BACKGROUND INFORMATION: HEMINGWAY'S "CODE HERO"

There is a great deal of information here, but take the moment to at least scan through it once, and then when you are ready to argue your case for blog entry #2, you might be able to reference a piece or two of this. This information MIGHT also help you with your essay.

When Hemingway's novels first began to appear, they were readily accepted by the American reading public. Part of the allure was that he had created a new type of character whose response to life appealed very strongly to the people of the 1920's. The "Hemingway man" in the novels was the stereotypical "man's man." He participated in wild game hunting, enjoyed things like bullfights, did a lot of drinking, and even moved from one love affair to the next. In short, this type of character was involved in activities that the typical American male did not participate in. Eventually, the "code hero" began to evolve from this premise. The formation of this "code hero," though, lies in the disillusionment that was brought about by World War I. Many sensitive men and women came to the realization that the concepts and values that were a part of Christiantity and other ethical systems of the Western world had not served to save mankind from the catastrophe of WWI. Consequently, after the war, many writers began to look for a new system of values that could replace the old ones that proved to be useless (in their opinion). Hemingway was one of these writers. He searced for some principles based upon a sense of ORDER and DISCIPLINE that would endure in any situation. His values that he instilled in his writing through this "code hero" character were not Christian ones and are not the morals that many have grown accustomed to in the 20th Century.

There are essentially 5 characteristics of the Hemingway "Code Hero." Most of these are formulated around the code hero's view of death, and it is important to note that not ALL of these characteristics may be exhibited by the code hero in one of Hemingway's novels. So in Santiago's case, pay attention to which ones really help shape him and make him fall into this categorization.


1. They hold a concept of belief that nothing exists beyond death. When you are dead, you are dead. There is nothing more. Therefore, if a man cannot accept a life of reward after death, or death ends all knowledge and consciousness, man must seek his reward here, now, and immediately. It becomes the duty and the obligation of the Hemingway code hero to avoid death at all cost. Life is everything. Death is nothing.


2. The code hero will avoid nighttime (when possible). Night is difficult for the code hero because night itself implies or symbolizes the utter darkness that man will have to face after death.


3. The code hero has self-discipline. Hemingway rejects abstract qualities like courage, honesty, and bravery because those are not absolute valutes which will be the same or at least constant at every moment of every day all year. You can be courageous in one battle, for example, but lack courageousness during the next one. The only value that he felt would serve man is an innate sense of self-discipline. If a man has discipline to face one thing one day, he will still possess that same degree of discipline on another day in another situation.


4. The code hero has some degree of skill.


5. The code hero possesses loyalty (and often feels intense loyalty for a small group of people). Hopefully, this background may prove useful to you in your comments.