The relationship between sex and power in literature is incredibly complex. The Sun Rises by Ernest Hemingway also features Jake as its protagonist, who addresses the relationship between sex and power through his impotence and his love for a woman. In comparison, Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, highlights the main character David as he addresses the relationship between sex and power through his hidden homosexuality along with his infatuation with forcing himself to conform to heterosexual ideals. Both Jake and David portray different sexual situations within The Sun Also Rises and Giovanni's Room. In these situations, the overlying theme of sex making one powerless and, conversely, sex making one powerful, is exemplified among the characters and their texts. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Jake, the main character of The Sun Also Rises, carries the debilitating trait of impotence due to the loss of his penis in the war. With his impotence comes a non-existent and absolutely impossible sex life. This makes Jake an interesting character, as his inability to be able to have sexual intercourse due to the lack of the proper organ leaves him impotent. Jake’s lack of power due to his impotence is first seen in an encounter with a prostitute named Georgette where: “She looked up to be kissed. He touched me with his hand and I took it away... 'What's happening? Are you sick?' 'Yes'” (Hemingway 23). We immediately see Jake's desire for sex, but when the situation arises, he is forced to stop, telling Georgette that he is sick. In a way Jake is sick, not in health but in mind. His mental infatuation with sexual intercourse must be secretly tamed with excuses, rather than the truth, ultimately rendering Jake unable to satisfy his desire for sexual intercourse. Jake's helplessness is further clarified in an encounter with his best friend Bill. Bill describes Jake's relationship between sex and power perfectly, stating, “You've lost touch with the land… You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed with sex” (Hemingway 120). As Bill describes, Jake has succumbed to his helplessness. Due to the fact that he cannot have sex, he has become impotent, losing touch with normal life and drinking to an alarming state. However, it is Jake's memory of hospitalization that truly shows his loss of power, as he recalls a colonel explaining to him, "'You, a foreigner, an Englishman'... 'have given more than your life'" (Hemingway 39). This example shows how important the penis is to Jake, let alone any man. The penis signifies virility and sexual freedom, and without it Jake, as the Colonel explained, has lost more than his life, leaving him sexually isolated and therefore impotent. Sex and helplessness are further seen in The Sun Also Rises between Jake and the woman he loves, Brett. Due to his impotence, Jake is unable to have sex with Brett, giving her in many cases great power over Jake as she cannot produce love through a sexual aspect. Jake's lack of power constantly agitates him, for example one night alone he reveals: “...I started thinking about Brett and everything else went away. I was thinking about Brett and my mind stopped jumping and started moving in sort of smooth waves. Then suddenly I began to cry” (Hemingway 39). Jake is overwhelmed by the loneliness he feels at night without Brett by his side. He cannot satisfy her sexually, so she cannot be with him, making Jake helpless and out of control of his emotions. The lack of ability to have an intimate relationship andsexual with Brett, forcing Jake helpless, is further seen in cases where Jake helps Brett with other men. These cases seriously disturb Jake, as he states immediately after writing a telegram to Brett: “It was like this. Send a girl away with a man. Introduce you to another to go away with him. Now go and bring her back. And sign the thread with love. Everything was fine” (Hemingway 243). After a repetitive cycle of introducing Brett to men she can have sex with, he has become disgusted not only by his actions, but by the fact that he cannot satisfy her himself. With helplessness and no ability to please Brett, Jake is completely helpless in the face of the aura of sex in his life. In Giovanni's Room the main character David confronts the relationship between sex and power as a result of his determination to be sexually attracted to women. despite being sincerely a homosexual man. David is often left helpless by giving in to his homosexual desires. David's first homosexual encounter with a boy named Joey sparked many enlightening feelings, as David describes: “…we brought joy to each other that night. It seemed, therefore, that one lifetime would not be enough to perform the act of love with Joey” (Baldwin 8). From this it is clear that David is a homosexual, but only the next morning does David feel ashamed, stating: “…my body suddenly seemed gross and oppressive and the desire that was growing in me seemed monstrous. But above all, suddenly, I was afraid. It occurred to me: But Joey is a boy” (Baldwin 9). This sexual encounter has David scared, as he essentially refuses to openly acknowledge his homosexuality. Eventually, David realizes that the first time he had sex with a male, “The power and promise and mystery of that body suddenly scared me. That body suddenly seemed like the black opening of a