English 015 - Americans Abroad
Sterility and Stability from Repetition
Sterility and Stability from Repetition
Category: 2E: Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald | Eric Robinson
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited” and Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, the repetition of certain events and activities bring both sterility and stability to the works; however, while this steadiness is indeed valid for the main character in Fitzgerald’s piece, it is eventually revealed to be false for those in the other text. Each of the writings shares a common ritual that is established through excessive repetition: the heavy consumption of alcohol. Such recurring, abusive behavior by the individuals with the substance proves to be the primary factor in founding both unproductiveness and firmness within the authors’ works. Nonetheless, the presence of characters’ stagnancy and constancy in the two texts is set up via separate means of repetition: in “Babylon Revisited”, Charlie’s entire lifestyle from previously living in Paris is brought back to hurt him, while in The Sun Also Rises, the characters replicate their habits on a more daily basis.
Upon returning to Paris with hopes of reclaiming his daughter, Honoria, the protagonist in Fitzgerald’s piece, experiences obvious sterility both in failing to shake the bad remnants of his life in the city and, in turn, being unable achieve his chief objective of winning custody of his child. After losing his wealth from drinking during his first time in Paris and returning to the urban center for Honoria, Charlie wishes to forget his past there mainly to bring his daughter back into his home. Unfortunately, this is not possible, as seen when Charlie is revisited by old drinking associates who exclaim, “Well, the old Wales!...Charlie, I believe you’re sober.” (Fitzgerald, p. 391) This excerpt, given by Lorraine, hints at Charlie’s old problem, one that she thought would never leave him. Charlie again encounters these walking nightmares at his sister-in-law Marion’s house, where Lorraine once more recalls Charlie’s troubled history: “I remember once when you hammered on my door at four A.M. I was enough of a good sport to give you a drink.” (Fitzgerald, p. 400) The repeated impact of both alcohol and the figures associated with Charlie’s former lifestyle visibly hinder his productivity in winning Honoria back. Lorraine perceptibly does not believe that Charlie has the ability to change his ways from those of the past, stranding him in sterility.
Identical to Lorraine, Marion also regards Charlie as having no power to alter his lifestyle from that of Paris several years ago, rendering him unproductive in his attempts to win custody of Honoria. When offered a drink in Marion’s home, Charlie refuses it, saying he only has one drink a day, to which his sister-in-law replies, “I hope you keep to it,” followed by the narrator stating, “Her dislike was evident in the coldness with which she spoke.” (Fitzgerald, p. 388) Here, Marion’s clear disapproval of Charlie is apparent, which is due to the reappearance of the dire aspects of his history and detracts from his efforts to get his daughter. Marion continues to show her condemnation for the protagonist that holds him sterile when she asks, “How long are you going to stay sober, Charlie?” (Fitzgerald, p. 393) Later, after hearing Lorraine recollect Charlie’s drinking habits from the past, Marion gets very upset, yelling, “I can’t stand this. I’m sick. I’m going to bed,” (Fitzgerald, p. 396), eventually causing Charlie to ask if she has “changed her mind about Honoria,” to which her husband replies, “She’s pretty bitter right now. I don’t know.” (Fitzgerald, p. 401) This scene suddenly ends Charlie’s current efforts to get Honoria under his control, forcing him to remain in sterility due to the recurrence of the downfalls from his earlier life and their effects on Marion.
Gertrude Stein’s quotation at the beginning of The Sun Also Rises, “You are all a lost generation,” (Hemingway, p. 7), hints at the sterility experienced by the characters in the work. Such stagnancy is also tied principally to repeated alcohol abuse, like that of Charlie; however, such actions are conducted almost every day instead of in a past way of life. An early example of such unproductive routine is found in Chapter II, when Jake describes getting rid of friends:
Once you had a drink all you had to say was: “Well, I’ve got to get back and get off some cables,” and it was done. It is very important to discover graceful exits like that in the newspaper business, where it is such an important part of the ethics that you should never seem to be working. (Hemingway, p. 19)
Jake’s recurring lack of motivation to work, (something that he actually does little of) as seen above, is furthered by the fact that he gave this reasoning after agreeing to simply have a drink during employment hours and then lie to leave the scene. Another instance of sterility in the text is when Mrs. Braddocks asks Jake, “You’re coming to the dance, aren’t you?...Don’t you know we’ve revived them?” (Hemingway, p. 25) Once again, the sense of continual fruitless activities is given off to the reader, contributing to establishment of barrenness through repetition in the piece.
The most dominant example of sterility in Hemingway’s writing is from the ritual of constant of drunkenness witnessed in most significant characters throughout the plot. Due to such regular inebriation, none of these individuals undergo any major development or make any noticeable accomplishments. Focusing on one case involving Mike, Romero asks Jake, “What does the drunken one [Mike] do?” to which Jake answers, “Nothing.” (Hemingway, p. 180) Romero then inquires, “Is that why he drinks?” and Jake responds, “No. He’s waiting to marry this lady.” (Hemingway, p. 180) This excerpt clearly demonstrates the “lost generation”, which experiences no true progression in the work due to its repeated over-consumption of alcohol.
