15. Pedro Romero

In Chapter 15, the week-long fiesta begins including the bull-fights. Jake is introduced to Pedro Romero, the young bull-fighter. There is something different about Romero compared to the other bull-fighters because he "never made any contortions, always it was straight and pure and natural in line. The others twisted themselves like corkscrews... to give a faked look of danger... Romero's bull-fighting gave real emotion because he kept the absolute purity of line in his movements..." (171). I believe Pedro's character could possibly be symbolic of the life of Jake before he entered the war, mainly because of how fascinated Jake seemed to be with him. Before joining the army, Jake was "straight and pure," like the young bull-fighter. He was not yet "twisted". The same goes for Brett I believe. Before she lost her true love, she remained "straight and pure" as well. But once the war took place, she was shaken, similar to how the old bull-fighters changed their ways after a fellow fighter was killed. I think this symbolism really showed how and why people changed so much in the 20s. Hemingway really came up with a great symbol to explain the actions of Jake and his friends. I feel that I have a much better understanding of the characters as a result.