"What are you called?" "Georgette. How are you called?" "Jacob." "That's a Flemish name." "American too." "You're not Flamand?" "No, American." "Good, I detest Flamands."
and
"Barnes! I say, Barnes! Jacob Barnes!"
pgs. 24, 25, respectively
Well, well, well, it seems Hemingway has thrown us for a loop! The first two chapters focus mainly on Robert Cohn as the main character, narrated by the mysterious character "I." In this chapter, however, the character's name is revealed to be Jacob Barnes. Brandishing his new name, Jacob turns the narration on himself and a very "friendly" woman named Georgette, ending the chapter with another lady, Brett. This shift in narration came unexpectedly for me because I was expecting a typical writing style. The "Robert Cohn Chapters" seem to imply Cohn's necessity as a main character of the plot. He probably still is (maybe, sometimes, could be) an important character, but now the narrator falls into a more comfortable position of narrating about himself in the first-person. I just tend to find it annoying when a character who's only watching things take place narrates. Well, those days seem to be over as Jacob Barnes finds some "action."
I just sat in front of my computer for about three hours working on my last post, so I'm taking a break and I'm going to attempt to comment on your blog.
ReplyDeleteI thought I would let you know that I also thought Cohn was going to be the main character of the novel. I'm not upset, because I like Jacob. But I just want to know why Hemingway started off all about Cohn. I haven't finished the book, but I'm thinking it's going to end in a circle and we will hear about boxing again. Otherwise, it just doesn't make any sense. (at least to me)
That's kind of freaky, because I thought the exact same thing, except about the other book The Things They Carried o.O I thought the main character was going to be a certain Lt. Cross, when in reality after about two chapters, it turned out to be yet another mysterious "I" fellow.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what was the point of Georgette? What purpose did she serve in the overall novel?
ReplyDeleteI think Georgette was there to show us that Jake was physically attractive. No one fantasizes about getting married to an ugly person, you know?
ReplyDeleteAnd then Frances lets us know that Jake is a sensitive guy who is easy to talk to. Because she confided in him and all.
That's a terrible guess.
Actually, I think Georgette was a reflection of the times and helped to set the mood of the rest of the book with all of the gettin' around with other people. But I believe Mary has a valid point as well.
ReplyDeleteLook at Bryan, checking out the blogs for the other book!
ReplyDeleteThose seem like sound theories.
ReplyDelete