Jake Barnes is the narrator and protagonist of the novel The Sun Also Rises. Around him the story of the novel goes on. His passion, frustration, misfortune, helplessness and even his cursed life touch us and make us sympathetic towards him. The novel is driven by his needs and desires more than those of the other characters. We observe the other characters through his eyes.
Though Robert Cohn is the first character to appear in The Sun Also Rises, he is not the novel's hero. Cohn is the hero's foil, the character who will serve to highlight the protagonist's strengths and weaknesses by contrast. According to Jake,at least,Cohn is insecure and self-conscious.He is perpetually broke and a dabbler in the arts. Cohn is voluble and naive. He is a kind of overgrown child, he even bursts into tears more than once. And Cohn allows himself to be controlled by the women in his life : his mother,his wife and his lover. Later, Brett reduces him to a pathetic puppy. Most significantly of all, Cohn is not a veteran of the Great War. At least initially, Cohn appears to be everything Jake is not and vice versa.
Cohn obeys an outdated,prewar value system of honor and romance. He fights only within the confines of the gym until his rage and frustration make him lash out at Romero and Jake. He plays hard at tennis, but if he loses he accepts defeat gracefully. Furthermore, he can not believe that his affair with Brett has no emotional value. Hence, he acts as a foil for Jake and the other veterans in the novel; unlike them, he holds onto traditional values and beliefs, likely because he never experienced World War I first hand.
Robert Cohn is a boxer, a practitioner of one of the so-called "blood sports" like bullfighting admired by Hemingway and by Jake. Cohn fights effectively, too; note how he dispatches Jake himself as well as Mike with his fists and only fails to beat Romero, who possesses a sort of superhuman resilience. And yet, Jake appears not to admire Cohn for his pugilistic skills. Somehow Cohn lacks a sufficiently nuanced understanding and appreciation of the art of boxing. Cohn is a living reminder to Jake of what he used to be, before the war ruined everything. Ultimately, Jake wants to hurt Cohn so that Cohn will no longer be unwounded.
Jake wants to love Brett and to be loved by her in turn. Although Brett is more than willing, ironically Jake's sexual attraction can never be satisfied. Jake has been castrated in combat during World War I. Jake's inability to fulfill their mutual desire makes being near Brett or even thinking about her complete agony for him. Cohn is also attracted by Brett . He fell in love with her. He has got Brett physically also, but she does not love him. On the contrary, Jake got Brett mentally, but physically could not for his impotence.
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