What Jake's Repetition Reveals

Budick, E. Miller. "'The Sun Also Rises': Hemingway and the Art of Repetition." University of Toronto Quarterly, 56. 2 (1986): 319-337. Print.

What Budick is attempting to convey with this article is the connection and overwhelming symbolism of the epigraph within the novel.This article helped shed light on how the Allusion to Ecclesiastes guides Jakes narrative technique in several ways as well. Budick wants to show the reader that Ecclesiastes 1:5 is almost entirely based on the idea of repetition and human error. It become obvious that Budick himself is very appreciative of both the bible and Hemingway's usage of it. The overall message of the article is that the sun will rise again, no matter what. The sun will rise as will it set and no matter how many things in life, or in time change, some things will remain constant.

Thus, the sun could be perceived as a symbol of ultimate dependability. Surprisingly enough, the article attempts to answer the afore mentioned question and does an adequate job of allowing the reader to understand the relationship and the feelings that Hemingway held about Ecclesiastes. Knowing that Hemingway viewed Ecclesiastes as being about fullness rather than fulfillment helps guide the readers understanding of Jake’s narrative. Although Jake had everything he needed to live his life, he felt unfulfilled and was unable to fulfill the ultimate purpose of a marriage, which in this case would be reproduction. In this way, Budick’s writing suggests that the title is of a pessimistic nature. Jake goes on living with his impotence because simply being impotent is not a cause of death, but to him is a life sentence. Every day the sun rises and every day the sun brings something new, yet in Jake’s eyes, all remains the same.Budick also provides further understanding of the meaning behind the epigraph by stating, "It assures us that the sun also rises, the earth endures forever. This fact of earthly richness, of fertile and regenerative repetition, functions as a compensation for life’s endless futility. Furthermore, by reflecting and commenting on the pattern of endless cycling and recycling, by registering and interpreting this cycling, the text makes it available to human consciousness as a confirmation of its own potential growth and development.”This statement suggests that children too are a form of repetition. They are raised the way their parents want them to be, as slightly better forms of themselves. When thinking of regeneration in that sense, it does seem to be futile or in vain. However, the article is not trying to portray Jake as a vain narrator, but more as a person who longs to feel masculine. Over and over again, just like the sun, Jake repeats himself; his words, his thoughts, his feelings and his actions. Jake is condemned to a life that he is displeased with. He must accept that until he can change his view on life, the sun will just keep rising and setting; only finalizing his pointless existence.