stating ""The Brett biography" was the only part of the book that was "not imaginary"" he added, an observation that concealed how closely his characters were modeled on actual people." (708)


Works Cited

Hemingway, Ernest, “The Sun Also Rises”
New York, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons 1926

Donald, Scott, "The Wooing of Ernest Hemingway"
American Literature, Vol. 53, No. 4
Duke University, (Jan 1982)

A Review of Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence"

A Review of Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence”


The movie “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton, which was directed by Martin Scorsese, portrayed the influence that society had upon people and their morals. The movie was centered around a newly engaged couple Newland Archer (Daniel Day Lewis), his fiancée May Welland (Wynona Ryder) and her cousin Ellen Waleska (Michelle Pfeifer). Archer was a young lawyer in a prominent law firm and was portrayed as a gentleman. May his fiancée was portrayed as a lady who came from a prominent family. The two were from the same social and moral background. Ellen, on the other hand, was different. Ellen was portrayed as independent and newly separated from her husband.

Archer became interested in May’s cousin Ellen as he was asked to persuade Ellen not to divorce her husband as it would cause scandal and tarnish the family name. As Ellen and Archer spent time together they grew very close. The characters were after all human and susceptible to temptation. Archer felt sympathy for Ellen and her circumstances and they fell in love. Ellen was an independent woman and did not abide by society’s rules, whereas Archer lived the rich and proper lifestyle that May could continually provide him with. Archer’s love for Ellen would have never been permitted by society and he realized from Ellen’s persuasion that they could never be a couple as he cared for society’s approval.

The movie showed how society and wealth controlled the lives of the people who lived the rich life. Women were submissive, Ellen was not, but May was. Men were the head of the family and were bound to that family and values. Archer was the head of his family and was bound to the values and morals that society had dictated. The character Ellen brought to the picture a realistic life. Ellen’s life was simple, but seen as odd or disrespectful. Ellen lived alone and went unescorted to social gatherings and took trips alone. During this era this would have been scandalous.

There were scenes of rich food and lavish furnishings and men smoking cigars after fine dinners. There were visits to the Opera with friends and family. Lavish parties and a controlling Aunt of May’s gave a sense of order and rules. The social circle and it circumstances were viewed in the movie as if one were watching the whole movie through a window or reading it from a personal diary.

One could not tell if May was happy in her marriage with Archer. Archer was clearly portrayed as unhappy, but respectful and loving throughout the movie. He raised his children with May and stayed with her until her death from pneumonia. Archer’s love grew for May throughout their lives together and his dedication to her and his family was also shown to the audience.

“The Age of Innocence” which was about the Victorian Age and how its morals and proper behavior was essential in order to maintain one’s own social status. It was the last era to keep women and men in their proper place with society’s rules. Even at the end Archer remained a gentleman as he chose not meet Ellen with his son Tom.




Works Cited

Wharton, Edith “The Age of Innocence”
Director: Scorsese, Martin, Cappa Production 1993

Alexandra's Diary

Alexandra’s Diary


“The day after Emil’s funeral, Alexandra written to Carl Lindstrum; a single page of notepaper, a bare statement of what had happened.” Carl Lindstrum a friend, a best friend throughout Alexandra’s life was in Alaska or so she thought. He was far from her and the pain that Alexandra felt seem to consume her and she felt alone. “As the weeks went by and she heard nothing from him, it seemed to Alexandra that her heart grew hard against Carl. She began to wonder whether she would not do better to finish her life alone. What was left of life seemed unimportant.” (pg. 150)

As fate would have it, Alexandra’s youngest brother Emil met Marie when they were very little and they became good friends. As time went the neighbors, Emil and Marie, developed a close relationship. Nobody planned it, it just happened over time.

Alexandra’s brother Emil and his lover “Marie” who was a married woman were murdered one night by Marie’s jealous husband Frank. Alexandra, who was unmarried worked her whole life and gave her brother Emil a decent life. She educated him and desired to leave and will her home and land to him after her death. Alexandra saw something different in her youngest brother Emil and wanted him to have a life that she could not have. Now after Emil’s death Alexandra was alone and her best friend Carl was too far away from her and she saw her life as lonely.

