Definition of Hero: Hemingway’s Concept of Heroism in The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway lived at a time after the First World War; he was a part of the "Lost Generation." Youthful and impressionable, these people were immersed headlong into the furious medley of death and devastation. By the time the war ended, many found that they could no longer accept what now seemed to be pretentious and contradictory moral standards of nations that could be capable of such atrocities. Some were able to brush off the pain and confusion enough to get on with their lives.

Others simply found themselves incapable of existing under their country's thin fa ade of virtuousness and went abroad, searching for some sense of identity or meaning. These self-exiled expatriates were popularly known as the "Lost Generation" a term credited to Gertrude Stein. Many of these individuals tended to settle in Paris, a suitable conduit through which to pursue their new lifestyle. Content to drift through life, desperately seeking some sort of personal redemption through various forms of indulgence, these people abandoned their old value system and heroes, only to find difficulty in finding new ones.

A great deal of new literature was spawned in an effort to capture the attitudes and feelings of such individuals to reinvent a model of sorts for a people sorely lacking any satisfactory standard to follow. At the forefront of these writers was Ernest Hemingway, whose novel, The Sun Also Rises, became just such a model, complete with Hemingway's own definition of heroism. Many of the characters in the novel represent the popular stereotype of the post World War I expatriate Parisian: wanton and wild, with no real goals or ambitions. Mike Campbell, Robert Cohn, and Lady Brett Ashley, and even the protagonist Jake Barnes all demonstrate some or all of the aforementioned qualities throughout the novel.

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All seem perfectly content to exist in their own oblivious microcosm, complete with their own 'unique' set of moral values. While the qualities of these characters dominate, to an extent, the flow of the novel, it is important to acknowledge their contrast to Jake and the bullfighter, Pedro Romero. Unlike the others, these two characters serve as heroic figures, albeit each in a very different way. Jake is a truly realistic protagonist. Like his friends, Jake is a victim of many of the same circumstances. The difference is that Jake does not let his emotional turmoil corrupt his life to the same extent as the others.

Unlike the other expatriates, he has not completely rejected all of the old values of the pre-World War I era. For example, while Jake seems to be having difficulty in completely accepting his religion, he still tries to grasp on to it, though perhaps a little fearful that his handhold will break if he grasps too tightly: "Listen, Jake,' he said, 'are you really a Catholic?' 'Technically.' 'What does that mean?' 'I don't know." (128-129). Along with this emotional baggage, Jake also has a physical defect in the form of a wound he suffered in the war, which has rendered him sexually impotent.

Despite the way in which his injury thwarts his relationship with Brett, Jake accepts his situation with a great deal of integrity, despite the scathing pain of his unfulfilled love. As is consistent with the realistically human portrayal of Jake's character, his role as a heroic figure is stifled somewhat by the constraints of society. Rather than exhibiting gallant feats of bravery consistent with the romantic definition of a hero, Jake's valiance is displayed in a subtler, less tangible manner. By displaying the virtues of tolerance, honesty, patience and understanding, Jake proves himself to be as much of an heroic figure as can reasonably be expected in the real world under conventional circumstances. Jake's maturity and understanding of the limitations of modern society is shown particularly in his remark: "Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull- fighters." (18).

Pedro Romero truly is set apart significantly from the others. Virtually flawless, this young man lives in the world of the matador: a world immune from the constraints of civilization. When Romero is in the bullring, he is able to transcend the confines of the modern world. He truly becomes the closest approximation to the classic definition of a romance hero, perhaps even to mythical proportions. To the crowd, he is not just a man; he is Theseus slaying the Minotaur. Romero demonstrates all the ideal qualities of masculinity. He is youthful, handsome, skilled, courageous, and passionate.

