“The Sun Also Rises”
In Jake Barnes’ mind, Brett was simply a fantasy, a star he could never quite reach. An unattainable beauty, one he could never fully be involved with. His embarrassing injury was like a double-ended sword; either way he would be hurt. Whether Brett or another girl took a liking to him and found out about his awkward wound, or if he tried to stay away from the opposite sex in fear of further embarrassment later on in a relationship. So he drank. And drank some more. His opulent habits of drinking and dancing the night away at Parisian cafés and bars seem to be the only things that let him forget about his dreary life, and his dreadful war wound. Maybe the drinking and revelry is a way for Jake to contradict his own dull life and the alcohol serves as an irrational activity that makes him feel unlike himself and helps him get away from the reality of his own existence.