One of my favorite movie is 500 Days of Summer starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zoey Deschanel. This film is famous for subverting the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope and the main characters have a similar relationship to that of Brett and Jake in The Sun Also Rises. If you have not seen the film here is a short and very entertaining summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVbaYT_We2o.
I think the comparison is very insightful. Although, Brett makes it clear to Jake that she could never settle down with him, Jake still seems to think that Brett is the one for him and in someway feels as though she has some sort of obligation to him, at least to date the right type of guy. In that way, the question must be asked. Is Jake's suffering really all Brett's fault? Or is his failure to accept the obvious reality Brett has outlined, merely his own shortcoming.
This is obviously a messy and difficult situation. There is really no clearcut answer as to who is in the wrong and who is acting justly. It seems that if people love one another there is bound to be some sort of pain involved. However, I am optimistic that the characters will find some sort of way to work out their predicament by the end of the novel. In particular I am rooting for Jake to just let go.
When you say that you are rooting for Jake to just let go do you mean of his love for Brett? Or of his big macho side? I think Brett and Jake could be together if only Jake lets go of the latter. Brett obviously thinks that Jake's war wound is his downfall, without that they would be perfect for one another.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your comparison to 500 Days of Summer. I watched that film for the first time over the summer break (mostly because I had heard the cinematography was excellent, which it was), and when reading "The Sun Also Rises", I had the vague feeling I had seen this type of relationship before. I also agree that the only way for either of these characters to find any sort of resolution, would be Jake letting go. Upon her own admission, Brett is not likely to change and obviously it isn't working at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Jake needs to let her go. It's not going to find any happiness out of her, and frankly if you can't find happiness out of someone you really need to get them out of your life. The world is a big place, and I think Jake could find something that's better for him than Brett. Obviously that's easy for me to say because it must be so much harder for Jake because he's being rejected by Brett because of something every woman will really be turned off by, but I still think you need space from her.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Jake should let go. Brett has made it clear why they can't be together, and Jake just can't seem to accept it. That being said the reason why it wouldn't work wasn't like his own failure or shortcoming, but rather a random, super unfortunate event that was outside of his control. It's because of this I think he has such a hard time coming to terms with his situation. There's nothing he could've done, and nothing he can do to change where he's at, and that really really sucks. At the same time he can't expect Brett to change her values, and because of that I think the best course of action is to give up and try again with someone else.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Jake seems to have some sort of misconceptions about his relationship with Brett. His love for her is blurring his perception of reality, if he manages to let go of her, and in turn the war, he can actually move on with his life.
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