Even outside the boundaries of the bullring that provide a stage for such daring feats, Romero seems to still carry something with him that sets him above a normal man. When Jake is introduced to the young bullfighter, he sees this immediately: The boy stood very straight and unsmiling in his bull-fighting clothes. His jacket hung over the back of a chair. They were just finishing winding his sash. His black hair shone under the electric light. He wore a white linen shirt and stepped back. Pedro Romero nodded, seeming very far away and dignified when we shook hands. Montoya said something about what great aficionados we were Romero listened very seriously. Then he turned to me. He was the best-looking boy I have ever seen. (166-167).

It is evident that Romero's qualities are not just mere illusions induced by his occupation. The boy seems also to reflect Jake's best characteristics. He is not arrogant or pompous; he is dignified, courteous, and gracious. Truly, Romero is the epitome of the missing icon of this Lost Generation. Seemingly immaculate in all aspects, both physical and spiritual, the bullfighter certainly makes an impression on the group. While Jake is impressed with the young Pedro, Brett is completely enraptured. Her fascination goes deeper than the man's looks, though. In Romero, Brett envisions a possible solution to her hopeless search. From the stands of the arena, she sees her Holy Grail glistening in full splendor in the Pamplona sun.

The illusion does not last long for Brett. After finally obtaining her prize, she finds it sorely lacking in that Romero turns out to be a mere mortal after all. An interesting parallel can be drawn between Romero's failure to live up to Brett's impossible expectations and his predecessor, Belmonte's failure to live up to the crowd's: When he retired the legend grew up about how his bull-fighting had been, and when he came out of retirement the public were disappointed because no real man could work as close to the bulls as Belmonte was supposed to have done, not, of course, even Belmonte. (218)

The others are not oblivious to the power of Romero's presence nor to its effect on Brett. Mike is quick to recognize the threat that Romero presents and he shows it, but only through a veil of humorous intent: "I believe, you know, that she's falling in love with this bullfighter chap,' Mike said. 'I wouldn't be surprised.' 'Be a good chap, Jake. Don't tell her anything more about him. Tell her how they beat their poor old mothers."" (172). Just as Jake finds his ability to be heroic limited by the standards of the civilized world, Mike knows that these subtle protestations are about the extent of what he can do to keep Brett.

As painful as it is for him, Mike gracefully steps back, as Brett pursues her new love. Robert Cohn also sees Romero in much the same way as the others. The bullfighter represents to Cohn, perhaps more than anyone else, the ideal man. Cohn sees in Romero all the things that he finds lacking in himself, and consequently becomes extremely jealous, especially when he sees Brett's fascination with the young man. While Romero's heroic feats continually produce praise, Cohn's own attempts at chivalry and courage end up in his making a fool of himself: (Jake) 'Oh, go to hell.' He stood up from the table his face white, and stood there white and angry behind the little plates of hors d'oervres.

'Sit down,' I said. 'Don't be a fool.' 'You've got to take that back.' 'Oh, cut out the prep-school stuff."Take it back' 'Oh, don't go to hell,' I said. 'Stick around. We're just starting lunch.' Cohn smiled again and sat down. He seemed glad to sit down. (47). Even Cohn's final desperate attempt at proving himself completely backfires. While pummeling Romero repeatedly in a jealous rage, he unwittingly provides the bullfighter with an opportunity to prove himself to be even more courageous in everyone's eyes especially Brett's. It is only after this final humiliation that Cohn desists in his pathetic, pseudo- chivalrous pursuit of Brett and retreats back to Paris, an utterly defeated man.

Despite the grandeur of the bullfight, it is important to recognize that it is little more than an escape from the trappings of real life. Just like Belmonte before him, Romero is eventually destined to deteriorate, and to be faced with an outside world that has no room for chivalry (as Robert Cohn found out). When this happens, it can be assumed that Jake Barnes will continue as before: confident and self-assured, with a clear understanding and acceptance of his limitations.

Jake is Hemingway's hero for a new age in which the old standards of chivalry and romanticism are utterly dead. Brett understands this partially, and demonstrates so by her inability to completely fall out of love with him, but she is still driven on by a promise of something more: something that she saw, if only fleetingly, in the young Pedro Romero, something that only exists in legends, storybooks and bullrings.

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