Hemingway and the
“Code Hero”
Code
Hero
Hemingway
Set the Stage
• The time is post-WWI.
• Many people have called all of their value
systems into question.
– Security of family
– Belief in one’s country, faith, or God
• Old schools of Western thought and Christian
beliefs had still failed to stop the catastrophe that
was WWI.
• This was the time author Gertrude Stein called
“The Lost Generation.”
“The Lost Generation”
• Many writers found these post-WWI years
to be without meaning.
• It was during this time that Hemingway
crafted what is now known as the “Code
Hero.”
– This was a term coined by scholar Philip
Young.
Who are the heroes?
• Who are some famous heroes in movies?
Turn to the person next to you.
Take turns back and forth naming movie
heroes.
Number One Answer?
• Be Honest…
…it was Atticus Finch, wasn’t it?
http://www.filmsite.org/afi100heroesvilla.html
So what is the Code Hero?
• According to Phillip Young, the code hero
is one who can:
– “offer up and exemplify certain principles of
honor and courage which, in a life of tension
and pain, make a man a man and distinguish
him from the people who follow random
impulses [...] and are [...] perhaps cowardly,
and without inviolable rules for how to live
holding tight.”
Let’s Break It Down
• Code Hero Basics:
– Usually masculine (with Hemingway – always
masculine)
– Hard drinking – but never sloppy
– Loves hunting, sports, bullfights
– Doesn’t show emotions.
– Often has a war injury or some other physical or
psychological wound.
– Honest and keeps promises.
• Sound familiar?
– What about Hemingway himself?
Discipline and Death
• Hemingway discards ideas of “bravery,”
“courage,” etc., claiming that they are too
abstract.
– A man can be “courageous” in war but this does not
mean he is courageous in all endeavors.
• Hemingway instead searches for absolute
values – constants in everyday of every week.
• A code hero faces death with dignity, enduring
physical and emotional pain in silence.
Why “Code?”
• The code hero is not just any Hemingway
hero.
– A hero is a living breathing character that is
essential to the story’s progression and
development.
• The code hero represents an ideal that
heroes try to live up to.
– Not just any “save the day” type hero
Win or Lose?
• Often times the code hero may be physically
defeated in the story.
– However, he doesn’t lose.
• The code hero’s victory is a moral victory.
• The best example: Rocky
– Although Rocky loses the fight to
Apollo Creed, he was able to go 12
rounds with the champion – losing the
fight, but never giving up
– “Went the distance”
Time For Spanish Review
• How many people are in Spanish class
right now?
– And you thought it would never pay off…
• What does “nada”
mean?
– “Nothing”
The Nada Concept
• Along with facing death and adhering to a
strict discipline, the Nada concept is
something that the code hero is also
known for.
• Nada = no external source outside of
oneself can provide meaning or purpose.
– Includes facing death without hope of an
afterlife
• Considered braver than cowering behind “false”
religious hopes (remember – bravery in all aspects
of life, not just some.
Nada and Night
• Night is a difficult time for the code hero
because night implies the utter darkness
that all men must face after death.
• Therefore, most code heroes are either
afraid of the dark or avoid night by
drinking, carousing, or staying awake.
– It seems backwards, but by sleeping the hero
succumbs to night time.
To sum it all up…
• After hearing all of this, can we think of
anyone in movies or literature who best fits
the role of a “code hero?”
• My answer:
– James Bond
Any Questions?