A True Code Hero

Hemingway a bright and simple man. A man who writes stories with characters who control their emotions or don’t complain about what’s going on in their life, other wise know as being stoic. People who seem to come to life when they show grace under preasure, have dignity for themselves and are committed to play by the rules. Four characters of Hemingway who show and have all these traits other wise know as the code of honor are Manuel Garcia, Francis Macomber, Ole Anderson, and an Old Waiter who is unnamed.

Manuel Garcia is a man who enjoys bullfighting. He tries to convince others as well as himself that he’s still an incredible bullfighter. He’s given a chance to prove himself worthy by a little man named Retana. When Garcia is given this chance he takes advantage of it and asks Zurito, an old friend and skillful bullfighter if he will “[pick] two bulls for [him] tomorrow night,” (The Undefeated). Zurito is persuaded to pick two bulls for Garcia, but Zurito explains that “if [he] [doesn’t] go big tomorrow night [he’ll] quit,” (The Undefeated). Garcia has shown that he has the courage to bullfight once more despite his age. The day Garcia has been waiting for came; the bullfight that will determine whether or not he’s as good as he says. He enters the arena confident, but not all goes as he had planned. As the bull fight begins Garcia’s sword flies from his hand and is thrown into the audience. Garcia looks around for his sword, only to have it thrown at him. Despite another misfortune, this code hero keeps his grace under pressure when cushions and the sword are thrown at him by thanking them and bowing. This also shows that he is stoic by not showing others what he truly feels in his heart, sadness of being beat. Towards the end of the story, when the doctor is tying to rehabilitate Garcia, he keeps his dignity by saying he was good out there “[he] [just] didn’t have any luck was all,” (The Undefeated).

Francis Macomber is another man who held the code of honor, though it might seem so at first. Macomber and a hunter by the name of Robert Wilson are out hunting, when they encounter a furious lion. A lion that frightens Macomber, which makes him unable to react to shoot the lion. When this occurs Macomber pleads Wilson not to tell his wife, Margot, of what had happened. When Margot finds about Macomber’s coward ness she becomes to fade away from him. Though this makes Macomber sad he know deep inside “he was very wealthy and be much more so he knew she would not leave him now,” (Short Happy Life). When Macomber realizes he is losing his wife to Wilson it makes him stronger and anxious to hunt. He and Wilson go hunting once more, but this time for some buffalo. He’s still a bit scared, but has the courage to keep tying to prove to his wife that he’s not a coward. During the buffalo hunt Macomber becomes stoic in order not to show his true emotions to Wilson. He has become committed to play by the rules and not run away. Now Macomber has begun to show what a true code hero is like because “ something happened in [him] after [he] saw the [buffalo] and started after him. [He’s] really not afraid of them now,” (Short Happy Life). His wife just doesn’t seem to care for her husband any more and looks at him as if he was some kind of hero. Through all this Macomber kept his grace under pressure and dignity by not saying he might regret. Then out of no where Macomber is shot by his own wife, killed as a code hero.

The story “ The Killers” has yet another code hero who goes by the name of Ole Anderson. The story starts off by two men, Al and Max who are the killers, walking into a diner ordering some food. When they are told there isn’t any food that they please, they begin to get rowdy and call the workers “bright boy.” Soon these killers begin to ask for a man named Ole Anderson who will be their next victim. “ [Why] are you going to kill