Hemingways Heroe Essay Research Paper Hemingway

Hemingways Heroe Essay, Research Paper

Hemingway’s depiction of the traditional hero The Hemingway

Hero Prevalent among many of Ernest Hemingway’s novels is

the concept popularly known as the “Hemingway hero”, an

ideal character readily accepted by American readers as a

“man’s man”. In The Sun Also Rises, four different men are

compared and contrasted as they engage in some form of

relationship with Lady Brett Ashley, a near-nymphomaniac

Englishwoman who indulges in her passion for sex and

control. Brett plans to marry her fiancee for superficial

reasons, completely ruins one man emotionally and spiritually,

separates from another to preserve the idea of their

short-lived affair and to avoid self-destruction, and denies and

disgraces the only man whom she loves most dearly. All her

relationships occur in a period of months, as Brett either

accepts or rejects certain values or traits of each man. Brett,

as a dynamic and self-controlled woman, and her four love

interests help demonstrate Hemingway’s standard definition

of a man and/or masculinity. Each man Brett has a

relationship with in the novel possesses distinct qualities that

enable Hemingway to explore what it is to truly be a man. The

Hemingway man thus presented is a man of action, of

self-discipline and self-reliance, and of strength and courage

to confront all weaknesses, fears, failures, and even death.

Jake Barnes, as the narrator and supposed hero of the novel,

fell in love with Brett some years ago and is still powerfully

and uncontrollably in love with her. However, Jake is

unfortunately a casualty of the war, having been emasculated

in a freak accident. Still adjusting to his impotence at the

beginning of the novel, Jake has lost all power and desire to

have sex. Because of this, Jake and Brett cannot be lovers

and all attempts at a relationship that is sexually fulfilling are

simply futile. Brett is a passionate, lustful woman who is

driven by the most intimate and loving act two may share,

something that Jake just cannot provide her with. Jake’s

emasculation only puts the two in a grandly ironic situation.

Brett is an extremely passionate woman but is denied the first

man she feels true love and admiration for. Jake has loved

Brett for years and cannot have her because of his inability to

have sex. It is obvious that their love is mutual when Jake

tries to kiss Brett in their cab ride home: “‘You mustn’t. You

must know. I can’t stand it, that’s all. Oh darling, please

understand!’, ‘Don’t you love me.’, ‘Love you. I simply turn all

to jelly when you touch me’” (26, Ch. 4). This scene is

indicative of their relationship as Jake and Brett hopelessly

desire each other but realize the futility of further endeavors.

Together, they have both tried to defy reality, but failed. Jake

is frustrated by Brett’s reappearance into his life and her

confession that she is miserably unhappy. Jake asks Brett to

go off with him to the country for bit: “‘Couldn’t we go off in the

country for a while.’, ‘It wouldn’t be any good. I’ll go if you

like. But I couldn’t live quietly in the country. Not with my own

true love’, ‘I know’, ‘Isn’t it rotten. There isn’t any use my

telling you I love you’, ‘You know I love you’, ‘Let’s not talk.

Talking’s all bilge’” (55, Ch. 7). Brett declines Jake’s pointless

attempt at being together. Both Brett and Jake know that any

relationship beyond a friendship cannot be pursued. Jake is

still adjusting to his impotence while Brett will not sacrifice a

sexual relationship for the man she loves. Since Jake can

never be Brett’s lover, they are forced to create a new

relationship for themselves, perhaps one far more dangerous

than that of mere lovers – they have become best friends. This

presents a great difficulty for Jake, because Brett’s presence

is both pleasurable and agonizing for him. Brett constantly

reminds him of his handicap and thus Jake is challenged as a

man in the deepest, most personal sense possible. After the

departure of their first meeting, Jake feels miserable: “This

was Brett, that I had felt like crying about. Then I thought of

her walking up the street and of course in a little while I felt

like hell again” (34, Ch. 4). Lady Brett Ashley serves as a

challenge to a weakness Jake must confront. Since his war

experience, Jake has attempted to reshape the man he is and

the first step in doing this is to accept his impotence. Despite

Brett’s undeniable love for Jake, she is engaged to marry

another. Mike Campbell is Brett’s fiancee, her next planned

marriage after two already failed ones. Mike is ridiculously in

love with Brett and though she knows this she still decides to

marry him. In fact, Brett is only to marry Mike because she is

t

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