At the end of Alexandra’s Diary she described her change in heart and a renewed love for Carl “She put her hand on his arm. ‘I needed you terribly when it happened, Carl. I cried for you at night. Then everything seemed to get hard inside of me, and I though perhaps I should never car for you again. But when I got your telegram yesterday, then – it was just as it used to be. You are all I have in the world, you know.’”(pg. 158)

Alexandra had lived her life single and alone, she lived her life for her youngest brother. Upon her Emil’s death Alexandra was free, free to love and live her own life. Alexandra’s life was tied to Emil and the land. “You belong to the land, “Carl murmured, “as you have always said. Now more than ever.” (pg. 160) Alexandra’s determination to work her land and succeed and provide for Emil created isolation around her.

At the end of the diary Alexandra finally commited to marriage to Carl “I had a dream before I went to Lincoln – But I will tell you about that afterward, after we are married.” “She leaned heavily on his shoulder, ‘I am tired,‘ she murmured. ‘I have been very lonely, Carl.’” (pg. 161)

Alexandra’s love of the land was as strong if not stronger than her love for Emil, her family and even for Carl “Fortunate country, that is one day to receive hearts like Alexandra’s into its bosom, to give them out again in the yellow wheat, in the rustling corn, in the shining eyes of youth!” (pg. 161) It was fortunate for the land that Alexandra would never completely leave.

In conclusion, Alexandra's strong character have some readers believing that Willa Cather was a feminist. Cather wrote about strong independent woman. In the article "Who Stole Willa Cather, it says "Feminism is only necessary for victims, weak women. Cather is not a "rebuke" to "the feminists"; indeed, she is an inspiration. But critics who tell us that because an exceptional woman has overcome the odds there is no reason for feminist analysis must expect to raise a few incredulous eyebrows." Alexandra's diary is about a strong woman who struggled and succeeded in the wilderness. It is a tribute to all the women who were like Alexandra.

Works Cited

Willa, Carter; O’Pioneer’s!
New York, New York: Barnes and Noble Publishers 2003

Kress, Susan. "Who Stole Willa Cather." Salmagundi. 135-136 (Summer-Fall 2002): 90-102. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 90-102. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Florida State University. 31 Oct. 2009

The Scarlett Letter

For my first blog, I would like to discuss the Scarlett Letter and how it relates to Romanticism and Realism. Nathaniel Hawthorne the author wanted to bring to the attention of his readers how we base our beliefs and hold our fellow man accountable to religion. Romanticism related to a struggle between christianity and the question of the imperfections of mankind. Sin is basic to each man and woman alive. Along with sin we have a conscious and suffer guilt from whatever good or bad that we do.

Hester in the "Scarlet Letter" and the minister Dimmesdale both committed adultery. Hester and Dimmesdale were both lonly and sought each others company and created a child out of their love.

Hester was forced to wear an "A" in the beginning of the story. The letter "A" symbolizes adultery, but it also symbolizes many other things such as able, absent, abandonment, ashamed, etc. Her husband Chillingsworth was the absent husband. Given that Hester did profess to him that she did not love him, he did abandon her. Chillingsworth action of abandoning his wife left her to commit sin. Religion was used to control people and keep people moral. When religion is misused it can do more harm than good.

Hester was caught with child and without a husband. Romanticism writings were mainly about women and children, which we see with Hester and her child Pearl. Hester at first seems like the main character in the book, but actually Pearl is. Pearl the child born without a father has no identity and born in sin. Dimmesdale never professes his obligation or sin publicly until his death at the end wherein Pearl is given a true identity.

The Scarlett Letter is a book about a young beautiful woman abandoned by her husband who has an affair with a man of the cloth creating a child out of love. Their love was squandered by the oppression of the society where Hester and Dimmesdale resided. The hate that Hester’s countrymen regarded her with as they forced her to wear a symbol of her sin created a different world for Hester to live in. Although this banishment to live at the edge of the community next to the forest gave Hester freedom to live life as she sought, but at the same time she was ostracized from her community as a branded woman. Even towards the end of the story Hester continues to wear the "A" even though she does not have to. The "A" has become Hester's identity.

Which is ironic that Dimmesdale branded himself with the “A” to try to exonerate himself from his sin which it did not. Dimmesdale’s sin created an internal conflict within himself of good and evil which eventually ended his life.