Bill and Vienna
In The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Bill Gorton tells a story about his four days spent in Vienna. It involves a black fighter and brings into question Bill’s feelings and prejudice towards black people. This is no doubt a complicated aspect of Bill as this was a changing period of social justice and general societal attitudes.
Bill tells what he can remember about going around with “the local Harvard man” and the fighter after the match in Vienna. The man won the fight, knocking out his opponent (a local white man). Everyone at the fight except Bill began throwing things at him. The fighter went home in Bill’s car and Bill loaned him clothes, saving the fighter from a potentially dangerous situation. Bill then attempted to get him his money and clothes, only being successful in attaining the latter and loaning him the former to make it home. This is a story that clearly shows Bill as compassionate and helpful when the rest of Vienna was rude and disrespectful to the fighter. Even Bill’s association with the fighter and his aid was a risk that Bill did not have to take but did anyway. Bill also makes note of the “injustice everywhere” that the fighter faces, demonstrating his understanding and sympathy for the fighter.
And yet, when telling this story, Bill never even provides the man’s name, using the n-word as a substitute. This word was commonplace in the time this book was written but there is no doubt that while it was common, it was still intended to be derogatory and demeaning. But there are two sides to his language, Bill does seem to think highly of the fighter, describing him as “beautiful” and “splendid.” However, these descriptors are both followed by the n-word, showing the conflicting way that Bill talks while telling the story. Bill does not seem to have any quandaries or hesitation with his language as it regards to the fighter. Bill’s use of the n-word definitely shows some ingrained, but it does not seem to change how Bill treats the fighter.
I think that Bill likely has some bias against black people as even today many still harbor subconscious feelings. However, despite these biases, Bill makes outward attempts to aid the black fighter. One who did not care at all or harbored resentment and hatred would not have bothered or joined in with the rest of the population. We should take into account that we already saw Jake using the n-word while thinking about black men and that Paris, even with this racism, is still thought to be one of the most progressive cities of the time. I think Bill is similar to Jake; they are shaped by the climate of their era. Bill is not intentionally carrying malice towards black men but still imbued with the derogatory language and prejudice. Bill’s language makes it seem easy to label him as racist but his story in the context of the 1920s makes it a more complex question.
I definitely agree with you. Bill does seem to be one of the more progressive characters in this story but it is hard to tell if he truly isn't still somewhat racist. All the use of the n-word tells us is that people of that time frequently called black people it. It could just be that Bill respects the fighter as a fighter or maybe thinks that he could make a lot of money by betting on this fighter. Either way he is almost definitely better than a lot of other people from that time period.
ReplyDeleteI think that fact that using this man's name never occurred to Bill shows that he isn't as progressive as he believes. Even if he didn't think the n-word was that offensive, you tend to call people you respect by their names, or at least take the time to learn them. I got savior complex vibes from that, more than anything else
ReplyDeleteTo defend him not knowing his name (not to defend his use of the n-word), he was blackout drunk for his whole stay. He did not know anyone's names and he had to work very hard to remember the short story he did know.
DeleteTrue. Still, he still had plenty of other options, and the word he immediately went to showed the lack of respect/implied superiority he left
DeleteIt's a good point that this language was more common during this time, so he might not have meant harm, but I think that if he really did respect the fighter he would have used his name or referred to him as literally anything else besides the n-word. And even in this time, the n-word wasn't considered polite. I think Bill's still a pretty insensitive guy.
ReplyDeleteThis story from Bill honestly seems like an "I have black friends, so I'm not racist" kind of spiel. He's obviously really privileged and naïve from his shocked reaction at the crowd being mean to the fighter. And the n-word has ALWAYS carried a derogatory intention. Bill absolutely knows this, and still chooses to use it when referring to the fighter. Just because he's not as racist as Jake is doesn't mean that he's not racist at all.
ReplyDeleteBill is evidently quite bigoted, as are the majority of the characters in this novel. His treatment of the black fighter raises a lot of modern eyebrows. Shockingly Jake is even worse! I guess it just speaks to the white male privilege that existed in this era and social class.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely confusing and uncomfortable scene to read for a number of reasons, and Bill's insistence on flaunting the n-word makes it hard to pick up on the broad physical comedy and absurdity of the story he tells, which is almost certainly fictional (likely made up on the spot, fueled by drinks). As you note, when we tamp down the distortion created by his flaunting of the taboo term (which he is doing quite deliberately, in an attempt at "edgy" irony, like a 1920s Quentin Tarantino), the story he tells is actually a pretty hilarious lampoon directed squarely at the Viennese proto-Nazis who organized this white supremacist charade in the first place: the whole comedic conceit of the Black American fighter hired to take part in this racist display of Aryan supremacy (which fails because "local white boy" can't even win a match that is being *thrown in his favor*) inspiring a riot when the proto-Nazis have their plans foiled, in which the Black fighter is aided and abetted in his escape by Bill and his friend, would seem pretty clearly to be an *antiracist* anecdote. Bill is the most extreme voice of irony in the novel, and he likes to play with language and push boundaries. In the privacy of Jake's room, he is pushing boundaries in this scene, partly to shock and amuse Jake (the whole "performance" that Bill takes part in as soon as he arrives).
ReplyDeleteIt's an extremely confusing scene, and a confusing introduction to Bill as a character. He's not always easy to read, and it's a shame that this otherwise pretty funny story is told in such a disconcerting voice. But dig into his whole taxidermy riff, when he proposes getting Mike and Brett a stuffed horse for their wedding. "Road to hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs." There's a wonderful absurdist humor to Bill, and he distracts Jake from his "issues" with a nonstop performance.