The Sun Also Rises Chapter 11

Bill and Jake board the very crowded bus going from Pamplona to Burguete, riding atop the bus, where they enjoy socializing with the Basque peasants. They all share vast quantities of wine during the journey. The Basques teach Bill and Jake how to properly drink from the traditional wineskins. 

When the bus stops for a few minutes, Bill and Jake leave to drink elsewhere. They later resume the bus journey and have a conversation with a Basque who speaks English and tells of the time that he lived in America. 

Upon arrival at their destination hotel, they are charged a very high rate. The innkeeper explains that this is due to the busy season, although Jake and Bill discover that they are the only guests staying at the hotel. They try to even the odds by drinking as much of the hotel wine as possible, after learning that the wine is included in the price of the room. 

Analysis

The sharing of wine with the other passengers on the bus, along with the conversation shared, further reiterated Hemingway’s theme of the fair and equitable exchange of things. Bill continues to believe that trades are fair, be they monetary or otherwise, while Jake only sees this as a bitter reminder that in that aspect, life is truly unjust. Jake and Bill do find a way to make the very expensive hotel price “equitable” by taking full advantage of the wine being a cost to the hotel, and not to them.  

Notable also is the juxtaposition of entering a rural society, where life is far removed from the frantic, hectic, often confrontational lifestyle of the city. Here, Jake and Bill begin to enjoy simpler pleasures, such as the sun on their faces, relaxation, and friendly people who appear to take a genuine interest in them.