Throughout Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, a variety of rousing character details and setting descriptions reveal the novel's success of cultivating both disquietude and pleasure within the reader of the text. Such a work, as ambiguous and cryptic as it may seem, conveys that the exposure of both positive and negative elements are fundamental in creating an enriching and realistic story. Bearing that in mind, readers cannot simply understand the behavior of the novel's characters until they develop an understanding that the unexpected lies beneath the fazade of the 1920's generation. Additionally, the settings and actions that Hemingway obliquely depict reveal a practical perspective of human nature and provide readers with a "healthy confusion " that enhances one's experience of diving into a piece of literature. .
The spectacle of bullfighting, which is deeply praised the city of Pamplona, Spain, provides great pleasure to the reader while simultaneously exposing them to feelings of discomfort and anxiety. Throughout The Sun Also Rises, a bullfight is epitomized as a graceful ballet between a handsome, valiant matador and a large, daunting bull; it is depicted as an exceptionally beautiful and delightful art as well as a motivating pagan ritual for Spaniards. Such a beautiful challenge that requires incredible courage and strength from the matador greatly stimulates and excites the reader, who becomes drawn into the inspiring performance. These bullfights in Pamplona are repeatedly conveyed as heroic, and the reader commends the bravery of the matador, who risks his life in a practice that attracts thousands of excited fans throughout Spain. However, on the flip side, bullfighting also engenders a significant dose of disquietude within the reader. For the duration of each bullfight that Hemingway eloquently illustrates throughout The Sun Also Rises, the reader understands that the matador confronts death and may very likely not exit the ring a living man.
