Jake and Bill wait for quite a while for a seat at a restaurant that’s become popular with Americans. As they leave, Jake says “Too many compatriots,” immediately prior to his observation that a neighborhood is being razed to accommodate those “compatriots,” American tourists and expatriates. Jake and others like him are disrupting life in the old world, spurring progress that’s destroying the past.
The Sun Also Rises – 5
The Sun Also Rises – 10
When Jake sees the young bullfighter, Pedro Romero, he thinks, “He was the best-looking boy I have ever seen.” This description could make Romero a representative of the natural world that is being threatened by the encroachment of Jake and other American expatriates. Romero represents something from the Old World that is beautiful, strong and natural, but Jake and his friends seem to represent something that is overly-civilized and decadent, in keeping with Bill’s description of expatriates.