The relationship between sex and power in literature is incredibly complex. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway features the main character Jake, who confronts the relationship between sex and power through his impotence, as well as his love for a woman. In comparison, James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room highlights the main character David confronting the relationship between sex and power through his closeted homosexuality as well as his infatuation with forcing himself to conform to heterosexual ideals. Jake and David depict various sexual situations in The Sun Also Rises and Giovanni's Room. In these situations, the underlying theme of sex that makes you powerless, and conversely, sex that makes you powerful, is illustrated between the characters and their texts. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayJake, the main character of The Sun Also Rises, carries the debilitating trait of impotence due to the loss of his penis during the war. His impotence is accompanied by a non-existent and totally impossible sex life. This makes Jake an interesting character, as his inability to have sex due to his lack of a suitable organ leaves him helpless. Jake's lack of power due to his helplessness is first seen during an encounter with a prostitute named Georgette where: "She looked up to be kissed. She touched me with one hand and I pulled her hand away… “What’s wrong?” Are you sick? ‘Yes’” (Hemingway 23). Very quickly we see Jake's sexual desire, but when the situation arises he is forced to stop by telling Georgette that he is sick. In a way, Jake is sick, not physically but mentally. His mental infatuation with sex must be secretly subdued by excuses rather than the truth, ultimately rendering Jake powerless to satisfy his desire for sex. Jake's helplessness is further elucidated during a meeting with his best friend Bill. Bill describes Jake's relationship between sex and power perfectly, stating, "You've lost touch with the ground...You're drinking yourself to death." You become obsessed with sex” (Hemingway 120). As Bill describes it, Jake gave in to his helplessness. Due to the fact that he cannot have sex, he has become impotent, losing contact with normal life and drinking himself into an alarming state. However, it is the memory of Jake's hospitalization that truly shows his loss of power, as he remembers 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 has, as the Colonel explains, lost more than his life, leaving him sexually isolated and therefore powerless. the woman he loves, Brett. Due to his impotence, Jake is unable to have sex with Brett, which in many cases gives him great power over Jake as he 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 disappeared." I thought about Brett and my mind stopped jumping and started moving in gentle waves. Then all of a sudden I started crying” (Hemingway 39). Jake is overcome by the loneliness he feels at night without Brett by his side. He can't please her sexually, so she can't be with him, which establishes Jake as helpless and out of control of his emotions. Lack of ability to have an intimate relationshipand sexual activity with Brett, forcing Jake into impotence, is also seen in cases where Jake helps Brett with other men. These cases seriously disturb Jake, as he claims right after writing a telegram to Brett: “That was it. Send a girl with one man. Introduce her to another to leave with him. Now go 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 her actions, but also by the fact that he cannot satisfy her himself. Helpless and unable to please Brett, Jake is completely powerless against the aura of sex that reigns in his life. Throughout Giovanni's Room, the main character, David, confronts the relationship between sex and power due to his determination to be sexually attracted to women. while honestly being a gay man. David often finds himself helpless as he gives in to his homosexual desires. David’s first homosexual encounter with a boy named Joey sparked many revealing feelings, as David describes: “…we gave each other joy that night. It seemed to me then that a lifetime would not be long enough for me to perform an act of love with Joey” (Baldwin 8). From this it becomes clear that David is homosexual, but only the next day David is ashamed, claiming: "...my own body suddenly seemed gross and overwhelming and the desire that rose within me seemed monstrous." But above all, I was suddenly afraid. It occurred to me: But Joey is a boy” (Baldwin 9). This sexual encounter frightened David, because he fundamentally refused to openly acknowledge his homosexuality. Ultimately, David realizes that when he first had sex with a man, "the power and promise and mystery of this body suddenly scared me." This body suddenly appeared to me 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). Homosexual intercourse forced David to experience a plethora of mixed 