Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Bullfighting
The bullfighting episodes in The Sun Also Rises are
rich in symbolic possibilities. The multiple possible interpretations
of these passages speak to the depth and complexity of the text.
For example, nearly every episode involving bulls or bullfighting
parallels an episode that either has occurred, or will soon occur,
among Jake and his friends. The killing of the steer by the bull
at the start of the fiesta, for instance, may prefigure Mike’s assault
on Cohn. Alternatively, we can read this incident as prefiguring
Brett’s destruction of Cohn and his values. Furthermore, the bullfighting
episodes nearly always function from two symbolic viewpoints: Jake’s
perspective and the perspective of postwar society. For instance,
we can interpret the figure of Belmonte from the point of view of
Jake and his friends. Just as Cohn, Mike, and Jake all once commanded
Brett’s affection, so too did Belmonte once command the affection
of the crowd, which now discards him for Romero. In a larger context,
Belmonte can symbolize the entire Lost Generation, whose moment
seems to have passed. On still another level, Hemingway uses bullfighting
to develop the theme of the destructiveness of sex. The language
Hemingway employs to describe Romero’s bullfighting is almost always sexual,
and his killing of the bull takes the form of a seduction. This symbolic
equation of sex and violence further links sexuality to danger and
destruction. It is important to note that the distinctions between
these interpretations are not hard and fast. Rather, levels of meaning
in The Sun Also Rises flow together and complement
one another.
