As I was writing my response paper, I was surprised at how much Cohn reminds me of a puppy in The Sun Also Rises. In my paper, I mentioned that when Frances is giving him a piece of her mind, he just sits there and takes it like a puppy with its tail between its legs. I also see Cohn's behavior toward Brett as very puppy-like, but in a different way. With Brett, Cohn is an annoying puppy who is constantly begging for attention and trying to lick her face, whereas with Frances, he was more of a timid and shy puppy.
In both cases, Cohn's puppy-like behavior is not appreciated. Jake hates the way he takes Frances's criticism without sticking up for himself, and everybody hates the way Cohn follows Brett around as if he has possession of her. Now, I love dogs, but Cohn is loyal to Brett in a bad way. It is never really a compliment to tell someone they are like a dog, or that they follow someone around like a needy puppy, and Cohn is the perfect display for why being a "puppy" is not at all a good thing. Being a puppy is definitely not manly either; Cohn is not a big confident dog, although he may try to be. This exemplifies his puppy-like behavior, because in the same way kids look up to adults and try to be like them, puppies look up to older dogs and try to imitate them as well. Cohn's attempts at being loyal, friendly, and defensive of Brett are feeble, because he is like a puppy and is unable to be a dog, no matter how hard her tries.
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