The Hemingway Hero Essay Research Paper The free essay sample

The Hemingway Hero Essay, Research Paper The Sun Besides Rises: Hemingway # 8217 ; s word picture of the traditional hero The Hemingway Hero Prevalent among many of Ernest Hemingway s novels is the conceptpopularly known as the Hemingway hero, an ideal character readilyaccepted by American readers as a adult male s adult male. In The Sun Besides Rises, four different work forces are compared and contrasted as they engage in someform of relationship with Lady Brett Ashley, a near-nymphomaniacEnglishwoman who indulges in her passion for sex and control. Brettplans to get married her bride-to-be for superficial grounds, wholly ruins oneman emotionally and spiritually, offprints from another to continue theidea of their ephemeral matter and to avoid suicide, anddenies and disgraces the lone adult male whom she loves most dearly. All herrelationships occur in a period of months, as Brett either accepts orrejects certain values or traits of each adult male. Brett, as a dynamic andself-controlled adult female, and her four love i nvolvements help demonstrateHemingway s standard definition of a adult male and/or maleness. Each manBrett has a relationship with in the fresh possesses distinct qualitiesthat enable Hemingway to research what it is to genuinely be a adult male. TheHemingway adult male therefore presented is a adult male of action, of self-discipline andself-reliance, and of strength and bravery to face all failings, frights, failures, and even decease. Jake Barnes, as the storyteller and supposed hero of the novel, fell inlove with Brett some old ages ago and is still strongly anduncontrollably in love with her. However, Jake is unluckily acasualty of the war, holding been emasculated in a freak accident. Stilladjusting to his powerlessness at the beginning of the novel, Jake has lostall power and desire to hold sex. Because of this, Jake and Brettcannot be lovers and all efforts at a relationship that is sexuallyfulfilling are merely ineffectual. Brett is a passionate, lubricious adult female whois driven by the most intimate and loving act two may portion, somethingthat Jake merely can non supply her with. Jake s emasculation merely putsthe two in a grandly dry state of affairs. Brett is an highly passionatewoman but is denied the first adult male she feels true love and admirationfor. Jake has loved Brett for old ages and can non hold her because of hisinability to hold sex. It is obvious that their love is common whenJake attempts to snog Brett in their cab drive place: You mustn t. Youmust know. I can t stand it, that s all. Oh favorite, pleaseunderstand! , Don T you love me? , Love you? I merely turn all tojelly when you touch me ( 26, Ch. 4 ) . This scene is declarative of theirrelationship as Jake and Brett hopelessly desire each other but realizethe futility of farther enterprises. Together, they have both tried todefy world, but failed. Jake is frustrated by Brett s reappearanceinto his life and her confession that she is miserably unhappy. Jakeasks Brett to travel off with him to the state for spot: Couldn t we gooff in the state for a piece? , It wouldn t be any good. I ll travel ifyou like. But I couldn t live softly in the state. Not with my owntrue love, I know, Isn t it rotten? There isn T any usage my tellingyou I love you, You know I love you, Let s non speak. Talking s allbilge ( 55, Ch. 7 ) . Brett diminutions Jake s pointless effort at beingtogether. Both Brett and Jake know that any relationship beyond afriendship can non be pursued. Jake is still seting to his impotencewhile Brett will non give a sexual relationship for the adult male sheloves. Since Jake can neer be Brett s lover, they are forced to make a newrelationship for themselves, possibly one far more unsafe than that ofmere lovers # 8211 ; they have become best friends. This presents a greatdifficulty for Jake, because Brett s presence is both enjoyable andagonizing for him. Brett invariably reminds him of his disability andthus Jake is challenged as a adult male in the deepest, most personal sensepossible. After the going of their first meeting, Jake feelsmis erable: This was Brett, that I had felt like shouting approximately. Then Ithought of her walking up the street and of class in a small while Ifelt like snake pit once more ( 34, Ch. 4 ) . Lady Brett Ashley serves as achallenge to a failing Jake must face. Since his war experience, Jake has attempted to reshape the adult male he is and the first measure in doingthis is to accept his powerlessness. Despite Brett s undeniable love for Jake, she is engaged to marryanother. Mike Campbell is Brett s bride-to-be, her following planned marriageafter two already failed 1s. Mike is laughably in love with Brettand though she knows this she still decides to get married him. In fact, Brett is merely to get married Mike because she is tired of floating and simplyneeds an ground tackle. Mike loves Brett but is non dependent on heraffection. Furthermore, he knows about and accepts Brett s brief affairswith other work