The remarkable thing about the book was its liberal use of
dialogue and how Hemingway used it to carry the reader
through the book. There was no plot in the book in the sense
that there was no twists, intrigue, or goals for any of the
characters and the dialogue was the only thing that moved
the reader through the book. Hemingway used so much dialogue
that it was difficult at times to follow who was saying
what, but I believe this didn't matter because any of the
characters, except for maybe Jake, could have been carrying
on those conversations.
I say anyone except Jake because he was different than all
the other characters in more ways than just being the
narrator. He obviously had received a wound from W.W.I that
caused him to be sexually scarred and thus set him apart
from anyone else. Jake seemed to be an observer who was
watching the lives of his friends unfold and happen around
him, but without his participation. I read that Hemingway
had purposely re-written the book in first person and this
was probably to spell out that Jake was an observer and was
thus aware of what was written on the pages. There is a
scene towards the end of the book where Jake finds all of
his friends eating at a restaurant and thinks to himself
that he is too far behind to catch up. Jake always seems
behind, or at least only a marginal player put so in his
position because of his injury. He must have had relations
with Brett before the injury and was a "player" before it,
so this leads to the assumption that Jake purposely
removed himself from being a participant.
As I was reading I was trying to make connections and read
into the story to try and understand if there was more there
than what was just on the page. It was hard, for me, to see
more than just the story, but perhaps Hemingway just wanted
the reader to experience other people's lives. I say
this because many of the experiences that occurred to the
characters also took place in Hemingway's life and maybe he
just wanted to share with us what it was like.
