Chetan Bhagat is a modern day William Shakespeare. Steve Jobs is a modern day Thomas Edison. And Jake Barnes is a modern day Sisyphus. On the outside Jake and Sisyphus seem to have nothing in common. One chases a girl he can never be with, and the other pushes a rock up a mountain, just to watch it roll down so he can push it back up. But it is their values that make them similar. They both find joy in nature and ideas over material possessions and boulder to push up a mountain, only Jakes boulder and mountain are metaphorical. Throughout The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, Jake is chasing after Brett Ashley. And throughout the book Jake is miserable. They both know they will never be able to get together due to the fact that Jake is impotent, but this doesn’t stop Jake from trying. He does everything Brett asks him to do. If Brett needs Jake to anything, he will drop everything to go help. Whenever Brett has “been so miserable” (Hemingway), Jake …show more content…
Jake is the most happy in the book when he is alone. When he was fishing with Bill, Jake was happier than any other time in the book. Even though he is not alone in the sense that no-one is around, he is still gets the feeling of solitude because there usually isn’t much communication among fishermen. He is alone with his thoughts, just like Sisyphus as he walks down the mountain. This time alone allows Jake to think about his relationship with Brett. He loves her, but understands what he is to her, just the guy she runs to when she’s upset. Knowing this he seems much happier in the end of the book in opposed to the beginning. When Brett is talking about how good their relationship could have been, Jake responds “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” (Hemingway), meaning he knows this is the best way it could be. They could imagine how good it could have been, but that is only imagining. Jake knows the relationship only exist because there can’t be a