ABSTRACT
Ernest Hemingway is a giant of modern literature. His unique life story has been an important part of his creation, from which a unique tragic hero of Hemingway has been created, also called “Code Hero”. In view of the importance of “Code Hero” and the tragic theme in Hemingway’s works, this thesis intends to make a detailed study of it. This paper tries to study the tragic color of Hemingway’s Code Hero from the three aspects of human-and-nature resistance, human-and-society competition; human’s self-confrontation. The first part gives a general introduction of Hemingway and his works and his Code Hero. The second part deals with the tragic color and the basic characteristics of Code Hero. Meanwhile, it analyses the characteristics of Code Hero from Hemingway’s point of view of life and death. The third part analyses the tragic color of Code Hero of Hemingway’s three novels. In The Old Man and the Sea, we can see the tragedy of man-and-nature struggle. It confirms that the power of nature is overwhelming. Human beings can not challenge the nature. A Farewell to Arms delicates the great social scourge in the face of the tragic situation and the tragic outcome. It confirms that human beings are hopeless when facing the vicious society. The Snows in Kilimanjaro is the best chapter to reveal human vulnerability. It confirms the complex diversity of humanity. The fourth part deals with the significance and limitations of Code Hero. The conclusion states that Code Heroes all suffer the pains and have tragic endings. However, the spirit they demonstrate plays an important role to modern men in their confrontation with difficulties.
Key words：Earnest Hemingway; Code Hero; tragic color
Contents
1．Introduction 1
2. Tragic color and Code Hero 2
2.1 Tragic color 2
2.2 The basic characteristics of Code Hero 3
3. The tragic theme of Code Hero in Hemingway’s novels 4
3.1 The natural tragedy in The Old Man and the Sea 4
3.2 The social tragedy in A Farewell to Arms 5
3.3 The spiritual tragedy in The Snows of Kilimanjora 7
4. The significance and limitations of Code Hero 9
4.1 The significance of Code Hero in American literature 9
4.2 The limitations of Code Hero 10
5．Conclusion 11
Acknowledgements 12
References 13
