Reading the Terrain: Cultural Setting and Characterization in The Sun Also Rises

40019309327The interrelationship of culture, geographical setting, and characterization found in Ernest Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises, serves to highlight some of the ways in which local topography can be used to an author's creative advantage. In The Sun Also Rises, rivers and bridges in the story's depiction subtly communicate key details that guide reader interpretation. For example, the border crossing at Bayonne emphasizes an ideological disconnect between France and Spain. This apposition is not limited to the single scene, however. In fact, this painstakingly elaborated clash of disparate worldviews frames the entire novel and largely explains the unraveling that occurs at the end of the story. Because the tension created through the actions and attitudes of the protagonists is both foreshadowed and accentuated by the surroundings they inhabit, carefully conceived landscape depiction provides ideal camouflage for surreptitious interpretive cues precisely because it is part of the narrative "background."departmental bulletin pape