"The Sun Also Rises": Allusions in Chapters 11-12

Here are some allusions within The Sun Also Rises and my interpretations of those allusions.

1.     Basques- people who live in both northwest Spain and southwest France. This resembles Jake, in a way, as he travels in between these two countries. Also, the Basques in the novel on the train are travelling, connecting the two countries.  There is often a mention of ethnicity when introducing characters, and the Basques are grouped together- “These Basques are swell people” (Hemingway, 110). The Basques also drink and joke around, something that Jake likes, as it isn’t serious or emotional. They seem to live in the moment, and I think Jake connects with them: “Two of our Basques came in and insisted on buying a drink. So they bought a drink and then we bought a drink, and then they slapped us on the back and bought another drink” (112). They have a friendly attitude- and when Jake says “our Basques” we can see that he likes them. The old Basque, whose “effort of talking American seemed to have tired him” (113), may let Jake relate to him as a quiet detached kind of guy.

a.     "Basques - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major Holidays, Rites of Passage, Relationships, Living Conditions." Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg. Inc., 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Basques.html>.

2.     Ronceveaux- The Battle of Roncevaux Pass: where Charlemagne faced defeat. The French were caught off-guard, and when ambushed many were killed; a book was written about it, the Song of Roland. I’m not sure if this is what The Sun Also Rises alludes to, but as it relates to France, perhaps it sort of sets the mood, how these men went off to battle and then many of them died for it, probably pointlessly for a pointless war. The whole pointlessness of situations gets to Jake a lot of the time.

a.      Bodell, Sarah Jane. "The Battle of Roncevaux Pass." History In An Hour. 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://www.historyinanhour.com/blog/read_24664/the-battle-of-roncevaux-pass-.html>.

3.     Fratellinis: circus family, was famous and popular, adored by many. So when Bill is singing about irony and pity, Jake says that people are "mad about it in New York" (119) just like the Fratellinis. He may be remarking on how everyone, even those around him (Frances, for instance, even Cohn and Brett) are kind of hypocritical, and hung on self-pity. Frances used to not care that much for Cohn, but as soon she started feeling insecure about her looks, she held on to him, and demanded pity from Jake and Cohn for her misfortunes and how she was being treated. It seems to be the going attitude of the time.

a.     "Fratellini Family." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 21 June 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fratellini_family>.

4.     Primo de Rivera: a Spanish general and dictator. Was in the army, then dissolved the Spanish parliament and placed the country under martial law. Used censorship but had policies that helped the poor. When mentioned in The Sun Also Rises, Bill says "say something ironical. Make some crack about Primo de Rivera" (119). It's ironic that Primo de Rivera was a dictator yet seemed to genuinely care about the poor. This relates to what I said earlier about irony and pity (which are actually capitalized when the idea is first introduced). Perhaps here Hemingway could be suggesting that even throughout history this is how humankind has been. Irony and Pity.

a.     "Primo De Rivera." History Learning Site. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/primo_de_rivera.htm>.

5.     Dred Scott (case): Dred Scott sued for his freedom, where it was decided that slaves and free African Americans could never be citizens, and couldn’t sue. Slavery was maintained. When mentioned in The Sun Also Rises, Bill and Jake are talking about love, and more particularly homosexuality. But the Dred Scott case is more about equality, and maybe Bill was talking about that. How nobody is ever treated the same.

6.     Anti-Saloon league: A league against saloons. Just kidding. It was a league against drinking, which turned into a constitutional amendment. But then later, this amendment was taken back. This is mentioned in the same sentence as the Dred Scott Case, and I’m not quite sure as to its relation. Although, perhaps the inconsistency of the prohibition laws relate to the inconsistency of equality and in something that is supposed to be stable: the justice system. So by saying, “The Dred Scott case was framed by the Anti-Saloon League. Sex explains it all” (121), it was about people denying who they were, and who others were, and that people in the Anti-Saloon league actually wanted to drink (as everyone does throughout the novel) and whether Dred Scott was a slave or not, a person or not.

7.     AEW Mason: British writer; served in the military, he wrote some mysteries and other fictions. This may help Jake relate to him, and in particular enjoy “reading a wonderful story about a man who had been frozen in the Alps and then fallen into a glacier and disappeared, and his bride was going to wait twenty-four years for his body to come out on the moraine, while her true love waited too” (125). So Jake respects the author, and enjoys the story, which is about faithfulness (of which Brett his love is not) and patience, and of a happy ending (which he believes doesn’t exist). It’s almost like a wishful mood that is created in this scene, the fishing scene, which as far as I can tell, Jake is the most peaceful at. Later he is stressed and unhappy, before the same, but when fishing he is in a safe blissful state.

a.     "A. E. W. Mason." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 16 Sept. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._E._W._Mason>.