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 is in turn completely impotent. David's infatuation with forcing himself to be sexually attracted to women reinforces the sexual relationship, rendering us helpless in Giovanni's bedroom. In one particular case, David “…wanted to find a girl, any girl” (Baldwin 95). David longs to prove to himself that he is not homosexual, which leads him to find a woman to have relations with. Eventually, David finds what he was looking for with a woman named Sue, and with their arrival at her home, he grimly recounts, "I felt a hardness and constriction in her... What we were going to do would not be not pretty” ( Baudouin 99). David knows it's not what he really wants, but he'll force himself to do it just to get a glimmer of the potential power he associates with heterosexual sex. Nevertheless, while making love, David realizes: "...somewhere deep inside...my fears were excessive and unfounded and, in fact, a lie: it was becoming clearer with each moment that what I had was afraid had nothing to do with my body” (Baldwin 100). While making love, David realized he couldn't change who he really was. It's not his body that can be shaped into a straight man. Thus, David is constrained by the fact that his mind desires the power of being heterosexual. As a result, his hope that sex with a woman would allow him to feel the power he associates with heterosexual sex was abruptly shattered.arrested. Rather, David relates to the apprehension that "Sue was not Hella and she did not lessen my terror...she increased it, she made it more real than it was." before” (Baldwin, 100). This encounter is monumental for David, because it aroused in him a great fear of the truth. More importantly, David's relationship with Sue forced him to distinguish that the relationship between his obsession with being heterosexual, particularly sexual intercourse, and the power he associates with this ideal, has left him powerless. Although The Sun Also Rises and Giovanni's Room often depict the relationship between sex and power forcing Jake and David into impotence, through both characters it is clear that sex can also make either of them powerful. Given that Jake sometimes tries to convince himself that even without sex he holds power, this notion of power in The Sun Also Rises is subtle. This example occurs at the conclusion of the book, while Jake and Brett are taking a taxi ride together, when Brett suggests, "'Oh, Jake...we could have had such a good time together'" (Hemingway 251). Typically, Jake would plead for love and exclusivity, or even let his emotions overwhelm him and collapse. However, Jake does the opposite, stating, "'Yes...Isn't it lovely to think so?' » (Hemingway 251). Jake's response is brutally honest, depicting a lack of emotional connections that was not observed throughout the text. This simple statement speaks volumes about the power Jake gained from letting go of sex, especially with Brett, as his obsession. With his new outlook, it is clear that Jake no longer yearns for an intimate relationship with Brett, as he ultimately refuses to let his helplessness and sexual desire for her define his life, granting him significant power. The relationship between sex and power, which allows everyone to be powerful, is propelled further in Giovanni's Room. A form of this is evident when David and Giovanni move in together, as David reflects: “Time flowed indifferently above us; the hours and days had no meaning. At first our life together contained a joy and amazement that grew daily” (Baldwin 75). With newfound love and unity alongside Giovanni, David is comfortable in his intimate homosexual relationship. As ease and happiness are rare in David, this shows a great level of power that the sexual relationship has given him at this point. David lives without fear of Hella, societal norms, and his preoccupation with heterosexuality. Even if it's only for a brief moment, David clearly describes sex as making him feel powerful. David's power is further illustrated 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: "... blinded by alcohol and sinister with desire, I climbed the stairs of a dark hotel in the company of a sailor... We spent the next day together, and the next… we stayed drinking together in a crowded bar” (Baldwin 162). It is in this gay bar that Hella discovers the truth, but rather than asking for forgiveness, David simply states, “'Well…now you know'” (Baldwin 162). David is careless in saying this, realizing that who he really is trumps his now-old infatuation with heterosexual intimacy. After the subsequent fallout of the truth, David recounts: "And finally, I go out in the morning... where a few people are standing... They are alive under the waking sky... The morning weighs on my shoulders with the terrible weight of hope” (Baldwin 169). David finally found a glimmer of hope. He is no longer powerless in the face of sexual confusion, but is inevitably powerful in liberation.