Hemingway's Heroes
Although Ernest Hemingway's heroes have different names they are fundamentally the same person, drawing from the same traumatizing experiences. However emotionally disturbed, Hemingway's heroes always seem to have some hope guiding them into the future. Their characteristics are all very similar, and the characters often seem to blend seamlessly into each other. Hemingway leaves the reader no clues about which characters are which, or the significance of their names. Little information is blatantly given to the reader concerning Hemingway's characters. Much information must be deduced. Through deduction Hemingway's hero character can be seen as a whole, his strengths, his weaknesses, and his personality. Hemingway's heroes often act in a similar manner. They are intrigued and obsessed with ritualistic order. In "Big Two-Hearted River: part I" Nick sets up his camp in distinct order. After his camp is set up he proceeds to cook and eat his dinner with the same distinct order. Harry Krebs in "Soldiers Home" is also infatuated with order. He is very interested in the order of patterns. "They were such a nice pattern. He liked the pattern. It was exciting" comments Harry about the girls fashio
Another trait shared by most of Hemingway's heroes is the ability to choke thoughts, usually about something upsetting or unpleasant. Nick in "Big Two-Hearted River: part I" uses sleep to extinguish his unpleasant thoughts. However, Nick in "The Three-day Blow" suppresses his thoughts chemically. He uses alcohol and denial to avoid thinking about his troubled relationship. The real exception to this trait is Harry in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro". Harry is not suppressing his thoughts. He is remembering the thoughts that he had been choking his whole life. In the end he is faced with all the emotions he had felt, but didn't want to deal with. The most common and reoccurring similarity between Hemingway's heroes is mental or physical suffering. All of the characters have been subject to some traumatizing experience. It ranges from a massive infection to a break up with their girlfriend. In "Indian Camp" the young hero Nick is witness to a traumatic birth that requires makeshift surgery. At the same horrible time he is also witness to a gruesome suicide. Not the best experience for the emotional development of a child. As an older character Nick in "The Three-day Blow" is emotional wounded because he has broken up with his long-standing girlfriend. It does not seem to be the most painful experience, but for a young man it is a tragic event. In "Soldiers Home" Harry Krebs is disturbed by his experiences fighting in WWI. But also by the public perception of what war is, and the reality of war that he knows. The character Nick in "Big Two-Hearted River: part I&II" seems to be suffering from the same experience. But in "Big Two-Hearted River: part I&II" Nick seems to be looking for solutions to the problems of "Soldiers Home". In "Snows of Kilimanjaro" Harry is faced with his own impending death in the form of
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Approximate Word count = 1239
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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