One of Us Mentality in The Sun Also Rises

 

Cohn is an outsider to the group for many reasons. First, he is the only Jewish person in the group. This is nothing new for Cohn. Being a Jew, he has felt like an outsider for most of his life. At Princeton he took up boxing to try and make himself less of an outsider. Now he is an outsider because he did not fight in the war. Everyone else in their group, even Brett, experienced the war. The war changed everyone. They saw and were part of horrible things, like any war. It is like they have all moved on and developed new and different thoughts and ideas. Being part of the war is a shared experience, a way to bond. They understand each other. Cohen has some innocence to him.  He is still stuck in the pre-war mentality where things are good and have a happy ending. He is not jaded by the horrors of the war. Everyone else is jaded. They saw that bad things could happen to good people and the war was not fair. They know there is not always a happy ending.

Count Mippipopolous seems like an outsider when he is first introduced in the novel. He is much older than Jake, Brett and the others. He who could be considered an outsider because he is so much older, Greek, and an aristocrat. At first the common thread is that he also has had a relationship with Brett. The Count turns out not to be an outsider. The fact that even he is part of the group makes Cohen even more of an outsider.

“My dear, I have sure Mr. Barnes has seen a lot. Don’t think I don’t think so, sir. I have seen a lot, too.”

 “Of course you have, my dear,” Brett said. “I was only ragging.”

 “I have been in seven wars and four revolutions,” the count said. … “And I have got arrow wounds. Have you ever seen arrow wounds?”

… ‘I told you he was one of us. Didn’t I?’ Brett turned to me. ‘I love you, count. You’re a darling.’”  (pg 66-67)

They are a group of people that travel and do so much together. You would expect them all to be good friends for all the time they spend together. They are not. There is this layer of irony around them. They are a group, but they insult each other and are not supportive. They talk about each other behind each other’s backs. Brett and Jake are probably the only ones that aren’t frenemies. Even considering this, Cohen is still an outsider. They aren’t even superficially nice to him. They don’t bother to just talk about him behind his back. They are rude to his face.

“Was I rude enough to him?” Brett asked. Cohn was gone. “My God! I’m so sick of him!” (pg 185)

Cohen tries so hard to be part of the group. Again, this is a type of innocence of Cohen. He kind of knows they are being mean to him, but they are the closest thing he has to real friends. It’s like he thinks if he keeps trying, keeps hanging around, he will finally be accepted. What he doesn’t realize is that no matter what he does, these people are not going to accept him. He will always be an outsider to them, whether it be because he is Jewish, not a veteran, or they have lost respect for him for the way he followed Brett around like a lovesick puppy.

“I know it,” Cohen said. “You’re really about the best friend I have, Jake.”

God help you, I thought.  (pg 47)

In short, the main characters in “The Sun Also Rises” have a one of us mentality. Everyone is judged as to whether they are “one of us.” Cohen is the obvious outsider in this all. The others may have the war or other shared experiences together, but they are not a cohesive group. In reality none of them are “one of us.” This may not be the main theme of the book but it is an important one.

Comments

  1. Sasha GoncaloOctober 28, 2024 at 3:47 PM

    I agree that Cohn not being a veteran adds to his isolation within the group. Adding to what you said though, I think it is especially telling that the first page of the book is dedicated to discussing Cohn's boxing and eventually his injury, a broken nose. In contrast to Jake, who received a life altering injury that prevents him from pursuing a relationship with Brett, Cohn's injury is the result of a game (boxing) and "improved" his appearance according to Jake. Although this comment is rooted in antisemitism, it is very telling of how Jake views Cohn's fighting versus' Jake's time in the war.

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  2. MitchellNovember 1, 2024 at 8:54 AM

    You point out the sad fact that Cohn doesn't really seem to grasp that none of the others view him as not "one of us"--he keeps on assuming Jake is his "best friend," and he never seems to pick up on why everyone thinks he's "behaving badly" about the whole Brett situation. It's BRETT who has to be "rude enough" to Cohn to get rid of him when she wants to talk to Jake alone, and there is no reason to think that Cohn even views Jake as annoyed with him, let alone "hating" him. Most of the nasty things Jake has to say about Cohn are limited to the narration, so WE have a very different sense of his views than the others do. Bill and Mike make explicit references to Cohn's Jewishness, but Jake never says anything aloud. And when Cohn is apologizing for knocking Jake out, he really does seem shaken--he has punched his "best friend," and he badly wants Jake to forgive him. In a sense, he never does "get it," and he remains bewildered by everyone's hostility toward him--especially Jake's.

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  3. RossNovember 4, 2024 at 10:23 AM

    I agree the Cohn is definitely an outsider when it comes to the group. Although he has similarities such as his nose injury that you could compare to Jake for both have injuries is status as a non-veteran leaves him as an outsider. Furthermore, he fails to connect with the rest of the group often being judged after his lack of self-awareness leaves him in an awkward situation: such as when he constantly tries to fight people and they are not intimidated by him.

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