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Ernest Hemingway Code Hero Analysis

Decent Essays
A code hero is a term coined by Ernest Hemingway through his writing during the modernism timeframe. A code hero is a character who exhibits grace under pressure, matures throughout a novel, and fears death, but is not afraid to face it. In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway uses Jake Barnes to exemplify a code hero. Barnes is veteran of World War I who has to face life with the affliction the war left him with. This affliction left Barnes impotent and, in turn, incapable of having a romantic life with Brett Ashley. The war left a scar on the generation who saw the abhorrence man committed to one another and caused them to reject the idea of romance. Jake Barnes is the epitome of a code hero because he matures throughout The Sun Also Rises and finds contentment with his life. Jake Barnes is a journalist who lives in Paris, Barnes is in love with Brett Ashley but can never have a relationship with her because the war has left him impotent. Lady Ashley has control over Barnes, and he is willing to do anything for her. The reason Lady Ashley keeps Barnes along is because he is no threat to her. Brett knows Jake is too emotionally attached to leave her, but he cannot be intimate, therefore Jake could not hurt her. Robert Cohn is a Jewish man who Jake dislikes, Cohn never witnessed the war and believes in romance and codes. Jake is stuck in the same routine in Paris in which Brett uses him emotionally, and Cohn annoys him. Barnes takes a yearly trip to Pamplona to watch the Running
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