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Hemingway uses bullfighting as an ongoing metaphor for war and the nature of masculinity. The bullfight represents, in part, the ideals of war that were destroyed by the mechanized war of World War I. The bullfight is a battle of skill, of two beings coming face to face in search of victory and glory. As such, the bullfights fascinate the characters: the fight has rules, it has honor, it has skill all the things that they no longer believe in out in the "real world."
The bullfight also represents the dangers of sex and love. The bullfights are described as seductions, in sexualized language (it is a fight after all, in which a man tries to stick a long hard object into the bull), and yet it always ends in destruction, of either the bullfighter or the bull. Similarly, Belmonte is cast aside in the affections of the fans as soon as someone better comes along, in this case Romero. The fickleness of the crowds mirrors Brett's behavior, as she jumps from lover to lover.
Bullfighting Quotes in The Sun Also Rises
The The Sun Also Rises quotes below all refer to the symbol of Bullfighting. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
"I can't stand it to think my life is going so fast and I'm not really living it."
"Nobody ever lives life all the way up except bull-fighters"
– Cohn and Jake
"Nobody ever lives life all the way up except bull-fighters"
– Cohn and Jake
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Chapter 13
Quotes
Those who were aficionados could always get rooms even when the hotel was full. Montoya introduced me to some of them. They were always very polite at first, and it amused them very much that I should be American. Somehow it was taken for granted that an American could not have aficion. – Jake
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Bullfighting Symbol Timeline in The Sun Also Rises
The timeline below shows where the symbol Bullfighting appears in The Sun Also Rises. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...his life and that he needs to go to South America. Jake responds that only bullfighters live their lives to the fullest.
(full context)
Chapter 4
Jake goes to bed and reads through two bullfighting newspapers. He then turns out the lamp, but is unable to sleep and he thinks...
(full context)
Chapter 16
...leaves Brett and Romero at the table, and as he does so he notices that bullfighters and critics with whom Romero was speaking earlier look at him disapprovingly. When Jake returns...
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