tt. She raved on and on about Romero and insisted to Jake that they go and find him. Jake did not fight her on this issue, but he certainly did not provoke it. Jake was more of a stooge for Brett. She would have had her way even if Jake had not helped her. She uses her feminine charm, and there is, little that Jake can say. At one point she says “Oh, darling, please stay by me. Please stay by me and see me through this”(188). Jake stays too wrapped around her finger to refuse. No question remains in Jake’s mind that he will lose Montoya as a friend and also the respect that others had once held for him, yet he chooses Brett over these losses. Jake even goes as far as to make an agreement with Montoya that he breaks upon the introduction of Brett to Romero. When Romero walked into the room he started to smile, but then the group say with Romero then at that point, “he did not even nod”(181). This was at the first introduction. The real damage had not even been done yet, but Jake proceeded because he wanted to make her happy. Jake wrestles back and forth with having to please Brett. In the novel The Sun Also Rises Jake is forced with a decision that will change a great deal of his life. His decision ultimately costs him a good friendship, and takes away the respect that his other friends had once had for him. He does this consciously and unselfishly without hesitation. This does not mean that he has lost his moral creditability as a character, but rather the opposite. Jake becomes a stronger character after this because it shows his unconditional devotion and love for Brett. Jake’s conflict throughout the novel of choosing Brett or his other friends, shows how he grows apart from those in the Lost Generation. ...