8.     William Jennings Bryan: congressman from Nebraska, three-time presidential candidate, and secretary of state. In The Sun Also Rises, he is mentioned when Bill says: “‘First the egg,’ said Bill. ‘Then the chicken. Even Bryan could see that.’” (126). He is then proclaimed dead, and Bill says to reverse the order. I’m not sure as to the importance of the specific person in relevance to the novel, but the way Bill talks about him, he creates this playful mood, and also sort of shows that it doesn’t matter the order of things, in life, or in eating eggs and chicken; things can be turned upside down (Jake already feels like things are upside down) and nothing much will change.

a.     Edwards, Rebecca. "William Jennings Bryan." 1896. 2000. Web. 9 Oct. 2011.

9.     Mencken-“American author, critic, newspaper man and iconoclast”: “‘We will say, and I for one am proud to say- and I want you to say with me, on your knees, brother. Let no man ashamed to kneel here in the great out-of-doors. Remember the woods were God’s first temples. Let us kneel and say: ‘Don’t eat that Lady- that’s Mencken’’” (127). Here Bill mentions God, and Jake is at times religious (which is unlike Cohn and Brett). But Bill connects with Jake at this moment, connecting faith, heaven, and peace with the out-doors, with fishing, what they are doing now. This relates to the setting, how I was saying that fishing is one of the few times Jake feels comfortable and at home, out-doors away from his troubles and worries.

a.     Home Page: Mencken Society. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://www.mencken.org/>.

10.  Holy Cross: I’m not sure in this moment (page 127) it Holy Cross is a place, but I’m guessing it has to do with religion. It could either stand for heaven, happiness, and peace, free of worries, or it could stand for a place where one just ignores one’s problems (which Jake mentions earlier that the Church is good at in Book 1). However, looking at the three characters that “went” (127) there: Mencken, Bryan, Frankie Fritsch (excluding Bill), I think it is the former one.

11.  Frankie Fritsch (misspelled in text): German American Major League Baseball, nicknamed “The Fordham Flash”. He seemed to have lived in the moment, and had great success; much like Mencken and Bryan, he seemed like an important person. So in going to the “Holy Cross”, he went to a ‘perfect place’, that is to say, somewhere that Jake wishes he could be sometimes free of his problems, with a successful past and a clear path in the future.

a.     "Frankie Frisch." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 24 Sept. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Frisch>.

12.  Bishop Manning: Moved from England to the U.S., got a bachelor degree, then became a deacon. He was in WWI, as a volunteer chaplain. Again, this is in connection to the three who went to the Holy Cross together. Both Jake and Bill claim to have traveled with Manning, and at this point they start joking around, not serious about what they say. I don’t know why Bishop Manning is the person they are talking about, other than the fact that he is a religious man, and perhaps that he traveled, like them, to a different country, and was a veteran (which gives them some connections).

a.     "William Manning (Bishop of New York)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 5 Oct. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Manning_(Bishop_of_New_York)>.

13.  Wayne B. Wheeler: leader of the Anti-Saloon League. Bill and Jake continue to joke around with who they went with and where. As it has to do with drinking alcohol, perhaps this could relate to how Jake does not drink as much as everyone else. Here I almost get the feeling that they are arguing about who is drinking and who isn’t. I’m not exactly sure.

a.     "Biography: Wayne Wheeler." Alcohol: Problems and Solutions. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/Biography-Wayne-Wheeler.html>.

14.  Pres. Calvin Coolidge: President of the U.S., was a lawyer before becoming president, a republican, with the nickname “Silent Cal”. The whole time when Bill and Jake are fishing they seem to be joking around- but the people they mention link them to bigger ideas- for instance all these important people like Pres. Calvin Coolidge. It gives me the feeling that they are not only joking around but almost ‘philosophyzing’ about the meaning of life, or something- the only time Bill comes right out and asks Jake about something important is when he mentions Brett- but then he goes back to the code words of random (or not so random?) people, looking at successful people (which Jake and Bill are not). And yet, there are comparisons and similarities between Jake and the leaders Bill mentions. So there are two things that can be said- 1) Bill is trying to cheer Jake up by relating him to all these important people, showing Jake that Jake is a good person, one that others look up to and talk to, and that he does have purpose. And 2), Hemingway may be hinting at the fact that leaders may not be all that much different from everyday people, the common person; Bill “went to Austin Business College with Wayne B. Wheeler” (128), and it is only certain circumstances and situations, and luck that differentiate those who are successful from those who are not.

a.     "American President: Calvin Coolidge." Miller Center. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://millercenter.org/president/coolidge>.

What do you think?