This line is a bit of a random conversation starter. Should a person ever walk up to me and boldly ask this with little to no build up or explanation, I would be fairly taken-aback. Apparently, nothing catches Jake Barnes off-guard. Anyway, Cohn appears to have a brief mid-life crisis, in which he feels absolutely sure that he's not living life up to the fullest, and thus decides that he wants to go to South America, and everything will be okay. This is one of the common ways that people in the novel seek to find fulfillment in their lives: travel. Whether it's moving from bar to bar, or from country to country, the members of the Lost Generation often try to leave their problems behind by actually physically moving. However, Jake responds with the lovely quote: "You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another" (p. 19). Jake is essentially saying that the problems that Cohn faces are due to his lifestyle, like his outdated values and morals, and that changing location will not make these problems go away. This chapter also shows a particular recurring quality of Jake's: oftentimes he shows quite the impressive insight in pointing out a problem, typically of those facing the Lost Generation, yet he oftentimes falls short of actually offering a solution.
This is South America; it does not hold the answers you seek.
This is South America; it does not hold the answers you seek.
when i first started reading this book...that chapter just seemed really random to me. it's the second chapter and the book starts off with some guy going through a mid-life crisis...and now that you're on chapter...eight? yes...you've also probably figured out that this is just who Cohn's character is. he's not happy with his life and he's always just trying to think of different ways to get more out of life...but i really don't think south america is the answer
ReplyDeleteIt's not really even just Cohn, but really it's alllll of the characters think they can just move away from their problems and be happy. There's just a real sense of "movement" throughout the whole novel that seems to indicate that everyone just wants to "move" out of their problems. Some of them move from country to country, or from bar to bar, or club to club, or significant other to significant other, but ultimately all of them have a sense that they're not happy where they are, so they should move.
ReplyDeleteso basically...the grass is always greener on the other side...everyone is convinced that they have to "move" somewhere or in some way in order to make themselves happy...but once they get there they realize it's not what they thought and move on yet again. I agree that all of the characters are really like this...Cohn just stood out to me because he's the one who always seems so concerned and worried about it...most of the time he seems pretty depressed about his life while the other characters at least, for the most part, seem to enjoy life...Jake sometimes isn't happy, but he doesn't really let other people see that. Most of the characters aren't satisfied with something in their life, but they generally don't clearly state that fact like Cohn who makes it fairly obvious that he's depressed and not happy with life...I guess some people are just better at handling life than others...the rest of the book makes it pretty clear that Cohn is not really...emotionally stable...one could say
ReplyDeleteI also thought about the mid-life crisis thing too. My dad bought a motorcycle because he wanted something fast... mini mid-life crisis. I also noticed that while Jake points out the problems of others, he does not really do that for himself and none of the other characters have stepped up to do that for him. So right now, I think he is stuck.
ReplyDeleteYour dad is so cool, Megan.
ReplyDelete