Ernest Hemingway Code Hero Analysis

A hero doesn’t need to have superhuman abilities like flight, superstrength, or invincibility. The attributes of a hero can be anyone who follows superb morals, make an effort to help anyone, and help make a difference in our world. The definition of a hero is based on people’s opinion of what a hero do to help people. While some people believe that a stereotypical comic superhero is a definition of a hero, others believe that a hero can be anyone. Ernest Hemingway, the famous author for a various amount of classical stories, influences many people on what a hero is1. Based on his stories, people use the term “Code Hero” to describe the type of traits a hero has in Hemingway’s stories and use these traits to define what a true hero is. In one …show more content…
During his conversation with the younger waiter at the café, the older waiter contradicts what the younger waiter say about the old man. For example, when the younger waiter says “I wouldn 't want to be that old […] an old man is a nasty thing” (Hemingway 2). The older waiter says "Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him "(Hemingway 2). This exhibits that while the younger waiter give little respect to the old man by calling him as a “nasty thing”, the older waiter judge the old man, even though he was intoxicated, as a clean and respectable customer. Even though the old man was drunk and the two waiters was discussing about him, the older waiter still don’t judge the old man because he know that the old man was going through a depression. So he ignores the old man and let him drink. Unlike the old waiter, the younger waiter was cranky and was tired of working. He called the old man a “nasty thing” and even says "You should have killed yourself last week" (Hemingway 1). He judge the old man based on the conversation he had with the older waiter and the time of day. This behavior makes the readers see him as an …show more content…
The Hemingway code hero traits have been shown in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” with the older waiter being the hero. By “facing reality” he show that he acknowledge a problem with the old man, by “impose some meaning in a meaningless universe[…]” he show that there is hope in a dark universe, and by […]view the unenlightened with irony and pity” he show compassion to help someone in their time of need. It goes to show that superhuman abilities are not what make a hero a hero. It follows superb morals, make an effort to help anyone, and help make a difference in our