This prompt addresses the “Hemingway Code Hero,” an aging critical interpretation that has prevented generations of readers from delving beyond a pseudo-macho interpretation of Hemingway’s writing. In part, this code suggests, “If death ends all activity, if death ends all knowledge and consciousness, man must seek his reward here, now, immediately. Consequently, the Hemingway man exists in a large part for the gratification of his sensual desires; he will devote himself to all types of physical pleasures because these are the rewards of this life…From this we derive then the idea of grace under pressure. This concept is one according to which the character must act in a way that is acceptable when he is faced with the fact of death. One might express it in other terms by saying that the Hemingway man must have fear of death, but he must not be afraid to die.” These lines reinforce a mythology that lingers among the uninitiated, those who see Hemingway as a womanizing hunter, boxer, and fisherman who writes stories for men where women appear as little more than sex objects. However, this question demands an analysis that moves beyond this mythology and challenges the code of masculinity associated with his work. Drawing from a close reading of a particular short story or novel in this course, this synecdoche essay should reveal artistic truths about Hemingway’s male and female characters and their experiences in a modern world that is vivid and complex.
Talk about the American wife in “Cat in the Rain”
