So as we were talking in class today about the abundance of alcohol consumed by the characters, I got to thinking about my discussion question. I wondered if you all thought if it was a societal compulsion or if it was something else. Well, once I got out of class and was walking to my math class, the psych major in me started to think about possible reasons. The one thing that stuck out in my mind the most was that i believe that their drinking amount was due to a cohort effect. I don't know how many of you all know what a cohort effect is, so if you do please excuse me while i try to sum it up a bit. A cohort effect is a common variable that applies only to a certain age range of people that cause them to perform a certain behavior or action. A cohort for us college kids could be something like 9/11 or another flashbulb event like that. For Jake and the others in this story, i believe that their cohort effect was the war. It does not have to be limited to just serving in the military. It would also reach out to women since they would have been effected by the war just like everyone else. War does not discriminate on gender. Some of you may not agree, but i thought it could be a very interesting way to look at why everyone drinks so heavily.
And on a side note, Brett is a hussy. (I'll use a nicer word than I used in class c: ) She is engaged, but she is having an affair with Robert, tells Jake she loves him, and kisses all different men. There are no if's, and's, or but's about it, the woman is a hussy.
I would agree that all of the characters in the work are drinking in an attempt to rectify some psychological emptiness. It is very plausible that the war could be the cause of this emptiness. However, if this were the case, I think Hemingway would have mentioned the war more frequently. All of the major characters in the work seem to be tangled together by deep emotional desire (mostly for Brett). Robert Cohn does not drink: is it coincidental that he experiences the most antagonization of any of the characters? Perhaps if he did drink, he wouldn't feel so bad about his life situation (particularly, his desire for Brett). I believe that Hemingway details alcohol as the compensatory behavior for the absence of emotional contentment.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that we are reading about a bunch of discontented people, including Brett, but Brett seems to be a beacon of light to all the men and they are attracted to her; but, she offers no true warmth to any of them.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Matt. The drinking is all about their want to "escape" their lives and get over their psychological emptiness. Living right after a war back then would have been severely depressing and cause drinking. Though thinking about it, drinking is an entirely social event. We do it now. Want to get together with friends? Let's go to Blue Moon or the Meck! Drinking could have been their escape, but also their social time, even though they're constantly partaking in it.
ReplyDeleteI can see why they would turn to drinking as an escape, but I couldn't understand why they did not turn to a more productive way to deal with their issues.
ReplyDeleteLove Angela's comment about Brett and how the men are drawn to her--for better or worse.
ReplyDeleteAnd Brittney's idea about the cohort effect seems spot-on. I also think Matt and Molly are right that these sorts of actions still happen today, especially with social drinking (even how people sometimes turn on the one guy or girl who ISN'T getting smashed).
As for finding a more productive way to deal with their issues, remember that this book was set in the 1920s, before therapy as we know it existed, and set in the aftermath of "the war to end all wars." This was a time when all the previous sources of comfort in times of adversity--the authority of elders, the wisdom of books, the comfort of religion--seemed empty and pointless. For these characters, there seemed to be few productive ways to deal with their issues.