cave in which I would be tortured to the point of madness, in which I would lose my virility” (Baldwin 9). The homosexual relationship forced David to experience a series of conflicting emotions. David realizes that he is homosexual, but the literal sexual act has led him to conclude that by giving in to his homosexual desires he has lost his virility and, in turn, has been left entirely impotent. David's infatuation with forcing himself to be sexually attracted to women furthers the sexual relationship by making him impotent in John's Room. In one case David, “…wanted to find a girl, any girl” (Baldwin 95). David longs to prove to himself that he is not homosexual, which leads to his desire to find a woman to have intercourse with. Eventually, David finds what he's been looking for with a woman named Sue, and with their arrival at his home, he darkly communicates: "I felt a hardness and a constriction in her... What we were about to do wasn't going to be nice " (Baldwin 99). David knows that this is not what he truly wants, yet he will force himself to do it just for a glimpse of the potential power he associates with heterosexual intercourse. However, while having sex, David realizes: “… somewhere deep inside me… my fears were excessive and unfounded and, in fact, a lie: it became clearer every moment that what I had I was afraid it had nothing to do with my body” (Baldwin 100). While having sex, David realizes that he cannot change who he really is. It's not his body that can be molded into a straight man. Therefore, David is forced by the fact that his mind desires the power of being heterosexual. Therefore, his hope that sex with a woman would allow him to feel the power he associates with heterosexual intercourse came to an abrupt halt. Rather, David is tied to the trepidation that "Sue was not Hella and has not diminishedmy terror... increased it, made it more real than it was before" (Baldwin, 100). This encounter is monumental for David, as it has aroused in him a great fear of the truth. More importantly, i David's relationships with Sue have forced him to distinguish that the relationship between his obsession with being heterosexual, especially intercourse, and the power he associates with this ideal, has left him powerless. Although both The Sun Also Rises and Giovanni's Room often represent the relationship between sex and power make both Jake and David powerless, through the two characters it is clear that even sex can make one powerful. Due to the fact that Jake, at times, tries to convince himself that even without sex he holds power, this notion of power within The Sun Also Rises is subtle. so much together'” (Hemingway 251). Typically, Jake asked for love and exclusivity, or even let his emotions overwhelm him and collapse. However, Jake does just the opposite, stating, “‘Yes…isn't it nice to think so?’” (Hemingway 251). Jake's response is brutally honest and describes a lack of emotional connection that isn't seen throughout the text. This simple statement speaks volumes about the power Jake has gained by giving up sex, particularly with Brett, as his obsession. With his new perspective, it's clear that Jake no longer desires an intimate relationship with Brett, as he finally refuses to let his helplessness and sexual desire for her define his life, giving him a significant amount of power. of the relationship between sex and power as allowing someone to be powerful is pushed further into Giovanni's Room. One form of this is evident when David and John settle down together, as David reflects that: “Time passed indifferently upon us; hours and days had no meaning. At the beginning our coexistence contained a joy and amazement that arose every day” (Baldwin 75). With newfound love and unity alongside Giovanni, David is comfortable with his intimate same-sex relationship. Since peace of mind and happiness are rare where David is concerned, this demonstrates a great level of power that the sexual relationship has given him at this point. David lives without fear of Hella, social norms, and his preoccupation with heterosexuality. Even if only for a brief moment, David clearly describes sex as a way to feel powerful. David's power is further exemplified in a moment of honesty, much like Jake had with Brett. Blinded by Hella's return, David finds himself a slave to his sexuality, as he recounts, “... blind with alcohol and dark with lust, I climbed the stairs of a dark hotel in the company of a sailor... We spent the next day together , and then… we were drinking together in a crowded bar” (Baldwin 162). It is at this gay bar that Hella discovers the truth, but instead of begging for forgiveness, David simply states, "'Well...now you know'" (Baldwin 162). David is reckless in saying this, realizing that who he truly is surpasses his now former infatuation with heterosexual intimacy. After the subsequent consequences of the truth, David recounts: "And finally I go out into the morning... where some people stand... They are vivid under the awakening sky... The morning weighs on my shoulders with the terrible weight of hope ” (Baldwin 169). David has finally found a glimmer of hope. He is no longer powerless in the face of sexual confusion, rather he is inescapably powerful in liberation from a life obsessed with imposing society's idea of ​​sex upon himself while eschewing the desired form of sex..