The Sun Also Rises

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Jake’s war wound forever alters his relationship possibilities with Brett. When have limitations that were beyond your control shaped significant life choices for you?

2. Where have you found your greatest sense of belonging? Have you ever felt unmoored, like the characters who drift between Paris and Pamplona without finding contentment?

3. Brett Ashley chooses independence over conventional relationships throughout the novel. What sacrifices or compromises have you witnessed people make for personal freedom?

4. What activities or relationships provide you with an authentic connection similar to what Jake and Bill experience during their fishing trip in Burguete?

5. The novel shows characters frequently drinking to avoid confronting their emotional pain. What coping mechanisms—both destructive and constructive—have you observed people using to deal with difficult circumstances?

6. Jake maintains his Catholic identity—even praying in a cathedral in Pamplona—despite feeling disconnected from his faith. What cultural or religious traditions still hold meaning for you even if your relationship with them has evolved?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The antisemitism directed at Robert Cohn reflects casual prejudice that was common in the 1920s. What parallels do you see between this historical prejudice and forms of discrimination in society today?

2. Does Hemingway’s portrayal of bullfighting glorify or critique this controversial cultural tradition?

3. Lady Brett Ashley enjoys freedoms that were unusual for women in the 1920s but still faces limitations and external judgment. In what ways has society’s treatment of unconventional women changed or remained the same?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What does Count Mippipopolous represent in the novel?

2. What symbolic significance might the recurring images of Jake swimming in the sea at San Sebastian hold?

3. Jake narrates Cohn’s backstory extensively but reveals little about his own past. What effect does this narrative choice create for readers?

4. Bulls and steers appear throughout the novel, from literal animals to metaphorical descriptions of characters. What purpose do these animal comparisons serve in developing the novel’s themes of masculinity?

5. What do the contrasting settings of Paris and the Spanish countryside reveal about the characters and their states of mind?

6. The relationships in The Sun Also Rises share similarities with those in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, where characters also struggle to truly connect with one another. What prevents meaningful connection between the characters in Hemingway’s novel?