forces: Mark you. Brett s had personal businesss with work forces before. Shetell s me all about everything ( 143, Ch. 13 ) . Mike appreciates Brett sbeauty, as do all the other males in the novel, but possibly this is asdeep as his love for her goes. In his first scene in the novel, Mikecannot halt commenting and arousing remarks on Brett s beauty: I sayBrett, you are a lovely piece. Don t you think she s beautiful? ( 79, Ch. 8 ) . He repeatedly proposes similar inquiries but does non do anyobservant or profound remarks on his wife-to-be. In fact, throughoutthe entireness of the novel, Mike continues this form, one time referringto Brett as merely a lovely, healthy dame as his most observantremark. Furthermore, Mike exhibits no self-denial when he becomesdrunk, doing insensitive statements that show his deficiency of respect forBrett and others. After Brett shows involvement in Pedro Romero, thebullfighter, Mike impolitely yells: Tell him bulls have no balls! Tell himBrett wants to see him set on those green bloomerss. Tell him Brett isdying to cognize how he ca n acquire into those bloomerss! ( 176, Ch. 16 ) . Inaddition, Mike can non contemplate the complexnesss of Brett and herrelationships: Brett s got a bull-fighter. She had a Jew named Cohn, but he turned out severely. Brett s got a bull-fighter. A beautiful, bloody bull-fighter ( 206, Ch. 18 ) . Despite Brett s brief matter withthe toreador, she will finally return to Mike who will no doubtopenly welcome her once more. Brett is a strong adult female, who can command mostmen, and Mike is no exclusion. She mistily simplifies theirrelationship when she explains to Jake that she plans to return to him: He s so blasted Nice and he s so atrocious. He s my kind of thing ( 243, Ch. 19 ) . Mike is non complex plenty to dispute Brett, but she does lout and make up ones mind to accept his simpleness anyways. Furthermore, despite hisengagement with Brett, Mike betrays Hemingway s ideal adult male. Although heis autonomous, Mike possesses small self-control or self-respect. Engaged to one adult m ale and in love with another, Brett demonstrates herdisregard for the 1920 s dual criterions. Very early in the beginningof the novel, she reveals to Jake that she had invited Robert Cohn to gowith her on a trip to San Sebastian. Cohn, a Judaic, middle-aged writerdisillusioned with his life in Paris, wants to get away to South Americawhere he envisions run intoing the coal black princesses he romanticized from abook. However, he can non carry Jake to attach to him and thencompletely forgets about this thought upon run intoing Brett. Cohn is instantly enamored with her beauty and falls in love with her: There s a certain quality about her, a certain finene ss. She seems tobe absolutely fine and straight (38, Ch. 5). Cohn is immature in hisidealization of Brett s beauty, as he falls in love at first sight .Furthermore, like an adolescent, he attempts to satisfy his curiosityabout Brett by asking Jake numerous questions about her. After Cohn and Brett s short-lived affair in San Sebastian, Cohn isnervous around Jake: Cohn had been rather nervous ever since we had metat Bayone. He did not know whether we knew Brett had been with him atSan Sebastian, and it made him rather awkward (94, Ch. 10). Moreover,Cohn is scared that when Brett appears she will embarrass him and so hedoes not have the maturity to behave appropriately in front of Jake andhis friend, Bill Gorton. Nonetheless, Cohn is proud of his affair withBrett and believes that this conquest makes him a hero. When Brettappears with her fiancee Mike, Cohn still believes that they aredestined for an ideal love despite her blatant coldness to him.However, it is apparent that Brett si mply used Cohn to satisfy hersexual cravings: He behaved rather well (83, Ch. 9). Cohn does notunderstand the triviality of their trip to San Sebastian in Brett s mindand has become dependent on her attention and affection. In his rampantdrunkenness, Mike blasts Cohn: What if Brett did sleep with you?She s slept with lots of better people than you. Tell me Robert,. Whydo you follow Brett around like a poor bloody steer? Don t you knowyou re not wanted? (143, Ch. 13). Cohn is like an adolescent, as hevainly ignores the truth and continues to love Brett: He could not stoplooking at Brett. It seemed to make him happy. It must have beenpleasant for him to see her looking so lovely, and know he had been awaywith her and that every one knew it. They couldn t take that away fromhim (146, Ch. 13). Cohn over-exaggerates the significance of hisaffair with Brett. He does not understand that Brett simply used himand that their brief relationship has no meaning to her. Moreover, Cohncannot condu ct himself with dignity and he intrudes upon people andplaces where he is obviously not wanted. Naively, Cohn dwells on the fact that he has slept with Brett andobsesses with her. When Brett begins to show signs of interest in PedroRomero, Cohn irrationally approaches Jake demanding to know Brett swhereabouts, punches him in the jaw, and then calls him a pimp (190-91,Ch. 