Jake's Progression of Attitudes

In the last chapter of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, we get to observe one of the rare instances in the novel during which Jake seems to relax and be at peace with himself: the scene in which Jake goes swimming while alone in San Sebastian. Constantly throughout the novel we are exposed to the problems in Jake's life regarding his issues with his friends and their tumultuous relationships with each other, so this scene where Jake goes swimming provides us with a refreshing change of pace in the novel (in addition to the scene when Jake goes fishing with his good friend Bill). Using this scene, we can observe how Jake's attitude towards life, (and the struggles that are associated with it), differs from his attitude in earlier stages of the book. Jake seems to be more at peace when alone, swimming in the waters of San Sebastian, and it is this notion that Jake is at peace with himself at this point in the novel that causes him to take a more positive outlook towards aspects of life that he once used to treat with frustration and disdain.

As opposed to in the beginning of the novel, Jake seems to express prowess in his ability to relax and not let his problems get out of hand while he stays in San Sebastian. Rather than anxiously worrying about his war injury and his relationship with Brett, Jake solely focuses on the activity at hand: swimming. He narrates, "Floating I saw only the sky, and felt the drop and lift of the swells" (241). Jake's use of the word "only" in this line indicate that he has nothing else on his mind during this time and is providing his undivided attention towards swimming. It seems as though the majority of Jake's stress and problems come from the actions of Cohn and primarily from his convoluted relationship with Brett. Thus, while he is part taking in such solitary activities as swimming in San Sebastian, Jake is able to really relax and be at peace with himself. With Brett and Cohn out of the picture during this time, Jake expresses, "It felt as though you could never sink" (241), adding to this notion that he can achieve this state of tranquility when alone. Through he never directly refers to his life's problems in this scene, we get a sense that Jake feels like everything is going to be alright in the end; he is never going to "sink" in his problems. Jake knows this because his time in San Sebastian provides him with a means to enjoy quality relaxation spent not thinking about Brett. It is actually the fact that Jake never mentions Brett in this scene that confirms the idea that Jake has progressed away from his original mindset through mental repose.

This concept that Jake has the ability to be at peace with himself towards the end of the novel enables Jake to take a different approach altogether towards life. Before, Jake would tend to act very bitter towards those that exhibited either a weakness or simply something that was impossible for him. For example, Jake significantly expresses his issues with the group of homosexuals in the bar: "I was very angry, Somehow they always made me angry," (28). Jake's dissatisfaction with his inability to sustain a stable relationship with Brett (due to his injury) arises here, and helps to explain why he expresses so much disdain towards the gay group of men. In contrast, these few, but crucial, instances of relaxation aid Jake in altering his perspective of life's stresses and overall help him cope with his lingering, unsatisfying relationship with Brett. During the swimming scene in San Sebastian, Jake undresses to change his clothes several times, but fails to bring up anything about his war wound at all in doing so. This is in stark contrast to the beginning of the book, where undressing would constantly remind Jake of his impossible relationship with Brett. Instead, we observe Jake progressing past his problems; he is no longer continuously troubled by the wound and it's implications with respect to Brett, but instead accepts the fact and moves on, because  he has undergone this transformation of attitude through seeking peace for himself. We see another instance of this in Jake's observances while swimming: "I swam out to the raft [...] A boy and a girl were at the other end. [...] The boy lay face downward on the raft and talked to her. She laughed at the things he said," (239). Jake shows his ability to simply acknowledge this interaction between the boy and the girl and move on. Normally, this would spur frustrating thoughts in Jake, as he would be reminded of his impossible relationship with Brett. The fact that this instance brings to Jake's mind neither his war wound nor Brett emphasizes how Jake's views have changed; he is no longer bothered by situations like this, as relaxation time has allowed him to alter his mindset and approach towards coping with his problems, in a positive way.