The Sun Also Rises (Chapters 8 & 9)

Chapters 8 & 9 Summaries

Opening chapter 8, Jake did not hear from nor see Brett or Robert for a very long period of time, though he did receive a brief card from Brett, who was on vacation in San Sebastian. Jake also received a note from Robert reporting that he has left Paris for the countryside. He also found out that Frances has left for England. Though when he thought that all of his friends had left him, Jake's friend Bill Gorton, an American veteran, arrived from the United States. Jake goes and visits his good friend and they both decide that they should make a trip to Spain in order to fish and to attend the fiesta at Pamplona. Bill visits Jake before leaving to visit Budapest and Vienna, but on his return he tells Jake that he was too drunk to remember very much of his four days in Vienna. When Jake and Bill go out to lunch together they see Brett get out of a cab. Jake shocked that she has returned from San Sebastian, he points to Brett and tells Bill all about her and how he knows her. Jake went up to Brett and he said hello and asked her how her trip was. She told him that it was very long and she is very happy to be home again. Jake asks if she wanted to go get drinks with himself and Bill. She agrees to get drinks, but she eventually had to leave to meet Mike. Jake and Bill stay and have another drink. After their drink together Jake decided that they should go out to dinner. They go to a restaurant that is packed with many American tourists. Later, they meet Brett and Mike at a cafe. Mike is drunk and continually mentions how beautiful Brett is. After about an hour, Mike wants to return to their hotel. Jake and Bill decide to attend a boxing match as an excuse to leave the two of them alone. Chapter 9 opens the next morning, when Jake receives a wire from Robert asking to meet Bill and Jake when they decide to go fishing in Spain. Jake makes the arrangements with Robert and Bill. That evening Jake finds Brett and Mike at a bar together. The two of them ask if they may join him in Spain as well. Jake politely responses that they may join him on the trip to Spain. Then when Mike leaves to go and get a haircut, Brett asks if Robert will be going to Spain as well. When Jake tells her that he is going on the trip also, she wonders if it will be too rough on Robert. Brett then questions if she and Mike should go on the trip now that she know Robert is going. Jake then confused at why it would be difficult on Robert if she goes on the trip. Then Brett reveals that she was with Robert in San Sebastian. Jake then yells at Brett exchanging words with her that led to her writing a letter to Robert letting him know that she is also attending the trip. To their surprise, when Robert receives Brett's note, he still wants to go, and now even more excited. Jake then makes plans to meet Mike and Brett in Pamplona. Bill and Jake board a train from Paris to Bayonne, where they plan to meet Robert at. When getting on the train, Jake notices that the train is overrun with people whom Jake identifies as Catholics. After a long and painful train ride, they arrive in Bayonne, where Robert is waiting excitingly at the station all alone.

Chapters 8 & 9 Personal Comments

In chapters 8 and 9, I feel that they skipped over very important parts of the book, that I would have personal put more detail in. I think that Jake should have ran into Brett a little bit less coincidental or ironic. Seeing that Jake was talking to Bill about Brett and then she showed up in a cab. I think that in chapter 8 it made Jake feel alone and that he had no friends that really cared for him. Though in chapter 9, I feel that Bill, Brett, Mike, and Robert all decide to go to Spain with him to use the opportunity to see each other and not to see Jake. I feel bad for Jake because he seems lonely and used. I felt that these two chapters rushed and skipped over a lot of good information. Overall I did like reading the chapters, but they were not my favorite of the book.