17). Later that night he encounters Pedro and Brett together intheir hotel room. His actions of knocking Pedro down repeatedly untilhe eventually tires demonstrate a divergence from his character. Cohnfor the first time takes some action in what he feels, rather thanmerely thinking about it or complaining about it. However, despite hispersistence, Pedro does not remain down according to Mike: Thebull-fighter fellow was rather good. He didn t say much, but he keptgetting up and getting knocked down again. Cohn couldn t knock himout (202, Ch. 17). Eventually, Cohn gives up on this pursuit, isknocked twice by Pedro, an d loses his battle for Brett. These eventsshow that Cohn s boxing skills, a defense mechanism that he once used incollege, will no longer pull him out of rough situations. Cohn fails toshow the strength and courage needed to face the circumstances like aman. Pedro Romero, on the other hand, comes closest to the embodiment ofHemingway s hero. Brett is almost immediately enchanted by thishandsome, nineteen-year-old, a promising matador. Pedro, a fearlessfigure who frequently confronts death in his occupation, is not afraidin the bullring and controls the bulls like a master. Pedro is thefirst man since Jake who causes Brett to lose her self-control: Ican t help it. I m a goner now, anyway. Don t you see the difference?I ve got to do something. I ve got to do something I really want todo. I ve lost my self-respect (183, Ch. 16). In contrast, Pedromaintains his self-control in his first encounter with Brett: He feltthere was something between them. He must have felt it when Brett gavehi m her hand. He was being very careful (185, Ch. 16). Brett falls inlove with Pedro as a hero who promises new excitement. In the scenebetween Pedro and Cohn described previously, Pedro demonstrates hisconfidence and strong will. Knocked down time and time again, Pedrorises each time refusing to be beaten. His controlled and dignifieddemeanor in an unusual situation contrast sharply with Cohn s fear andweakness. Soon Pedro and Brett run off together but when he demands too much fromher, Brett asks him to leave. He was ashamed of me for a while, youknow. He wanted me to grow my hair out. He said it would make me morewomanly. In addition, Pedro really wanted to marry Brett because he wanted to make it sure [Brett] could never go away from him (242,Ch. 19). Pedro will not compromise his expectations for a woman andwill not accommodate Brett s character even though he loves her. In hisaffair with Brett, he has performed according to his rules and when hediscovers that his ideals are impo ssible for Brett to accept, he leaveswillingly. Pedro has been left untainted by Brett, sustaining hisstrong-willed, correct behavior. Moreover, Pedro leaves without sulkinglike Cohn or whining like Mike. Brett s acceptance or rejection of particular qualities in each of thefour men she becomes involved with help define Hemingway s male hero.Mike is not dependent on Brett but does not maintain his dignity andself-discipline in his drunken sloppiness. Cohn is a complaining, weak,accommodating adolescent who has little understanding of others orhimself. Pedro is the near perfect embodiment of strength, courage, andconfidence. Jake is the lesser version of this perfection as the heroof the novel. Hence, Hemingway s ideal hero is self-controlled,self-reliant, and fearless. He is a man of action and he does not,under any circumstances, compromise his beliefs or standards. Jake, as the supposed hero of the novel, is challenged by hisemasculation in the deepest sense possible, because the traditional waysin which masculinity are defined are insufficient and impossible forhim. Jake needs the strength and courage to confront his impotencebecause he has not yet adjusted to this weakness. It is ironic thatCohn, a character least like the Hemingway man, has slept with Brettwhile Jake will never be able to accomplish this feat. However, becauseCohn so inadequately fulfills the roles of a true man, Hemingway impliesthat the sexual conquest of a woman does not alone satisfy thedefinition of masculinity. Nevertheless, Jake fails to fulfill other requisites of the Hemingwayman as he deviates from his own ethical standards. Jake sees that Brettis mesmerized by Pedro s skillful control and extraordinary handsomenessand recognizes the possibility of furnishing her carnal desires with themost perfect specimen of manhood that he can offer in place of himself.Jake thus betrays the aficionados of Pamplona and the trust of along-time friend, Montoya, who fear that this rising star may be ruinedby women. Thus, regardless of his physical impotence, Jake s trueweakness is the impotence of his will and the supposed hero of the novelis flawed due to his failure to adhere to what he believes is right andwrong. Hemingway thus refrains from presenting a true hero in his novel. Withthe absence of a leading male ideal, Hemingway betrays the largersocio-cultural assumptions about men and masculinity and questions theconventional means in which they are defined in his society.