The works of Ernest Hemingway generally center around the concept of heroism. Each of his novels contains a "Hemingway hero"--a man of honor and integrity who expresses himself not with words, but with action. The Hemingway hero is not motivated by glory or fortune, however. Hemingway's heroic figures are driven by a need to find inner peace in a modernized world that cannot provide them with the answers they seek.
The Hemingway hero is not a Godlike figure, but an ordinary, often flawed mortal who must look to himself for strength. As in The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell To Arms, Hemingway has the protagonist prove his strength by putting him in a crisis situation, usually involving a life-and-death predicament.
The Hemingway hero is actually a mirror image of the author himself. As A. E. Hotchner's novel Papa Hemingway illustrates, Hemingway had a penchant for putting himself in life threatening situations. When the two writers met, Hemingway told Hotchner about how he loved to work with cotsies--large, wild cats. When Hotchner said that he thought "lion-baiting was a rather dangerous pursuit for a writer who wanted to continue practicing his trade" (15), Hemingway replied that he did not "know [any] other place as good to lay it as on the line" (16).
In the Old Man and the Sea the protagonist, Santiago, also has no qualms about flirting with death. Santiago nearly loses his life while,struggling to reel in a fish, yet refuses to let go, preferring death to surrendering.
Fishing is a skill that provides Santiago with security, and a skill that brings him grave misfortune. Santiago has gone eighty-four days without a catch--a serious situation since he depends on his catch for his daily bread. Despite Santiago's bad luck, he remains optimistic and bears his troubles with dignity. He never loses faith and starts each day with renewed optimism. This is the Hemingway hero at his best--persevering in the ...