Greyusurper
01-06-2011, 10:16 PM
Just finished reading it last week. I didn't like it to begin with, mostly because I thought it was going to focus heavily on Richard Cohn. I eventually grew to like it before the end, the style felt kind of like a series of journal entries. A lot of description and narration, but lacking some of the characters in-depth thoughts and reasoning that you're kind of left to fill in yourself.
Right from the get go we see that the main characters are mostly kind of racists. They dislike Cohn because he's a Jew but keep him around because he's a good guy and they hardly want to come off as rude. You can argue that it's very "Of that time period" kind of thought that they're not racists. But I'd disagree. As soon as they have a decent excuse to get rid of him, they do. Jake Barnes also makes several mentions of things he hates about Cohn, his stubborn Jew attitude, etc. Only to watch others in his group or himself walk into the same pitfalls he belittles Cohn for, sometimes within mere pages of it happening. And of course, draws no ill ilk upon himself or his other friends for doing so.
Theirs also the love story aspect of this book. "Lady" Brett seems more apt to fit into are time period than her own. And though I may have sounded like I came about as a Cohn defender in the last paragraph, he actually does annoy me and I was kind of happy the group turned against him and his creepy stalker turn. Though this does speak volumes of the twisted kind of love going on in the story. I kind of detest Brett because it's clear she is just going about her whims impulsively. I'm not clear on what the biggest problem with the group is; Cohn's reluctance to stand up for himself and leave the people that hate him; or their acceptance of Brett's continuing affairs and what it seems to do to their out-worldly associations where they go.
Though perhaps the biggest problem they have is alcohol. They drink like they'll die without it through most the book. Clearly they're all alcoholics that can't help themselves, and this can add to the introspective of how they (poorly) handle/view events. Poor devils. At least Jake Barnes had a good excuse to drink himself to death. Or at least, that is how I imagine his character going out if the story continued into his old age.
Regards,
-Grey
Right from the get go we see that the main characters are mostly kind of racists. They dislike Cohn because he's a Jew but keep him around because he's a good guy and they hardly want to come off as rude. You can argue that it's very "Of that time period" kind of thought that they're not racists. But I'd disagree. As soon as they have a decent excuse to get rid of him, they do. Jake Barnes also makes several mentions of things he hates about Cohn, his stubborn Jew attitude, etc. Only to watch others in his group or himself walk into the same pitfalls he belittles Cohn for, sometimes within mere pages of it happening. And of course, draws no ill ilk upon himself or his other friends for doing so.
Theirs also the love story aspect of this book. "Lady" Brett seems more apt to fit into are time period than her own. And though I may have sounded like I came about as a Cohn defender in the last paragraph, he actually does annoy me and I was kind of happy the group turned against him and his creepy stalker turn. Though this does speak volumes of the twisted kind of love going on in the story. I kind of detest Brett because it's clear she is just going about her whims impulsively. I'm not clear on what the biggest problem with the group is; Cohn's reluctance to stand up for himself and leave the people that hate him; or their acceptance of Brett's continuing affairs and what it seems to do to their out-worldly associations where they go.
Though perhaps the biggest problem they have is alcohol. They drink like they'll die without it through most the book. Clearly they're all alcoholics that can't help themselves, and this can add to the introspective of how they (poorly) handle/view events. Poor devils. At least Jake Barnes had a good excuse to drink himself to death. Or at least, that is how I imagine his character going out if the story continued into his old age.
Regards,
-Grey