The Sun Also Rises

Jake and Bill watch the boxing match on June 20. The next morning, Jake receives a letter from Cohn, in which he notes his excitement for their upcoming fishing trip in Spain. Jake write him back, telling him when and where they should meet to start their excursion.

That evening, Jake visits Mike and Brett at the bar. Mike asks if they can come along to Spain, and Jake tells them that that “would be grand” (87). Mike leaves to get his hair cut and Brett asks if Cohn will be going to Spain. Jake says that Cohn will be coming along. Brett says that Cohn accompanied her in San Sebastian and that it might be rough on him if he comes on the trip. Jake tells her to tell Cohn that she’s coming, and then Cohn can decide if he still wants to go.

Jake doesn’t again see Brett until the night before their departure. She tells him that Cohn is fine with her presence on the trip—even with Mike coming along. Jake and Brett arrange for their parties to meet in Pamplona.

In the morning, Bill and Jake get on the train, which is filled with American religious pilgrims. They promptly get into an argument with the dining-car conductor about meal service. In their shared compartment is an American couple, with whom they engage in friendly conversation. Bill and Jake exit the train in Bayonne, where they meet Cohn. Jake introduces Cohn to Bill, who expresses excitement about meeting Cohn and tells him that he’s read his books. They all enter the hotel where they will spend the night.

In the morning, Bill, Jake, and Cohn have breakfast and then walk around Bayonne. Jake buys fishing gear, and they go look at a cathedral. Through internal monologue, Jake notes that “Cohn made some remark about [the cathedral] being a very good example of something or other, I forget what” (96).

They arrange for a hired driver to take them to Pamplona. In the meantime, they drink in a café. They set out, riding through Basque country before crossing into Spain. At the border, their driver fills out paperwork while they walk over to a stream to look for trout. Bill tries to ask a local about trout fishing, but his Spanish is too poor to communicate.

Back on the road, they ride through a mountainous pine forest, enjoying the idyllic scenery: “white cattle grazing in the forest” and “grassy plains and clear streams” (99). They descend from the mountains and approach Pamplona. Jake looks back from the front seat and sees Cohn asleep, but Bill nods at Jake. In town, they drive passed the bullring and arrive at the Hotel Montoya. The owner of the hotel, Montoya, greets them. He is a friend of Jake’s from previous San Fermin festivals and sets them up in nice rooms. At the hotel, they have a big lunch and Cohn seems nervous. Through narration, Jake notes that Cohn “did not know whether we knew Brett had been with him at San Sebastian, and it made him rather awkward” (100).

Brett and Mike are supposed to arrive that night, but Cohn thinks they won’t show. Bill bets Cohn fifty pesetas that they will arrive that evening. Bill and Jake go to Café Iruna for coffee and Cohn goes off on his own to get a shave. The barber shop is closed and Cohn returns. Jake goes alone to a church and prays for his friends, and then for himself. He thinks about how he’s a bad Catholic, but that there’s nothing he can do about it.

That night they meet for dinner and see that Cohn is clean, clean-shaven, and has styled his hair. Jake walks with Cohn to the train station and finds enjoyment in Cohn’s nervousness. The passengers exit the train and Brett and Mike are not among them.

They go back to the hotel and Cohn tells Bill not to worry about their bet. A telegram from Brett arrives that says she and Mike have stopped over in San Sebastian. Jake lies to Cohn, telling him that Brett and Mike send their regards. Jake decides that they should leave for their fishing trip at noon the following day, whether or not Brett and Mike have yet arrived. Bill and Cohn agree.

In the morning Jake buys their bus tickets to Burguete. Cohn says he won’t be going on the fishing trip because he’s supposed to meet Brett in San Sebastian. Jake senses that Cohn takes pleasure in Jake’s knowing that something happened between Cohn and Brett. They part ways, and Jake finds Bill, who tells him that the night before, Cohn told him that he had a date with Brett. Jake becomes further enraged. He tells Bill about Cohn’s recent trip with Brett to San Sebastian. Bill thinks that she should have instead gone to San Sebastian with himself or Jake. They are both glad that Cohn won’t be coming on the fishing trip.

Jake and Bill board the bus and part ways with Cohn. On the way to Burguete, Basque peasants offer them copious amounts of wine. The Basques show them how to properly drink wine from a leather bottle. The bus stops at a posada and they go inside for drinks. The Basques insist on buying them a round.

Back on the bus, Bill strikes up a conversation with a Basque man who used to live in America. The man praises America, and his English impresses the other Basques. The bus travels through high altitude and the air is cold. They arrive in Burguete and go to the inn. Jake is displeased by the inn’s high price, but then learns that wine is included and decides it’s okay.

In the morning Jake goes outside while Bill is still sleeping. He digs for worms and puts them in tobacco tins. Jake goes back inside and tries to get Bill out of bed. Bill sarcastically says, “Argue me into getting up” (118). He repeatedly tells Jake to show him irony and pity, explaining that irony and pity are presently in vogue in New York.

Bill tells Jake that he would understand these things if he weren’t an expatriate. He says that Jake has “lost touch with the soil” (120). As he continues to rib Jake, he tells him that, as an expatriate, he spends all of his time talking instead of working. He says, “One group claims women support you. Another group claims you’re impotent” (120). Jake tells Bill that his impotence resulted from an accident. Through narration, Jake notes that Bill is going “splendidly” and is disappointed when he stops poking fun at him. He thinks Bill feels like he crossed the line by mentioning the impotence. Bill says that he likes Jake very much, but that he couldn’t tell him that in New York because he’d be considered gay.

They carry their gear on a long walk through the woods to the Irati River. It is very hot when they reach the river. They go to different spots and Jake fishes from atop a dam. He catches several trout, cleans them, and packs them in a bag between layers of ferns. He meets back up with Bill and they compare their catches. Bill’s fish are larger. They drink a bottle of wine, which they chilled in the river, and eat chicken and hard-boiled eggs. They talk about the notable people with whom they went to school. Jake acknowledges that loves Brett and also that he is “technically” a Catholic. They take a nap and then make the long walk back to the inn. Over the next few days, they spend time with a kind Englishman named Harris. They do not hear from Cohn, Brett, or Mike.