Ten - Welcome to Spain

I am just not feeling the creative titles today. There was something interesting about this chapter that struck me almost immediately. This of course is the extreme detail that Hemingway gives to the landscape and area of Spain. In previous chapters, things followed a simple pattern: "I woke up, went to the cafe, met Friend X, *three pages of dialogue*". It was a simple style, and it got the job done. However, now we're in a brand new country, and Hemingway spares no expense on the vivid imagery. Things like "You could feel the air came from the sea," (p. 97), and "long brown mountains and a few pines and far-off forests of beech trees on some of the mountainsides" (p. 99). Anyway, it was certainly a welcome change. Dare I say refreshing? Anyway, as far as the way of plot goes, nobody likes Robert Cohn. Poor guy. It's quite understandable for Jake to hate on him; one can only assume that perhaps Jake is a wee bit jealous. However, I don't really get why Bill is so hostile. I guess it could just be that little "air of superior knowledge" (p. 101), but he certainly got worked up awful quick. Maybe he just senses that Robert Cohn is just destined to be made fun of. Anyway, seeing as they are Jake and Bill, rather than confronting Cohn, they dance around the topic and make fun of his Jew-ness. Real mature, guys.

This is Spain. It's pretty, just like Hemingway said.