“Everything revolves around the bull and the bullfighter. The bull can represent everything we choose: the unknown, the other, fear, money, sex, work, romantic relationships, etc. It's something you have to see to understand. The most important thing is not just killing the bull, but how you kill it. And the same goes for the human experience. The most profound thing is how we experience our conflicts and problems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay-Paco Pereda The depiction of ever-present conflicts for the characters in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises comes in an unexpected form: the bullfight. The group of American expatriates in Paris are forced to face their demons during a crucial trip to Spain during the San Fermin festival, with a strong bullfighting culture. Aspects of bullfighting serve as symbols of the struggles the characters faced in post-war society. Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises uses bullfighting as a symbol of sex, masculinity, and violence to illustrate how sexuality and gender contribute to the tumultuous nature of the characters' relationships. The bullfight, a historical symbol of sexuality, masculinity and violence, is examined in detail in chapters XIII-XVIII when Hemingway and his group of friends travel to Pamplona for the San Fermin festival, during which bullfighting is a tradition. Just like the characters in Hemingway's novel, bullfighting has had a troubled history. Seen by some as a sport and by others as a sadistic performance, it has been fought by governments and banned in many cities. In an article written for the Telegraph, the author states: "I have known the tension, the fear and the wounds suffered by these artists... You can see that there is much in common with the troubled lives of the bullfighters" (Fiske- Harrison). The troubled life he describes for bullfighters is not far from the experiences of Jake and his group of friends in the novel. Defined by their common struggles, the bullfighters described by Fiske-Harrison and the group of expatriates in Hemingway's novel share a common need to come together based on similar issues. Throughout this journey, bullfighting is depicted as a symbol of sex. Paco Pereda, professor at the University of the Basque Country, interprets bullfighting as a symbol of sexuality in the following way: “In terms of sexuality, the effeminate costume that the bullfighter wears represents the feminine; the penetration with the spears and the subsequent wounding of the bull represent the moment in which the bullfighter and the bullfighter reverse the roles of male and female sexuality, with the bull “bleeding” and the bullfighter becoming the aggressor” (Pereda, Baker) . Not only is bullfighting in general described in a sexual manner and portrayed as "beautiful," but the bullfighter the group encounters, Romero, is also highly sexualized. Brett, the main symbol of sexuality in the novel so far, is fascinated by bullfighting and Romero. Her physical attraction to Romero gives tangible form to the sexuality of the bullfight. Furthermore, the festival of San Fermin can also be seen as a time of great debauchery and indulgence. The frequent drinking and promiscuity that occurs shows the inclination towards certain stimuli often considered unhealthy and indulgent. The emphasis on sex creates tension and discomfort among the male characters, who struggle with their masculinity. Bullfighting is similarly described as an inherently masculine sport. It originates from an ancient rite of passage for boys, symbolizing their evolution into young men. The strong and powerful bull is specifically a symbol of masculinity, and its opposite, the passive steer, is a symbol of de-masculinization. Throughout the.