Final Entry

Whenever war is mentioned there is the generalization that "War is hell." It is also mentioned in The Things They Carried. Tim O'Brien said, "True war stories do not generalize. They do not indulge in abstraction or analysis. For example: War is hell. As a moral declaration the old truism seems perfectly true, yet because it abstracts, because it generalizes, I can't believe it with my stomach" (page 78). This idea leads me to my next thought. It is actually said by Hawkeye Pierce. There are many good quotes in MASH. He says, "War is worse than hell." Somebody asks why and he responds, "Because there are no innocent bystanders in hell." Many people in the war are innocent bystanders. Jake was an innocent bystander. He did not start the war or choose to be wounded in it. Many peoples' lives changed, especially after WWI because it was the first World War. People did not know what to expect. Little did they know there would be a WWII shortly after. People have trouble transitioning from life as a soldier to the life of a civilian. The lost generation did not know what to do with their lives anymore.

The End

I finally made it to the end. The ending of the book was expected. There was no resolution, no happy ending. Jake and Brett did not end up together. I would have liked Brett to have said, "
Oh, Jake, we CAN have a damned good time together." I still do not understand why she believes her relationship with Jake would never work out. I read the back of the book before I read the book and I noticed the line "unrealized love." I read the whole book and I did not find it in the book. Brett knows Jake loves her and she loves Jake. Was the line referring to another set of characters? I have read so many other good books. Why did we have to read The Sun Also Rises? There just had to be a better option out there.

(I AM) Bored Out Of My Skull

I was reading some other people's blog entries and some of them felt like I wrote them. I had written almost the same things other people had. I read an entry Emily Looney wrote about Brett and how her actions were confusing and stupid. She also mentions how much they drank. Did anybody ever do anything else? Many people seemed to have the same reaction when they read The Sun Also Rises. It was boring. I have had the hardest time finding things to write about and it feels like I keep writing the same thing. It is probably because a lot of the events happened more than once. The amount of drinking was very annoying and boring! Did I mention it was boring?

Between the lines

When I finished the book my second thought was, "Why did I have to read that book. It was nothing like The Things They Carried." My first thought, "It is finally over!" After I finished reading I talked to my mom and told her the reading seemed pointless. The books were nothing alike. She suggested maybe they were not supposed to be alike. There were some similarities if I dug deep enough. I guess it is not one of those books that is just about the story. The feelings and emotions are in the story but not clearly written. The main characters are both suffering because of the war. Jake would not have met Brett if not for the war. He could have found another person to love and he might have been happy. Brett might not have a drinking problem.

Simile

I just recently counted my literary terms entries and found I had forgotten to do one! Sorry simile, nothing against you. "I slept like a log" (page 105). Jake says this because Robert asked him how he slept. I really liked this line because I have heard so many people say it. It is a saying that almost everybody has probably said in their life. I did like that about this book. There were many lines in the book that seemed realistic. The lines were not too overdone, nor were they too simple. There were times when a character would respond with a terse one syllable word but at other times characters would ramble on about their personal opinions. That is how real people talk. The conversation moves back and forth and the amount of words spoken varies.

Robert

"Breeding be damned. Who has any breeding, anyway, except the bulls? Aren't the bulls lovely? Don't you like them, Bill? Why don't you say something, Robert? Don't sit there looking like a bloody funeral. What if Brett did sleep with you? She's slept with lots of people better than you" (page 146). Mike is very drunk and is verbally attacking Robert. Robert still just stands there and takes the insults. He was a boxer but he does not like to fight people. I think it is wise to avoid confrontation, especially with a drunk person, but Robert needs to stand up for himself. Robert does eventually fight Jake and Mike, but for a stupid reason. He wants to know where Brett is and they will not tell him so he gets angry. I feel bad for Robert because he loves Brett but she does not love him. He needs to get over her and find someone else.

Gored

"You hear? Muerto. Dead. He's dead. With a horn through him. All for morning fun. Es muy flamenco" (page 202). Jake is speaking to a waiter about the man who was killed by a bull. He left a wife and two kids. I could not believe it when the event was described. People are running from a bull that was set loose. It is a miracle that nobody else was gored. The man had risked everything just to see a bull. He risked seeing his wife and children again just to participate in a stupid sport. I do not understand why people want to watch other people play with the bulls and then kill them. I do not support animal cruelty.