What A Lot of Bilge I Could Think Up at Night.

Jake is going crazy with his philosophy. And I'm going crazy trying to understand it. I feel like this passage may be the key to understanding the theme of this book. (I won't type out the entire passage, but it's on page 152-153 from "Women made..." to "...i went to sleep". ) I'm not very good at reading into things, but I am going to try to figure this out without any help.

In the first paragraph, Jake finally admits for real that he loves Brett: "...you had to be in love with a woman to have a basis of friendship I had been having Brett for a friend" (page 152). This is no surprise, but it's nice to have it official. Even though he had her as a friend, he wasn't really paying for it. And according to Jake everything that is enjoyed in life must be paid for in some fashion; "the bill always came" (page 152). So now the bill is here, and it's rotten. Michael. Michael is getting the girl. I still don't really understand how he didn't pay or what he didn't give in return or even what Brett gave to him, but I know he is regretting it now. But later on he tells us how we pay for thing: learning, experiencing, taking chances, or, the obvious, money. So anything in good in life we have to pay for. I'm taking a wild guess here in saying that Jake never actually took a chance with Brett. He loved her, but they were only friends. She could only wait so long. He never paid.

The lesson is simple (and stated) "Enjoying living was learning to get your money's worth an knowing when you had it" (page 152).
When experiencing good things in life, there is going to be a cost- don't give to little and don't give too much. Be aware and appreciate the things life is offering.

This entire passage is a great example of a stream of consciousness. Jake's inner workings are quite chaotic. And, again, we get to know Jake better through his offbeat thought tangents (aka indirect characterization).

Through His Everything.

Indirect Characterization. Anyone who has read this book knows which character is developed indirectly-Jake.
Every new character we meet is in a scene involving Jacob, so we see how people interact with him. The author also reveals Jake's character to us through his own thoughts and feeling-his narration.

Through Cohn:We see Jake's somewhat boring personality. He is uninspired by anything except for work. Take this conversation:
" 'Would you like to go to South America, Jake?' [Robert] asked."
"No."
"Why Not?"
"I don't know. I never wanted to go. Too expensive. You can see all the South Americans you want in Paris anyway" (page 17).
I mean seriously, how boring is that? But because Robert wants to stray away from his mundane life, Jacob's bland personality shines through.

Through Brett: Now we get to see Jake's sentimental side. "The street was dark again and I kissed her. Our lips were tight together ..." (page 33). After Brett is introduced, Jacob becomes an entirely different character. His tone completely changes when he is with Brett and he isn't just the cynical character we knew him to be.

The same thing happens through Frances. Because she confided in him about her problems with Robert, we know that he must scream "I'M A SENSITIVE GUY; COME TALK TO ME!". Even though it might make him really uncomfortable, it's just his aura. Now I know he really is a nice guy.

Finally, we can also learn a lot about Jacob's personality through his own thoughts.
"It is very important to discover graceful exits like that in the newspaper business..." (page 19). Cohn is really pessimistic about everything (except towards women); his work is his excuse out of almost everything fun. Even though he does tend to party ( a lot) he never seems to really enjoy himself. "I have to work in the morning,' I said. 'I'm too far behind you now to catch up and be any fun" (page 41).