The Sun Also Rises Chapter 8

Jake does not see Brett until after her trip to San Sebastian. He does not see Robert Cohn either. Frances left for England, and Cohn went to the country. Cohn sends Jake a note telling him he is interested in going on Jake's fishing trip to Spain when he gets back.

With Brett gone, Jake enjoyed himself more. He worked, spent time with friends, and tried to get things ready for his trip to Spain with Bill Gorton. Bill arrived from America, spent a few days with Jake in Paris, then went for a short time to Vienna and Budapest. Bill is a successful writer, who overuses the word "wonderful," and who tells stories in short phrases, as though he were a telegram. He liked Budapest, but he was too drunk to remember much of Vienna. He did remember a boxing match he went to, between a local boy and a black foreigner. The black boxer was treated terribly, and Bill describes how he came to his aid.

The two go out for dinner. They pass a taxidermy shop, and Bill, who loves stuffed animals, tries to convince Jake to buy a stuffed dog. Jake won't buy one.

Topic Tracking: Values 11

The two have a drink. Bill drinks much more than Jake, and Jake doesn't think it's worth trying to catch up. Jake is often many drinks behind his friends. Bill got a few drinks at a hotel before he met Jake, and he saw Harvey Stone, who despite Jake's money, still looked terrible and acted depressed.

Jake and Bill leave and look for somewhere to eat dinner. A horse-cab passes, and Bill jokes about getting one stuffed for Jake for Christmas. A taxi drives by and stops. Brett is inside. Jake asks her to come have dinner with them, but Brett can't because she hasn't bathed yet. But she agrees to have a few drinks with them. Brett and Bill start talking about traveling, and how they like certain cities. Brett is very friendly and flirtatious, and Bill is too. Jake asks how her trip was, and she tells him it was interesting, but boring. She missed Paris. After a few drinks, Brett has to go, and they agree to meet her and Michael later that night.

After she leaves, Bill asks who Mike is. Jake tells him he's Brett's fiancé, and Bill is disappointed. They eat dinner at a favorite restaurant, which is now overcrowded with American tourists because someone put it in a guidebook. Praised as untouched by tourists, that evaluation is now completely wrong. Jake and Bill must wait to get a table. After dinner, they walk around Paris, which is beautiful at night. They walk some more, and eventually decide to go meet Brett and Mike.

Mike is very drunk, and happy to see Jake. Jake suspects he and Brett just had sex. Mike has a little cut on his nose from his travels, when an old lady's bags fell on him. He is very affectionate with Brett, and keeps saying how lovely she is. Jake introduces Bill to Mike, calling Mike a bankrupt, which Mike seems quite proud of being. Mike is very interested in having sex with Brett again, and he asks if they can turn in early. Brett tells him to behave. Bill invites Mike to a boxing match, but Mike can't go because he wants to have sex with Brett again. Brett tells Jake and Bill to go, and she'll take Mike home with her. She does not seem at all embarrassed to have this going on in front of Jake. Mike, knowing sex is imminent, gets even more vocal in his praise of Brett. He apologizes for not going to the fight, but he doesn't really care about that.

Bill and Jake decide to go to the fight. Jake, who has just watched his love go off to have sex with another man, comments on how happy Mike was to see Brett. Bill, who doesn't seem to get it, tells Jake he shouldn't be surprised by that, as Brett is quite a catch.