The Hemingway Hero in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place and The Killers.
Ernest Hemingway is notorious for providing guidelines regarding his tragic hero that is considered by the reader to be a "man's hero."" Traditionally they love to drink, indulge in sexual escapades, and live dangerously. These heroes never deal with the internal struggles that develop as a direct result of their philandering lives. The fate of these characters can be described as self-imposed much like the characters of the Naturalistic writer. These characters cannot escape their fate, which is inevitable. Hemingway's characters share traits that have been identified to be those of the Hemingway Hero. There are three main characteristics that the heroes from "The Killers- and "A Clean and Well Lighted Place- share with other works of Hemingway. .
First, the actions of these characters revolve around death. In the beginning of life, all humans are innocent and life is beautiful, however, with age and experience comes the introduction of the darkness that determines destiny. "In A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, there are many contrasts that demonstrate the evolution of the Hemingway hero: light and dark, beginnings and endings, and experience and youth- (Benson, 24). The old drunk who is the last customer at the bar is facing his final years and his own demise due to the need to escape from the drudgery of his life. The two waiters, separated by age and experience, discuss the old man. Their opinions of the old man are formed through their own experiences. The young waiter fails to .
2.
understand the suffering of the old man and even states "He should have killed himself last week."" Like many young people, this waiter only understands how the old many is affecting his life by staying away from his home and his wife.
