The Sun Also Rises Summary and Complete Study Guide

The novel opens in mid-1920s Paris, where Jake Barnes works as a journalist among the American and British expatriate community. These are the Lost Generation—men and women damaged by World War I, living abroad because they cannot fit back into conventional American life. They spend their time drinking in cafés, attending parties, having affairs, and drifting through meaningless routines. Jake is part of this world but maintains more dignity than most—he works professionally and has developed afición (authentic passion) for bullfighting, which provides meaning when nothing else does. Jake loves Lady Brett Ashley, an Englishwoman engaged to Mike Campbell. Brett and Jake had tried to have a relationship, but Jake's war wound—a genito-urinary injury rendering him impotent—makes physical relationship impossible. Brett says she can't live with him without that aspect, though the novel suggests deeper emotional barriers to her commitment. They love each other genuinely but hopelessly, creating the central tragedy around which everything else revolves. Brett drinks heavily, has multiple affairs, and repeatedly calls Jake to rescue her from situations she creates. Jake helps her despite the pain because he loves her and because she asks. Into this world comes Robert Cohn, a Jewish American writer who had an affair with Brett in San Sebastian before the novel begins. Cohn takes the affair seriously and believes it meant something. Brett dismisses it as meaningless, and the group mocks Cohn cruelly for his romantic earnestness. Cohn represents pre-war romantic idealism—believing love matters, relationships should be authentic, people should be honest—which makes him the permanent outsider in a world where post-war cynicism is the code. The group's contempt for Cohn comes partly from anti-Semitism (which Hemingway presents without comment, reflecting the casual bigotry of 1920s expatriate culture) but mostly from his inability to adopt their emotional detachment. The first part of the novel—set in Paris—establishes this world and these relationships. Jake works, drinks with friends, attends parties, sees Brett occasionally, and maintains surface composure while privately suffering. This section is deliberately circular and repetitive, reflecting expatriate life's emptiness: same cafés, same drinks, same conversations, nothing developing or resolving. Book II shifts the action to Spain. Jake and Bill Gorton take a fishing trip in the Spanish countryside—the novel's only peaceful sequence. They catch trout, drink wine, sleep in nature, and enjoy simple masculine friendship. This idyllic interlude contrasts sharply with what follows and shows what life could be without the group's toxic dynamics. After fishing, Jake meets the group—Brett, Mike, and Cohn—in Pamplona for the fiesta of San Fermín. Pamplona explodes the tension built in Paris. The fiesta features bullfights featuring Pedro Romero, a brilliant 19-year-old bullfighter from Ronda. Romero represents everything the Lost Generation men have lost: authentic skill, purpose, integrity, and unspoiled masculinity. Brett becomes obsessed with Romero. Jake, despite knowing it's wrong and violates his afición, arranges for Brett to meet Romero. They begin an affair. Cohn, devastated by Brett choosing Romero after having rejected him, beats up Jake for procuring Brett to Romero. Later, Cohn fights Mike and then confronts Romero, hitting him repeatedly. But Romero, though battered, keeps getting up and trying to hit Cohn back—showing the courage that makes him the novel's masculine ideal. The next day, Romero fights bulls brilliantly despite his injuries, demonstrating that authentic skill transcends personal damage. After the fiesta, Cohn leaves in shame, unable to apologize or explain. Brett runs off to Madrid with Romero. Several days later, she sends Jake a telegram: "COULD YOU COME HOTEL MONTANA MADRID AM RATHER IN TROUBLE BRETT." Jake drops everything, takes a train to Madrid, and finds Brett alone. She has left Romero, claiming she was corrupting him by making him grow his hair long (bullfighters wear it short) and change to please her. She says leaving him was "rather good" of her—the only unselfish thing she's done. Jake agrees to take her back to Paris. The novel ends with Brett and Jake sharing a taxi in Madrid. Brett says wistfully, "Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together." Jake's famous response: "Isn't it pretty to think so?" This bitter acknowledgment of impossible love encapsulates the entire novel—yes, it's beautiful to imagine what could have been, but they both know it's fantasy. The book closes not with resolution but with acceptance of permanent damage and loss.