Preview
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell this chapter in sequence: how success in America changes Cohn, his fixation on 'The Purple Land' and on South America, his restless talk with Jake in the office and the cafe, and the dream that leaves him muttering 'I can't do it.' Then name the central tension Hemingway develops here and judge whether Jake's weary diagnosis of Cohn is fair.
Discussion Questions
- When Cohn presses Jake to run off to South America, Jake answers, 'You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.' Consider what Jake's diagnosis claims about Cohn's restlessness, and why Jake is so certain a change of country would fix nothing. Use the chapter's details to explain.
- Jake calls 'The Purple Land' a 'very sinister book if read too late in life' and says Cohn took 'every word' of it 'literally,' as though it were a guide-book to what life holds. Consider what Cohn's literal reading of a romantic adventure book shows about him, and why Jake treats it as dangerous for a man of thirty-four. Use the chapter's details to explain.
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Critical Thinking
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