It is noted that the great American novelist, Ernest Hemingway's, male heroes usually were defined by their ability to face adversity with quiet strength. Most of the characters are forced to get through tough situations yet live by their code of honor, or the Hemingway hero stereotype, which is why they are considered heroes throughout the entire story. It is also believed that Hemingway based this hero off of his own life because of an idea he had that he was himself a hero. There were heroes in all of his stories including The Snows of Kilimanjaro. .
Hemingway heroes all vary. Throughout his books they are seen in different ages living in different times. Also they can be found living in different places and always having different names. However, each and every hero of Ernest Hemingway shares a characteristic with the others. They are all always of the male gender. Also the hero is often tested. This is known as "grace under pressure" (Grady class handout). Another common theme seen in the heroes is a rejection of society to be alone. While alone the reader gets to know the hero and learns that they are skilled in one-way or another. The final characteristic of the Hemingway hero is that they have to face mortality. The way each person handles these things is based on a moral emptiness of the world (Grady class handout page 1). .
After studying this code for the hero and examining Hemingway's life it can be seen that this code is based off of Ernest. In other words he felt himself to be a hero. He was forced to face adversity when he met a girl in a Milan hospital. She was a nurse there and he fell madly in love with her. The adversity came however when he returned to the United States. It was when he arrived there that he received a letter from the nurse saying that they could no longer be together. For the skilled portion of the hero code in Hemingway's life one must go into his years as a child.