Use of Dialogue in The Sun Also Rises

Use of Dialogue in The Sun Also Rises

The remarkable thing about the book was its liberal use of dialogue and how

Hemingway used it to carry the reader through the book. There was no plot in the

book in the sense that there was no twists, intrigue, or goals for any of the

characters and the dialogue was the only thing that moved the reader through the

book. Hemingway used so much dialogue that it was difficult at times to follow

who was saying what, but I believe this didn't matter because any of the

characters, except for maybe Jake, could have been carrying on those

conversations.

I say anyone except Jake because he was different than all the other characters

in more ways than just being the narrator. He obviously had received a wound

from W.W.I that caused him to be sexually scarred and thus set him apart from

anyone else. Jake seemed to be an observer who was watching the lives of his

friends unfold and happen around him, but without his participation. I read that

Hemingway had purposely re-written the book in first person and this was

probably to spell out that Jake was an observer and was thus aware of what was

written on the pages. There is a scene towards the end of the book where Jake

finds all of his friends eating at a restaurant and thinks to himself that he is

too far behind to catch up. Jake always seems behind, or at least only a

marginal player put so in his position because of his injury. He must have had

relations with Brett before the injury and was a "player" before it, so this

leads to the assumption that Jake purposely removed himself from being a

participant.

As I was reading I was trying to make connections and read into the story to try