14. The English are Pigs

There are a few references to the English being pigs in The Sun Also Rises. "'Damned English swine come here and insult Mike and try and spoil the fiesta.' 'They're so bloody,' Mike said. 'I hate the English'" (pg 192, Hemingway). So at this point in the novel Mike and Bill are not even referring to Brett, but it seems kind of ironic that Mike says he hates the English when that is his fiance's nationality. Then again, Mike knows that Brett is off with another guy (Romero) once again. This is not the first time Brett and pigs have been referred to together. On page 148, "'He calls her Circe,' Mike said. 'He claims she turns men into swine.'" Circe alludes to Greek mythology. She is the goddess who turned Odysseus' men into swine (wikipedia). I would not really say that the men are the swines, rather she is the swine because she fulfills her desires through different men. Ultimately, I think the above conversation between Bill and Mike refers to Brett more than the English men who caused trouble in the bar. It is just another device used by Hemingway to show that these characters were not interested in showing their true feelings.