Jake's Inner Tranquility (or lack thereof) in Spain

In Spain, prior to the advent of the week-long festivities, Jake depicts events in a timely-controlled manner; the situation isn’t jumping from one bar to another, but involves spiritual, social, and communal influences. “It was quiet and no one was drunk,” is a description of the mental vacation for the characters, away from the stuffy atmosphere of bars in Paris (154). Jake “went to church a couple of times in Spain for confession (154). Also, in Pamplona after dinner, “all the good-looking girls, the officers from the garrison, all the fashionable people of the town” came together at a square after dinner. Since this story is narrated by Jake, his emphasis of “all” hints at the way everyone in the village comes together as a community at social gatherings. The communal connections are further emphasized in the bull-fighting tradition and how the village meets for this event.

However, Jake’s escaping of the stuffy atmosphere of bars in Paris to the tranquil countryside in Spain is, ironically, an antithesis of the attachment toward the dangerous practices of bull-fighting. Jake prides in his knowledge and “aficion”, or passion, in bull-fighting (136). His attachment to the grim realities of this sport don’t seem to coincide with his personality. The environment in Spain where he achieves his leisurely relaxation is the same place that advertises tragedy as source of entertainment. Jake knows the violence depicted, but still invests to know more about bull-fighting possibly as a scapegoat to prove his masculinity.

While analyzing Belmonte’s history as a bull-fighter, Jake says, “people went to the corrida to see Belmonte, to be given the tragic sensations, perhaps to see the death of Belmonte” (218). Is his masculinity being retaliated by interfering in such eventful activities? It would make sense that Jake isn’t violent because of his consistency to attend church, his caringness towards Brett, and lack of causing drama on the trip. In fact, Jake reacts negatively to Cohn’s incompetence to control his violence. The settings in Spain have given him the openness and freedom of expression to prove his masculinity without getting directly involved. Since the bull-fighting events take place in the daytime, Jake has a better chance to appear “hard-boiled” (42).

Cohn as an "Outsider"

“Where’s Brett?” [Cohn] asked.

“I don’t know.”

“She was with you.”

“She must have gone to bed”.”

“She’s not.”

“I don’t know where she is” (194).

This conversation between Cohn and Jake formulates how much of an “outsider” Cohn is perceived to be by the “insider” crowd. His ignorance of Brett’s nomadic relationships causes him to react sensitively to the situation. Cohn seems to be played with irony by Mike when Mike tells him “If I did [know where she was] I wouldn’t tell you” (194). Cohn realizes that Brett is breaking away from, what he thinks, is their supposedly established love. Nonchalantly, Mike portrays his future wife having an affair with another man as a casual activity, adding humor to the fact that he calls Romero “the bull-fighter chap” (similar to the way Brett addresses herself when she conveys her superiority and independence). Mike later on expresses the true characteristic of this nomenclature when he says “I’m not one of these chaps likes being knocked about” (195).

As a result of his frustration, Cohn takes a couple of swings at Jake, Mike, and eventually Romero. The irony played out by the victims of the fight expresses how much of a superior group they believe they are. Edna happens to be in this scene, and since she is an “outsider” and doesn’t have much relevance to the group, Mike reacts sensitively to the way she describes the situation. Jake claims that Cohn “hit me and I sat down on the pavement.” Similarly, when Jake asks Mike what Cohn did to him, Edna replies by saying “he knocked Mike down” while Mike corrects her and says “he didn’t knock me out, I just lay there” (195). Despite the fact that waiters and people crowded around because of the commotion, Jake and Mike suppress their humiliation by pretending as if Cohn didn’t have the slightest effect on the situation.

Cohn’s behavior to support his affection towards Brett’s disloyalty gives more reason to further exclude him from events in the novel. Mike accepts Brett’s ill-mannered actions, but doesn’t react as harshly as Cohn did. Even though Cohn is seen as innocent when he clearly expresses his attraction to Brett, his behavior results in failure to conform to morals of the group. In the book, I believe the peak in which Cohn feels alienated from Mike, Jake, and Bill is when he discovers Brett’s undevoted personality.