JoseF+Hemingway

Jose Figueroa Dr. Nicosia Modern American Fiction March 30, 2010

Marxism in __The Sun Also Rises__

Earnest Hemingway’s novel, __The Sun Also Rises__, deals with a number of issues that might be examined through a Marxist lens. For one thing, the narrative includes several references to class status. The words “upper class” (153) and “peasants” (156) are both present in the text. There is a definite delineation of social ranking in __The Sun Also Rises__, as well as a definite delineation of who belongs into a certain class. Count Mippipopolous, along with Brett Ashely, for example, both represent the top of the social chain—they possess aristocratic titles. The count enjoys a lifestyle of extravagance and excessiveness. Brett, though financially dependent upon her husband and other men, is rewarded by the many benefits that her title affords her. Robert Cohn and Bill Gorton also represent people of higher ranking. While they do not have aristocratic titles, they do have a lot of money to spend in any way that they wish.

Characters like Jake Barnes and Georgette, on the other hand, represent a lower working class. Both of these characters, at one point or another, express concern over money. Georgette complains that Paris is “expensive and dirty” (26). Jake often remarks upon “getting your money’s worth.” Because he is a workingman, he is aware of the value of the goods that he receives for his money. He explains, “You gave up something and got something else. Or you worked for something. You paid some way for everything that was any good. I paid my way into enough things that I liked, so that I had a good time” (152). Unlike count Mippipopolous who spends without regard to price, Jake must be concerned with price when he exchanges it for something of value.

Still lower in the class system within __The Sun Also Rises__ are the Spanish peasants who come to Pamplona from the country to be part of the fiesta. Jake’s explanation of their “shifting in values” helps us to understand how their mindset about money differs from that of some of the characters above: “The peasants were in the outline wine-shops. There they were drinking, getting ready for the fiesta. They had come in so recently from the plains and the hills that it was necessary that they make their shifting in values gradually. They could not start in paying café prices. They got their money’s worth in the wine-shops. Money still had a definite value in hours worked and bushels of grain sold” (156).

The fact that social class money are mentioned so often in Hemingway’s novel must carry some significance within his narrative. Why is it that certain characters in the novel lead extravagant and expensive lives, while others, such as Harvey Stone, suffer in hunger? How do the characters that dine and drink at the cafés differ from those who visit the local wine shops? What is Jake Barnes’ obsession with Brett and with “having a good time” all about? Perhaps, in including these thematic problems, the author is attempting to draw attention to the imbalance of the social structure in the society in which he lives.

As Cheatham points out, one of Jake Barnes’ conversations with Bill Gorton might help to support the argument that Hemingway is creating a critical atmosphere underlined with Marxist views (99). Before they go off on their fishing trip, Jake wakes up early in the morning to collect worms for bait. Bill watches him do this and makes a comment to Jake that is perhaps attached to Jakes social standing: “I saw you out of the window,” [Bill] said. “Didn’t want to interrupt you. What were you doing? Burying your money?” “You lazy bum!” “Been working for the common good? Splendid. I want you to that every morning.” (118). In this passage there are two things with potential significance. The first is Bill’s comment about Jake burying his money. While we understand that this is a joke on Bill’s part, one could also argue that Bill is commenting on Jake’s financial situation. Jake, unlike some of the other characters in the novel, must be careful with his money because he does not have an unlimited supply. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, however, there is Bill’s comment concerning “the common good.” These words echo one the central themes of Marxist theory—that everyone works for common benefit. In relation to all of the selfish acts in which the characters of this novel have been engaged in the narrative preceding this passage, Bill’s words stand in stark contrast to the societal structure within which they are said.

As we look upon modernist literature as a common body of texts that represent “the lost generation,” we might benefit from looking at it through a Marxist lens. Perhaps, there is something to be learned about the economic insecurities of this generation and about their desire to break away from a socially stratified civilization.

Works Consulted: Cheatham, George. "Sign the Wire With Love: The Morality of Surplus in The Sun Also Rises." //Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism)//. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. 99-106. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. //The Sun Also Rises.// Scribner: 1926. Print.