In this mainly transitional chapter, Hemingway again applies Joyce's stream-of-consciousness technique to drunken thought. Some of Jake's musings in this state concern the theme of "equal exchange"; intoxicated, he drifts into the misapprehension shared by other characters that "You gave up something and got something else" — then quickly snaps back to the knowledge that this is another "silly" philosophy. In an unguarded moment, Jake also admits to himself that he likes to see Mike hurt Cohn. "I wished he would not do it, though," Jake continues, "because afterward it made me disgusted with myself."
Surprisingly for someone thought to be the ultimate in macho, Hemingway was himself afraid of the dark and, thus, many of his protagonists were as well. In this case, it seems appropriate, considering Jake's quite understandable disinclination to be alone with himself.
