As I read The Sun Also Rises, I was continually amazed by the sheer volume of alcohol consumed by the main characters. From Harvey's stack of saucers early in the book to Jake's three bottle of rioja alta in the last chapter, it seems impossible that their livers haven't long given up the struggle. Although I tried not to worry about it too much, I couldn't help but wonder how this sort of drinking could be plausible in Hemingway's time.
After some research in class (kudos to Kyra), it seems that bottles of liquor were a little smaller than they are today (~24 ounces) and the alcohol concentration is now about the same in beer as it was in Hemingway's wine. This means that when Jake drank three bottles of rioja alta, he consumed the modern equivalent of 24 oz/bottle * 3 bottles * 1/16 beers/oz = 5 beers! This is quite a lot of beer, but it's plausible that someone could drink that much without getting visibly drunk if they had a high enough tolerance, as Jake evidently does.
With my concern assuaged, I began to wonder more about the implications of the heavy drinking in this novel. As we discussed in class, many of the characters drink to help them escape from things, although some also indulge for other reasons. Mike drinks to forget about his debts, Brett drinks to party and not think about her complicated love life, Cohn drinks to fit in with the others, and Jake drinks both to forget about his wound/unrequited love and to be sociable. Although these reasons are varied, in a way everyone is drinking to forget about the problems that make them stand out in the group. When they're drunk, they can all focus on partying without thinking about individual problems. They can just be a group of friends. I find this insight into why Hemingway's characters drink so profusely rather tragic, made all the more so by the fact that the volumes are not as humorously impossible as I once thought.
While alcohol does play a significant role in most all the characters' lives, we can definitely see how it may affect some more so than others. For example, Cohn doesn't seem to get drunk nearly as much as Brett or Mike do in the novel, but instead copes with his insecurities through physical violence, evident when he swings and both Jake and Mike in the novel. Jake also drinks, but not so much to escape this problems but instead it seems that Jake mostly drinks to be sociable. The argument then arises, why does Jake drink when he is alone at the end of the book? The dynamic of Jake's drinking in the last chapter when compared to that of Brett and Mike's during the fiesta is vastly different. Jake seems to drink here to relax and not as a way of running away from his problems. Even if it may seem this way in the last scenes with Brett, we can still observe a distinction of the reason behind the drinking, as opposed to the amount consumed.
ReplyDeleteIs it just me thinking that Jake never really seemed that drunk until that ending scene with him and Brett? Throughout the novel, he's seemed relatively levelheaded (compare him with someone like Mike, for example, who is blatantly belligerent and antagonistic when he's been drinking)... which is why Brett showing concern for Jake getting drunk towards the end of the novel was particularly worrying. I still haven't really decided what the implications are of that scene--has Jake finally given up on Brett and wants to drink his pain away, or is he just simply overindulging? I also think the research into the actual amount Jake drank in that instance was interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the amounts they're drinking are not so ludicrous as I thought is kind of depressing. As time went on, I think we may have exaggerated it a bit too much in class, and it probably should not have gotten to the point where we thought of it more as a running joke than actually as a possible way of living life and dealing with their problems. As you mention, it is interesting to note that even though they all drink similar amounts at similar times, they all drink for different purposes. However, it does seem that all of the reasons they drink are targeted at one goal: the ability to maintain their friendships within the group even though there is so much tension.
ReplyDeleteAlcohol plays such a significant role in this novel, that I wonder what it would be like if all the characters were sober all the time. Would they confront their problems and have actual conversations with each other, or would they continue to mask their feelings towards each other and put on a mask of social graces? I think this novel would change significantly if alcohol was taken out of the picture, but I can't see it without it, as alcohol helps carry out most of the plot.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to take into consideration that all the characters are still fairly young, so the effects of their alcoholism aren't as drastically visible yet. Also, the three bottles of rioja alta got Brett worried, which suggests that it was much more than Jake usually consumes. But still, it is quite an amount, and it is interesting have a number put on it.
ReplyDeleteI think that when it comes to drinking in The Sun Also Rises, it is not always about how much or how drunk the characters are getting, but the symbolism of drinking and why they are drinking.
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