Jakes Struggle With Acceptance of His Masculinity, In The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 

    Jake is an extremely interesting protagonist in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, because of his unique struggle with masculinity. When the reader is first introduced to Jake, he seems to hold traditional values that uphold his idea of what masculinity should look like. He tries to hold himself to this standard by being a man of faith, and having passion for bullfighting. No matter how hard he tries there is still something that shackles Jake from living like someone that fits his idea of masculine. The answer is the injury that he suffered during his time serving in the war. This injury imprisons Jake from achieving his full potential of masculinity and directly impacts the way that he lives. Jake's injury is also the source of prejudice against different men throughout the story as it pains him to watch other men in his eyes, live life wrong. 

    In Jake's morning routine he usually takes a shower and is able to see the root cause of what has been tormenting him ever since he got back from the war. His injury is the source of one of the major plot points throughout the story, Brett. If Jake got injured somewhere else on his body throughout the war the story would not exist as him and Brett supposedly would have lived happily ever after; however he was not so fortunate. Due to Jake's misfortune Brett could not come to terms with his injury and looked to fill the void which the injury caused to both of them, by being with other men. To Jake the whole situation is a nasty insult to his masculinity because not only was it stripped from him in battle but the other men are constantly shoved in Jake's face whenever he is around Brett. Understandably this causes Jake to go through what seems like a depression during the events of the story. To add more fuel to the fire, Brett every once in a while will come back to him reminding him of his feelings and once again rubbing in the fact that she so wishes to be with him. From the reminder when he goes to shower, to when Brett bursts in on him in the middle of the night with The Count, Jake never gets to fully heal which results in him lashing out at other people because of both jealousy and anger at his situation. 

    Jake has a unique way of trying to cope with his disfigured masculinity. He indulges in the hobbies that many would consider stereotypical of the macho masculine male. Jake also pursues a healthy relationship in Catholicism in hopes that it will bring him away from his current scenario. At the beginning of the book it seems like Jake's pursuit of more masculine activities is just a waste of time. Whenever he is found alone with his thoughts in Paris they seem to overwhelm him rendering him powerless to his mind. This is also a slight hit at his masculinity, as typically someone super masculine would be able to control their mind and regulate how they feel purely because of their masculinity; however Jake cannot do this. Alternatively later on in the story once Jake is away from the noise in Paris he seems to be having a good time. Bill and Jake start learning about the local culture and Jake begins to heal even opening up to Bill by the river when they were fishing. It is also here that we truly learn how passionate Jake is about bullfighting as he gets recognized as someone with true passion for the sport. 

    When comparing the two versions of Jake, there is a clear answer as to what held Jake back from accepting his circumstances. The first being is the people he is surrounded by. Jake in Paris was surrounded by people that were by his standards very noisy, as they wanted to party and distract him from the internal crisis he was having. Another problem Jake faced both in Paris and in Spain, was Brett and her boyfriends/husband. By having Brett around him most of the time Jake couldn't focus on himself which lead him to once again be distracted. The second issue holding Jake back was the setting. Jake was doing his usual personal endeavors both in Paris and in Spain, however in Paris his social functions usually entailed visiting clubs and going from restaurant to restaurant. However once Jake changes setting and is able to focus on himself without the distraction of clubs and meeting with people at restaurants, he is finally able to feel somewhat happy with his own hobbies something which he didn't feel during his stay in Paris. Although I cannot say for certain that Jake has been able to move on, I definitely think that he was able to learn a lot about himself during his vacation in spain.