“Code Hero” in the Novel The Old Man and the Sea A further Analysis of Hemingways Writing Style老人与海中的硬汉形象 Outline I. “Code hero” and his featuresII. The “code hero” in The Old Man and the SeaA. Santiago as the “code hero”B. Features of SantiagoIII. The writing style of Hemingway in modeling the “code hero”A. The language features of HemingwayB. Hemingways way to model “code hero” C. Hemingways symbolism IV. Conclusion “Code Hero” in the Novel The Old Man and the Sea A further Analysis of Hemingways Writing StyleAuthor: Zhang Ming Supervisor: Li MingIn Hemingways works, there exist certain common features among the protagonists. These characters share identical personalities and life experiences and they bear similar attention towards society. Their way of life can be defined by the way in which they responded to conflicts as well as the way in which they are depicted. We use the term “code hero” in description of Hemingways characters. Such a concept seems to have created the illusion that Hemingways heroes all behave in accordance with certain principles, or that some code rules their behavior, and that certain principles dominate their inner conflicts and control their life orientation. The Code hero has been interpreted as courageous and stubborn. Code hero is not a concept concerned with individuals, but with groups. The essence of Code hero is a pessimistic world outlook and an aesthetic faith in life. Hemingways four important novels, A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bells Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea, can be regarded as a quartet of code heroes. Through the four heroes life experiences and their pursuit of values, this quartet demonstrates the process of the development of the code hero, and thus represents the course of the construction of the world outlook. The “code”, sometimes called “grace under pressure”, is an ideal set of belief and attitudes, essentially a mode of self- regard, which enables the heroes to function in a hostile, destructive environment. According to this code, a man is defined by will, pride, and endurance: the ability to accept pain, even loss, when loss cannot be avoided. The pride of knowing that one has done ones best, with the courage to act truly to ones nature; and the will to face defeat or victory without complaint on one hand or boasting on the other. The word “hero” can mean both “hero” and “protagonist” in English. In the literary works the two concepts “hero” and “protagonist” are both closely related and distinctive. Talking of hero, we have to trace back to its original meaning and connotation in the ancient Greek civilization. A man can be a hero because of unusual bravery, nobility of action, moral and intellectual qualities. Like Prometheus, Odysseus, Julia Caesar, Napoleon, a great number of figures are esteemed and respected as models for heroes because they represent the collective desire and yearning for sublimity, and grandeur. So the hero carries its traditional meaning and serves as a prototype for instruction, education and imitation. However, from the late 19th century, owing to the social, political and cultural changes, the hero in the contemporary world bears different meanings. Hemingways heroes make a breakthrough in the connotation and transcend the traditional function of heroes. Many of the characters in Hemingways novels and stories are called heroes because they still preserve some of the virtues of the romanticized figures and the noble people in the traditional sense bravery, courage, faith, perseverance, dignity, etc. Meanwhile, from their external action and internal mind, there always permeates a pessimistic mood and overtone. These heroes are more human than divine, more complex than simplex. The virtues Hemingways heroes show when facing the harsh reality serve not as models for people to follow but purely as the revelation of the consolation and comfort for the bitter agony and pains. Hemingways heroes are not always strong-minded, tough, sturdy, but rather dualized. Their courage, faith and moral code are rooted in the firm presumption that “Man proposes, God dispose”. Nobody can achieve ultimate success when confronting the decided fate. So Hemingways heroes, unlike those to be worshipped and honored, always show the weakness of human beings cowardice, resignation, vanity and so on. The reason why they are entitled “heroes” rests not with their awareness of the emptiness of the world, but with their consequent attitude toward the meaningless life. They display the outstanding quality in spite of the doomed end. A protagonist in a story is supported by other minor characters or gains his position by direct conflict with the antagonists. Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea is the protagonist and the “hero”. In the story the presentation of facts such as going out to the sea, fishing, fighting, losin