The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926. It recounts the story of Jake Barnes and some of his friends during a couple of months during the summer. Jake and most of his friends struggle with the effects that World War 1 has had on them as individuals and on society as a whole.

At age 18, Hemingway served as an ambulance driver on the Italian front of WW1. He saw gruesome things and was injured.

In an article by Thomas Putnam called "Hemingway on War and its Aftermath," H. remarked, "When you go to war as a boy you have a great illusion of immortality. Other people get killed; not you ... Then when you are badly wounded the first time you lose that illusion and you know it can happen to you."

The War left him disillusioned with traditional Western values. He formulated a view of life meant to replace these.

Specifically, he was disturbed by
1. those that tried to explain what life is all about

2. and what was "appropriate" to do in living life day to day.

MODERNISM (in a nutshell):
* Roughly the period from 1910-1960
--the reality of the modern world is seen as increasingly fragmented, used up, meaningless, materialistic, alienating, and violent.
--Many feel that religion and authority have little or no importance in a world that is spiritually empty.

==>This modern way of life provokes a modernist response, a search for the “new” in art and literature: new ways of seeing, new ways of saying, new forms, new subject matter.

In the absence of a unified view of reality, modern writers turn their attention to private, internal realities to call attention to how we create the world in the act of perceiving.

Two basic forms: 1. Atheistic existentialism—a parasite on NATURALISM (which is "the philosophical belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural or spiritual explanations are excluded or discounted." [OED]. There are natural laws governing the structure and behavior of the universe.) --> The problem with this worldview to existentialists (and others) is that it strips man of meaning in his existence and experience, B/C naturalism leads to NIHILISM (a philosophy that is extremely skeptical and denies the possibility of an objective basis for truth [from the dictionary]).

--> So the existentialist accepts all the propositions of naturalism EXCEPT those relating to human nature and our relationship to the cosmos.

2. Theistic existentialism (a parasite on theism).

Hemingway came to believe that there is nothing (“nada”) beyond life on this planet. Man is born into a completely naturalistic and totally indifferent universe—a universe without supernatural sanction, and thus without purpose, order, meaning, or value. There is no heaven or hell, no reward or punishment.

As a result, whatever you, as an individual, do during your life has no meaning EXCEPT for you yourself.

The “nada” (or “nothing”) then focuses on man’s confrontation with the absence of God, the indifference and seeming hostility of the universe, and thus with the absence of purpose, order, meaning, and value in the universe and in human life.

NOTHING IS ABSOLUTE AND EVERYTHING IS RELATIVE. (Except this sentence, right?) This means everything is a matter of personal taste, predisposition, and individual opinion.

One’s life, however, should not be wasted.

According to Hemingway, because there is nothing after death, LIFE IS EVERYTHING, and it is the only thing of value; therefore, one should LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST.

At the surface level, the simplest way to live life to its fullest is to gratify one’s sensual desires as much as possible.

In Hemingway’s short stories and novels many of his characters seek constant sensual gratification—they drink heavily, move from one love affair to another, travel, etc.—but there is also a deeper level at which many of his major characters try to live life. These characters are called “code heroes” and the way that they act is called the “Hemingway Code.”

Much of H.'s work has characters living by a “code” of conduct in terms of which, though a man may be victimized and, finally, destroyed, he may yet remain “undefeated.”

The hero accomplishes this by refusing to yield in the face of victimization and by confronting his sense of destruction and death with honor, on his own terms.

In this sense, as Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea says, “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

These Hemingway code heroes realize, at some level, realize their mortality, so they enjoy life on a level that is deeper than just a physical one.

He has or forms a personal code of ethics.
1. This guards a/g the hostile world and a meaningless exhistence.
2. This gives his life dignity, honor, and significance.

In short, the game of life is already lost, but man must play through, carefully following all of the rules. By doing things well, the Hemingway hero creates a personal code of honesty, authenticity, generosity, justice, simplicity, deliberation, and stoicism to save himself from nothingness (the "nada").

In order to live life to the fullest, this code hero often attempts to give life meaning by RISKING LIFE.

He often puts himself in situations in which death is a possible outcome. After all, if a man wishes to live truly, he must LIVE INTENSELY.

When a man is confronted with adversity or even death, he is tested. The dignity, nobility, and skill that he demonstrates in his struggle will earn him a nobility and dignity that is impossible to attain by simply existing like a pig in a pen.

The hero displays “GRACE UNDER PRESSURE” and redeems himself from the futility of existence.

Some activities of Hemingway's heroes:
--bullfighting
--hunting big game
--fishing for big fish
--etc.

We can't all do big, risky things like fight bulls, hunt big game, or go on fishing expeditions.

BUT we can welcome and live through the hardships and challenges of life and act with grace and skill and thereby give our lives dignity and meaning.

Frequent Behaviors of Code Heroes:
1. Very skillful at the activity he does. He enjoys it.

2. He is usually intensely loyal to a small group of people, NOT to the nation or an international body.

3. He is a man of action, not words. He WOULD NOT openly discuss his code.

4. He can endure much pain. Pain is often inconsequential or unimportant.

5. He seeks opportunities to prove his skill or endurance.

6. He seeks physical experience and gratification as a way to enjoy life.

7. He often does not sleep at night, and perhaps fears the dark (because it represents disorder, meaninglessness, etc.)

ANTI-HEROES: blind to the reality of nada; live according to illusions, false values, and/or random impulses; such characters are generally either stupid and messy, idealistic and deluded, or self-centered and destructive.

APPRENTICE HEROES: characters who have recognized the reality of nada and who (depending on the stage of their growth) are either struggling with the fear, anxiety, and loss of control which the recognition of nada brings, or who are in the process of learning the nature of true values and the requirements of the code.

APPRENTICE HEROES: characters who have recognized the reality of nada and who (depending on the stage of their growth) are either struggling with the fear, anxiety, and loss of control which the recognition of nada brings, or who are in the process of learning the nature of true values and the requirements of the code.

EXEMPLAR or CODE HEROES: characters who have recognized and accepted the reality of nada, who have learned the nature of true values, and who live in compliance with the requirements of the code. Such characters are the models from whom the apprentice heroes learn.