Jake Goes Green

Savola, David. “A Very Sinister Book:" The Sun Also Rises as Critique of Pastoral. Rev. of The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway Review vol. 26 (2006): 25-46.

The approach to The Sun Also Rises that David Savola takes in his criticism is an ecological one. Savola feels that critics have concerned themselves too much with the “lost generation” and not enough with how Hemingway’s characters are interacting in their natural environment. “The novel criticizes conventional depictions of nature, and calls for a literature that offers a more complex picture of the connection between humanity and the natural world,”(2) writes Savola. Savola feels that Hemingway wrote Jake’s narrative technique in a way that exemplifies this connection, backing up his theory with an analysis of pastoral references throughout the novel and with a quote from Hemingway himself that admits to these principles. Of course, the passage Hemingway chose from Ecclesiastes is the bases of this idea, stating that “characters could find that meaning and value in cultivating a more intimate connection with the natural environment.”(2)Savola strongly suggests that the reader can see this connection to nature if they allow the Ecclesiastes exert to bring forth the true hero of the novel into the reader’s mind: the Earth. Savola infers that the Earth is Hemingway’s real protagonist of the novel because it lives on after humanity is gone. Savola claims that Hemingway points this out to reader with the use of “the earth abideth forever” in Ecclesiastes.

This proposal, if accepted, completely changes the reader’s perception of Jake and his struggle throughout the narrative for the fact that Jake is no longer fighting to get free of Brett Ashley, but to get closer to Mother Nature. In this respect, the reader may choose to see Brett Ashley a the antagonist of sorts, constantly reeling Jake into her grasps. Under this lense of thought, Jake’s narration has a much greener tent to it, accentuating scenes and ideas that, if they go without mention, are practically lost into the rest of the narative. For example, Jake's narration has a much more descriptive and colorful tone to it when He and Bill are on their fishing trip, surrounded by nature. This point of view adds a lot to the narration and for the more naturalistic reader, this is an excellent way in which he or she can look at Jake’s narrative technique.