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Ernest Hemingway Code Hero Analysis

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Ernest Hemingway is known for his signature protagonist, which has been dubbed “the code hero”. The code hero is very unemotional, or at least does not project his feelings upon other people, as that is seen as a sign of weakness. The code hero drinks alcohol to excess, but is rarely seen drunk. His life is centered around the idea that there is no afterlife. This causes him to avoid sleeping in the nighttime hours, as sleep in the cousin of death. The code hero has also bypassed what is considered to be the acceptable moral compass. Morality and idealism is thought to be too superficial. The use of such characters became quite popular with Hemingway’s audience at the time, which can be referred to as “the lost generation”. Many people at this time, the 1920’s, felt as if there was no use in dabbling with the question of right and wrong as it seemed to be too obscure in the wake of the first world war. People of the lost generation were essentially wanderers, looking for something in life to hold their hat on. Jake Barnes, in The Sun Also Rises, is very much a part of the lost generation; which makes him a true code hero because of his constant drinking, his disbelief in morality, and the fact that he generally does not project his emotions on others, no matter how deep they may be rooted within him.
Jake Barnes has lost a sense of purpose, as he was made impotent by an injury he sustained while fighting in World War I. Jake’s whole life is centered around his misery in that he is unable to perform such an innate task. Everywhere he turns, he is reminded of this shortcoming. Although he has friends, he is utterly lonely and badly yearns for a connection with a woman. Jake even enjoys dining with a prostitute, as he misses the small delicacies of dating. Unfortunately, he is quickly reminded, yet again, that he is not normal, and his need for romance will die in vain. Jake Barnes drinks continuously in order to cope with the pain that he is plagued with in day to day life. Like a true code hero, though, he is rarely seen drunk, as this would be seen as a lack of discipline. Moreover, it is a sign of weakness. With the presence of alcohol, it is easier to feel less, as liquor is able to work as a numbing

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