Repetition in “Babylon Revisited” and The Sun Also Rises also brings stability to each of the two pieces. In Fitzgerald’s work, Charlie returns to Paris as a sounder individual with regards to his drinking. While at Marion’s home, her husband asks, or even assumes, “Don’t you [Charlie] want a cocktail before dinner?” to which Charlie replies, “I take only one drink every afternoon, and I’ve had that.” (Fitzgerald, p. 388) This excerpt undoubtedly shows that Charlie is a more unwavering man upon repeating his time in Paris in comparison to his former existence there. He later fortifies his positive lifestyle transition when he revisits an “ancient rendezvous” where he used to drink and “incautiously put[s] his head inside” and then withdraws “quickly.” (Fitzgerald, p. 388) Once more, Charlie’s actions demonstrate to the reader that his character is now very stable, one that is not even tempted to drink excessively again. As confirmed above, Charlie’s personal alteration illustrates definite steadiness, unlike the false firmness that will be described later in Hemingway’s work.
Charlie also establishes a new sureness of himself through his ability to resist old temptations and control his temper when readdressing his poor choices that he made while first living in Paris. Such an example can be found when Charlie is approached by Lorraine and Duncan, another old drinking friend from earlier years. After being asked to join the duo in a restaurant, Charlie says to them, “Can’t do it,” followed by the narrator stating, “He was glad for an excuse. As always, he felt Lorraine’s passionate, provocative attraction, but his own rhythm was different now.” (Fitzgerald, p. 391) This quotation reveals that the protagonist is indeed now separate from his past alcoholic associates and unyielding enough to resist any offer to be with them. Charlie’s stability is further laid down when he acknowledges that “they [Lorraine and Duncan] wanted to see him because he was stronger than they were now, because they wanted to draw a certain sustenance from his strength.” (Fitzgerald, p. 391) Here, the main character of the piece describes how he feels above his old friends in stamina, showing that he has indeed gone through a true change and is now much more secure.
Charlie later confirms his new sturdy state when he begins talking to Marion and her husband about getting Honoria and remembering his troubled past. The protagonist “knew that now he would have to take a beating…keep your temper, he told himself,” (Fitzgerald, p. 393) illustrating that Charlie now possesses a high degree of self control. He proceeds to declare, “now it’s [his life] different. I’m functioning, I’m behaving damn well,” (Fitzgerald, p. 394) continuing to found the notion that Charlie has undergone a constructive alteration from reflecting on his former years and that he now has a steady base.
The repetition involving drinking in Hemingway’s work also provides the primary characters with some sense of stability. However, this only exists while they are drunk, giving their solidity a fakeness that actually exposes their insecurities when they are sober. Specific individuals come off as being very confident once inebriated, but, with respect to the men, such soundness is derived mostly from their aggression while they are under the influence of alcohol. For example, when drinking, Mike acts rather firm in that he denounces Cohn, a large, ex-boxer, by saying, “Why don’t you see when you’re not wanted Cohn? Go away. Go away, for God’s sake. Take that sad Jewish face away.” (Hemingway, p. 181) Later in the plot though, when Brett has ended her engagement to Mike and he is getting sober, he shows his true weakness by recognizing, “Brett’s got her bull-fighter, but her Jew has gone away.” (Hemingway, p. 214) In this quotation, Mike’s true character is revealed and his actual lack of steadiness is seen by the reader, a clear difference in comparison to Charlie when he is abstemious. Similarly, Cohn acts quite unwavering when he is intoxicated, such as when he opposes Jake, whom he knows loves Brett, and demands, “Where’s Brett?...Tell me where she is...I’ll make you tell me – you damned pimp.” (Hemingway, p. 194) Soon after his outburst, Cohn goes so far as to hit Jake several times, demonstrating his self-assurance. Yet, when not drinking, Cohn breaks down into tears, exposing his insecure personality by saying, “I’m sorry, Jake. Please forgive me…I was crazy. You must see how it was.” (Hemingway, p. 198)
Brett is another excellent example of one who seems steady when repeatedly drinking; however, she is quite the opposite on the inside. Early in the piece, Brett walks into a bar with a large group of men with whom she is enjoying herself and is visibly comfortable. However, after leaving the building with Jake, Brett confesses, “Oh, darling, I’ve been so miserable.” (Hemingway, p. 32) Her personal instabilities are touched upon throughout the rest of the text when Brett is not inebriated, such as when she states, “I’m a goner…I’ve never been able to help anything…I’ve lost my self-respect…I can’t just stay tight all the time.” (Hemingway, p. 187) This last statement is of particular importance as it illustrates that Brett actually acknowledges her problem of assuming false solidity though repetitive, excessive drinking. Nonetheless, she, and most of the other essential characters in the work are drawn to alcohol and its cyclic, abusive consumption in order to feel somewhat stable, while truly being deficient in poise internally.
In “Babylon Revisited” and The Sun Also Rises, the primary characters in each of the texts are both hurt by the presence of sterility that halts their development and also aided with personal stability, even if it is in fact false as with the latter work. Due to such recurring phony firmness in Hemingway’s writing that is set up through continuous drunkenness, the reader naturally has little confidence or belief in the individuals’ abilities to bring about positive changes within. However, with respect to Fitzgerald’s piece, Charlie’s revisiting Paris is much more reassuring for the reader that the protagonist certainly can maintain his new lifestyle because of his sobriety and dedication towards his daughter. Such a recovery hints at the approaching end to the “lost generation”, opening the future to more constructive behavior.
Posted by on October 30, 2003 at 02:17 PM