Divided Minds – Does the static expression of the Hemingway Hero in The Old Man and the Sea enhance or detract from the story?
             The Hemingway Hero is defined by a static set of characteristics. These characteristics remain essentially the same throughout all of Hemingway's works. The Hemingway Hero is always courageous, confident, and introspective. He does not let his fears get to him. The Hemingway Hero is expressed differently in each of his novels, though. Sometimes he is young, and sometimes old. In Hemingway's novels The Nick Adams Stories and Old Man and the Sea, the Hero is introduced differently. In The Nick Adams Stories, Nick Adams begins as a naive, young boy then becomes the Hero within the view of the reader as his early life and the events that influenced his life most are the entirety of this memoir-style novel. In Old Man and the Sea, though, the old man does not develop into a hero. Santiago begins as an old man who has already attained the Heroic qualities that he will demonstrate intentionally throughout the rest of the book. He remains and is a static, unchanging example of Hemingway's idealistic of heroicism.
             The "Hemingway Hero" was not an original invention of his. Whether called a code hero or a stereotypical protagonist, the Hero has appeared throughout the history of American Literature, from Falkner to Melville and many places in between. The Hero, universally, expresses one key quality: Grace Under Pressure (GUP) . The Hero, though he may be afraid, keeps his composure in the most trying situations and does what is right when others cannot.
             In a typical 'Code Hero' book, the Hero begins as cocky, naive, or often, both. By the end, though, the Hero has, through the many experiences expressed in the book, become a strong and clear example of the 'Code Hero'.
             In The Old Man and the Sea, though, the Hero begins a Hero. He ends a Hero. The whole time, the old man is the cliche
             ...